NighthawkChris

I've had two 1500 Rams - the 4.7L V8 and the Hemi 5.7L. Both sucked gas and gave me power I had no use for. I now have the V6 Ram 1500 that I figured was a good fit - since I don't tow anything. I use it to move around home improvement supplies of all sorts and for other various moving of large things. Works great - and could tow a light load with no issue I bet. I'm not moving around excavators or skids, so no real need for that 10k lb+ towing capacity. I also get great gas mileage on it - for a full-sized pickup - looking at around 23mi/gal in hot summers. I have 3 Chryslers - 300, Pacifica, and the Ram 1500 - all with the Pentastar V6, and the mpg is comparable for all of these. Great engine if I don't say so myself... Chrysler cosmetics though OTOH... But I think GM, Ford, and anything German is an overpriced POS. YMMV - literally.

Another thing that Gibson has been doing is I believe since at least 2019, they have started calling their fretboards for their R9s as Bolivian Rosewood - which people mainly believe to be Pau Ferro. Not real RW - not even same species from what I have read online - FWIW. Branding... All it is I have to believe. I believe PF is used because of that CITES business, or whatever constrains certain countries form importing certain woods like "real" RW. They use Indian RW I guess today on their RW releases. But again, changing up a "historic" guitar and substituting new materials that aren't accurate depictions of the originals - and still selling for north of $6.5k. Brazilian RW is just INSANE expensive... But my biggest gripe is that they sell these woods on guitars and market them as better, good enough, whatever. If you spend that much for a reissue, it better be built like the originals. Again, my opinion, YMMV. But again another case though where PF probably works just as well as any RW, looks nice, and by God, it's REAL wood, haha! I remember seeing a discussion about this before. Took this into consideration when I looked at buying my R9, because you had the choice in the US for mainly Indian RW, but Bolivian RW (PF) was there too. This is why I buy guitars used... I'd have no problem with a PF R9 if the price was right. It actually has more of an ebony look - darker than that Indian RW by a little bit. It sucks for re-frets from what I've heard as you get a lot of chip-out. That could be a realistic down side if you ask me - given you are actually going to play the guitar enough to wear frets down - no case queen. Now if the R9 had Richlite, I'd pass. That's a stretch too far for me. I've got one Richlite guitar, haha! Not looking for any more.

Yeah, don't know how to describe it, but nitro finishes have a "softer" feel quality than poly. Can't speak for tonal characteristics either - how nitro and poly differ in this regard. But Epis are poly and Gibsons are typically nitro. An Epi LP has a different feel than a Gibson LP - and finish has something to do with this. In my hands, I believe I can tell most of the time what finish is on a guitar - and especially when I clean a guitar. I personally don't buy into the whole tone wood stuff so much - not for solid-body electrics at least. Pickups have a lot to do with this - and how they are configured/set-up. That's just me though and my opinion, others have thoughts on this, so don't want to debate tone wood benefits necessarily. I would tend to believe that acoustics are more sensitive to the wood selection as the bodies of these guitars are more responsible for projecting the sound itself. I don't do acoustics as much though, but know they are more elaborate to construct - when you get a good one. I simply don't think that it as profound on electrics for whatever certain woods do provide acoustically speaking.

I think it might have worked better if it were a cheaper guitar - not a Gibson CS guitar - then for the price people might be slightly more accepting. I don’t like how these guitar companies act like it’s a luxury material or something… it ain’t crap, but it ain’t ebony which IS and always will be the right fit for a “standard” Gibson LP Custom. That’s what I think of when I think LP Custom. Gibson guitars to Gibson-guys are sort of similar to going to a restaurant you’ve gone to for years. You know what you want going in and if anything… ANYTHING changes, it’s a no-go. Not saying that’s bad or anything wrong with that - you know what you want and how much it sets you back.

I haven't seen any Gibsons advertising Richlite on their fretboards (FBs) anymore. The LP Customs have seemingly all gone back to ebony... I agree with this move. But I must confess, I have a LP Custom with Richlite, and can't say anything negative about it other than what the FB is made of. It is one of the nicest looking/stable/playing guitars I have ever dealt with, but completely understand why this is so stigmatizing amongst Gibson customers. I personally wouldn't buy another Richlite FB Gibson though - just because Richlite is used. So just going to keep my kitchen-countertop-fretboard guitar and I use it as a main-player guitar - no case queen. Glad to see that Richlite isn't used anymore - as far as I can tell. Looking at it from afar, no one can tell the difference. Looking up close now, DEFINITELY can tell. I even paid a pretty penny for it new, so if I sold it, would take a bath on it - all because of the material used in FB construction that arguably resolves issues with wooden FBs adding much higher durability, stability, etc. If I had to do this over again, probably would have NOT bought guitar simply because of the distaste around Richlite. So yes, some personal regrets. I haven't ever tried to sell it, but luckily (lol) it is a great player despite the FB material. People are stigmatized against the 2015 USA guitars, and there was even something I heard about 2012 (time period?) 2-piece FBs on some Customs and such (can't confirm), but the Richlite I don't think will EVER be something sought after. I could be wrong (probably not though)... I don't think ANYONE in the normal day-to-day discussions HERE will ever want a Richlite FB Gibson LP Custom. Again, could be wrong - probably not. I don't have a pic of this to share at the moment, but it is a looker wrt the top - super flamey and 3-D like. I believe I was enamored with the "bling", and a bit impulsive when I decided to buy the guitar TBH. Not the worst thing I've done, but wrt guitar buying, I think it was something I would have rather spent on a different guitar. I don't buy guitars for investment purposes whatsoever, but when you buy a Gibson, you'd hope that these guitars retain a good portion of their value - especially Custom Shop Gibsons. I might have sold a couple guitars over the years, but for the most part, any Gibson I've had hasn't left my hands. Sold Fenders, Epiphones, Jacksons, and 1 Gibson that I can think of that comes to mind... I've returned Gibsons before though 😁

True that... No guarantees unfortunately. I count my blessings each and every day, hoping that I don't take something for granted. But alas, I'm only human - making mistakes is part of the deal.

I never got extreme risk taking. Just because you’re young too doesn’t mean you can make every mistake in the book and repent when you get older. Some mistakes people make in life shouldn’t be made IMHO. To each and to their own though I say… Living itself is basically a risk, but where one can decide to minimize the risk of death/severe injury might be a wise choice. Sorry, I’m being a party pooper here haha! I once heard a saying that a wise man learns from their mistakes, but a wiser man learns from others’ mistakes.

I know I’ve seen guys on YouTube replace tailpiece bushings before. Wouldn’t want just anyone doing this for me - since I’d have to find someone to help me with a problem like this. Annoying problem to have, but doesn’t trash the guitar if a repair is in order. Neck issues are the things I say that make a guitar more time and money than what they are worth. Haven’t had this issue before though, so good luck resolving this. Can’t add too much more other than some boiler-plate stuff here.

@merciful-evans that's borderline traumatizing, haha! How about you know you're old when you have to call the fire department to watch over lighting the birthday candles. This, or you actually raise the temperature of the house because of the amount of candles... or, you need a blow torch to get all of the candles before they all melt. Also, if you need power (backpack) blower to extinguish the candles - hence needing fire dept. again. 😄 ...or you look in the mirror and you're grey, haha! The hair on my scalp has migrated to my face - and back.

You know you're getting old when you get birthday spankings and it causes bruising.

@KoLd yes where you reside was another thing I was thinking about… Reverb then might not work, but yeah if you can get custom made case, no issues. Probably have to do something like that because it’s not a “typical” guitar body shape, but not that strange that certain things like I mentioned in previous post couldn’t alleviate. Anyhow best wishes to you, hope all is well 😀

@KoLd https://reverb.com/item/67936922-tkl-gibson-nighthawk-90s-brown?utm_source=rev-ios-app&utm_medium=ios-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=67936922 Here’s the Epiphone case: https://reverb.com/item/51564167-epiphone-deluxe-sg-case-for-sg-g400-and-nighthawk-guitars?utm_source=rev-ios-app&utm_medium=ios-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=51564167

@KoLd sometimes you can find one on Reverb come up - set up your account if you have one to watch for new nighthawk listings. Patience is key. Not a perfect fit, but a Gibson Gear SG case isn’t that bad of a fit… it’s not going to work with any other case - especially a Les Paul case. But again, I’d just wait for a used one to come up. I’ve seen minty ones go for around $400, but you might be able to strike a deal… Epiphone might have a good case since the Nighthawk is made by then now as a reissue of sorts. Not sure how accessible they are… but again haha, id just wait for a case to come up on Reverb. Maybe you buy another NH that comes with a genuine case and share it between the 2 when you want to go out. You could go custom route, but that’s expensive I’ll bet. I’ve used an old Fender case - big rectangular ones - and fitted foamy inserts to pad the guitar in there snug which worked for a while. I used this before I bought a used genuine case haha! But awesome stuff man glad you are digging the NH! It deserves a great case. So good luck with your find. If I run across anything I will share here - have you on my mind when I participate here. No guarantees of course as we have to wait for someone willing to part with one.

blowing my mind here... I think we have always been playing on "reverse" Vs, so the "reverse" V as we think of it is actually right side up - when someone has one strapped up, that V is right-side up... again, mind = blown!

lmao!!!

I consider any of the tri-county area to be metro Detroit - correct or not, it's what I have been refer to this as. Trying to be vague of my location I suppose. I'm out in the northern Oakland County area where it was once more rural, now slowly (perhaps even more quickly than I am saying) turning into suburbia... Sort of like Wixom turned out to be. So go figure... I lived in the Dearborn-area for ~30 years prior, so fully relate to suburbia. Moving out where we did, we got quite a bit bigger yard which was something my wife and I really wanted. And it is a lot better land plots than all these cookie-cutter homes - that are popping up for 3x or more the price I paid for my home - with backyards a fraction of the size of land I have. I don't have huge home, but it's a nice home to raise a family. Not running into issues with permits and such. I paid the licensed contractor (pool builder in this case) to handle the liability of codes and such. Literally my first thing before hiring any contractor - are you licensed and insured... I don't play around with that stuff, haha! Of course, not all "jobs" require permits, but any way I can alleviate jobs that require codes and standards to be adhered to, I try to absolve myself of responsibility to do the job correctly - the way I look at it. I probably (and have known at times) pay a little extra to have contractors pull permits and what not, but again, if there's an issue, I don't want to be directly responsible to make the "fix" happen.

Yes!!! Finally, got the call yesterday to call in an order for mason sand and water trucks! I am hoping to get building started next week, but looks like some storms to navigate - figures, haha! I literally have had butterflies in my stomach ever since I came up with this idea. Being patient is no fun...

I don’t know about saddles since these parts are generally intended to be in the spot they are in. Basically they are each different because of neck radius. I’ve never seen Gibson sell individual saddles for their bridges they use on their guitars. I have seen a whole Nashville or ABR bridge set sold that is Gibson brand but again, have to know how to make the markings on the saddles for proper string spacing as these come with no slot whatsoever on them. It’s not the most difficult thing to make slots on these, but probably want someone who works good on guitars a lot to do this just because… the part isn’t cheap. Check out like Guitar Center or the like to find these - Sweetwater another option. I’ve seen “tone pros” or something like that that might be a non-Gibson option. They have nylon saddles or something like that which might be interesting - never tried these before. Check out stewmac.

@duane v, here's my R7 the day I got it. Super nice guitar! Enjoy 🙂

I shared a pic of all my RIs a few times. I have an R7 GT, R7 BB, 2x R9s, and a 68RI Custom. Either way, will post something when I get the chance.

I have an R7 Custom LP (BB). I believe the year is 2003... Either way, really like it with the solid mahogany body, 57 Classics, baseball bat neck, and of course all the typical LP historic specs for construction and such of the era. The absolute nicest ebony board I have ever seen in my life is on this guitar - smooth as glass. It came this year I believe with gold Grovers, but really liked the waffle-back tuners. I haven't changed these out as Grovers are great tuners, but again, aesthetically, I like the waffle-backs more.

Thanks for sharing! She is a special one. You will have a hard time finding that one if you ever let it go. Anyhow congratulations! Hope for many years of enjoyment 😀 It’s a beautiful Nighthawk!

Appreciate the gratitude 😀 Happy to help out where I can, when I can. Best wishes all!

Amazing stuff @Rabs, now I know what the robot that is going to chase me down the road in a big-rig semi with a shotgun aiming for my head with dead-eye accuracy is going to look like, haha!

LOL, I remember that episode too... I have never considered in my life going to a pawn shop to sell - and to come up good on the deal. People who want money from a pawn shop I have to believe are more desperate for the money than someone who knows what they have, then try to make the best avenue to get the most value for a transaction. I liked the comment on the link shared above. Someone congratulated Mark for locking up a guitar that will do nothing else than collect dust. Here it is: "And, this is what I really don't like...manufacturers which repurchase instruments and put them in a "vault" where they shall never be enjoyed or played again by human hands. Good job, Mark!" lol! Iconic!!! I can't wait to have them anal-yze this guitar and sell a replica/reissue for $50k.