Hello. This is Inoue from Advance Guitars.
We’ve been seeing some sunny spells lately, and it feels like the rainy season is almost over.
Once the humidity settles down, the next battle is against the heat.
Since it still rains from time to time, a hygrometer is absolutely essential.
And with dry weather waiting just around the corner, this island nation really puts our instruments through the wringer.
Instruments get sulky if you neglect them, so I—who “pamper them” on a daily basis—believe this is the best form of maintenance, and I’m enjoying my guitar life with a peaceful mind.
But enough with the preamble—Advance Guitars / TCGAKKI has a vast collection of rare documents and catalogs—truly, an enormous amount.
Even if you think something isn’t there, if you ask Mr. Ogouchi just in case, he’ll usually be able to find it. And they’re all in their original paper form.
Of course, seeing the guitars themselves is fun, but discovering these valuable materials feels like finding a new treasure chest—it’s incredibly exciting.
We’ve also featured them on YouTube, so please check them out if you’re interested.
We publish online articles based on these archived materials, the actual instruments we’ve handled, and the experiences and impressions of the TCGAKKI staff.
TCGAKKI Magazine
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You can check it out from the 👇 link on our homepage.
Recently, we’ve updated articles by Sano (in charge of Effectors) on the Tone Bender, by Nihei (in charge of electric guitars) on the Les Paul Custom, and by Naito (currently with Advance, formerly in charge of Basses at TCGAKKI) on Ken Smith.
And this time, I, Inoue, wrote an article.
The topic is the Gibson Hummingbird.
Since we had a collection of early models all in one place, I felt I had to write about them, so I put this together. Since the evolution of specifications has been covered extensively elsewhere, this time I’ve focused on models up to 1963—when the Dove, another square-shoulder model, was introduced—and delved into the charm of each individual instrument.
I also touch on models being featured for the first time in Japan, so this is a must-see.
Please be sure to check it out.
In addition to this, a collection of legendary guitars is gathering at Advance, so we plan to introduce many more articles in the future.
Please look forward to them.
Here’s what’s currently in the works 👇
Stay tuned!
Inoue