Members Bassinflux Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Wife wants a guitar, and these hummingbirds have a lot of character and the gibsons sound great. I stumbled on one in an antique store, nice action, sounds good. Should I buy it? This one is a "Magnum" brand and the hummingbird pickguard has the bird at the top, not the bottom like the gibsons. I am a big fan of matsumoku era copies, but I don't know if the quality extends to acoustics? What would you pay for one of these? Or should I just buck up and buy a Seagull? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Depends on the guitar's condition and price. There's something to be said about an older guitar with some character but there's also something to be said for having a warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluzboy Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 How much are they asking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bassinflux Posted March 11, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 $150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SnorkelMonkey Posted March 12, 2011 Members Share Posted March 12, 2011 If it was a good player and sounded good I would SWOOP in on that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluzboy Posted March 12, 2011 Members Share Posted March 12, 2011 If the neck is straight, the action good, and the sound great, I don't see how you can go wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Starrshine Posted March 12, 2011 Members Share Posted March 12, 2011 I have that era of Japanese Hummingbird, a Lyle, it is great guitar. It is a very faithful copy as I have had the real thing in my possession. There are those that say that this guitar is a laminate, but I can find no evidence of that. My electric Lyle is very evident that it laminate. Bob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michael Martin Posted March 12, 2011 Members Share Posted March 12, 2011 If the neck is straight, the action good, and the sound great, I don't see how you can go wrong. Yeah--agreed--if it's all that, then you have a good old guit that's pretty, and not just good and old. But yes look closely at the neck on any old guit. Although--my main squeeze is a Gibson H-bird. I've played old Japanese copies (Lyle, Suzuki, and I think even an Aria[?]) and there's no comparison. And the newer Epi copies are quite unsatisfactory. Not well-made at all, and dull-sounding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted March 12, 2011 Members Share Posted March 12, 2011 I have that era of Japanese Hummingbird, a Lyle, it is great guitar. It is a very faithful copy as I have had the real thing in my possession. There are those that say that this guitar is a laminate, but I can find no evidence of that. My electric Lyle is very evident that it laminate. Bob Your Lyle has laminated back/sides, but a solid top...most of the tone comes from the top, so a lam. back/sides guitar isn't always a bad idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted March 12, 2011 Members Share Posted March 12, 2011 A friend of mine has an old Dixon "cherry burst" Hummingbird that he's had for years. I'm pretty sure it's all laminated, but it sounds pretty decent to me. He's 78 and one of his boys got it for him years ago as a birthday present. It looks like it went through the war in a couple of places, but it's still hangin' in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Starrshine Posted March 12, 2011 Members Share Posted March 12, 2011 ) and there's no comparison. And the newer Epi copies are quite unsatisfactory. Not well-made at all, and dull-sounding. Having owned a real H-bird myself, I agree. But I played a Songwriter recently and I was not impressed, especially for the price they wanted. Epi anything makes me cringe actually . Your Lyle has laminated back/sides, but a solid top...most of the tone comes from the top, so a lam. back/sides guitar isn't always a bad idea. I can believe that. It has a lot of mojo tho, and ya can't beat that for a $100 git! Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted March 12, 2011 Members Share Posted March 12, 2011 Having owned a real H-bird myself, I agree. But I played a Songwriter recently and I was not impressed, especially for the price they wanted. Epi anything makes me cringe actually .Bob +1....I've always wanted to own a REAL Gibson Hummingbird, but I just can't bring myself to spend the kind of money they go for. I can think of quite a few other guitars for less money that I'd much rather have. And, the only Epiphone I ever played that I thought was worth the money was a $99 DR-100 at Sam Ash one Saturday afternoon a couple of years ago. I keep hearing stories about how great the Masterbilt line is.....but I haven't found one yet that I'd pony up the money for. My Yamaha FG730S sounds better than any Masterbilt I've played.....and it cost less, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tbry Posted March 12, 2011 Members Share Posted March 12, 2011 My old Lyle Hum...it needs a neck reset so its not a player now, but it did sound Gibson like back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guildfire Posted March 12, 2011 Members Share Posted March 12, 2011 I had a real HB back in the early '70s. Frankly was not impressed with it. Wasn't very loud and didn't like the short scale. Ended up selling it. There are a lot better guitars out there for the money than you would pay for a HB IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hurt P Posted May 23, 2021 Members Share Posted May 23, 2021 I bought an Estrada 12 string Hummingbird Model F614 in the early 1970's. It is well built and the sound is great. About ten years ago I read a story on line about the Estrada. It was written by a man that had worked for Gibson. He said that if the guitar has a green rectangular tag it was made with Gibson body and neck parts that were sold to a company named MICA. He later retracted the story so I don't know if it was true. He also said that the ones that have a yellow oval sticker are not made with Gibson parts. My guitar is close to an exact replica of the the Gibson Hummingbird except that it has the Name Estrada where the Gibson logo is on their guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gypsy Grae Posted July 7, 2022 Members Share Posted July 7, 2022 I have a Mendez Hummingbird copy. It has the same serial number as the Ibanez copy and Jaydee which were sold in the states. I am in Australia. I can’t find any information on it at all. I bought it new in around 1975 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted July 8, 2022 Members Share Posted July 8, 2022 14 hours ago, Gypsy Grae said: I have a Mendez Hummingbird copy. It has the same serial number as the Ibanez copy and Jaydee which were sold in the states. I am in Australia. I can’t find any information on it at all. I bought it new in around 1975 Welcome to the forum! As always, pictures would help. it helps to see the headstock, label, tuners, etc etc, since different companies have their own stylistic ways. Same serial number or model number? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dan Stroud Posted March 12, 2023 Members Share Posted March 12, 2023 Hi, All I'm looking for a Hummingbird knock off from the ‘60’s had one when in College, it’s the only one I’ve ever seen with a “white” headstock. Thought I’d like get one back, but can’t find one similar. Hope someone can help. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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