Masterbilt vs Hummingbird
 

Does anyone have experience with both Epiphone Masterbilt and Epiphone Hummingbird? I have played a Hummingbird but have not been able to find a Masterbilt to play (live in the middle of nowhere) and I want to know if it is worth the extra few hundred to get a Masterbilt (EF or AJ probably).

I am looking for a new guitar and $500 (because Im a college student) is about as much as I am willing to spend on one at this time. I have searched through a lot of "Best guitar for $500" threads on this forum already, and my main ideas are these:

Epiphone Masterbilt
Taylor 110/114/Big Baby
Martin DX1
Guild GAD 30
Seagull

My two choices in that price range would be the Epiphone Masterbilt AJ500M if you like a loud bassy sound, or the Stanford PSD-21 if you like a sweet and shimmery sound.

Both guitars have an "expensive" sound that bely their price point.

Personally, anything in the Masterbilt line would be preferable to the regular acoustic line. My experience with the Epi Hummingbird is that is a cheap imitation of a great Gibson older brother. The Epi simply has a cheap generic tone where the Masterbilt line is really quite special.

I'd say the Masterbuilt definitely. That AJ500M is really nice.

The Masterbuilt - its alot better guiter - the humingbird copy is OK -the GC in Buffalo had three of them -one was decent the other two were mediocre.

Quite honestly, and coming from a guy who likes Gibsons quite a bit, I find the Masterbilts better in many cases than regular Gibsons, let alone Epi's.

I think they're really good guitars. Very different tone, but very good.

Epi Hummingbird = all laminate guitar.

Epi Masterbilt = all solid wood guitar.

Masterbilt beats the Hummingbird hands down in every aspect.

I agree, the Masterbilt is much better. The bass notes on that guitar haunted me for days.

Man, I wish they had a Masterbuilt Hummingbird.

That would be somethin' else.

get a taylor 110 im telling you they sound amazing. try one before you by the gibson please!

I have been very unimpressed with the Epiphone Hummingbirds.
Masterbilts, on the other hand are much better guitars but many of them need to have a set up before they are playable.

There are many other choices out there, unless you are set on an Epiphone.

hey busted:

well, i dont know much about the epi masterbuilts or the epi hbirds. all i know is that i had a gibson h-bird for a while, a great simple hog dread. but both the blueridge BR40(yes the lammy) and the BR140 put my gibby to shame. i know, absurd notion but i'd have not believed it till i heard it myself.

so, if you are looking for a hog dread, and you like a slim neck, consider blueridge before epi....imho.:D

What do you mean by "a set up"? Action changes or something?

I have been playing a solid top hummingbird. I duno about the sides and back though.

Go with the Masterbuilt. Great guitars for the money.

A set up will check and adjust for intonation, string height [action] and neck relief.

Most of the Masterbilts that I have tried to play needed to have this done to them.
When this is done, the guitar will play and sound it's best.

A good Mom and Pop shop will include this in the sale.
Guitar Center will not!

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....