sparky349 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I saw Gibson's newly design N-225 in Musician's Friend in the summer of 2013, I live in Chicago & promptly searched my local Sam Ash & Guitar Center to get hands on but none were to be found, knowing Gibson quality & having Gibson guitars I took a leap of faith & bought it from Musician's Friend, looking at this guitar in the magazine I took notice that the fingerboard had block inlays all the way to the top & the headstock had the split diamond inlay, appointments usually reserved for the higher end custom shop Gibson's plus the shorty maestro vibrola with the addition of the black hardware, Grover tuners a P90 & dirty fingers splitable pickups & the black thinline chambered lightweight pinstriped body, the plush guitar case I was in love, again.SO who's in favor & who's against & tell my your thoughts. SPARKY PS sorry but unable to post picture with this posting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Um there was one guy on here that was going to get one but I don't think we've heard back from him yet. How about a review since you actually bought one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky349 Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Um there was one guy on here that was going to get one but I don't think we've heard back from him yet. How about a review since you actually bought one? It's a great guitar, very playable can reach all the frets easily can play in high A with no problem,has good balance is not top heavy, the guitar weight is easy on the shoulder,stays in tune, other Gibson guitars that I own & compare to are as follows 61 to 63 SG/LP 2012 SG 50th anniversary 1989 LP SPECIAL 2005 FIREBIRD VII 2012 Epiphone Limited-Edition Riviera Custom P93 80'S NIGHTHAWK & 10 other high end guitars PRS, FENDER, DeARMOND, G&L HB LEGACY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 ...sorry but unable to post picture with this posting... In the meantime, sparky, we can all look here; http://www2.gibson.c...-USA/N-225.aspx I like it. Makes a refreshing change from all those '59 r-i's in a tasteful 'burst... Seriously; nice bit of 'something different' from Gibson. What's not to like about the guitar! P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauloon Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I like the cherry and natural...don't like the look of the ebony,..have to go try one if they hit my local stores. Are these available?...only three on e-bay are in South Korea! (and ones heritage cheery). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4_U_1URDok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I've haven't seen one in person, but I thought they were a neat departure for Gibson and I'm glad they're venturing in such other directions... Looks like a winner... What makes a difference to me is how they sit on a strap. I can't tell from the Gibson site pics where the strap lug is and how it will sit and if the sharp cutaway will catch on the strap or not... I sling low so things like that make a bit of a difference to me... How is it balanced and how does it hang? Nice enough looking axe. I'd probably like to toy with one and see what I think, given the opportunity... I am quite curious about the Maple fretboard that looks like Ebony! How's it feel? *Edit; The Gibson guy from the viddie; from Pauloon, said "maple board" near the beginning and then he says near the end of the viddie that it's a Rosewood fingerboard... Which is it? At first it looks like a jet black fingerboard and then I can see hints of the brown later one when he says Rosewood... Strange... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I've haven't seen one in person, but I thought they were a neat departure for Gibson and I'm glad they're venturing in such other directions... Looks like a winner... What makes a difference to me is how they sit on a strap. I can't tell from the Gibson site pics where the strap lug is and how it will sit and if the sharp cutaway will catch on the strap or not... I sling low so things like that make a bit of a difference to me... How is it balanced and how does it hang? Nice enough looking axe. I'd probably like to toy with one and see what I think, given the opportunity... I am quite curious about the Maple fretboard that looks like Ebony! How's it feel? *Edit; The Gibson guy from the viddie; from Pauloon, said "maple board" near the beginning and then he says near the end of the viddie that it's a Rosewood fingerboard... Which is it? At first it looks like a jet black fingerboard and then I can see hints of the brown later one when he says Rosewood... Strange... Yeah - I think he wanted to say it has a maple neck and a rosewood board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHTom Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 love the hum/P90 combo NHTom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I saw Gibson's newly design N-225 in Musician's Friend in the summer of 2013, I live in Chicago & promptly searched my local Sam Ash & Guitar Center to get hands on but none were to be found, knowing Gibson quality & having Gibson guitars I took a leap of faith & bought it from Musician's Friend, looking at this guitar in the magazine I took notice that the fingerboard had block inlays all the way to the top & the headstock had the split diamond inlay, appointments usually reserved for the higher end custom shop Gibson's plus the shorty maestro vibrola with the addition of the black hardware, Grover tuners a P90 & dirty fingers splitable pickups & the black thinline chambered lightweight pinstriped body, the plush guitar case I was in love, again.SO who's in favor & who's against & tell my your thoughts. SPARKY PS sorry but unable to post picture with this posting I'm the guy that is waiting patiently on mine to arrive from Tennessee. There were absolutely none available in Canada when I started looking in early January. I was fortunate to have become friends with a guy who works at long and Mcquade. After a couple of emails he freed one up that was in the factory? I special order the Natural and am very excited to finally get ahold of this. I for one love the hardware and the look of the natural on black and am anxious to play!! I will post some pics when I get it if I can figure out this downsizing picture thing I must do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I like the black one with the pinstripes! Rather cool and interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky349 Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 In the meantime, sparky, we can all look here; http://www2.gibson.c...-USA/N-225.aspx I like it. Makes a refreshing change from all those '59 r-i's in a tasteful 'burst... Seriously; nice bit of 'something different' from Gibson. What's not to like about the guitar! P. thanks for posting N-225 info, great job Pippy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 thanks for posting N-225 info, great job Pippy Here are pics from NGD! This beast looks fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 Ill post a review after the weekend on this. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauloon Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 I like that!....yep give us a good rundown.....especially what it plays like at the 17th fret and beyond.....Ta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky349 Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 Here are pics from NGD! great photos she's a winner This beast looks fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHTom Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 wow, really like the looks of that. can someone explain the "Open Chambered Body Style"? Is it like a hollow body? or like a chambered solid body with holes that lead to the chambering? How is the trem on it? NHTom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Are those open chambered access openings or are those just painted on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 wow, really like the looks of that. can someone explain the "Open Chambered Body Style"? Is it like a hollow body? or like a chambered solid body with holes that lead to the chambering? How is the trem on it? NHTom I was confused at first as well. The F holes are on top of the chambering which are sprayed black including the inside of the chambering. They also spray sides of the cuts which is why all the pictures I saw previously give the look as if they were just painted on. There is a small "hollow body" resonance I can hear that's defiantly a different sound when playing unplugged. So I would not classify this as hollow body. On that note my rep at the store identified that they had actually made a mistake at the plant when the sprayed the black. It's looks like they did not tape the top properly or a little bit of paint seeped onto the body when spraying the f holes. Gibson offered to discount it 100$ Right away. Fine by me I can live with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted March 16, 2014 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 sometimes feel like I need to fight to play up at the headstock. I wonder if it could be dropped like an SG. 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...
Tman Posted March 16, 2014 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. Hope this is a decent review. (It's my first) Outstanding review. A+. Kinda like reading a good recipe where you want to eat what ever it is. I now want to eat this guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevDavidLee Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Outstanding review. A+. Kinda like reading a good recipe where you want to eat what ever it is. I now want to eat this guitar! I agree great review and points out some cons that might turn some folks off from trying it Gibson R&D - you guys crack me up. It's like back in 98 when I bought one of your SG-Z models. Stunning guitar. Great lines. Unusual color options. Beautiful ebony fret board, inlays. Stunning black hardware etc etc etc. The neck was sooooo heavy that every single time I stood up to play it - the neck dived for the floor. I tried a dozen different guitar strap configurations (even one that formed a X across my back hoping I could find a balanced spot where the guitar would hang like a normal guitar without me having to constantly grip the neck while trying to play it) to enable me to hold the neck up. Rhythm parts weren't so bad but lead work was impossible. Now sitting on a stool eliminated the problem completely of course, but who plays an entire 4 hour gig sitting down especially when your band plays classic rock? Um.. no one. That told me right there that the R&D folks tried these out sittin at the bench and never once stood up to see that the damn things hung horribly and made them virtually "unplayable". It's too bad too because those were stunning to look at. Useless for gigging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky349 Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Looking through the rear view mirror one wonders if Gibson's design team didn't take a hard look at the success of Fender's reissue 72 thineline Tele & say we can do it better, having once owned the thinline reissue is the reason for this post, I sold the thinline & 5 other guitars to buy the 50 anniversary SG Diablo with Floyd Rose locking Trem & 24 frets, the Tele had only 21 frets & no trem, the reason for my disenchantment. SPARKY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I agree great review and points out some cons that might turn some folks off from trying it Gibson R&D - you guys crack me up. It's like back in 98 when I bought one of your SG-Z models. Stunning guitar. Great lines. Unusual color options. Beautiful ebony fret board, inlays. Stunning black hardware etc etc etc. The neck was sooooo heavy that every single time I stood up to play it - the neck dived for the floor. I tried a dozen different guitar strap configurations (even one that formed a X across my back hoping I could find a balanced spot where the guitar would hang like a normal guitar without me having to constantly grip the neck while trying to play it) to enable me to hold the neck up. Rhythm parts weren't so bad but lead work was impossible. Now sitting on a stool eliminated the problem completely of course, but who plays an entire 4 hour gig sitting down especially when your band plays classic rock? Um.. no one. That told me right there that the R&D folks tried these out sittin at the bench and never once stood up to see that the damn things hung horribly and made them virtually "unplayable". It's too bad too because those were stunning to look at. Useless for gigging. Update So I made the decision to change the strap button to the centre as I believed it could potentially balance the 225 out. What a a difference it has made! Its a Completely different experience !! It has the perfect weight to just sit there , exactly where it should be. No fighting the neck or painful cords , just perfect. I was pretty put of this guitar after being so excited for this model. I would encourage any others who may have had he same problem to do the same. R&D take note please because I'm sure I was not the only one who's experienced this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky349 Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 Update So I made the decision to change the strap button to the centre as I believed it could potentially balance the 225 out. What a a difference it has made! Its a Completely different experience !! It has the perfect weight to just sit there , exactly where it should be. No fighting the neck or painful cords , just perfect. I was pretty put of this guitar after being so excited for this model. I would encourage any others who may have had he same problem to do the same. R&D take note please because I'm sure I was not the only one who's experienced this. So what are you going to do with the prior hole, I wouldn't do anything as it's not noticeable, 50 years from now would that alteration devalue the guitar, who cares well be dead, I don't think I will follow your actions & move the button on my N-225 I have no problems, I also have the SG DIABLO 50 anniversary with 24 frets & Floyd Rose now that's a guitar that really does a nose dive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 So what are you going to do with the prior hole, I wouldn't do anything as it's not noticeable, 50 years from now would that alteration devalue the guitar, who cares well be dead, I don't think I will follow your actions & move the button on my N-225 I have no problems, I also have the SG DIABLO 50 anniversary with 24 frets & Floyd Rose now that's a guitar that really does a nose dive I certainly thought twice about moving the button but I had too, it was just not enjoyable to play and fight. I'm happy to hear that yours has not the same issue that mine did. As far as the hole I was considering ordering another button identical (Wish me luck) and going with two buttons but I just see that getting in the way. I'm sure in 50 years it's going to come back and bite someone, but, the way I see it I'm going to get many , many years of enjoyment out of this thing. This guitar is somthing special (as I'm sure you know )call me greedy but not having it 100% original will be somone else's problem not mine Or perhapes I'll be doing this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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