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. 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.
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. At press time, asking prices of 1960s Gibson examples on Reverb.com ranged from around $3, 250 to $9, 600. Gibson’s new flagship Historic 1960 Hummingbird will set you back five grand, while the Hummingbird Original goes for $3, 849. 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.
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. What’s different about the Epiphone Hummingbird? Not a lot. OK, the nut width is slightly slimmer than the original Gibson’s 1.72 inches, but only by a fraction, at 1.69. 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.
Epiphone Masterbilt 2020 Excellente (quick Review)
But the Epiphone retains many of the original Gibson details. You still have those iconic Hummingbird pickguard graphics and the awesome mother-of-pearl split parallelogram fretboard markers. You get the cool Epiphone Deluxe tuning machines with their press-in gold bushings and Kluson-style tulip pegs. 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. 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. This is an all-solid-wood guitar and it feels like one.
Let’s talk sound and playability. 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. Frankly, this was not my experience on previous iterations of the Epiphone Hummingbird before Gibson’s change of guard several years ago. There has clearly been a step-up in quality control across Gibson brands.
Cowboy chords on the Hummingbird rang true and full, with a nice coppery top and plenty of balanced bottom end. Double-stops and single-note flatpicking up the neck produced a sweet character as well. The neck just feels good: There’s plenty of room to move around, and there isn’t abundant string squeak for some reason, either. Even big bold barre chords, bashed out with a little muscle, sound great on the Hummingbird. And while certainly not as rich and round as on, say, a fine Lowden, fingerpicking in a folk, blues, or British Isles fashion speaks with a bold voice as well.
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Given the instrument’s low price, it’s understandable that Epiphone outfitted the Hummingbird with Fishman’s ubiquitous Sonitone undersaddle piezo system, though I sure wish it could have come with one of the electronics company’s other excellent offerings. If you do a lot of live playing, you may want to explore other options, or consider sticking a boom mic in front of the guitar—the review model had a lot of good projection, and even the higher strings didn’t lose weight through a Rode NT1-A microphone in the studio.
It’s easy to talk about aspects like specs and build quality, but then there’s that intangible with any acoustic guitar: is it a song machine? I wrote three or four new tunes within a day of receiving the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Hummingbird; the pace has continued, and that tells me something important about the guitar.
It’s an instrument you’ll want to look at a whole lot—and, more significant, pick up and play often. By all means, go out and try a Gibson Hummingbird and then compare it to this fresh and lively Epiphone model. Don’t even think about the price at first; just ask yourself which one gets your creative juices flying like a bird. Then smile at how the Epiphone’s price tag lifts your feet off the floor just a little, too.
Epiphone J 45 Acoustic Guitar
Body 14-fret square-shouldered dreadnought shape; solid Sitka spruce top with quartersawn spruce bracing; solid mahogany back and sides; reverse belly Indian laurel bridge with bone saddle; top and back multi-ply binding; tortoise pickguard with Hummingbird graphics; aged gloss finish (Cherry Sunburst or Antique Natural)
20 medium jumbo frets; Indian laurel fretboard with 12.01″ radius and mother-of-pearl split parallelogram inlays; 1.69″ bone nut; Epiphone Deluxe tuners with gold press-in bushingsThe Epiphone Masterbilt Excellente is like a time machine—take a good look at it and you might think you’ve been transported back about 50 or so years. That throwback feeling is exactly what Epiphone set out to inspire with this new addition to the Masterbilt series, a tribute to one of the company’s long-lost acoustic models.
Back in 1963, Epiphone introduced the Excellente, a square-shouldered dreadnought with a lot of pizzazz, as its top-of-the-line acoustic. Intended to pair well with rhinestones and cowboy boots, the Excellente was no down-market Gibson—as were some Epiphones of the day—but was a unique offering that was well-suited to make its presence known on a stage.
Epiphone Songmaker Dr 100 Vintage Sunburst Acoustic Guitar Kaufen?
Between 1963 and 1969, Epiphone sold only 139 units of the Excellente before discontinuing it. But seen inthe hands of Loretta Lynn and on the covers of albums by singer Sonny James, this super fancyguitar has long been a curiosity among guitar players and collectors. The model saw a couple of reissues in the 1990s (one by Epiphone and the other by the Gibson Custom Shop) and now the Masterbilt line continues that process.
The new Masterbilt Excellente recreates the visual flair of the original, starting with its thick, oversized pickguard, which features an ornate color engraving of an eagle landing on a branch, a nod to Gibson’s Hummingbird and Dove steel-strings (as well as the electric Firebird guitar and Thunderbird bass). The shape of the pickguard nicely complements the guitar’s uniquely curved ebony bridge.
The maple neck features a series of cloud-shaped inlays on an ebony fretboard, and the large headstock sports a block inlay with clouds on the top and bottom and gold-plated waffleback tuners. While the original had Brazilian rosewood back and sides, the Masterbilt model replaces the rosewood with solid ovangkol, and the vintage feel of the solid Sitka spruce top is assisted by an antique natural aged finish.
Epiphone J 45ec Studio Acoustic Guitar
When I picked up the Excellente, I was immediately surprised by the weight. It has a considerable heft, more in line with a neck-heavy 1970s-era model than a ’60s Gibson, and I found it took a little effort to negotiate balancing the guitar on my lap.
The Excellente’s 25.31-inch scale-length neck, with its C-shaped profile and 1.69-inch nut, made it easy to find my way around the jumbo frets. For a dreadnought, though, I found it hard to get a big sound and my review model felt somewhat stiff and quiet. In the ’60s, Sonny James requested Epiphone use a thin pickguard on his Excellente because he was concerned that the guitar’s thick pickguard would impede the resonance of the instrument. Playing the guitar, I wondered if James was onto something with his idea.
The Excellente fared better once I grabbed a light pick and strummed some breezy chord progressions. The instrument’s mellow voicing has a warm sound when strummed, and I found this kind of playing to be its strength. If you’ve booked a recording session to track some late-’60s-style folk rock or accompany a singer-songwriter who worships ’70s AM hits, you’ll probably want to bring the Excellente along. And if you’re taking it to the stage, you’ll be prepared: The guitar comes standard with a Fishman Sonicore undersaddle pickup, featuring discretely mounted Sonitone preamp volume and tone controls, so you get some modern amenities without disrupting the old-school aesthetic.
Epiphone Hummingbird Studio
Getting my hands on the Masterbilt Excellente helped satiate my curiosity about a guitar I’d only seen in photos. Having never played an original example, I can’t make a direct comparison, but it sounds nice and will make just about anyone strumming it look cool. For a modern take on a vintage rarity, the Masterbilt Excellente accurately copies the look of the original while feeling like a reliable modern instrument.
BODY 14-fret, square-shouldered dreadnought; solid Sitka spruce top with solid ovangkol back and sides; ivory and black 6-ply (top) and 4-ply (back) binding; antique natural aged finish; Historic Excellente pickguard
NECK 25.31″-scale maple neck with five-piece walnut-and-maple center stripe; 1.69″ bone nut; 20-fret ebony fingerboard with Excellente cloud inlays and 12th-fret block inlay; gold-plated waffleback tuners
File:epiphone Pr 5e Vs Cutaway Acoustic Electric Guitar (vintage Sunburst).jpg
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