Epiphone's Indonesian version of a classic Gibson Hummingbird

[NegativeEase]

Well, color me impressed. I'm used to Breedlove, Seagull, Yamaha, and Guild all making $300-500 acoustic imports that are orders of magnitude better than imports of old at the same pricepoint (adjusted for inflation). So much impressive stuff these days...

But I haven't messed with Gibson lower end stuff in decades

Yesterday I played a brand new Epiphone hummingbird pro (see pic below) an Indonesian made copy of a GIbson Hummingbird) and damn if it didn't have some serious magic for an entry level guitar -it wasn't bright and almost tactical in the sharpness of tone like a Breedlove or a Taylor but rather mellow and round and had different kind of sweetness.

I think it was in the mid 300s in price -and since I own a dozen acoustics and don't need one -so I didn't bring it home...

but anyways -something to consider if you find a good one that speaks to you.

 

[beaubrummels]

Nice. I've liked every Indonesian guitar I've played regardless of brand. The only issue I've ever noted is the finishes seem thin and fragile, but that's mostly it.

I played an Epi J-200 model years back, but it didn't have anything special going on and didn't sound anything close to a Gibson J-200, despite the solid moustache bridge (which is rare even on Gibson 200s these days). I don't know if that was made in a different location?

 

[PFDarkside]

Very interesting! The old Epiphones sounded like a cardboard box and paled in comparison to Seagull, Breedlove, Yamaha, etc. (and of course by old I mean 90’s/00’s)

 

[ErikH]

My father-in-law has one of those that he picked up at a pawn shop. It plays like a dream and sounds great. I pick it up just about every time we go to his place.

 

[treyhaislip]

I have really liked some of the newer Epiphones I've played recently.

 

[NegativeEase]

Very interesting! The old Epiphones sounded like a cardboard box and paled in comparison to Seagull, Breedlove, Yamaha, etc. (and of course by old I mean 90’s/00’s)

Like I said -I was really surprised - I didn't know it was an Epi until I looked at the headstock later

-I saw the inlays and pick guard and said damn! a hummingbird and picked it up before noticing!

for a solid 2 minutes I thought I was playing a $2k Gibson Acoustic

 

[PFDarkside]

Sounds like a fantastic find!