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Epiphone Hummingbird Studio
Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier
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Playability
82
Sound
83
Build
72
Value
89
Score
79
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Playability
77
Sound
88
Build
77
Value
86
Score
81
FIND IT ON:
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Epiphone Hummingbird Studio vs Masterbilt Frontier

Reasons to Get
Epiphone Hummingbird Studio over Masterbilt Frontier

Neck Profile
Acoustic SlimTaper D vs Acoustic C
Thin and flat neck for playing fast
Nut Width
1.693'' (43mm) vs 1.68'' (42.7mm)
Less likely to mute strings by accident and more space for fingerstyle
Scale Length
24.72'' (627.9mm) vs 25.5'' (647.7mm)
Easier bending, shorter fret separation and warmer natural tone
Value Score
89 vs 86
Better price/quality relationship

Reasons to Get
Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier over Hummingbird Studio

Release Year
2020 vs 2013
From a more recent year
Neck Profile
Acoustic C vs Acoustic SlimTaper D
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Nut Material
NuBone vs Plastic
Hard and self-lubricating nut to keep it in tune
Sides Wood
Solid vs Laminated
Helps with richer tones and louder volume
Back Wood
Solid vs Laminated
Helps with richer tones and louder volume
Nut Width
1.68'' (42.7mm) vs 1.693'' (43mm)
Favors small hands, easier bar chords and other shapes
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm) vs 24.72'' (627.9mm)
Lower action and brighter natural tone

Other Key Differences
Epiphone Hummingbird Studio vs Masterbilt Frontier

Back Material
Mahogany vs Maple
Different Back Material
Sides Material
Mahogany vs Maple
Different Sides Material
Saddle Material
Compensated vs Bone
Different Saddle Material
Bridge Material
Pau Ferro (Reverse Belly) vs Indian Laurel
Different Bridge Material
Fretboard Wood
Pau Ferro vs Laurel
Different Fretboard Wood
Nut Material
Plastic vs NuBone
Different Nut Material

Shared Features
Epiphone Hummingbird Studio vs Masterbilt Frontier

Body Wood
Spruce
Same Body Wood
Neck Wood
Mahogany
Same Neck Wood
Headstock
3-3
Same Headstock
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Hollowbody
Warm tone, lighter and acoustic sound
Switch Positions
0
Same pickups versatility
Volume Knobs
0
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
0
Same tone control
Number of Frets
20
Same maximum octave
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Bridge
Fixed
Good sustain and needs no set-up
Fretboard Radius
12'' (304.8mm)
Same fretboard comfortability
Type of Frets
Medium Jumbo
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • Solid Top Wood
  • Top Pickup Brand
  • Expensive Wood

Common Weaknesses

  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Locking Tuners
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Table of Contents

Price History Comparison

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Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier Prices

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier is probably the better product overall with its final score of 81 compared to the Epiphone Hummingbird Studio's 79 score, although not by a lot.

The Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier wins when it comes to sound, build quality. On the other hand, the Epiphone Hummingbird Studio has the upper hand when it comes to playability, value for the money.

If you got small hands, you'll probably feel more comfortable playing the Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

Both meet 4 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.

New Player Friendliness

Epiphone Hummingbird Studio
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Short scale
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Soft Strings
  • Locking tuners

New Player Friendliness

Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale
  • Soft Strings
  • Locking tuners

Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.

Epiphone Hummingbird Studio Overview

  • From Epiphone's 2013 Hummingbird series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 24.72"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Solid Spruce top
  • Mahogany back
  • Mahogany sides
  • Mahogany neck
  • Pau Ferro fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Fishman Sonicore (Preamp/Active)
  • Pau Ferro (Reverse Belly) bridge
  • Acoustic SlimTaper D Set neck
  • 20 Medium Jumbo frets
  • Grover Rotomatic 18:1 tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier Overview

  • From Epiphone's 2020 Masterbilt series
  • Made in China
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Solid Sitka Spruce top
  • Solid Maple back
  • Solid Maple sides
  • Mahogany neck
  • Indian Laurel fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Fishman Sonicore (Preamp/Active)
  • Indian Laurel bridge
  • Acoustic C Set neck
  • 20 Medium Jumbo frets
  • Gold, Keystone Buttons tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Sound Quality Comparison

The most important thing that will determine the tone of an acoustic guitar is the wood. Let's take a look at the differences between both .

Woods Used in Both

Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany
Spruce wood pattern used for guitar building
Spruce

Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.

Spruce has a light color with tight grain patterns. It's very stiff but relatively light. It's known for producing a well-rounded tone with a broad dynamic range. Find out more about Spruce.

Woods Used in the Epiphone Hummingbird Studio

Pau Ferro wood pattern used for guitar building
Pau Ferro

Pau Ferro has a dark, chocolate-like color with straight dark grains that is being used as a replacement to Rosewood due to the regulations. It produces a warm tone that is somewhere between Mahogany and Rosewood. Find out more about Pau Ferro.

Woods Used in the Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier

Laurel wood pattern used for guitar building
Laurel
Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple

There are many types of Laurel, but East Indian is the most common for guitar building. Its color can vary from dark to light brown with black lines. Many people find its tonality similar to Rosewood, which favors the warmer frequencies. Find out more about Laurel.

Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.

Winner: Tie.

Electronics

Both come with electronics that allow you connect them to an amplifier or interface for recording.

Winner:Tie.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Epiphone Hummingbird Studio
Sustain 80
Versatility 85
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 83
Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier
Sustain 95
Versatility 85
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 88

Build Quality Comparison

When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Epiphone Hummingbird Studio compares to the Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in China.

China has a bad reputation when it comes to building quality. However, times have changed and now respectable brands use China's cheap labor to build good instruments for a lower price. Don't discount a guitar only because it was built in China, but also expect more quality from countries like Korea.

Winner: Tie

Nut Material

If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

The Epiphone Hummingbird Studio has a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.

On the other hand, the Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier comes with a NuBone nut. It's made by the same company that makes TUSQ nuts. It's slightly softer but hard enough to give you a brighter sound when playing open strings. It's also self-lubricating, so it's good for tuning stability.

Winner: Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier.

Fret Material

Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

Winner: Tie.

Tuners

Both come with regular tuners. The Epiphone Hummingbird Studio's are Grover Rotomatic 18:1 while the Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier's are Gold, Keystone Buttons

Winner: Tie.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Epiphone Hummingbird Studio
  • Expensive Wood
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Electronics
  • Solid Top Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in China
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • Low-Quality Material Saddle
  • Laminated Side Wood
  • Laminated Back Wood
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier
  • Expensive Wood
  • NuBone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Electronics
  • Bone Saddle
  • Solid Top Wood
  • Solid Side Wood
  • Solid Back Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in China
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Epiphone Hummingbird Studio
Quality of materials 76
Features 85
Quality Control 55
Build Quality 72
Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier
Quality of materials 86
Features 85
Quality Control 60
Build Quality 77

Playability Comparison

Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

Nut Width

Epiphone Hummingbird Studio Nut Width
Epiphone Hummingbird Studio Nut Width
Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier Nut Width
Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the Epiphone Hummingbird Studio has the wider nut with 43mm (1.693'') vs 42.7mm (1.68''). This is a 0.3mm (0.013'') difference

This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Epiphone Hummingbird Studio, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.

Scale Length

Epiphone Hummingbird Studio's Scale Length
Epiphone Hummingbird Studio's Scale Length
Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier's Scale Length
Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier's Scale Length

The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

The Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier has the longest scale: 25.5". The Epiphone Hummingbird Studio is only 24.72" long. This is a 0.78'' (19.8mm) scale length difference.

This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.

This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.

Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).

Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

Neck Profile

Epiphone Hummingbird Studio Neck Profile
Epiphone Hummingbird Studio's neck profile
Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier Neck Profile
Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier's neck profile

No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

In this case, both have different neck shapes:

The Epiphone Hummingbird Studio has a D type of neck. This is a thin and flat neck that is made for playing fast. If you prefer a neck that doesn't get in your way when soloing, this is the shape you should use. Guitarists that prefer to have a bit more grip won't like this type of neck.

The Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier, on the other hand, has a C neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.

Fretboard Radius

Epiphone Hummingbird Studio Fingerboard Radius
Both Guitars Have The Same Fretboard Radius

Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

Both the Epiphone Hummingbird Studio and the Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier have the same fretboard radius of 12". This is the radius used in most Gibson guitars. It gives you a good balance for playing chords without muting, but also good comfortability for playing single notes and bending.

Hand Size Comfortability

Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.

And after taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that the Epiphone Hummingbird Studio favors large hands more than the Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier. But it's still more comfortable for people with small hands, as you can see in the score meter below.

Epiphone Hummingbird Studio:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Epiphone Hummingbird Studio and Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier Frets Size
Both have a similar Medium Jumbo fret size

Both have a Medium Jumbo fret size. These are slightly shorter than full Jumbo frets, so you'll still feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. However, they interfere less with your fretting hand than medium-size frets. This is a good size if you like easy-to-press frets, but would still like to feel a bit of the fretboard when playing.

Final Playability Scores

Epiphone Hummingbird Studio
Bending & Vibrato Ease 90
Chord Playability 75
Solo Playability 80
Playability 82
Epiphone Masterbilt Frontier
Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 75
Solo Playability 80
Playability 77

Specs Side-by-Side

Epiphone Hummingbird Studio vs Masterbilt Frontier
General Epiphone Hummingbird Studio Masterbilt Frontier
Brand: Epiphone Epiphone
Year: 2013 2020
Strings: 6 6
Made in: China China
Series: Hummingbird Masterbilt
Colors: Red Sunburst
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Hollowbody Hollowbody
Body Material: Solid Spruce Solid Sitka Spruce
Sides Material: Mahogany Maple
Back Material: Mahogany Maple
Bridge: Pau Ferro (Reverse Belly) Indian Laurel
Neck
Neck Joint: Set Set
Tuners: Grover Rotomatic 18:1 Gold, Keystone Buttons
Fretboard: Pau Ferro Indian Laurel
Neck Material: Mahogany Mahogany
Decoration: Pearloid Twin Parallelograms Pearloid Split Block Rectangles
Scale Size: 24.72" 25.5"
Shape: Acoustic SlimTaper D Acoustic C
Frets: 20 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver 20 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 12" 12"
Nut: Plastic NuBone
Nut Width: 43mm (1.693'') 42.7mm (1.68'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: Fishman Sonicore (Preamp / Active) Fishman Sonicore (Preamp / Active)