i recently bought a 335 from the ibg line. it is fantastic! it sounds great and it is without a single flaw. and its made in china. last week i ordered a ibg hummingbird ( made in china as well ) and it had 4 defects visually. sounded great, but i couldnt keep it that way and decided to send it back. you can tell from which factory they are coming by checking the serial number. i think first comes the year and then you either have a 23 in it, which is samick indonesia, or you have a 15 which is china. i was lucky enough to find a new indonesian made humminbird and it is supposed to arrive today. will find out if the indonesian factory is hit and miss as well, but i can say that you definetly CAN find great guitars from the ibg line that were made in china.
I have the 12 string version and enjoy it very much. Had it setup perfectly by a close friend in the business and play it regularly. 2 years with it so far and no issues whatsoever. Nice playing as always man.
You can tell the Samick factory inspired by and the Epi Masterbilt all solid reissues (Frontier, Texan and Excellente) manufactured Epiphones from the serial number. First 2 digits refer to the year of production next 2 digits are the month of production then if the next 2 digits are 23 then you know its from the Samick factory because 23 is the number Epiphone uses to identify the Samick factory. Production was moved to save money because newer Chinese made IBGs can be made cheaper in the Epiphone factory in China rather than being made under licence at the Samick factory in Indonesia. One thing I always notice is quality invariably goes down if a production run lasts any length of time because in the early part of the run brands are building up the reputation of the model then they take their foot off the gas once there is an expectation of that level of quality. For example the latest IBGs to save money have Wilkinson made tuners whereas the Indonesian made models were using actual Kluson made tuners that were branded Epiphone deluxe.
Great information, thanks. One strange thing about the serial numbers, though. I have two IBG’s, both built in the Samick factory for sure, but the serial numbers have an over label sticker which totally don’t jive with their normal series. That’s why I was hesitant to mention the serial number check. Thanks again!
I have 2 Hummingbird IBGs, 6 and 12 , I also had the J200 copy at one point and also 2 Masterbilt Reissues the Frontier and Excellente all made in the first year of production at the Samick factory and they all have the nomenclature I descibe.
@@Edward1312 yes I too have the Excellente, and had other Samick - made Epiphones with the serial numbers you described. Something went on in 2022 where they put overlabel stickers on the serial numbers. I can send you a picture if you send an email to the address I put in the video description.
Hi Paul! I recently pulled the trigger and got myself an ALL-SOLID adirondack-rosewood Sigma jumbo! Review coming sometime soon, I'll bombard your comment section when it's released.😀 It's a great guitar. SURPRISINGLY balanced sound, and surprisingly not too much treble or metallic tone. It's kind of mellow, deep bass, all the EQ spectrum feels like a straight horizontal line. Guess the fact it's built like a tank and has a thick (though gorgeous) pickguard matters.😀 Neck is still a baseball bat, which is not that great, but luckily my palms and fingers can handle anything.
Glad you're enjoying the axe so much! Unfortunately, combination of mediocre yet giant and thick pickguard with most often anemic-looking laurel fretboard and bridge are a huge turn off. I also can't get this model easily in my country. Sigma's Hummingbird has a much better pickguard and ebony fretboard+bridge but costs twice as much, has heavy tuning machines and a baseball bat of a neck. I'm getting myself a J-45 style budget guitar in a few days, Cort Earth 100 SSF for just 310$. I don't expect much of it at all, but I've never owned a short-scale guitar and really wanna see how it feels and sounds. Not for 10 minutes in the shop, but over a few months. Plus it will be a beater yet iconic guitar for performances!
Nice review. Thx. The serial number will tell you where it is made. The 5th and 6th numbers will tell you, if the 5th &6th numbers is 23, its made in Indonesia, if its 15, its madein china, those are the factory ID numbers.
Thank you paul!!! Looks and sounds fabulous. I have a Stanford version of the Gibson Hummingbird and it is excellent. They are hard to come by these days, check out the brand. Europe they are made. cheers!!!! xxx
@@paulgeorgia8013 Paul, i also have the stanford J-200 which is called the blonde sister. I will text more tomorrow as i am at this moment a bit pissed. Pissed in Liverpool england meaning drunk, HA,HA!! Take care my guitar friend!!! xxx
i recently bought a 335 from the ibg line. it is fantastic! it sounds great and it is without a single flaw. and its made in china.
last week i ordered a ibg hummingbird ( made in china as well ) and it had 4 defects visually. sounded great, but i couldnt keep it that way and decided to send it back.
you can tell from which factory they are coming by checking the serial number. i think first comes the year and then you either have a 23 in it, which is samick indonesia, or you have a 15 which is china.
i was lucky enough to find a new indonesian made humminbird and it is supposed to arrive today. will find out if the indonesian factory is hit and miss as well, but i can say that you definetly CAN find great guitars from the ibg line that were made in china.
Thank you for the excellent review ,
Brother Paul, great video and glad you finally pulled the trigger on this one. Beautiful opener, brother man 👍🏻
Thanks, Brother Randy! I was inspired by you to get this Inspired By guitar. I really love it. Thanks for all your support! 🎸😎🙏
I have the 12 string version and enjoy it very much. Had it setup perfectly by a close friend in the business and play it regularly. 2 years with it so far and no issues whatsoever. Nice playing as always man.
Thanks Rich! Appreciate your support 🙏😎🎸
Glad to see you finally dropped the hammer one one !
Thanks Terry! This one’s a winner for sure! 🙏😎🎸
You can tell the Samick factory inspired by and the Epi Masterbilt all solid reissues (Frontier, Texan and Excellente) manufactured Epiphones from the serial number. First 2 digits refer to the year of production next 2 digits are the month of production then if the next 2 digits are 23 then you know its from the Samick factory because 23 is the number Epiphone uses to identify the Samick factory. Production was moved to save money because newer Chinese made IBGs can be made cheaper in the Epiphone factory in China rather than being made under licence at the Samick factory in Indonesia. One thing I always notice is quality invariably goes down if a production run lasts any length of time because in the early part of the run brands are building up the reputation of the model then they take their foot off the gas once there is an expectation of that level of quality. For example the latest IBGs to save money have Wilkinson made tuners whereas the Indonesian made models were using actual Kluson made tuners that were branded Epiphone deluxe.
Great information, thanks. One strange thing about the serial numbers, though. I have two IBG’s, both built in the Samick factory for sure, but the serial numbers have an over label sticker which totally don’t jive with their normal series. That’s why I was hesitant to mention the serial number check. Thanks again!
I’m certainly hearing there’s a QC issue with the China version.
I have 2 Hummingbird IBGs, 6 and 12 , I also had the J200 copy at one point and also 2 Masterbilt Reissues the Frontier and Excellente all made in the first year of production at the Samick factory and they all have the nomenclature I descibe.
@@Edward1312 yes I too have the Excellente, and had other Samick - made Epiphones with the serial numbers you described. Something went on in 2022 where they put overlabel stickers on the serial numbers. I can send you a picture if you send an email to the address I put in the video description.
Hi Paul!
I recently pulled the trigger and got myself an ALL-SOLID adirondack-rosewood Sigma jumbo!
Review coming sometime soon, I'll bombard your comment section when it's released.😀
It's a great guitar.
SURPRISINGLY balanced sound, and surprisingly not too much treble or metallic tone.
It's kind of mellow, deep bass, all the EQ spectrum feels like a straight horizontal line.
Guess the fact it's built like a tank and has a thick (though gorgeous) pickguard matters.😀
Neck is still a baseball bat, which is not that great, but luckily my palms and fingers can handle anything.
Hey! Awesome, I’ve always wanted an all solid Sigma. I’ll bet it’s great!! 🎸🙏😎
Glad you're enjoying the axe so much!
Unfortunately, combination of mediocre yet giant and thick pickguard with most often anemic-looking laurel fretboard and bridge are a huge turn off.
I also can't get this model easily in my country.
Sigma's Hummingbird has a much better pickguard and ebony fretboard+bridge but costs twice as much, has heavy tuning machines and a baseball bat of a neck.
I'm getting myself a J-45 style budget guitar in a few days, Cort Earth 100 SSF for just 310$.
I don't expect much of it at all, but I've never owned a short-scale guitar and really wanna see how it feels and sounds. Not for 10 minutes in the shop, but over a few months.
Plus it will be a beater yet iconic guitar for performances!
Nice review. Thx. The serial number will tell you where it is made. The 5th and 6th numbers will tell you, if the 5th &6th numbers is 23, its made in Indonesia, if its 15, its madein china, those are the factory ID numbers.
Yes, thanks. For sure this one is Indonesian. But they’re all made in China now, and so far the reviews are not good. Sure glad I got this one! 🎸😎🙏
Thought they are Indonesia made.
They were, up until mid 2023.
They’ve relocated the production to China
China or Indonesia?
Indonesia
Laurel fingerboards are so exciting. It is such garbage that we can't even get rosewood boards unless we sell our children to Gibson 😔
Thank you paul!!! Looks and sounds fabulous. I have a Stanford version of the Gibson Hummingbird and it is excellent. They are hard to come by these days, check out the brand. Europe they are made. cheers!!!! xxx
Thank you Eddy, I have never seen a Stanford guitar. I’ll keep an eye out for them! 🎸🙏😎
@@paulgeorgia8013 Paul, i also have the stanford J-200 which is called the blonde sister. I will text more tomorrow as i am at this moment a bit pissed. Pissed in Liverpool england meaning drunk, HA,HA!! Take care my guitar friend!!! xxx
They are produced in Asia, come on, bro.
Distributed in Europe? Yes.
I would sell my wife for that Piano!!!!! HA!, HA!
That would be one wise financial decision!😀