During the 80s I played in a band with a guitarist who sprayed his entire guitar (body, neck, fretboard, strings, pickups- everything! with Pledge furniture polish before and after every time he played it. Every other guitarist who saw him do this was horrified and warned him not to do this, but he ignored the advice. I don't know how long the guitar lasted as the band split up, but I would guess not long.
I have been doing exactly the same and all my mates do to this day from way back in the 70,s. My Gibsons and Fenders are as good as they were back then, I have a friend who is a chemist and it would be good to see him debunk this as his knowledge is very good around industrial chemicals and how they react with other chemicals and substances, he plays guitar too, and yes he uses pledge, and he has no issue using it on his 1960,s Les Paul, furniture polish is the go to cleaner for guitars and always has been since I've known, what's in it that makes it fine for french polish and not a guitar???
Greatly appreciated the masking tape "hinges" to lay down the new pickguard in exactly the right spot. A much better idea than I would have come up with. I did slightly cringe at the use of a heat gun on fully tensioned strings, but no "Pops!" So I guess that's a judicious hand at work. Please keep them coming.
A good friend and very nice multi-instrumentalist closed her eyes and bought a Hummingbird a few years ago. A dream guitar, but almost out of reach on a very strict single mum household budget. But she says the guitar sounds fantastic when she’s gigging with her americana/folk hobby band. I will tell her about the nitro finish being a bit on the fragile side.
I have a 1970 Yamaha FG300 which has a very similar pickguard, I think made from celluloid, it had warped at the bottom and lifted up by an inch, but was really stiff unlike that one. For years it got force glued down , then lifted again , repeat.... in the end I softened it by soaking it in very hot near boiling water, and bending back flat with rubber gloves, until it was pretty flat, then clamping under a load of weight on a flat surface while it cooled. It worked and has stayed flat on the guitar for years now. The other option I read about was to heat it up in the oven, but risk it catching fire at pretty low temps!
I’ll take the two builds a week over this format any day. There’s a million repair channels on RUclips, and none that do what Ben does like Ben. Do Ben stuff!
But then again. The scratches you get gives personality to the guitar without a pick guard. It shows your dedication to set guitar. Imo it ads that oomph @@joanarling
I have a 2014 Gibson Hummingbird which I brought new and the pickguard was in the case, not mounted onto the guitar, which I found was standard Gibson practice to allow you the choice of mounting it or not. It has/had the adhesive already applied, and a peel away backing that you just took off and then mounted the pickguard onto the guitar.....basically this adhesive does not stand the test of time [Especially if you live in a warm climate], and the pickguard will start to peel away from the guitar = PITA. I suspect this is the same situation with the guitar in the video, and yes, the bloody things NEVER line up with the sound hole either.
Amazingly, my 2015 one year later yours, came with the pickguard mounted (my profile picture). I had troubles with it (bubbling appeared inside the PG, after a while). I got it replaced by Gibson under warranty, they paid for the shipping france to nederlands (gibson service in EU). Didnt have any bubble since, so i guess the PG was faulty. However, everytime i take it out of the case, i find the corners of the PG lifted. I just pull it back with my finger before i play, and it stays flat for a while. It's been like this for years. The reason behind it, is that Gibson does not want to use strong glue for the pickguard, to allow for more vibrations of the top of the guitar. This way, the top is kind of "free".
You don’t need tools to pull bridge pins. Just push the string down slightly into the hole. The ball end will come free from the end of the pin and the pin will easily lift out. No chance of damaging the pin or marring the surface of the bridge unless you have steel fingertips.
Good idea with the tape hinges - but should use blue painters tape.. Also, should not use heat to remove pickguard because it weakens glue for the bracing underneath. 🙂
I would like to know which hummingbird pickguard you replace with? I have a genius Gibson humming bird but I cannot find a proper replacement for it. Thank you.
Excellent job - beautiful guitar. And it looks like the Gibson Hummingbird had a slotted bridge pin job done. Made the guitar sound even better is my guess.
Nice sounding guitar nothing real fancy to look at but really the sound and pliability is what should be the most important things when it comes right down to it correct.
Mineral spirits easily remove most adhesives like that and is safe to use on nitrocellulose finishes. Also, you can probably reuse that pickguard after heating and clamping it between two flat surfaces, then use some 3M 468MP transfer adhesive.
I think there was a missed opportunity here. It would have been nice to hear a sound test of that guitar both before then after the old pickguard was removed to hear the tone without a giant chunk of plastic glued to the sound board.
Whenever I've had to remove a pickguard from an acoustic, I've always used naphtha. I wouldn't want to risk heating up the finish too much. Obviously, you're much more familiar with using a heat gun than I am, I just don't trust myself with it.
I have a Hummingbird I bought new in 2003. The pickguard is not coming loose, but the artwork on the pickguard is 80% worn off. Mine looks like a thinner and harder tortoise shell material than the one in this video, I'd like to replace it but don't know where to get a 2003 Hummingbird pickguard.
lol I used to use Lemon Pledge to clean rosewood fretboards while restringing. My 2018 J45 is one of many Gibson acoustics of this era with delaminating pickguard. Its a common problem. Don't keep it in its case either as nitro offgassing eats cellulite.
Great video. I have the same problem with my Gibson Hummingbird. I can't seem to find a new pickguard like the one you installed. They don't sell them in the US.
Let me get this right. Gibson sent a replacement part for a feature part of their guitar, and the sizes are different? Isn’t the Hummingbird guitar one size?
I love these Gibson's, and you did a fantastic job even with the radius not matching. Josh should do all your demos. It's my favourite RUclips game "what cover is this?" Thanks Bun/Josh I had the time of my life 🤣🥰 good riddance to the pledge polish
i know that reaction, i ve had it a few times, luckily, it will go soon. nice guitar good job. Worse reaction I had was with septrum, a type of antibiotics. That one nearly killed me
I have one of these Hummingbirds and even without using any cleaning products the pickguard began peeling off and I had to repair it. The adhesive Gibson use on these pickguards just sucks and the material being weirdly rubbery just wants to roll up
Who else believes most acoustics look far better without the pick guard? If you do need one, how about a clear one, which some guitars use? I play fingerstyle, and hence often remove them for aesthetic reasons, and any tech can replace it if you are selling.
He should confiscate that guitar and give it to someone that has enough common sense not to use future polish on a Hummingbird. Will people ever learn!
The shape of the reaction looks to me like it was the cream they used to keep the tat moist and protected from infection caused that. On a side note has anyone else noticed the uptick in Stew Mac ads during crimson videos? Also has anyone else seen the Driftwood Guitar ad as well?
At first I thought Ben was wearing eye liner and I thought....."oh no, please don't say it's so". To say I was relieved at the end of the video when I saw that it was just inflammation is this year's understatement......phew.
I really hope this is just a joke that isn't funny. If you're genuinely "relieved" that Ben is physically ill and suffering rather than simply wearing eyeliner, then you have some serious judgement issues.
The "flubber" pickguards that Gibson uses now REFUSE to stay down. Take one off and it will roll into a cylinder after a couple of weeks.Am surprised there hasn't been a class- action lawsuit from angry Hummingbird and J-200 owners.
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars You should remind him that being gleeful at your customers pain isn't a good long term business strategy... also alcohol works, just don't try rubbing it in 🙂
Make a big point of leaving the strings on at the beginning when they were in the way and then removing the strings at the end anyway. And then when the new one is installed it still isn't lined up with the sound hole. I can't watch your videos.
All my thoughts dear Ben Hope you'll recover quickly !
During the 80s I played in a band with a guitarist who sprayed his entire guitar (body, neck, fretboard, strings, pickups- everything! with Pledge furniture polish before and after every time he played it. Every other guitarist who saw him do this was horrified and warned him not to do this, but he ignored the advice. I don't know how long the guitar lasted as the band split up, but I would guess not long.
I have been doing exactly the same and all my mates do to this day from way back in the 70,s. My Gibsons and Fenders are as good as they were back then, I have a friend who is a chemist and it would be good to see him debunk this as his knowledge is very good around industrial chemicals and how they react with other chemicals and substances, he plays guitar too, and yes he uses pledge, and he has no issue using it on his 1960,s Les Paul, furniture polish is the go to cleaner for guitars and always has been since I've known, what's in it that makes it fine for french polish and not a guitar???
Greatly appreciated the masking tape "hinges" to lay down the new pickguard in exactly the right spot. A much better idea than I would have come up with.
I did slightly cringe at the use of a heat gun on fully tensioned strings, but no "Pops!" So I guess that's a judicious hand at work.
Please keep them coming.
I do love the sound that comes out of a Gibson Hummingbird
A good friend and very nice multi-instrumentalist closed her eyes and bought a Hummingbird a few years ago. A dream guitar, but almost out of reach on a very strict single mum household budget. But she says the guitar sounds fantastic when she’s gigging with her americana/folk hobby band. I will tell her about the nitro finish being a bit on the fragile side.
I have a 1970 Yamaha FG300 which has a very similar pickguard, I think made from celluloid, it had warped at the bottom and lifted up by an inch, but was really stiff unlike that one. For years it got force glued down , then lifted again , repeat.... in the end I softened it by soaking it in very hot near boiling water, and bending back flat with rubber gloves, until it was pretty flat, then clamping under a load of weight on a flat surface while it cooled. It worked and has stayed flat on the guitar for years now.
The other option I read about was to heat it up in the oven, but risk it catching fire at pretty low temps!
Hope you’re feeling better today Ben
I’ll take the two builds a week over this format any day. There’s a million repair channels on RUclips, and none that do what Ben does like Ben. Do Ben stuff!
Absolutely
I hope you feel better soon, Ben
Beautiful guitar! It looks even better with no a pickguard at all.
Agreed
I agree too, much better.
Probably sounds better as well, at least mine did. Playing finger-picking style, there was no need for the protection.
But then again. The scratches you get gives personality to the guitar without a pick guard. It shows your dedication to set guitar. Imo it ads that oomph @@joanarling
@@user-yp1gs8vz2l True enough. However, mine picked up its own scars over years of travelling (amongst other transports: motorcycles :) ).
I have a 2014 Gibson Hummingbird which I brought new and the pickguard was in the case, not mounted onto the guitar, which I found was standard Gibson practice to allow you the choice of mounting it or not.
It has/had the adhesive already applied, and a peel away backing that you just took off and then mounted the pickguard onto the guitar.....basically this adhesive does not stand the test of time [Especially if you live in a warm climate], and the pickguard will start to peel away from the guitar = PITA.
I suspect this is the same situation with the guitar in the video, and yes, the bloody things NEVER line up with the sound hole either.
Amazingly, my 2015 one year later yours, came with the pickguard mounted (my profile picture).
I had troubles with it (bubbling appeared inside the PG, after a while). I got it replaced by Gibson under warranty, they paid for the shipping france to nederlands (gibson service in EU).
Didnt have any bubble since, so i guess the PG was faulty. However, everytime i take it out of the case, i find the corners of the PG lifted. I just pull it back with my finger before i play, and it stays flat for a while. It's been like this for years.
The reason behind it, is that Gibson does not want to use strong glue for the pickguard, to allow for more vibrations of the top of the guitar. This way, the top is kind of "free".
Hope you are feeling better today, Ben :(
Beautiful design with the hummingbird. Feel better soon.
You don’t need tools to pull bridge pins.
Just push the string down slightly into the hole. The ball end will come free from the end of the pin and the pin will easily lift out. No chance of damaging the pin or marring the surface of the bridge unless you have steel fingertips.
Dead right mate - I've used that method for 50 years - never needed a special tool lol.
Good idea with the tape hinges - but should use blue painters tape.. Also, should not use heat to remove pickguard because it weakens glue for the bracing underneath. 🙂
Why didnt you reattatch the one you removed? Thanks for your time doing the video.
Looks better without that tone killer glued on
Same thing has happened to my SJ200 and I've only ever used genuine Gibson polish. The genuine pick guard on it doesn't fit the sound hole either.
I would like to know which hummingbird pickguard you replace with? I have a genius Gibson humming bird but I cannot find a proper replacement for it. Thank you.
Excellent job - beautiful guitar. And it looks like the Gibson Hummingbird had a slotted bridge pin job done. Made the guitar sound even better is my guess.
Thank you very much!
Nice sounding guitar nothing real fancy to look at but really the sound and pliability is what should be the most important things when it comes right down to it correct.
quincke edema? I had that two or three times. Woke up and looked like Rocky. Never found out where it came from.
Mineral spirits easily remove most adhesives like that and is safe to use on nitrocellulose finishes. Also, you can probably reuse that pickguard after heating and clamping it between two flat surfaces, then use some 3M 468MP transfer adhesive.
I left a comment just today.. above.. I was asking why they couldn't re-glue the original pickguard since it fit better.
Where was new pickguard purchased ?
I think there was a missed opportunity here. It would have been nice to hear a sound test of that guitar both before then after the old pickguard was removed to hear the tone without a giant chunk of plastic glued to the sound board.
Whenever I've had to remove a pickguard from an acoustic, I've always used naphtha. I wouldn't want to risk heating up the finish too much. Obviously, you're much more familiar with using a heat gun than I am, I just don't trust myself with it.
I have a Hummingbird I bought new in 2003. The pickguard is not coming loose, but the artwork on the pickguard is 80% worn off. Mine looks like a thinner and harder tortoise shell material than the one in this video, I'd like to replace it but don't know where to get a 2003 Hummingbird pickguard.
lol I used to use Lemon Pledge to clean rosewood fretboards while restringing. My 2018 J45 is one of many Gibson acoustics of this era with delaminating pickguard. Its a common problem. Don't keep it in its case either as nitro offgassing eats cellulite.
Checked on another humming bird guitar the pick guard is the same place as the one you replaced, hope your feeling better
I'm interested as to why you did not put the one that came off, back on???
That's my question as well. Why didn't you reattatch the existing guard you removed?
Great video. I have the same problem with my Gibson Hummingbird.
I can't seem to find a new pickguard like the one you installed. They don't sell them in the US.
I just ordered one from Amazon. Probably a reproduction (for $20.00)
@@lestergeez4349 Yeah I have one of those too.
They're different from the original.
get well soon Ben!
Consider using a hairdryer which will do the job but less chance to damage the finish
That guitar sounds lovely
Let me get this right. Gibson sent a replacement part for a feature part of their guitar, and the sizes are different? Isn’t the Hummingbird guitar one size?
Very nice and the playing was very enjoyable.
I have a Gibson hummingbird and i would like to change the pickguard,but i know Gibson don't sello It,where i can buy It?
Same thing happened to my j45..I never use furniture polish on it
Why couldn't you clean and reinstall the original scratch plate.?
I love these Gibson's, and you did a fantastic job even with the radius not matching. Josh should do all your demos. It's my favourite RUclips game "what cover is this?" Thanks Bun/Josh I had the time of my life 🤣🥰 good riddance to the pledge polish
i know that reaction, i ve had it a few times, luckily, it will go soon. nice guitar good job. Worse reaction I had was with septrum, a type of antibiotics. That one nearly killed me
Gibson and Epiphone have lifetime guarantee on all their parts, even on their 100 quid models. It's quite nice.
I have one of these Hummingbirds and even without using any cleaning products the pickguard began peeling off and I had to repair it. The adhesive Gibson use on these pickguards just sucks and the material being weirdly rubbery just wants to roll up
At Gibson we put the “y” in quality.
I hate nitro lacquer with every fiber of my being. I build and finish guitars and I can't imagine a worst finish to use.
I use 2k Urethane instead.
Get well and don't get sick.
Get well buddy. 👊
Stay safe, get well soon.
Did you get into a fight?
Who else believes most acoustics look far better without the pick guard? If you do need one, how about a clear one, which some guitars use? I play fingerstyle, and hence often remove them for aesthetic reasons, and any tech can replace it if you are selling.
He should confiscate that guitar and give it to someone that has enough common sense not to use future polish on a Hummingbird. Will people ever learn!
ben be careful it looked like u was using your fingers against the soft wood so hard u could imprint it with your nails, when u was scrubbing it
gibson is sending me a replacement explorer pickguard right now lol thats a coincidence
Ben are you okay? have you been near some toxic wood dust?
Adverse reaction to his tattoo touch up
@@PaulCooksStuff good reason not to tattoo
Don't put furniture polish on your head!
I use windows cleaner for my guitars 😬
The shape of the reaction looks to me like it was the cream they used to keep the tat moist and protected from infection caused that.
On a side note has anyone else noticed the uptick in Stew Mac ads during crimson videos? Also has anyone else seen the Driftwood Guitar ad as well?
What are you having an allergic reaction to Ben ?
At first I thought Ben was wearing eye liner and I thought....."oh no, please don't say it's so".
To say I was relieved at the end of the video when I saw that it was just inflammation is this year's understatement......phew.
I really hope this is just a joke that isn't funny. If you're genuinely "relieved" that Ben is physically ill and suffering rather than simply wearing eyeliner, then you have some serious judgement issues.
you look quite ill on this vid Ben, are you OK?
❤❤❤
Ben, what happened to your head? Looks like a massive allergic reaction
Also don’t use nail polish remover
Point of no return 😂
The "flubber" pickguards that Gibson uses now REFUSE to stay down. Take one off and it will roll into a cylinder after a couple of weeks.Am surprised there hasn't been a class- action lawsuit from angry Hummingbird and J-200 owners.
Nice
I'd just use a hair dryer on low heat
Dude put the Cam down and go to the doctor
Get slurping the anti-histamine. 😱
and steroids too!
Get better soon!
Tattoo swelling? 😮
All the best luthiers have Chinese eyes.
Ben, your face from the eyes up is swollen; your tattooist needs to be a little more gentle.
Was a bad reaction from numbing cream.. my first time trying it since the tattooist was so gleeful at how much pain I was going to be in 😆 shows me..
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars You should remind him that being gleeful at your customers pain isn't a good long term business strategy... also alcohol works, just don't try rubbing it in 🙂
Make a big point of leaving the strings on at the beginning when they were in the way and then removing the strings at the end anyway. And then when the new one is installed it still isn't lined up with the sound hole. I can't watch your videos.
typical shoddy gibson crap - the pickguard falls off and the replacement doesn't fit - rubbish