1963 Gibson Hummingbird Maple Cherry Sunburst, Excellent, Original Hard, $1.00

From the 1962 Gibson catalog, "A fabulous new acoustical guitar - one of the finest made for voice accompaniment. The sound is big, and round, and full with the deep rumbly bass so prized by guitar players." Indeed, Gibson designed the square shoulder body shape to emphasize the bass frequencies and leave room in the mid and top end frequency range for a tenor voice. As the Gibsons's Fabulous Flat-tops book explains, the widest bout is slightly smaller, the waist slightly wider, and the shoulders also wider than the round shoulder body shape. The chapter on Hummingbirds also details a Gibson employee rumor that sometimes incomplete Dove guitars were finished as Hummingbirds since the Hummingbird was a hot seller and Doves were slow. For whatever reason, Gibson did make a select few Hummingbirds with Maple back and sides instead of Mahogany between 1962 and 1963. This is one of those guitars.

We acquired this stunning Maple Hummingbird from the original owner. I asked Patrick why he chose the Hummingbird from the music store in 1963. He said he though the Martin guitars everyone was buying to play folk music were too plain. I agree Patrick!

Pat played his Hummingbird but kept it in great condition along with the original hard shell case. All parts appear to be original to the guitar and it exhibits no evidence of prior repairs or cracks. There is some fret wear on the first few frets but it doesn't currently impede playability. We're confident you'll love the tone, aesthetic, and playability of this clean, one owner 1963 Hummingbird Maple!