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You are here: Home / Pictorials / Repairs / 1975 Gibson Hummingbird Restoration

1975 Gibson Hummingbird Restoration

While meeting with a customer and his daughter about designing a guitar for her, he showed me his Gibson Hummingbird that his daughter had been playing.

Using the serial number and other identifying characteristics, I was able to date the guitar as a 1975. This confirmed the owner’s recollection that the Hummingbird was a mid-70’s instrument which he had purchased used after graduating from high school in the early 1980’s.

The guitar was in pretty rough condition, mostly due to some poorly done older repairs. The bridge was not original and had been glued on in the wrong location causing the guitar to play out of tune. The bridge plate inside the guitar was damaged and the replacement bridge was shaved too thin and had cracked. The guitar also needed a neck reset and some cracks in the top repaired. I agreed to take on these repairs and to make the guitar playable for the daughter while her Dogwood Guitar was being made. Click the thumbnail image below for a photo essay detailing the repairs made to the guitar.

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About Greg Maxwell

I've lived in central Ohio my entire life, and I've built things for as long as I can remember. I cut my teeth as a woodworker doing fancy interior wood trim for a custom home builder in the early 80's after deciding that performing music for a … [Read More...]

Building a Monarch: The Neck

Guitar construction can be divided into to major sections: The body and the neck. Neck construction begins with gluing up a blank. Although some guitar necks are made from one solid piece of wood, many builders make necks using a laminated blank. … [Read More...]

Customer Testimonial: Mosrite

"I've owned this vintage 1960's Mosrite "Ventures" model guitar for thirty years and have finally found a luthier I can trust to work on it. Greg agreed to do the work while I waited and it was obvious from the beginning that he knew what he was … [Read More...]

Lutherie Classes: Voicing and Tuning

Acoustic Guitar Voicing and Tuning Class (Discontinued due to my heavy repair schedule) This is an advanced class that explores the principles behind great acoustic guitar tone. This class is intended for the experienced builder, and … [Read More...]

How to Correctly String a Guitar

When I went to lutherie school I discovered that, like many guitarists, I was stringing my guitars incorrectly. And judging from the inspections that I give to all the guitars that come into my shop, this is a very common problem. I can hear some … [Read More...]

Blog: 1932 Martin Repair

Its not often that a luthier has the opportunity to work on a pre-war Martin. This 1932 0-18 parlor guitar needs a crack repair and a neck reset. Great care must be taken when working on such an old and fragile guitar. Get out the hot hide glue. … [Read More...]

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Technical Articles

Bolt-On Necks: High Tongue Frets

I am including this article as a special page in the Services Menu because of the frequency with which the issue of high tongue frets arises. The tongue is the part of the fretboard that extends into the body of the guitar. On acoustic guitars, the … [Read More...]

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Guitar players and collectors have so many choices available to them. New, used, factory brands, custom hand built...how do you narrow down the choices to the best option for you? In my opinion, any guitar should be measured by three … [Read More...]

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