Levism Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 I came across this while hunting down a high output SG recently. The first thing that caught me was the dirty fingers and p90 combo but once I really began looking at it the natural with the black just kept growing on me. I started asking my local dealer to track one down so I could play it but there are none in canada. Today I got a call from the dealer and said he talk to yorkville and they could indeed get the factory to get me one. Obviously I am very excited and I was interested if anyone on the forum had any feedback on this guitar. I've read a ton of reviewer comments and there is a lot of criticism. I personally have two gibson sg's and a lp trad thai guitar is very interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 I do not own one. The only reason I'm responding to your post is because during the holidays I was eyeballing them all over the internet. I was trying to convince myself to get one because they're different and I was looking for something unusual to add to my collection. The natural colored ones were the most appealing as far as finishes went but not having one local to actually play - I decided it wasn't a good investment for me without at the very least being able to play one first. In the meantime I picked up a few other Gibsons during December & January and the decision was made for me that I couldn't afford any more toys for awhile. So the curiosity waned. Now if nobody buys them and they end up blowing them out for half price I would throw down on that. Good luck if you get one and please lets us know what you think of it if you do score one. P.S. We like photos too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 I couldn't agree more regarding the chance you take at investing in something over the internet and not even playing it. The guitar is very unique and I'm going to take a chance since the are very limited in numbers. I will post pics the first day I see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Thanks. I would appreciate that! Good luck - looking forward to your thoughts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 Thanks. I would appreciate that! Good luck - looking forward to your thoughts! I just put the down payment on a natural today !!! Shipping from Nashville so I should expect it in about four weeks. I'll post pics and review on it as soon as she's mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I just put the down payment on a natural today !!! Shipping from Nashville so I should expect it in about four weeks. I'll post pics and review on it as soon as she's mine. Well I'm excited for you! Looking forward to your take on this one. Try not to stare at the calendar like I did when I was waiting for my Midtown Kalamazoo last year. It almost aged me. Wait a minute... I'm already "aged". Nevermind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky349 Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I came across this while hunting down a high output SG recently. The first thing that caught me was the dirty fingers and p90 combo but once I really began looking at it the natural with the black just kept growing on me. I started asking my local dealer to track one down so I could play it but there are none in canada. Today I got a call from the dealer and said he talk to yorkville and they could indeed get the factory to get me one. Obviously I am very excited and I was interested if anyone on the forum had any feedback on this guitar. I've read a ton of reviewer comments and there is a lot of criticism. I personally have two gibson sg's and a lp trad thai guitar is very interesting. I BOUGHT THE BLACK WITH PINSTRIPE GOT A POST ABOUT IT SOMEWHERE, LOVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 I BOUGHT THE BLACK WITH PINSTRIPE GOT A POST ABOUT IT SOMEWHERE, LOVE IT Whoooo Hoo , I am very glad to see someone else took a leap of faith and got one. I had to jump through many hoops in order to track mine down right from Tennessee and spceial ordered one. It's been a month now and I am getting down to the nitty gritty of this wait. I read your post on the Gibson lounge forum ,I apparently cannot post there yet because i'm too green. I belive it was you that said it was very comfortable and balanced? Is that correct? I also curious about the sustain. can you comment on that at all? being all Maple this thing must have its own unique sound!!! I'm now very antsy knowing i'm getting my Natural N-225 in a matter of days now!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted March 15, 2014 Author Share Posted March 15, 2014 Well I finally got my N-225 Natural tonight. I literally got off the plane from my honeymoon in Mexico and went straight to Long and Mcquade to pick it up. I had just enough time to plug it in and made it so. Most certainly I will post pics up this weekend as well as a review. I don't own anything with a p90 yet and right off the hop I was very happy with how clean it sounds compared to my others. This guitar seems to do it all so far. Even the vibrato is not an issue at all it seems. A few concerns I'll share with the spray in the f holes looks like another great new guitar day!! Back to playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky349 Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 In time you'll love this bird of prey, the N in N 225 stands for Night Hawk, I don't know why Gibson couldn't come up with a more original name keeping it in the bird of prey family such as the Eagle, the Falcon, the Harrier or even the mythical bird the PHOENIX. Sparky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 My review may be a little premature since I've only put maybe 8 solid hours into it so far. Sound The pick up combo is advertised. Very unique and totally works. The p90 and dirty finger sing together and as I mentioned before the p90 in the neck screams while giving a lot of clarity. The push pull split is on the tone knob AND is completely accessible as well as the tone switch. The tremolo bar almost seems to guide your to it. When playing hard the term easily swing behind the action and is not a nuisance. The tremolo is stiff and the small white handle is actually cool looking now that I can use it , however when you use it you better be retuning afterwards. Maybe early but it's been a bit of a pain re tuning so far but my sg deluxe with bigsby took about 100 hours before it settled down. Overall it's a beast playing drop d and lower. Hardware The natural on black equipment is aesthetically pleasing for sure. Black Grover tuners rosewood fingerboard unbound and the frets and good over to a TuneOMatic and of course trem. The nobs are perfect and didn't really need to get used to where they are placed. even the plate at the jack is black. They really got all the little things right with this guitar. I would like to have a bigsby on this over the trem. Playability I thought this was a hybrid of an sg and Lp before I picked it up. But because of where they put the top strap button it sits completely different than anything I've played. This guitar just sits where it wants to. I have to sling it lower than anything else and with that I get some cool new features and some challenging ones. It almost feels like I'm holding my bass when tuning. When I look down at the 12 th fret I'm actually looking down at the 15 th and I can get to all the higher frets with to much ease. It's really something else. The strap button at the horn sits in a strange place and digs into me after an hour and becomes annoying. I find it very heavy in the neck as where the strap must sit and smoothies feel like I need to fight to play up at the headstock. I wonder if it could be dropped like a Lp. No bevelling makes this maple guitar solid and just "there". Chugga chugga rhythm kind of guitar and with access to the high frets it's unlike anything I've ever strapped. I picked up both my Lp and sg last night and played about an hour each. Man an SG is so fast lol. I'm sure I need to spend a lot more time with this guitar but overall it's something that feels really good when your stance is right but can be challenging with the wide maple neck. This guitar is very attractive and sounds excellent. Too soon to have an opinion on a few things but it's growing on me fast. It feels great once you get comfortable and hopefully will not be a drawback. I read earlier in this thread a guy asking about where the guitar sits and balanced. I can't say if it's something everyone would like but I can see where some may not like where it sits compared to a les Paul or sg. I suppose a 335 would be the best comparison but much heavier. Funny they call this a nighthawk because these are on two different levels than a nighthawk reissue. Hope this is a decent review. (It's my first) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky349 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 My review may be a little premature since I've only put maybe 8 solid hours into it so far. Sound The pick up combo is advertised. Very unique and totally works. The p90 and dirty finger sing together and as I mentioned before the p90 in the neck screams while giving a lot of clarity. The push pull split is on the tone knob AND is completely accessible as well as the tone switch. The tremolo bar almost seems to guide your to it. When playing hard the term easily swing behind the action and is not a nuisance. The tremolo is stiff and the small white handle is actually cool looking now that I can use it , however when you use it you better be retuning afterwards. Maybe early but it's been a bit of a pain re tuning so far but my sg deluxe with bigsby took about 100 hours before it settled down. Overall it's a beast playing drop d and lower. Hardware The natural on black equipment is aesthetically pleasing for sure. Black Grover tuners rosewood fingerboard unbound and the frets and good over to a TuneOMatic and of course trem. The nobs are perfect and didn't really need to get used to where they are placed. even the plate at the jack is black. They really got all the little things right with this guitar. I would like to have a bigsby on this over the trem. Playability I thought this was a hybrid of an sg and Lp before I picked it up. But because of where they put the top strap button it sits completely different than anything I've played. This guitar just sits where it wants to. I have to sling it lower than anything else and with that I get some cool new features and some challenging ones. It almost feels like I'm holding my bass when tuning. When I look down at the 12 th fret I'm actually looking down at the 15 th and I can get to all the higher frets with to much ease. It's really something else. The strap button at the horn sits in a strange place and digs into me after an hour and becomes annoying. I find it very heavy in the neck as where the strap must sit and smoothies feel like I need to fight to play up at the headstock. I wonder if it could be dropped like a Lp. No bevelling makes this maple guitar solid and just "there". Chugga chugga rhythm kind of guitar and with access to the high frets it's unlike anything I've ever strapped. I picked up both my Lp and sg last night and played about an hour each. Man an SG is so fast lol. I'm sure I need to spend a lot more time with this guitar but overall it's something that feels really good when your stance is right but can be challenging with the wide maple neck. This guitar is very attractive and sounds excellent. Too soon to have an opinion on a few things but it's growing on me fast. It feels great once you get comfortable and hopefully will not be a drawback. I read earlier in this thread a guy asking about where the guitar sits and balanced. I can't say if it's something everyone would like but I can see where some may not like where it sits compared to a les Paul or sg. I suppose a 335 would be the best comparison but much heavier. Funny they call this a nighthawk because these are on two different levels than a nighthawk reissue. Hope this is a decent review. (It's my first) IT'S A GOOD REVIEW BUT YOU DIDN'T MENTION THE BLOCK INLAYS ON THE FRET BOARD OR THE SPLIT DIAMOND IN LAY ON THE HEAD STOCK, THINGS THAT ARE USUALLY FOUND ON GIBSON'S HIGHER END GUITARS FROM THE CUSTOM SHOP AND LEAST OF ALL THE PLUSH GUITAR CASE. SPARKY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 IT'S A GOOD REVIEW BUT YOU DIDN'T MENTION THE BLOCK INLAYS ON THE FRET BOARD OR THE SPLIT DIAMOND IN LAY ON THE HEAD STOCK, THINGS THAT ARE USUALLY FOUND ON GIBSON'S HIGHER END GUITARS FROM THE CUSTOM SHOP AND LEAST OF ALL THE PLUSH GUITAR CASE. SPARKY Absolutely correct sparky. The headstock is pretty unique. Unbound with the split diamonds. Pretty awesome. I did not expect the case as well since it was in voice d as "w/ gig bag" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzard070661 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Hi, new member and N-225 owner. I bought my Black N-225 for the looks, trusting Gibson quality and sound. This hot rodded twanger looks absolutely fantastic, and it makes a lot of different soundstyles thanks to the choice of pickups. Does anyone know the number produced ? Did pinstripe artist Rick Harris actually paint all the guitars by himself ? Best Regards Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHTom Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 I'm had my eye on those also...........mostly for the dirty/P90 combo NHTom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 Hi, new member and N-225 owner. I bought my Black N-225 for the looks, trusting Gibson quality and sound. This hot rodded twanger looks absolutely fantastic, and it makes a lot of different soundstyles thanks to the choice of pickups. Does anyone know the number produced ? Did pinstripe artist Rick Harris actually paint all the guitars by himself ? Best Regards Peter Congrats on the 225!! I asked Gibson about the production numbers and they said it was a few thousand. Rick actually trained someone to do them , at least that's what I have read. I had to make a few mods to mine in order to keep it strapped to me as much as my others. The strap button moved like an SG was a must for me. I have mine in the shop right now. I'm fitting a black bigsby on her. I found that it was going out of tune way to easily. Cheers and hope you enjoy her !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reilly81 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Eyed these from the first time I saw in a catalog but by the time I was ready for one, most of the places I'd looked, SW,MF etc were down to the Red or out. Got a Natural through Amazon and glad I jumped. they are definitely a Gibson of a different tone. I've owned and played LPs, SGs, L6s, both 90's Hawks and a few others but this is a keeper. I've seen reviews and it isn't for everyone, but when it clicks with a player it's great. Got it shortly after an ES 339 and would not trade or sell either for the foreseeable future. Maybe they will be revamped and offered again in the future but well worth a look if you come across one. Takes pedals well and sounds full on it's own. Never much of Trem Bar player but there if I need it. Running through a Fuchs ODS with an old 60s EV SRO12 and lovin' the tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megafrog Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Resurrecting this old thread. There have been a lot of deals on these guitars at both Musicians Friend and Guitar Center where these have been selling for as low as $799. I bit on one, the black with pin stripes and the first one was damaged in shipping and also had some major finish flaws like missing paint on the top. The replacement is a meh guitar. I have it because it is unique. I can see why they were such slow sellers. Just because it is highly chambered doesn't mean these are light. These are super neck heavy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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