There has clearly been a step-up in quality control across Gibson brands.Ĭowboy chords on the Hummingbird rang true and full, with a nice coppery top and plenty of balanced bottom end.
Frankly, this was not my experience on previous iterations of the Epiphone Hummingbird before Gibson’s change of guard several years ago.
While I can’t speak for every Epiphone that ships out, this one came well set-up from the factory, with a set of Gibson phosphor bronze strings (.012–.053), and played easily at virtually every position on the neck. This is an all-solid-wood guitar and it feels like one. But it’s not just another pretty six-string-the build quality on the Epi Hummingbird is excellent, with the bracing and interior tidy and tight. Our review model sported the Aged Antique Natural finish, a lovely muted amber with a soft patina-like effect, and the instrument is also available in the equally attractive Aged Cherry Sunburst. You get the cool Epiphone Deluxe tuning machines with their press-in gold bushings and Kluson-style tulip pegs. You still have those iconic Hummingbird pickguard graphics and the awesome mother-of-pearl split parallelogram fretboard markers. The Epiphone’s fretboard and bridge are made of Indian laurel, rather than rosewood, and, as would be expected, the guitar has a polyurethane finish, as opposed to nitrocellulose lacquer.īut the Epiphone retains many of the original Gibson details. OK, the nut width is slightly slimmer than the original Gibson’s 1.72 inches, but only by a fraction, at 1.69. What’s different about the Epiphone Hummingbird? Not a lot. The basic Hummingbird recipe, first cooked up in 1960, is not especially complex: solid Sitka spruce top mahogany back, sides, and neck and vibrant cherry sunburst or natural finish, all of which are identical on Epiphone’s new iteration of the Hummingbird. The street price on Epiphone’s Inspired by Gibson Hummingbird? Just $799-and you get much of the vibe of its costlier Gibson counterparts, as I discovered when I put the guitar through its paces. Gibson’s new flagship Historic 1960 Hummingbird will set you back five grand, while the Hummingbird Original goes for $3,849. At press time, asking prices of 1960s Gibson examples on ranged from around $3,250 to $9,600. That’s what makes the new Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Hummingbird-part of a line that also includes versions of the classic J-45 and J-200, among other acoustics-so compelling. But with its distinctive flared pickguard-depicting a floral scene and a hovering hummingbird-the guitar, new or used, has remained a fairly pricey choice.
The Hummingbird, Gibson’s iconic square-shouldered dreadnought, has been the stuff of dreams for over 50 years, showing up in the hands of everyone from Keith Richards to Sheryl Crow, and a new generation seems equally intent on making it a go-to. So we're asking you to give just $1 (or whatever you can afford) right now.įrom the November/December 2021 issue of Acoustic Guitar | By James Volpe Rotondi Hey, fellow guitarist! Did you know 99.9% of visitors to this site will scroll past this message without making a contribution? Many plan to pledge later, but then forget.
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