Another vote for Masterbuilt.

A Masterbilt AJ-500M will rival a Gibson hummingbird. And for thousands less. I own 3 Masterbilts. Love them all Keepers for life.:)

Hmmm, I'm not sure I'd agree with that statement. I think this is where Epiphone owners go wrong. An Epiphone is not a Gibson despite trying to be one cosmetically. The Masterbilt series is good, indeed, very good, but they're no way in the same league as a Gibson whichever way you cut it but it has it's own unique character. For the money they are hard to beat and in my opinion are one of the best guitars you can get if you're on a budget; so much better than similarly priced Taylors and Martins and in fact I'd go as far as to say better tonally than any Taylor from 3XX down.

But owning an Epiphone Masterbilt just gave me a hankering for the 'real thing' and when I got my Gibson it showed that the Epi was just a good guitar and not a great one. Don't get me wrong, it was a fabulous instrument for what I paid for it and, as I said in another thread, it's the only guitar I've owned that I truly regret selling. The Masterbilt's really are great sounding and could easily be used by a gigging pro (they are THAT GOOD!) but a Gibson they aren't and, as a Gibson owner, I can now see why a Gibson costs 4x as much as an Epiphone Masterbilt (which was something I found difficult to do when I just owned my AJ 500 RE).

BTW, a Masterbilt AJ-500M WILL blow away an Epiphone Hummingbird!

Gibsons are Gibsons, but I've played several Gibson acoustics which feel and sound awful. And I mean awful.

I believe the epi hummingbird does have a solid top...Ive never played one though so I cant comment much more on it. The only masterbilt ive played is the dr500 which desperately needed a setup, but sounded great none the less. I also have to say the masterbilt had the most beautiful mahogany back and sides I've ever seen in person. Im a sucker for sunburst and it was a natural finish or i probably would have bought it on the spot... the sunburst ones seem to be hard to find in my area.

I have to agree Ive played a couple really nasty $3000 dollar gibsons... played a couple that I still dream about too.

The OP probably already made a decision in the 3 years since he asked the question. Probably already graduated from college by now.

I've played a few of the Epi Hummingbirds and they are OK. I actually own a DR-500R. Its no contest. I've not a played a buch of different Masterbilts (I've heard they can vary from just meh, to pretty amazing) Even then, I'd still lean towards a Masterbilt just from what I've seen/heard in my personal experience.

*oh geez* Didn't realize OP was 3 years ago....whats with all the Masterbilt threads being dug up?

The threads seem to increase at the same rate that the Masterbilt line decreases. I think they only have two models remaining in the line.

I actually think it's fairer to say "Guitars are guitars," because they are organic creations and often made from different trees and stored/played in differing environments so of course there will be variations within a brand but let's not forget that tone is subjective. You might have thought the guitar you played sounded like an absolute dog whereas it might be someone else's dream instrument. I have heard many guitars that to my ear sound awful but in all honesty only one or two that were so truly bad that they were only fit for fire wood. Most of the time the tone is a case of being one we like or one we don't and is purely subjective.

I like the masterbilts. I almost bought one on Saturday - I walked out with a slightly cheaper epiphone inspired by 64 Texan...

Masterbilts have a decent reputation for guitars in their price-point, if you found one you liked and are looking for that type of model, grab one....