2016 Gibson Hummingbird Vintage

This 2016 Gibson Hummingbird Vintage (serial #11526072) is in spectacular shape for an instrument nearing tens years old and is gig-ready with a Fishman undersaddle pickup. 

A few minor dings but very minimal play wear whatsoever. 

Original case and paperwork. Keith Richards approved!

From Acoustic Guitar magazine:

The Hummingbird made its first appearance in 1960. It was Gibson’s first square-shouldered dreadnought. Before then, all of the company’s flattop guitars had rounded shoulders. The earliest Hummingbirds featured solid Sitka spruce tops and solid mahogany backs, with either solid or laminated mahogany sides. Not only does the Hummingbird Vintage boast all-solid woods, but its Sitka soundboard is thermally aged—it’s been torrefied, or baked, to mimic the structural and sonic properties of the “old wood” that so many guitarists covet.

The Hummingbird Vintage is one of four thermally treated models released by Gibson this year. From its dovetail neck joint that’s been attached with hide glue, to the gold vintage-style Gotoh tuners with green plastic keys, to the tortoise side dots on the fretboard binding, this guitar has many of the details found on the earliest Gibson Hummingbirds. Collectors who are into the minutia of vintage Gibsons might be disappointed that the original adjustable bridge saddle has been swapped out for a fixed saddle, but this is an improvement: The adjustable saddle, dropped from the specs in 1970, is notorious for being sonically inferior. 

Besides the torrefied soundboard, the Hummingbird Vintage left the factory with other aging treatments—the metal parts are oxidized, with simulated loss of gold plating on the tuners; the neck and body binding are yellowed; and the finish is dulled. 

The first thing I notice about the Hummingbird Vintage is what a terrific player it is. The builders have softened the fingerboard edges, giving the instrument the broken-in feel of a vintage guitar. The neck has a perfect rounded profile, not club-like or skimpy—fortunately Gibson has given it a 1.725-inch nut, as opposed to the 1.625 found on late-1960s examples. And since the frets and nut have been Plek’d—dressed with the help of a computer—the Hummingbird Vintage is free of fret buzzing. But the best part of the guitar’s sound is its evenness—the bass and the treble frequencies are perfect equals, with impressive clarity in all registers. No matter what region of the fretboard or what harmonic choice, the individual notes of chords are easy to discern.