NighthawkChris

@kidblast @ksdaddy Pianos need to be tuned regularly and played to stay in good shape. Pianos that have sat in a basement (temp controls and such?), take up a lot of space, and weigh a ton, how's the pinblock looking - i.e. holding tune on the strings? How's the soundboard looking? Action, etc. Last time tuned? You really have to know what to look for when buying used I suppose - sort of like anything. Other than that, might be hauling a massive piece of firewood home doing the other guy a favor. What a pain! My piano stays upstairs as a main piece of furniture, maintained regularly - tuned, adjusted by piano tech. I will maintain my guitars, but I don't touch the piano whatsoever to tweak it. The fellow who helps me out does such a great job it's worth it to be graced by his presence. Not all guys are so good though... But I even have a nice luthier for my guitar needs from time to time with the "big" jobs - frets and stuff I don't mess with. So it plays reliably good, sounds nice and rich, and if it's your thing, any serious musician eventually should invest in an instrument that continues to inspire IMHO. I may have a guitar too many, but I like them and hope to give them to my kids one day. So always need an even number of guitars to split between the 2. Love it when I have an odd count of guitars, haha! Hey, music's fun, I enjoy it for myself and playing and sharing it with others. Glad to have a discussion about pianos for a minute.

I don’t think people get gear crazy about pianos and such - like having multiples - generally speaking, but mine cost a lot more money than a super high end Gibson guitar. But again I’ve been playing for the better part of 30 years and it is worth it. Yes could have bought some junker sitting in someone’s basement for the better part of the 1950s but I wanted something better than a novice instrument. There are some pianos that cost more than your and my house combined, but I choose to get a new piano which has literally no resale value. We are talking about an instrument that weighs A TON! Usually you’re calling in movers to get that thing where it will live in your home. Point is that we all spend our money on BS and instruments are again my crutch. I enjoy playing in bands and just a music lover as big as they come. So I look at these as a different sort of investment in myself rather than monetary. And FYI I own an upright Boston because I don’t have a big enough house for a grand haha! It sure beats your grandmas spinnet haha!

To preface, not directing at anyone in particular here. Some guys buy cars, some guys buy houses. Some guys buy guns, some guys buy boats. Me... I buy guitars. I’ve regret buying less expensive guitars in the past and just been happier spending for the R9. It’s my money and your money is yours. What I do with my money is my business and what you do with yours is your business. As long as you can put food on the table and pay the mortgage no problems spending what you can. I personally haven’t had the itch to say I’m tired of any guitar I’ve bought since I’ve bought high end guitars to the point where I’m selling them for something else. And I’ve been playing music for nearly my whole life with no plans to quit. I mean some people buy corvettes... not much utility in that for most people, but damn they like revving that engine up. No problem with that. You only live once and enjoy your life. As well, even with all my nice guitars, still haven’t spent that much to combine all the dollars and cents to afford a corvette. And FTR, corvettes are sweet. But again, I love guitars - this is my thing. Don’t need to spend Gibson money to get a great guitar, but it is most enjoyable to me to get a guitar that I appreciate for years to come. It’s worth it to me.

Congrats man that’s a great looking piece right there! Hope it turns out to be a guitar you continue to enjoy for many years to come.

I know when the right guitar comes up for sale, I can't resist the GAS. It's a disease.

In the words of Scooby Doo, WOWSERS!

@Terrence, this is pretty normal. Wouldn’t worry about it one bit. Only my 94 LP has thick enough binding to cover the maple top. My others are like yours.

I’d pass. Wasn’t one for the 70s style LPs and Trogly sort of pointed out that there are some letdowns that weren’t taken after the real 70s LPs. But to me seems like this is just a 50s Standard of today where the P90s are replaced with the mini-HBs. I’d really like the volute, the closed letter Gibson logo, bigger headstock, even a pancake body would be nice for the historical aspect of it. But again, not a fan of the 70s LPs. Oh and a maple neck... So as pointed out I believe, only thing 70s about this is the pickups.

@Texsunburst59 yeah something got changed here and the tags around the link don’t work. There’s another thread about this I believe in the Forum Feedback section that might help since this affected everyone. What I do now is use the “Other Media” button that is at the bottom of the text box we use to write comments/replies. You need to copy the link you copied before and make sure you completely remove the img tags AND have a jpg/jpeg extension at the very end. This is all I know from futs’ing around with it. Obviously it seems to work for me, haha! Anyhow just FYI.

Awesome @cody78 I commend those who work on material that enriched their skills. Joe is no walk in the park... He’s played with a lot of jazz legends too which is real cool. Well, he is one too. Carry on!

My condolences. They do become part of the family don’t they? I once read a dog’s only fault is their short life. And I’m a dog guy. Have a German Shepard and another mix of something or other. They are part of our family no doubt and we try to give them the best lives they can get.

Awesome man! Can’t go wrong with a Tele 👌

You’ve been stimulated by the government. Congrats man looks great!

Here you go @Texsunburst59 Nice guitars you got there and like that quilt top!

Well, it has arrived! Had a couple issues to resolve - tuner on back was loose and a tiny pickup bushing for middle pickup was popped out - but all is resolved. And thanks UPS, the box had a gaping hole in it. Luckily it was packed good enough where it withstood those clowns booting it around their trucks and warehouses. Setup was a**, but I expect this, haha! Truss rod was literally cranked so tight that it made the neck nearly 100% straight. Well, when you're buying a used guitar that's 26 years old, you better know a thing or two I guess. Either way, Music Zoo was super cool and partially refunded me for the troubles... Can't complain there. Overall, the truss rod works and I now have relief. Frets look great, electronics have no fukkery going on - i.e. original, untouched. So wasn't a bad endeavor. Anyhow, here's the pics after it was polished up and string change, etc. Sounds like a Hawk! Enjoy!

Whelp, out for delivery... It's a bit cool today so I guess I should let the box warm up a bit when it gets here to acclimate to the house's temp. That's what I've always been told when dealing with nitro finished guitars. I guess best to be patient because it can't hurt to wait for a little bit longer. Anyhow, thanks for all the nice - and some funny - comments! Hoping to share pics ASAP what this bad boy looks like. In the words of the Terminator, "I'll be back."

Lol @rct and @merciful-evans I think after this thread I’m considering selling my Soloist too haha! Or quietly placing it in a place considered where trash ends up haha!

Geez o petes @DK33 that’s a guitar right there!

Wow @Philsr57 those are something to behold!

So waiting for this one to arrive. It's in transit at the moment, but real excited about getting this one! 1995 Gibson Nighthawk CST3 in antique natural. These don't come up very often, and this is an extraordinarily nice looking one from what I saw in the pics. Already has the Schaller strap buttons too - bonus - and they match the gold HW! The anticipation is killing me waiting for it to arrive... Hopefully it is as good as it looks in the pictures and no issues during transit/delivery.

Welcome to the forum and the rule is that you share pictures of new gear or it didn't happen, haha! And congrats on the new guitar! Love to check it out.

Yeah G&Ls are sweet. Really all there is to it. Well made guitars and can’t go wrong getting one IMHO.

Yeah those whammy pedals aren’t the same thing IME. I have this feature on my multi-effects board - old Digitech RP7 valve. I like using actual trems time to time to do some slight detuning to give a note or two some flavor. But again, I don’t dive bomb haha! Nah just messing 😂 dive bombing isn’t bad if done tastefully. But when I think of diving I think of some dork just exhausting the hell out of this sound with mega high gain distortion like a gimmick.

Well, had a nice experience with my FR on one of my guitars. Problem is that once I use the wiggle stick, the guitar strings go sharp which indicates that it is getting caught up on something. And that something is the locking nut clamps - not some masochistic device BTW, haha! I need to replace the clamps because I can feel the strings near the tuning machines vary their tension once I use the trem. So another thing that is annoying with FR trems that happens over time. I can see grooves that have been made in these and they aren't clamping as good as they should. Another thing about these is it is important to make sure that the clamps go back with the same strings they were on if they ever get removed for string change or whatever. That's what I was taught at least. Either way, not an expensive fix necessarily, but a necessary fix if I want this trem to be able to at least be used. But I still feel that setting these things up takes more time than I'd like it to. But once it gets a good setup and same strings are used for a change, setting back up isn't as time consuming with the tools I have to do this kind of work. Another thing I wanted to add is I am pretty sure it is the clamps being the issue because well, the grooves are bad that aren't grabbing the solid core strings (G, B, and E) mostly, and once I release the clamps by unscrewing them, the guitar goes back in tune and trem balances out again... These clamps BTW are on a guitar that was made in 1997, so there's some years these have been just smashed down on the strings.

Yeah they aren’t the best but could be worse. Well, apparently it’s a thing where they are trimming the fat it seems reading here and seeing for my very own 2 eyes. I’ve bought some great stuff from them over the years so not complaining.