6string Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 I shouldn't have kept looking up reviews and videos on this thing. I tend to be OCD and that's a surefire way for something to end up on my doorstep. The 3 pickups give it an odd look, but add a bunch of variety for sure. What sold me was this video. Jump ahead to 4:48 for the tone that got me… I ordered from Sweetwater and should have it by Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crust Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 The picture makes that particular guitar look exceptionally nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomse Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I shouldn't have kept looking up reviews and videos on this thing. I tend to be OCD and that's a surefire way for something to end up on my doorstep. The 3 pickups give it an odd look, but add a bunch of variety for sure. What sold me was this video. Jump ahead to 4:48 for the tone that got me… I ordered from Sweetwater and should have it by Monday. You will like it. I have one and i like it a lot . Its a tone machine . Nice long neck and small in size . I am sure you will get use to it and love it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6string Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 Thomse… Did you change out the saddles on yours? I usually throw a Tusq or bone nut on new guitars, but I've read the saddle swap makes a big difference on these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubioBenji Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Yes indeed I change mine with GraphTech ones for PRS models and fits like a glove! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaZie Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Good decision! Nighthawk is a very interesting, I'd say unique guitar, for its pickup configuration and look. It's comfortable to play (all frets easily accessible), but only a bit neck heavy. I have upgraded pickups: bridge Seymour Duncan SH-4 and neck Entwistle HV-M. I plan to modify switching electronics so that even more pickup configurations would be possible, especially neck+bridge variations. I think these 2 pickups I replaced shoud work together very well as they have similar tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomse Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Thomse… Did you change out the saddles on yours? I usually throw a Tusq or bone nut on new guitars, but I've read the saddle swap makes a big difference on these. Kevin I haven't done any thing to it yet . Probably going to change out the nut and i read to to change out the saddle. But for now i like the tones it has . I my days of playing for money i was a Gibson Les Paul and Fender kind of player. And this guitar does both and more . I have been working on a new Gretsch right now but when i am done with that i will start on the Night hawk. I got the fire burst one it is a flawless guitar . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6string Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 Kevin I haven't done any thing to it yet . Probably going to change out the nut and i read to to change out the saddle. But for now i like the tones it has . I my days of playing for money i was a Gibson Les Paul and Fender kind of player. And this guitar does both and more . I have been working on a new Gretsch right now but when i am done with that i will start on the Night hawk. I got the fire burst one it is a flawless guitar . Good to hear you think it covers the Les Paul and Fender tones with your background. I love a good Tele and am hoping to get that tone out of it. I parted with my '52 Hot Rod Tele and regret the move. It would be nice to milk some of those tones out of the Nighthawk. I have a nut on hand so that will get changed right away. As for the saddles, the Callahans are $40+ and the Graph Tech's are in the same ballpark. I'll do those eventually since it's not too expensive and seems universally accepted as a good upgrade. I have some caps on hand so those will probably get changed right away too. I'll milk all I can out of these pickups before I decide whether I want to replace them or not. As long as they're not muddy, I can usually get a tone I like with some adjustments at the guitar and amp. Thanks for all the replies and personal experiences with your Nighthawks. I like hearing what you've done with yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6string Posted December 13, 2013 Author Share Posted December 13, 2013 Anyone with a Nighthawk noticed any issues when moving between the primarily 24.75" Epiphones to the 25.5" scale of the Nighthawk? I don't see it being a big issue for couch play, but in a gigging situation where you're focusing on things other than the fretboard, I can see some problems arising. Anyone noticed either way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaZie Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Good to hear you think it covers the Les Paul and Fender tones with your background. I love a good Tele and am hoping to get that tone out of it. I'm afraid it won't be possible to get exact Tele tones, at least because the woods for Tele and Nighthawk are not the same. Probably you'll have to modify electronics (pickup switching) so that you can connect bridge humbucker coils in parallel, not in series as standard. In fact, my Nighthawk doesn't sound like LP. It's warm, but I can hear noticeable difference. It's more powerful (I mean with stock pickups). Anyone with a Nighthawk noticed any issues when moving between the primarily 24.75" Epiphones to the 25.5" scale of the Nighthawk? I usually play for myself, and I got used to 25.5" scale as I have played Ibanez RG270 for over ten years. Thus, I can play both scales. I think more difference results from neck shape, than scale. For example, LP and Explorer necks feel much different to me, although both have the same scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAZIE Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Iv had a nighthawk reissue for a year and a few months now.i love it.my only issue with it is that i never pick up my tele anymore.iv been thinking of trying tp get my hands on a 90's gibson model so i won't feel weird about throwing a bigsby on my epi.the scale hasn't seemed to bother me playing at shows but going from my lp to the nighthawk on my couch will have me staring at nothing but my frets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6string Posted December 19, 2013 Author Share Posted December 19, 2013 The Nighthawk arrived yesterday and it's beautiful. Seriously, there's not a flaw on it. It's the best finish of any guitar I've ever bought. On the downside, I just can't seem to connect with it. I'm not feeling that spark between me and the guitar. It plays and sounds great, so I don't know what the problem is. Looks like this one's going back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Returning it, Already! Wow...that's fast! What isn't "connecting" with/for you? (Just curious) CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAZIE Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Some times it takes work man.iv brought my frests down and I'm thinking about new hardware up top.but it absolutely clicked as soon as i started tinkering with it,but it sat around for a month or two..despite my enthusiasm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomahawk Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I have always wanted to play one. Sorry to hear it wasn't your cup of tea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6string Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 Returning it, Already! Wow...that's fast! What isn't "connecting" with/for you? (Just curious) CB Kind of like a first date…if things don't click, I'm going to know it right away. It just wasn't there for me with the Nighthawk. It's a beautiful guitar and will make for a great relationship with somebody…just not me. I don't know how else to explain the "connecting" bit. You don't feel anything with your guitars that makes them special or somehow an extension of you? That's the only way I can think of to explain it. If it's there, I can feel it and it feels right. If it's not, it's like I'm holding a stolen guitar…something just doesn't feel right about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaZie Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 You don't feel anything with your guitars that makes them special or somehow an extension of you? Each of my guitars is an extension of me. I typically imagine what I might play on any particular guitar, and, if necessary, modify it, e.g., swapping pickups, to make it sound better for these songs. It takes time and money, but what a fun to discover the difference! In the case of my Nighthawk, I went to a shop that had few of them, with my multi-fx processor, and played for maybe an hour. Then I decided to buy. Then I read of pickup replacement possibilities (which are not very large for Nighthawk). First, I swapped mini-humbucker to Entwistle HV-M. This one is relatively cheap but works very well for me. It fits perfectly - I mean physical size, pole spacing etc. Sounds soft but powerful, has much power in the lows, like the stock one, but works better for higher notes. Similarly, I swapped bridge PU to SH-4. I was afraid I would lose some sound characteristics I liked in stock bridge PU, but it wasn't lost. So both pickups are clear upgrade. They shoud cooperate together well, too, so I plan to modify the electronics so that I could switch from H-S-H to H-H configuration. There's only one thing left - the middle single coil. It's not I'm totally disappointed with it, I typically don't play this PU alone, but in Nighthawk it's a bit of challenge to replace this PU for its mechanical mount properties. So, my Nighthawk gets better each day, but IMO it was a great guitar right from the start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levism Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I just bought my 5th guitar in a year, yesterday! It was the epi Nighthawk. I did about two weeks research on it and found one in the local buy and sell for 300 with no mods, they seller wasn't moving on his price so I was fortunate to find one in Edmonton at the long and Mcquade here. I plugged it in and found it very playable immediatly and really liked the rosewood fretboard on this. I have Gibsons so this seemed a little bit unfamilar in a good way. I am waiting on a N-225 on order and was really not prepared to buy anything for a few months anyway but I just could'nt let it go. I do have to say it did sound flat in tone. I experimented with some high gain and distortion (THat's what I like most) but it just wasn't the sound I had hoped for. Now I may be flagged for this as most including myself sort of know when the guitar is for you or when it is not, but, I bought it with the intension of exploring pickups to find a sound that is me. I have not had an opportunity to play with pick ups and pots but really want to understand the how and why. I have spent countless hours online watching video and now that I have made some friends at Long and Mcquade I am going to look into options fir new pickups (Semour Duncan JB slanted) and possibly the bridge/saddle. This is like the tenth post about ripping this things guts out and building somthing but honestly until you play this thing it's hard to describe the why's to others. There is already alot of good info on the forum about whats available. But i would like to hear how others feel about taking somthing and customizing it in order to find the Potential true extension of the instrument. Thanks for reading, and keep in mind I am still pretty new at guitar. :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twanged Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 I have one and I replaced the neck and bridge Pickups first thing and all the electronics. They are all crap I installed American made pots and five way switch including the jack and wiring. I had a few high frets that needed to be filed and smoothed out and of course I did a complete setup on the Nighthawk. I love the thing it is one of my favorite axes I own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Kind of like a first date…if things don't click, I'm going to know it right away. It just wasn't there for me with the Nighthawk. It's a beautiful guitar and will make for a great relationship with somebody…just not me. I don't know how else to explain the "connecting" bit. You don't feel anything with your guitars that makes them special or somehow an extension of you? That's the only way I can think of to explain it. If it's there, I can feel it and it feels right. If it's not, it's like I'm holding a stolen guitar…something just doesn't feel right about it. Interesting! I guess I tend to give a new guitar a bit more time, to see if I'll "bond" with it. Try to make sure, what I'm feeling is real (good or bad), and go from there. But, that's just me! Everyone is different, so you have to do what you have to do, for sure! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 NECRO THREAD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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