Wednesday 1 July 2009

Gibson Nighthawk 1996

nighthawk gibson

Three different pickups on a single guitar - or when Gibson is forbidden to be creative by its own customers... This short-lived mid-90s Gibson Nighthawk seems to have been a flop but I don't know why - look at it, these three pickups look so cool and promising of unexplored sonic areas...

So why why do people want the same Les Paul again and again when they have the opportunity to have something different. If the inventors of rock'n'roll would have reacted like this, we would still be listening to calypso, musette, Umpapah, doo-wop and whatever you should be happy to never have heard about...

2 comments:

  1. When I first saw a Gibson Nighthawk I thought, "finally a new design that makes sense!". I didn't get a chance to buy one, but I did try one out. It was lighter than a Les Paul which was a plus imho. It played, looked and felt great! Along with it's wide variety of tones that were easily accessible, this proved to be one extremely versatile instrument. From smoky jazz to spankin' funk and everything in between, this was a gigging players guitar. It's beyond my comprehension why it wasn't popular enough to stay in production.

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  2. The Nighthawk was brilliant. One of the most under-rated guitars ever made. Light, perfectly balanced, and incredibly versatile. A true "working musician's" Gibson - which is a market they barely cater to now.

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