# Gibson hummingbird japanese knock off



## harveyw (Dec 17, 2008)

Hi i bought this Mansfield copy of a gibby hummingbird.it is a nice looking guitar and seems to be from the 1970"s.Has any one any knowledge of this make?Thanks HarveyW


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

harveyw said:


> Hi i bought this Mansfield copy of a gibby hummingbird.it is a nice looking guitar and seems to be from the 1970"s.Has any one any knowledge of this make?Thanks HarveyW


Can you post some pictures? Thanks.


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## harveyw (Dec 17, 2008)

*no camera*

Sorry i dont have a camera.will try to borrow one and post pic. Harveyw


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## Guest (Jun 1, 2009)

This thread may be useful.

I also have what may be the same guitar as yours.


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## harveyw (Dec 17, 2008)

laristotle said:


> This thread may be useful.
> 
> I also have what may the same guitar as yours.


Looks like it is the same except mine is a darker colour.All I need now is your FG180 to make my life complete.How does the mansfield compare to the yamaha in sound etc?


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## Guest (Jun 2, 2009)

I haven't played them side by side (yet), so comparing
sound is moot at this point. The FG has a narrow neck
(like a student guitar) and lighter strings on it. I bought
it back in high school ('78) used for $50. I picked up the
Mansfield last year for $20. The strings were 3/4's of an
inch off the fretboard (broken neck at the heel, the
former owner did a terrible job reconnecting it) and a 
belly bow (I popped off/sanded the bridge down).
$20 to practice repair on?..worth it to me. She has a nice
action now. FG's not for sale BTW (you'll have to come up
with a pretty sweet trade for me to part with her). lol.


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## harveyw (Dec 17, 2008)

*re old Mansfield*

i need your e mail adress to send you this info harvey


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2009)

I'm posting this on *harveyw*'s behalf.


Harvey -

Very nice to receive your email.
Bob Peate is my father. And your memory is excellent. 
Yes he certainly was a drummer in the old days, and it is great to hear from one of his fellow musicians.
He is the same age as you and now lives in Vermont.

As for the Mastertone trumpet, we sold those for many years, 
and the #106 model appears in the same Peate Musical catalogue [1975] as the Mansfield guitar you are inquiring about.
The only thing is, our catalogue lists the 'Hummingbird' model as either #683 concert size, or #684/6 Western jumbo, or Dreadnought style.
As far as the model #F338H you mention, that either is another instrument, or it is the factory number that for some reason is showing on the guitar.
These guitars were made for us in Japan, probably by the factory that later became known as Ibanez.

I have a 1975 retail price list showing the #683 at $128.50 and the #684/6 at $139.50.
The guitar you have today is worth much, much more than that.
I would be interested to know the condition of the model you have.
Is the finish cherry sunburst, and are the fingerboard inlays large perloid 'parallelograms'?
Also, if you have a picture of it, would it be possible to send by email?

Thanks again for your message and best wishes,
Rick Peate

----- Original Message ----- 
From: harvey 
To: [email protected] 
Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 11:46 AM
Subject: re old mansfield guitar


Hi i have this Mansfield guitar which looks like a copy of a gibson humming bird .Ths label inside says craftsman made model F338H.Do you have any information on this guitar?I used to go Montreal high in the 1930"s and bought my first musical instrument in your store it was a Mastertone trumpet and played in a few club dates with Bob Peate who was a drummer I think that was his first name.I am 85 now so my memory is a little faded.Hope you can help. Harvey 


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## harveyw (Dec 17, 2008)

*Some bad photos taken with my web cam*


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## Guest (Jun 5, 2009)

Hey Harvey, if you wish, e-mail me any pic's
of what you want to show and I'll post them
for you. I'll also try to guide you through
the way to post them.


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## Guest (Jun 6, 2009)

Here's Harvey's hummingbird.
I must say, she's a beauty. I'm sure she
sounds as good as she looks. Not bad for
web cam shots.


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## Guest (Jun 7, 2009)

A few more shots with harveyw.


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## emmj (Aug 11, 2009)

Hey 
I also have a mansfield hummingbird guitar, With the model # W65H.
It is a hand me down from my grandapa and I was wondering anyone knew anything about this model or its worth ect.


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## roylat (9 mo ago)

Robert1950 said:


> Can you post some pictures? Thanks.


i have owned a mansfield and honestly they are suprizingly a very nice playing guitar.mine was a copy hummingbird and it was easy on the fingers and the tone quality was excellent.personally i thing its as good as a gibson


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## EBEL (2 mo ago)

emmj said:


> Hey I also have a mansfield hummingbird guitar, With the model # W65H. It is a hand me down from my grandapa and I was wondering anyone knew anything about this model or its worth ect. I have the same guitar! Appears to be a Japanese hummingbird copy from the early 70s. I bought it used in 1976. Apparently Peates Music in Montreal (located on Mansfield Street) used to contract Japanese companies to supply American guitar copies and have them put the Mansfield label on the headstock. Info from the web indicated these guitars were made by Ibanez and were a part of the Gibson lawsuit of the early 70s, but this photo shows that it is more likely made by Kiso Suzuki. My Mansfield has a "zero fret" under the nut. This was not used by Ibanez or Gibson (at least I could not find any evidence that it was) and given the similarities of the Suzuki and the Mansfield this is almost certainly a Suzuki Hummingbird. According to the web these were of high quality and are valued collector items. Although I believe these to be of lesser quality then the Ibanez copies. The bridge on our Mansfield seems to be made of a synthetic material and not rosewood, as indicated by the worn finish. The Suzuki bridge looks to be rosewood. But this may have been a cost cutting feature for the Peates contract. I also found that the Kiso Suzuki Hummingbird model numbers are W-65H which is the same on the Manfield catalogue (shown elsewhere in this note). There is also Suzuki W-65A models that appear to not have the zero fret, and this may be a step up in materials. Given the date of your posting I doubt very much that you'll receive this info. However other owners may find it useful. Eric Boyd


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