Epiphone Hummingbird Studio Acoustic-electric - Trans Ebony Sweetwater Exclusive Reviews

I'm really pleased with this guitar. I think you get a lot of quality for the price. I've had it about six weeks now, and play it for a couple of hours daily.

The finish is beautiful. Wow, the photos don't really do it justice. The burst is sort of an ashy, bluish-gray under indoor light, but in the sun, it has an iridescent, almost olive hue.

I'm really impressed with how loud and rich the sound is. Some have complained about it sounding too punchy or tinny, but I don't hear it. I was playing an AJ-220 for a while and this guitar sounds so much better. I was planning to buy a J-45 EC, but I'm glad I waited and spent a bit more for this guitar. I think it's a much better value.

It's a great size, the neck is nice and thick. Just plays really nice and easy. I haven't even had it set up yet, just changed the strings. Grovers are always a nice bonus, it stays in near perfect tune so far.

I went to a local store and played two similar Hummingbird studio models at this price range, but I don't think they're the same quality as this Sweetwater exclusive. (although that wine red cutaway is really nice)

I don't usually play plugged in, but its sounds great through my Marshall DSL. The battery for the pickup rests in a little velcro pouch right under the end of the fretboard. Took some feelin' around to find it, but it's secure and easy to change.

I've owned 3 of these guitars now (brand and model). This is an excellent guitar for the money. It isn't quite a Gibson, but sure gets close. Great sounding pickups.
Guitar arrived perfectly in tune… everything overall was thoroughly gone over by Sweetwater. I am definitely happy with this guitar as well as my guy Michael Grebe.

Thank you, Aaron Regenold! I can't believe it has only been a year since my first of many purchases from Sweetwater. I received my Epiphone Hummingbird in spectacular condition as with everything else I have purchased at Sweetwater. I played the hummingbird for about three hours before I put it away. The construction, sound and overall beauty of this guitar is absolutely amazing! Can't wait to order that Stratocaster knowing I will be receiving expert advice and quality service from Sweetwater.

I have had my custom finish Hummingbird (labeled inspired by Gibson) for about 6 months. The sound is bright and very punchy. The size and weight are close to perfect. I have a Martin, Taylor, Washburn acoustics but I like the Hummingbird acoustic sound so much I have never even put a battery in to try the under-saddle pickup.
I highly recommend this guitar.

This guitar is beautiful, but it is also way more than a 'pretty face'. It sounds great. It stays in tune and is very easy to play. It has a comfortable slim- ish neck, which is good for my small/medium hands. It has weight, but not like a boulder. It's fairly rare to find a gorgeous anything that also works like a thoroughbred. And one that is within budget. I really love this guitar.

Before I knew anything about guitars, I'd always been drawn to Epiphone. They are attractive looking and there's something sturdy about them. The pickguard on this guitar is truly lovely and so is the headstock. It is comfortable, like a 3/4 size, which I really like, but it is definitely full size. (25" I believe) The neck is wider than my LG-2, which is made by parent company Gibson. (I began on a neck like this Transatlantic.) Anyway, I bought a demo and had Sweetwater set the guitar up. It was worth every penny. The action is low like I requested. Through years, I have come to appreciate the excellent service from Sweetwater. Mr. Huskins asked what kind of strings I preferred. Honestly, I guessed: medium steel strings. It was a good guess. It sounds jangly, looks beautiful, frankly. My girly girl godsister would have loved it! She played piano and maybe one day we'll visit in the hereafter and play 'Heart of Gold' together. Quality and Affordable. Like my husband said 'if it plays as good as it looks, that's bonus'. It's a 'take a picture with it' instrument. Real beauty. Fun to play. It also comes with an actual manual that has valuable information in it and you can refer to it easily without having to turn an electric anything on. I saw Sheryl Crow play a song with John Mayer with one of these guitars, hers in reddish orange. I actually like mine better. Incredible bargain.

I bought this for my daughter and it was love at first sight for her. I felt this would be a good guitar for her to get started on and evidently as far as she's concerned, it's a home run. She loves everything about it. Nolan and the gang were great as usual and she was impressed with every aspect of the prep and setup. She promptly set up her own Sweetwater account, and thanks to their excellent customer service, they now have a second generation customer.

The pictures don't do it justice the finish is flawless.it sounds good you can't go wrong for the money I would recommend it to anyone. Sweetwater rock's

As always, Sweetwater customer service went above and beyond!! As for the guitar... it is everything I hoped for. The color is so beautiful and it sounds and plays great. I did have to adjust the truss rod a bit and file the nut to lower the action a little bit, but that is personal preferences. It was completely playable when I got it, the action was just a touch too high for my liking. Again, great guitar! Very happy.

First guitar I ever ordered online and was a little nervous but it arrived in perfect condition my guitar guy said this guitar needs nothing but played and loved!!! Love the sweetwater finish and service those guys at Sweetwater are the Best!

Another one of my favorites and a Sweetwater Exclusive, My all time favorite place to purchase my musical gear.

I have always wanted a Gibson Hummingbird, but couldn't afford one. This was priced right. I love the black burst color. This guitar is a dream to play. Very resonate and has great projection. The onboard electronics are fabulous.

The guitar looks amazing, sounds amazing, and the customer service was absolutely excellent!! They had the guitar to me in 2 days and messaged me pictures of the guitar I purchased to make sure it's exactly what I wanted. I'll be ordering another guitar from these guys again

Plays and sounds great. The black looks great on it it really is a beautiful guitar. The new epiphone headstock really makes this guitar look even better. So happy I bought, I also upgraded the nut

I played the cherry burst version of this in a store just fooling around one day and was blown away. I already have another acoustic with that finish so even at this price point I wasn't considering it in spite of the wonderful sound. When I saw the black version on Sweetwater though I was sold, the headstock is updated as well on the newer ones (not quite so thin in the middle and bulbous at the top) which is great.

I have no idea how to get the battery out but I'm sure I'll find a way once necessary (I can always call Sweetwater for help too if needed). The Fishman isn't a world beater but at this price range I'm honestly surprised it's even included, such a great value guitar.

If you're buying this for an old amateur veteran or someone just starting out it plays wonderfully. Super light strings are a must for me as well but the included gauge plays well even at .12. Similar to a Les Paul in scale, the thicker strings are easier to play. I typically don't like Pao Ferro too but the fretboard on mine is sufficiently dark, much darker than on my Masterbilt one, so I won't even need to stain it darker.

Overall for the money this acoustic would be hard to beat. Great finish and color too! Thanks Sweetwater :-)

it was worth the wait.

The Sweetwater special edition of the Epiphone Hummingbird is way beyond the stock version even though it cost the same. For one thing, the color scheme is great. The stock version has the "burst" bright cherry color scheme that I don't like. This one has a muted grayish burst that blends nicely with the transparent ebony color. It doesn't stick out like a neon sign like the stock version does. The finish on the guitar is excellent and it looks beautiful.

The Grover Rotomatic Tuners for this Sweetwater edition are 18:1 and last I heard, the stock Epiphone Hummingbird had 14:1. These tuners make tuning easier to dial in.

It plays great. This is my third Pleked guitar from Sweetwater.

One of the changes I had made to the guitar when I ordered it was to replace the medium gauge stock strings with extra light gauge strings (another reason I had the Plek setup done). The sound quality is excellent with these strings and of course, the guitar is much easier to play.

Another feature I liked about the Sweetwater Hummingbird is that the nut and bridge saddle is TUSQ. That makes a big difference in sound quality. When I have to change strings on my new Sweetwater Hummingbird, I am going to replace the bridge pins with TUSQ as well.

FYI, I would suggest buying a case with the guitar and having it shipped to you in it. When my guitar arrived, the box it came in was abused by the shipper. Had my guitar not been protected in it's case, it probably would have been damaged. So, the guitar is worth a nice case and shipping in the case will make sure it arrives undamaged.

All in all, the Sweetwater edition of the Epiphone Hummingbird is a valued addition to my guitar collection and one I enjoy playing. It is an amazing value and well worth having a Plek setup. The only changes I'm going to make is to replace the bridge pins with TUSQ and eventually, swap out the Grover Rotomatic tuners with locking Grover Rotomatics, not that it needs it but for convenience in string changing.

I've owned Martin, Taylor and others but this is one of my favorite to play. The neck plays superb and tone is good but lacks some low end. I play it more than my others acoustics and love it plugged in!

I purchased this guitar a couple of months ago. I replaced a small body Ibanez with it. The guitar did require a little work when I got it, but, that was more of me wanting it a certain way. I play this guitar on a regular basis on and off stage. It has a good tone but I'd like it to project more. I find that it sounds good through a DI on stage but unplugged it's a little quiet. All around good guitar, seems well built.

I will preface the review by saying that I am a 45-yr player-collector and pretty much a Gibson and Fender USA snob. That said, I have been amazed at some of the guitars that Epiphone is releasing (and a few MIM Fenders). They are not the "affordable" options of my earlier days. So...I am always looking around for unique things and I spotted this Exclusive Sweetwater HBird and thought...my that thing looks pretty darn cool. So, I bought it. For $ what the heck...This thing is a FANTASTIC guitar! I am mostly an unapologetic electric guitar player, but I do enjoy a good acoustic from time to time to add a little more skin to my callouses and bang out a few bars of Dead or Alive or Blackbird. Lol. This guitar is FANTASTIC!!!! Did I say that already? This comes from a custom-shop, Murphy Lab, vintage-snob. This thing sounded amazing out of the box!!! (bought the Yamaha case by the way...great non-logo case) I have spent 40+ yrs setting up guitars (not professionally, but Tennesse-redneck-taught-by-Grandpa-style-pleking). The reason I give it a 4-star, is it had a high second fret and a dry-as-bone fretboard. (I also see this with new motther-ship guitars as well) I spent about an hour addressing the fret and rouding the binding on the fretboard, and I would venture to say this guitar will compete with a 3k Gibson. I kid you not. The obvious thing out of the box is it comes with telephone pole strings. You might also want to sand the bottom of the bridge a tad (every so lightly) to get the action down a smidgen; check your nut grooves (filed the D a tad), grab a set of 80/20 Nanos (12-53) and you will be smiling. I promise. The Fishman Electronics sound great through a Fender Twin. If you are a new or beginning guitarist you can play this thing out of the box and be happy as a worm in soft dirt. If you are a seasoned strummer, then a few adjustment and you too will be smiling. If you want a Hummingbird at a fraction of the cost...BUY THIS GUITAR! I must say the Cats at Sweetwater are top-notch as well. Grade A Customer Service!

It's a nice guitar for the money. It feels well made and balanced. It does not look or feel cheap. I wish it produced a little heavier sound, but it plays very easily and stays in tune. I am happy with the purchase.

Looks beautiful. Sounds tinny. Description misleading. Inspired by gibson on label, nowhere near quality. Finish amazing and flawless. Sound however is the same as a cheap laminate guitar. Get the solid wood inspired. These just look nice. So disappointed with the sound. Would rather pay the extra dollar for the solid version.

I ordered the ebony changed the strings and it sounds horrible a tinny harsh sound. Nothing like the epiphone humming birds I've played before