The Gibson Hummingbird is an acoustic guitar model/series produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation .
94-678: Unlike the other flat-top Gibson acoustics, the Hummingbird was Gibson's first square-shoulder dreadnought , similar to the dreadnoughts produced by C.F. Martin & Company . Introduced in 1960, the Hummingbird was Gibson's second-most expensive acoustic guitar, behind the Gibson J-200 , until the introduction of the Gibson Dove in 1962, (a blend between the Hummingbird and the J-200.) and has remained in production ever since. In 2000
188-591: A 2-piece back, with the exception of the D-35 (introduced 1965) plus its later variants such as the HD-35 which feature a 3-piece back. The D-35 also has slightly narrower top braces (1/4 inch rather than the 5/16 inch used for other models) which, together with the different bracing of the back, may contribute to its different tonal response in comparison with other rosewood models featuring the 2-piece back. Epiphone Epiphone ( / ˌ ɛ . p ə . f oʊ n / )
282-460: A bone nut and saddle. A more affordable version of the Hummingbird is also made by the Epiphone branch of Gibson . The original Epiphone Hummingbird was available in natural, cherryburst and black. It was also made with more affordable woods but featured the same design fretboard inlays, bridge and similar pickguard, but without genuine mother-of-pearl. It also featured Grover tuners, rather than
376-651: A cheaper range of lower grade instruments still bearing the Epiphone label, but now sourced in Japan. By the late 1970s, Epiphone production began moving to Korea, and by the mid-1980s, all Epiphones were Korean-built. Beginning in 1997, Epiphone moved its production to China and Indonesia. Since merging with Gibson, the brand has been used for a number of different guitars, some manufactured by Gibson itself in its own factories, and some manufactured by other companies such as Matsumoku under contract to Gibson and marketed under
470-488: A cosmetic indicator of their construction type. Prior to mid 1939, the X-braces crossed at a position 1 inch from the soundhole (known as "high X" or "forward shifted" bracing), being moved back a little towards the lower bout after this date. Other key developments of interest to both players and collectors was a switch from Brazilian to Indian rosewood (for the rosewood instruments, D-28 and upwards) in late 1969, and from
564-516: A cross between an extra-large, but narrow waisted guitar already built by Martin for the Hawaiian guitarist Mekia Kealakai , and the smaller, but wide waisted designs already being sold by Ditson. These guitars were produced by Martin for Ditson from 1916 to 1921; a small number (19 instruments) were subsequently made in the same style as the 111, in dreadnought size, between 1921 and 1930, including #19734 for Roy Smeck. According to Mike Longworth,
658-441: A custom in-flight hummingbirds peghead logo and a hummingbird floral tortoiseshell pickguard, all expressed in genuine abalone and mother-of-pearl. It also has an ebony fretboard with rolled edges and Orpheum-style abalone inlays. This model has an antique natural finish. Introduced as the monthly limited edition of December 2016, featuring select Adirondack red spruce top with mahogany back and sides. In 2010, Gibson introduced
752-806: A full equalizer, gain, volume, reverb, and presence control. As of 2012, Epiphone has ceased production of their line of amplifiers with the exception of the Player and Performance Pack practice amplifiers, available only in Epiphone's starter packages. These Amplifiers were under the Epiphone Electar brand. In 2014 the 1939 Electar Century 18-watt valve amplifier was reissued in an updated 75th anniversary Limited Edition. Epiphone instruments made between 1957 and 1970 were at Gibson facilities on Parsons Street and Eleanor Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Solid body guitars with flat tops and backs were made at
846-503: A further 6 12-fret models (and this list is not complete). Further information on these instruments is available on the website of the manufacturer and of various resellers, while other stores such as Gruhn Guitars and Carter Vintage Guitars offer a glimpse into the world of vintage and/or collectable guitars, the most valuable of which are frequently Martin dreadnoughts from the classic "pre-war" (pre 1942 in collector's terminology) manufacturing period. Martin dreadnought guitars feature
940-623: A line of acoustics “Inspired by Gibson”, all made in the Samick factory in Indonesia. This also includes a Hummingbird version (next to a j45 and a j200 model). The specifications of this Hummingbird are very close to the Gibson Standard Hummingbird original with spruce top and mahogany back and sides, all solid woods. The fretboard is made of Indian laurel, the inlays are mother of pearl and both nut and saddle are bone. There
1034-416: A more narrow waisted design plus a shallower body depth. Prior to around 1900, Martin acoustic guitars were available in sizes that to today's players would seem very small, ranging from size 5, 4, 3, 2 1/2 and 2 (all 12 inches or less across the lower bout) to size 1 (12 3/4 inches). Larger sizes, introduced by 1898, were size 0 (13 1/2 inches), size 00 (14 1/8 inches), size 000 (15 inches) and, subsequently,
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#17328025571431128-548: A much improved range of flat-top acoustic guitars , incorporating elements of Gibson's own designs. The 1961 catalog shows that the Emperor, Deluxe, Triumph and Zenith were still available as acoustic archtops, the Emperor, Sheraton, Broadway, Zephyr and Century together with new models the Windsor, Casino and Sorrento as electric archtops, the new models Crestwood Custom, Wilshire, Coronet and Olympic as electric solidbodies, while
1222-465: A narrower waisted design plus a body depth that is shallower than the dreadnought. These instruments were intended to combine some of the volume characteristics of the dreadnought with less of the pronounced bass response of the latter, and are basically production versions based on a guitar owned by David Bromberg that used the body of an old Martin F-7 archtop guitar converted to a flat-top by Matt Umanov in
1316-629: A range of higher quality instruments under the "Elite Series" moniker which were built by Terada and FujiGen in Japan. After legal action by Ovation the name was changed to Elitist in 2003. As of 2008, all of the Elitist models have been discontinued with the exception of the Elitist Casino and the Dwight Trash Casino. The Epiphone Elitist guitars included features such as higher grade woods, bone nuts, hand-rubbed finishes, "Made in
1410-491: A rosewood fretboard with double parallelogram inlays, a crown peghead inlay headstock, nickel Grover Rotomatic tuners and a custom-made Hummingbird tortoiseshell pickguard. An L.R. Baggs Element Active pickup system is also installed. This model is available in different cherryburst variations from strong orange to almost yellow, heritage cherryburst and natural finishes. They are also seen in wine red and black. Hummingbird Vintage , or formally Hummingbird True Vintage , features
1504-420: A signature sound. While most players prefer the tone of the standard, 14-fret instrument, noted for its more penetrating sound especially when played with other instruments, a few prominent players—including Peter Yarrow of the group Peter, Paul and Mary , Norman Blake , and on occasion Paul Simon (per the cover of his 1974 Live Rhymin' release)—have still favoured the slightly different sonority produced by
1598-442: A small batch of silver burst Hummingbird. In 2008 Gibson also released a very few Hummingbird Modern Classics with a Vintage Sunburst finish, the same finish seen on a J-45 Standard. The Gibson label found on the inside of this Hummingbird says "Hummingbird, Fuller's Vintage Edition". All the other specifications, such as materials and tuning keys, are the same as the specifications of the standard model. The Hummingbird Artist model
1692-451: A small maple bridgeplate to a larger rosewood one in 1968. Both of these changes have generally been seen as undesirable from a tonal viewpoint, leading to considerably more interest (and higher sale prices) for pre-1969 instruments than their later counterparts (Brazilian rosewood, now rare and expensive, has nevertheless been used since on some expensive models and special editions). Almost all Martin dreadnoughts have been manufactured with
1786-549: A tube design, and some had reverb and tremolo. Gibson decided to launch a new line of Epiphone tube amplifiers in 2005 with models including the So Cal, Blues Custom, Epiphone Valve Junior and the solid state Triggerman range. The Valve Hot Rod and Valve Senior followed in 2009. The Valve Hot Rod is a 5 watt amp like the Valve Junior, but has a gain and reverb control. The Valve Senior offers 20 watts of power, with
1880-410: A vintage appearance and sound, from its "thermally cured" spruce top. It also has gold Gotoh green button tulip tuners and a vintage cherryburst finish, which make the guitar resemble its 1960s ancestors. Also it has the famous, often adored, pickguard wildlife motif engraved and hand-painted, not embedded as the standard. The vintage model has no electronics from the factory. The Icon '60s Hummingbird
1974-701: Is a Fishman Sonicore under the saddle piezo pickup system. In 1964, Keith Richards and Brian Jones brought the Gibson Hummingbird guitar to the UK. It was used to write songs like: "Play With Fire", "Good Times Bad Times", " As Tears Go By ", "The Last Time", "Satisfaction", "Street Fighting Man", "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Sympathy for the Devil" (as seen in the Jean-Luc Godard movie - One Plus One ), "No Expectations", "Angie", "Wild Horses", "Brown Sugar". In
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#17328025571432068-414: Is a natural-finished model with block inlays in the fretboard rather than the double parallelograms. It also has an adjustable Tusq saddle and an original 1960s-style Hummingbird pickguard; all of these make it look like a 1960s vintage model. The Hummingbird Custom KOA model is a custom model, with back and sides constructed from highly figured koa wood. It has gold Grover mother of pearl keystone tuners,
2162-441: Is a type of acoustic guitar body developed by American guitar manufacturer C.F. Martin & Company . The style, since copied by other guitar manufacturers, has become the most common for acoustic guitars. At the time of its creation in 1916 the word dreadnought referred to a large, all big-gun, modern battleship of the type pioneered by HMS Dreadnought in 1906. A body much larger than most other guitars provided
2256-423: Is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in İzmir , Ottoman Empire , and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over his father's business, Epaminondas Stathopoulos named the company "Epiphone" as a combination of his own nickname "Epi" and the suffix " -phone " (from Greek phon- , "voice") in 1928,
2350-530: Is available from other dealers, specially in Europe. It has the same shape as the Artist model. A cutaway model (Hummingbird Pro EC) is also available. The Hummingbird Pro comes with an L.R. Baggs Element Active pickup system, while the cutaway model has a Fishman Prefix Plus-T preamp system equipped. This model has a vintage sunburst finish. The Pro model shares most of the features of the standard Hummingbird and has
2444-490: Is quite different. It is a Guitar Center exclusive release. It has the body shape and forward shifted bracing of the Songwriter, only in mahogany. It does not have a Hummingbird pickguard (it uses a modern sculpted pickguard instead). An L.R. Baggs Element Active pickup system is also installed. This model has a washed heritage cherry finish. The Hummingbird Pro model was released by Guitar Center and Musicians Friend but
2538-476: Is simple carpenters' wood glue, and were finished in hard, quick-to-apply polyester resin rather than the traditional nitro-cellulose lacquer used by Gibson Epiphone guitars assembled or made in the US use lacquer finishes unless it's a san lacquer (SL for short), but those made outside of the US use a polyurethane finish because of pollution requirements. Those particular budget considerations, along with others such as
2632-563: The D-45 was born, Autry's 12-fret example being the first, and soon other country singers in particular wanted the large size instruments, which proved effective in sound carrying power (particularly for vocal accompaniment) over the otherwise primitive stage amplification systems of the day. The 1936 Martin Catalog lists only 2 dreadnoughts, the D-18 at $ 65.00 (approx. $ 1,445 in 2024 dollars) and
2726-811: The Epiphone Les Paul , which serves as a budget model comparable to the Gibson Les Paul . Secondly, Epiphone has also been used to brand models under alternate names, but are otherwise similar to more expensive Gibson-branded guitars, for example the Epiphone G-400 is functionally equivalent to the Gibson SG , and the Epiphone Dot is essentially a budget version of the Gibson ES-335 . Thirdly are models which are exclusive to
2820-723: The Epiphone Sheraton (co-developed with the Gibson ES-335 & sharing its semi-hollow body, but with, Epiphone's pre-Gibson "Frequensator" tailpiece and "New York" mini-humbucker pickups, and significantly fancier inlays) and Sheraton II (replacing the Frequensator with Gibson's "stop-bar" tailpiece), the Epiphone Casino (similar to the Gibson ES-330 ), the Epiphone Caballero (similar to
2914-612: The Genesis solid body guitar. By 1980, most Japanese-only designs were available for worldwide distribution. One in particular, the ES930J, was made at the famed Terada factory and was a superior instrument. The Matsumoku-made archtops, such as the Emperor, Riviera, Sheraton and Casino, were available into the mid-1980s. From the 1980s, Epiphones were manufactured mainly in South Korea and Japan by contractors licensed by Gibson. One of
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3008-542: The oud and the laouto ). Stathopoulos moved to the United States in 1903 and continued to make his original instruments, as well as mandolins , from a factory at 35-37 36th Street in Long Island City , Queens , New York . Anastasios died in 1915, and his son, Epaminondas ("Epi"), took over. After two years, the company became known as "The House of Stathopoulo". Just after the end of World War I ,
3102-498: The "000" size was considered large by the standards of the day) and to one interested customer writing in 1933 that the firm considered the dreadnought "a bass guitar, not suitable for solo playing". However perceptions changed when the then hugely popular Gene Autry , singing star of stage and screen, wanted a new guitar, of style 45 (Martin's most ornate) and ordered a custom instrument of that style in Martin's new, largest size. Thus,
3196-532: The (top of the line) Emperor model with added cutaway and pickups. Other archtops appeared solely in the amplified form, being the Zephyr, Century and Coronet (all 1939), Kent (1950) and a signature model named for Harry Volpe (1955). Accompanying the archtop line were a range of flat top instruments, although these never acquired the cachet of their archtop companions. These included 2 Hawaiian models (the Madrid and
3290-595: The 12-20 (a 12-fret model), followed by the D12-35 in 1965, D12-45 in 1969, and D12-41 in 1970; following user demand for 14-fret models, the D12-28 was introduced in 1970, followed by the D12-18 in 1973, both of which had 14 frets clear of the body. By contrast, in more recent decades the range has grown massively; a 2024 query to the Martin website yields 170 varieties of 14-fret dreadnoughts (including discontinued models) plus
3384-618: The 12-fret D plus its successor, the 14-fret D (both 15 5/8 inches). In fact, the first model to be produced in the "dreadnought" size was the largest of several models manufactured by Martin for the Oliver Ditson Company ; of the nine models catalogued (1, 11, 111; 2, 22, 222; 3, 33, 333) the 111, 222 and 333 shared the large (dreadnought) dimension and differed only in the degree of ornamentation. (Although catalogued, it seems that no "333" Ditson models were listed as produced, although some may have been). The dreadnought guitar
3478-453: The 12-fret variant from 1967 onwards. A small run of dreadnought guitars manufactured by Martin for the E.U. Wurlitzer store in Boston designated "SW" for "Special Wurlitzer" in the early 1960s also featured the 12-fret design. Early in their production (e.g. between 1931 and 1934), Martin seems not to have had much faith in these "extra large" guitars, making them only on special order (even
3572-463: The 12-fret, larger body shape. The Gibson Guitar Company 's response to the Martin dreadnought was the round-shouldered Jumbo , which it introduced in 1934. It introduced its first square shouldered guitar, the Hummingbird , in 1960. Guild also offered "dreadnought" size guitars from 1964 onwards, their D-40 and D-50 offerings (in mahogany and rosewood bodies, respectively) closely paralleling
3666-456: The 1960s, in combination with a D-28 style neck. Up to approximately the mid 1970s, dreadnought guitars from Martin, the original maker, were available in a fairly basic set of model styles, comprising the "D" designation for body size, plus the numeric designation—drawn from the range 18, 21, 28, 35, 41 and 45—indicating the degree of ornamentation, and wood used for the body construction (custom models were also sometimes available upon request);
3760-433: The 1970s onwards, production of Epiphone guitars has largely taken place in Japan, Korea and China (refer section "Manufacturing", below), with a very small number of models also produced in the U.S.A. Since the 2000s, Epiphone branded guitars have fallen broadly into three categories. Firstly, Epiphone is used as a "budget brand" for Gibson, producing identically-named but lower-priced versions of popular Gibson models, such as
3854-436: The A, featured a flat top and back, the B had an arched back and a flat top, while the remainder had arched tops and backs; additionally, they appear to have been available in two different sizes. These guitars had a distinctive sound but were not very successful commercially, and are rarely seen today. Commencing around 1931, Epiphone decided to release a new range of full body archtop guitars in direct competition with Gibson,
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3948-554: The D-28 at $ 100.00 (approx. $ 2,223 in 2024 dollars), although the D-45 was also available at that time to special order only. A later 1930s catalog does include the D45 at $ 225.00, by which time the prices of the D-18 and D-28 had increased to $ 75.00 and $ 115.00, respectively. The popularity of, and demand for, Martin dreadnought guitars was increased by their use by folk and popular musicians of
4042-411: The D-45, however, was out of production between 1943 and early 1968, in which year it was re-introduced to the Martin line. The D-21 was introduced in 1955, while the D-35, a new model and style designation, was added to the line in 1966; 12-string models, a favourite of the "folk boom" of the late 1950s and 1960s, were first made in 1954 on a limited basis, and were added to the official line in 1964 with
4136-518: The Eleanor Street plants (both Gibson and Epiphone). Some of these Epiphone instruments were effectively identical to the relevant Gibson versions, perhaps made with same timber, materials and components as the contemporary equivalent Gibson guitars. Epiphone also continued its production of archtop guitars using the same patterns and molds from Epi's New York era. Some specific examples of Gibson-era Epiphone instruments from this period includes
4230-527: The Epiphone brand without equivalent models produced under the Gibson brand, such as the Epiphone Coronet . As of January 2021, Epiphone was marketing guitars under several lines, including several categorized on their website as "inspired by Gibson" for models that serve as the budget Gibson version. Historically, hundreds of different models have borne the Epiphone brand, and many are available in
4324-430: The Epiphone brand. Epiphone's first foray into the guitar market came in around 1928, with the release of the "Recording" range, styled models A through E. These guitars featured an unusual asymmetric body shape with what was in effect a strongly sloping cutaway on the upper treble bout, and either a trapeze tailpiece or a pin bridge, together with pegheads and tuners reminiscent of the company's banjos. The cheapest model,
4418-768: The Epiphone line—generally considered equal in construction quality to those produced under the Gibson brand. From 1970 onwards, Gibson ceased production of Epiphones in its U.S.A factory and moved production offshore for a range of cheaper models. Today, Epiphone is still used as a brand for the Gibson company, both for budget models of other Gibson-branded products and for several Epiphone-exclusive models. Aside from guitars, Epiphone has also made double basses , banjos , and other string instruments , as well as amplifiers . Epiphone began in 1873, in Smyrna , Ottoman Empire (now İzmir , Turkey ), where Greek founder Anastasios Stathopoulos made his own fiddles and lutes (specifically,
4512-427: The Epiphone range. The marketing strategy used was that since the number of Gibson dealerships was limited by design, equivalent quality instruments under the Epiphone label could be offered for sale through other dealerships thus in principle increasing market share overall. This arrangement lasted until 1969 at which point Gibson decided to cease production of the high grade, U.S.A.-made Epiphone instruments in favour of
4606-578: The FT (Flat Top) guitars. Construction of these guitars differed greatly from past Epiphone models. For the first several years of production in Japan, Epiphone guitars were actually rebranded designs already produced by the Matsumoku Company. By 1975, the Japanese market started seeing some of the more familiar designs and names being reintroduced. These guitars were of higher quality than that of
4700-743: The Gibson Hummingbird was the winner of Acoustic Guitar's Player's Choice Award for the Dreadnought Category, and was described thus: "The Hummingbird has a very wide range of sound, from gutsy and loud, to sweet and soft. Superb for all styles of playing, whether just playing chords or intricate solos." The first wave of Hummingbirds came with a solid Sitka spruce top and solid mahogany back. The sides are mahogany, but not all of them are solid, many are laminated. They have adjustable rosewood or ceramic saddles , three-ply maple bridge plates, single X- bracing , engraved hummingbird-butterfly trumpet-flower pickguards with two points on
4794-1186: The Gibson LG-0), the Epiphone Cortez (similar to the Gibson LG-2), the Epiphone Frontier (similar to the Gibson Hummingbird), the Epiphone Olympic Special (similar to the Gibson Melody Maker ), the Epiphone Sorrento (similar to the Gibson ES-125 TC, except for a few cosmetic changes), and the Epiphone Texan (similar to the Gibson J-45 , apart from a change in scale-length). The other Kalamazoo-made Epiphones had technical or cosmetic relationship with
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#17328025571434888-454: The Gibson line/s of the day. In England in the 1960s, several Epiphone models were brought to particular prominence via their use by The Beatles , Paul McCartney favouring a 1964 Epiphone Texan that he purchased in 1965 and used for the writing of " Yesterday " among other songs, while John Lennon , Paul McCartney and George Harrison all performed using Epiphone Casinos through much of the group's years of early commercial success. From
4982-876: The Gibson range of the day—for example the Riviera and Casino were very similar to the Gibson ES-335 and ES-330, respectively, the Frontier was somewhat similar to the Gibson Dove, while the Texan, Cortez and Cabellero were generally equivalent to the Gibson J-45, LG-2 and LG-0, respectively—others had no equivalent in the Gibson range, the Sheraton (semi-acoustic thinline version) and Excellente (acoustic) being top-of-the line instruments without any real parallel in
5076-695: The Limited Edition 50th Anniversary 1960 Hummingbird series, including the Standard (Heritage Dark Cherry Sunburst), the Rosewood (Heritage Dark Cherry Sunburst) and the KOA (Gold Honey Burst) models. In 2016, Gibson produced a limited number of "Hummingbird Dark" guitars which are slightly thinner than a standard Hummingbird, use a black translucent finish, a red-filled pickguard, and carry the signature of country artist Eric Church. In 2007, Gibson produced
5170-519: The Martin D-18 and D-28, and being described as "Guild's improved version of the popular dreadnaught guitar". Since then, dreadnoughts have been made by nearly all major guitar manufacturers worldwide in both standard and single- cutaway forms. Commencing in the 1980s, Martin has produced its models "M" (sometimes known as 0000) and "J" which are in fact wider than the "D" shape in upper and lower bouts, but enclose less volume of air on account of
5264-528: The Martin-developed "X-braced" top which, together with additional tone bars and braces, permit the traditional "dreadnought" sound to be produced (refer illustration). Note, the two lowest tone bars are asymmetric to account for the different modes of vibration between the bass and treble sides of the instrument, so would be reversed for a left-handed model. Up until late 1944, the main X-braces were "scalloped" (selected areas reduced in mass) to achieve
5358-579: The Melody, later the Zenith Tenor), Olympic, and Beverly. Other models introduced a little later comprised the Emperor (1936), Byron (1938), Ritz (1941) and Devon (1951). These instruments were initially offered in acoustic, non-cutaway form, with cutaways appearing (often with the additional designation "Regent") from the late 1940s onwards, and with the addition of pickups, by the added designation of "Zephyr", thus an "Zephyr Emperor Regent" would indicate
5452-660: The Navarre), plus the flat top FT 75 (introduced by 1935, discontinued 1942), FT 37 (1935-1942), FT 27 (1935-1941), FT De Luxe (1939-1942), FT 110, FT 79 and FT 45 (all 1942, all continued into Gibson era), FT 50 (1941-1950) and FT 30 (1941-1954, then reactivated in the Gibson era). Several cutaway flat top instruments were also made, designated the De Luxe Cutaway (also as the FT 210) and the Zephyr Cutaway. It seems that Epiphone used ladder- rather than X-bracing for
5546-415: The above instrument ready for delivery..." (The designation "steel guitar" is taken to clearly indicate that the instrument was intended to be played with a steel bar, that is, in the Hawaiian style which was popular at the time.) The supplier of this information also states that Harry L. Hunt, the manager of the Ditson New York City Store, may have been inspired to order a guitar to be built to this design as
5640-465: The acoustic range comprised the Seville (a nylon string instrument), and the steel string Frontier (continuation of FT 110), Texan (continuation of FT 79), Cortez (continuation of FT 45) and Caballero (continuation of FT 30). Subsequent additions to these lines included the semi-acoustic Granada, Professional and Riviera models (all introduced 1962); as well as artist-endorsed models for Al Caiola (the "Caiola", introduced 1963) and Howard Roberts (1964),
5734-407: The best tonal response, but following that date the braces were first merely tapered, then left unscalloped to produce a more robust instrument that would withstand the use of heavy gauge strings without causing warranty work, which the company was keen to avoid; this makes the historic instruments manufactured between 1933 and 1944 of the highest value to both collectors and players. Scalloped bracing
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#17328025571435828-417: The company started to make banjos . The company produced its recording line of banjos in 1924 and, four years later, took on the name of the "Epiphone Banjo Company". It produced its first guitars (the "Epiphone Recording" models) in 1928. In 1931 the company commenced production of its "Masterbilt" range of archtop guitars which became very popular and competed successfully with the equivalent range produced at
5922-407: The company. In 1957 Epiphone, Inc. was purchased by Gibson , its main rival in the archtop guitar market at the time. Gibson relocated Epiphone's manufacturing operation from its original Queens, New York , factory to Gibson's Kalamazoo, Michigan , factory, where production of both ranges took place until 1969, with Epiphone instruments—some with "sister" models in the Gibson line, some unique to
6016-440: The contractors was Samick , which also built instruments under license for other brands, and in its own name. The brand was primarily used to issue less expensive versions of classic Gibson models. The guitars were constructed using different woods, generally only distantly related to true mahogany , and were fastened with epoxies rather than traditional wood glues. Gibson and Epiphone guitars all use Titebond resin glue, which
6110-461: The design for the "111" size, later to become famous as the dreadnought, was suggested to Martin by Hunt, and "most likely" prototyped by Martin worker John Deichman. Up to 1923, the early dreadnought-size guitars constructed by Martin were fan braced, not X-braced, that innovation being first combined with the "dreadnought size" body in 1924. In 1931 Martin began producing dreadnought guitars (sometimes also spelled "dreadnaught") under its own name,
6204-416: The dreadnought with a bolder, perhaps richer, and often louder tone. It is distinguished by its size and (in its most popular configuration) square shoulders and bottom. The neck is usually attached to the body at the 14th fret . Martin dreadnought guitars are known as "D-size" guitars. Their model numbers consist of "D-" followed by a number, such as "D-18" and "D-45". The higher the numerical designation,
6298-442: The first two models named the D-1 and D-2, with bodies made of mahogany and rosewood respectively; shortly after, these 2 styles were renamed the D-18 and D-28 with "D" indicating body size, and the numbers the timbers used and degree of ornamentation as per other Martin models of the time. Like their Ditson-branded precursors, these 2 models had large bodies, with neck joining the body at the 12th fret, and slotted headstocks holding
6392-504: The guitars made at the Peerless plant, including the vastly underrated Sorrento model, are very well made and are well worth a search. There is a controversial Epiphone guitar using "LU" serial number. It is said those guitars were made in Indonesia under license from Unsung Korea. Between the Peerless period and the opening of the Qingdao plant, many Epiphones were constructed at the Zaozhuang Saehan plant in China. Guitars from his period are considered to be of high quality and, because of
6486-439: The latter with an unusual oval shaped soundhole. The Riviera was also available in a 12-string version (1965 onwards). New acoustic instruments comprised the Excellente, El Dorado, Troubador and Folkster, along with new "folk oriented" 12-strings the Bard (1962) and Serenader (1963); additions to the classical line comprised the Espana and Madrid (both 1962) and the Barcelona and Classic (both 1963). None of these instruments survived
6580-403: The leading factory manufacturer of archtop guitars of the day. The newly announced "Masterbilt" series comprised the Deluxe (with its tenor version named the Empire), Broadway (tenor version the Bretton, later named the Broadway Tenor), Triumph (tenor version the Hollywood, later the Triumph Tenor), Royal, Spartan (tenor version the Regent, later the Spartan Tenor), Blackstone, Zenith (tenor version
6674-479: The lower bout)—permitted the neck to have 14 frets clear of the body (refer illustration). The "14 fret" design has become the standard for most succeeding instruments manufactured to the "D" body size, although the "12 fret" design has been retained in the Martin line for some special orders, certain 12-string models, and the "-S" designated D-18S, D-28S, D-35S and D-45S, with the "S" suffix, originally just denoting any non-standard custom feature, stabilizing as denoting
6768-440: The mid-20th century, such as Paul Simon , Joni Mitchell , Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young , and Van Morrison as well as in the early rock and roll field by artists such as Elvis Presley . Having to compete with intrinsically loud instruments such as the 5-string banjo , often in generally "acoustic" settings, dreadnoughts also became the standard guitar of bluegrass music , and were used by many bluegrass musicians to produce
6862-510: The mid-80's. Since 1970, the saddles are no longer adjustable, and the necks are made of laminated three-piece mahogany. The fretboard inlays were changed to block ones, then restored to double parallelograms in 1984. The name of standard models varies during the years, which could be simply Hummingbird with no suffix, Hummingbird Modern Classic or Hummingbird Standard . They often have AA or AAA-grade solid Sitka spruce tops, with mahogany back and sides. A Hummingbird of this category features
6956-477: The more decorative ornamentation on the instrument. Size "D" represents (effectively) the largest in the Martin range, smaller sizes being (in decreasing order), 000/OM, 00 and 0; historically (pre-1900 or thereabouts), even smaller sizes were produced including 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. Present Martin production also includes models "M" (sometimes known as 0000) and "J", which in overall dimensions are wider again than model "D", however are smaller in actual volume on account of
7050-499: The nucleus of the new Guild Guitar Company , whose early archtop guitar designs owed a lot to Epiphone. In 1957 the company was acquired by Gibson parent company CMI , who merged Epiphone operations with Gibson. Between 1957 and 1969, the Gibson-owned production of Epiphone instruments took a parallel path to those marketed under the Gibson brand, with many equivalents between the two lines but also some instruments unique to
7144-602: The previous years of production in Japan and included models such as the Wilshire, Emperor, Riviera and Newport bass. These models were available to the Japanese market only. By 1976 new designs of higher quality were being introduced for export but did not include the current Japanese market models. Notable new designs from this era were the Monticello (Scroll Guitar), the Presentation (PR) and Nova series flat tops and
7238-510: The relative rareness and quality factors, are sought after by Epiphone fans and collectors. In 2004, Gibson opened a factory in Qingdao , China, which manufactures Epiphone guitars. With few exceptions, Epiphones are now built only in the Qingdao factory. Also in 2004, Epiphone introduced a series of acoustic guitars named Masterbilt, after a line of guitars of the 1930s, which are built in
7332-568: The same factory. During the early 1990s, Epiphone released a series called the Imperial Series. These were remakes of the classic Epiphone archtops of the 1930s and '40s. Each instrument was handmade in the FujiGen factory in Japan. This short-lived series was discontinued in 1993, after only 42 Emperors were made. Several other models, including De Luxe, Broadway and Triumph models, were also produced in varying quantities. Production
7426-401: The same year it began making guitars. From the 1930s through to the early 1950s, Epiphone produced a range of both acoustic and (later) electrified archtop guitars that rivalled those produced by Gibson and were the instruments of choice of many professionals; a smaller range of flat-top guitars were also produced, some designations of which were later continued during the Gibson-owned era for
7520-616: The similar Gibson version. Several Epiphone guitars have been produced in the United States after 1971. The Epiphone Spirit and Special were produced in the early 1980s in Kalamazoo. In 1993, three historic Epiphone acoustic guitars, the Texan, Frontier, and Excellente, were produced by Gibson Acoustic in Montana. The Paul McCartney Texan was produced in 2005, and in 2009, the Epiphone Historic Collection
7614-465: The size of the pickguard has been slightly reduced. During 1965 the nut width decreased from 1 11/16 to 1 5/8 and in 1968 the bottom belly bridge became more square. At the same time the bracing became bulkier, which somewhat altered the sound of the guitar. A percentage of Hummingbirds with tobacco sunburst finish were produced and the pickguards were attached with five screws for between one and two years. A double X-bracing has been used between 1971 and
7708-424: The termination of manufacturing of Epiphone instruments in Gibson's Kalamazoo plant in 1969, at least in their original form (subsequent Japanese models, some even re-using Kalamazoo-era model names, were of generally cheaper construction, for example using laminated woods and bolt-on necks as compared with their U.S.-made predecessors). While some of the 1960s, U.S.A. built Epiphones had near-equivalents to models in
7802-503: The time by Gibson, its main rival in the archtop market. After Epi died in 1943, control of the company went to his brothers, Orphie and Frixo. In 1951, a four-month-long strike caused a relocation of Epiphone Headquarters from New York City to Philadelphia . A number of Epiphone employees decided to remain in New York rather than relocate to Philadelphia, and spearheaded by George Mann, former Epiphone Vice President and Secretary, formed
7896-399: The tops of their flat top models, which may account for their less success in the market than comparable instruments by the Martin and Gibson guitar companies. Following Epiphone's purchase by Gibson in 1957, the lines of both electric and acoustic guitars were considerably revamped, with the introduction of new thinline hollow-body ( semi-acoustic ) guitars, solidbody electric guitars , and
7990-417: The tuning mechanisms for the strings. In 1933, owing to a preference from players (especially those transitioning from the banjo ) for more frets clear of the body, the body shape was changed to a slightly smaller, squarer shouldered design, which—in conjunction with a slightly adjusted neck position (the neck was moved outwards a little from the body, resulting in a slightly altered bridge placement relative to
8084-614: The unbranded tuners featured on cheaper Epiphone models. The Epiphone Hummingbird was made in China. Epiphone reintroduced their version of Gibson 's Hummingbird in 2012. Called the Hummingbird Pro, it features a solid spruce top (instead of a laminate top), a mahogany body and neck, a Shadow ePerformer pickup system, and a heritage cherryburst finish. The Hummingbird Pros are made in Indonesia . In 2021 Epiphone produced
8178-432: The upper treble bout and one point level with the bridge, as well as bound fretboards with double parallelogram inlays, a crown peghead inlay on the headstock , golden green button tulip tuners, and a cherryburst (a.k.a. cherry sunburst) finish. A limited number of Hummingbirds produced in 1962 and 1963 have maple backs and sides. A natural top with cherry back-and-sides finish was available in 1963. Also since then,
8272-528: The use of plastic nuts, and cheaper hardware and pickups, make for a more affordable instrument. After 1996, Epiphones were built by the Peerless Guitars Co. Ltd., established in 1970 in Busan, South Korea. Many of these Peerless guitars, particularly the 1998 models commemorating their 125th Anniversary, were very well made, represent excellent value, and have become quite collectable. However, all
8366-550: The used guitar market. Epiphone began producing amplifiers in 1935 with the Electar Hawaiian Lap Steel Guitar Outfit. This outfit was an amplifier, case and lap steel guitar stand all rolled into one unit and was supplied by a suitcase manufacturer of the time. Electar Century and Zephyr amplifier models followed. Gibson produced Epiphone amplifiers in the 1960s. These were copies or variations of Gibson and Fender amplifiers . They used
8460-844: The video of "It's Only Rock & Roll", we can see that Mick Taylor used this guitar too. In 1968, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones both used a Gibson Hummingbird for the initial recordings of the melody for the song Street Fighting Man . Eric Church , Thom Yorke , Steve Wariner , Frank Turner , John McLaughlin , Dominic Miller , William Orbit , Tom Petty , Everlast , Shuggie Otis , Art Saiz , Gillian Welch , Tom Wolk , Grace Potter , Brian May , Paolo Nutini , Twin Shadow , BØRNS , Darius Rucker , Justin Bieber , Yungblud , Michelle Branch , Jeff Lynne and even Taylor Swift are among other notable Hummingbird players. Dreadnought (guitar type) The dreadnought
8554-771: Was created, beginning with the 1962 Wilshire, built by Gibson Custom. Several other models, such as the Sheraton and John Lennon Casinos, were built in Japan and assembled and finished by Gibson USA. In the early 1970s, Matsumoku began to manufacture Epiphone instruments in Japan with the production and distribution being managed by Aria , in cooperation with Gibson. At this time, Epiphone ceased production of all of its traditional designs and began manufacturing markedly less expensive guitars, many of which had less traditional bolt-on style necks and unspecified wood types. Some of these guitars had similar body shapes to traditional Epiphone and Gibson designs but had different names while other models retained certain model designations, such as
8648-502: Was first announced in the Music Trades Review on August 19, 1916, with the copy reading as follows: "New Use Found for Steel Guitar..." "A new steel guitar called the "Dreadnought," and said to produce the biggest tone of any instrument of its kind, is now being used in the making of phonograph records. It is also said to be an excellent instrument for use in auditoriums and large halls. Chas H. Ditson & Co. will soon have
8742-651: Was moved back to Nashville and Bozeman for a similar limited run of instruments (250 each of Sheratons, Rivieras, Frontiers, Excellentes and Texans). These guitars were the "Nashville USA Collection" (archtops) and the "Anniversary Series" (acoustics). Contrary to popular information, this line was related to, but not part of the 1994 Gibson Centennial Series commemorating 100 years of the Gibson Guitar Corporation. The Nashville and Anniversary Collections were intended as reintroductions of original, USA built Epiphone models. In 2002, Epiphone began producing
8836-489: Was reintroduced on selected new models (designated the HD-28 and HD-35) in 1976 in response to player demand; such instruments are advised to only be strung with light or medium gauge strings. The "H" portion of the "HD" designation refers to the use of herringbone trim, which roughly coincided with the use of the original scalloped bracing in the pre-1945 models, and was reintroduced in relevant new scalloped braced instruments as
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