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1996 Epiphone Nighthawk (Korean Build)


NighthawkChris

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Hi, I have a Gibson Nighthawk ST3 replica in the form of a 1996 Epiphone Nighthawk made in Korea at Samick factory apparently - decoded SN online and this was result. My question is I want to modify the pickups (this guitar came with some OBL knockoffs because they DEFINITELY are not high quality). The slanted HB, I have Seymour Duncan JB pickup. The mini-hum and single coil I want to swap out as well. I was eyeing out the JBE (Joe Barden Engineering) pickups available - single coil and mini-hum. They supposedly are featured primarily with Strats and Teles, but as we know, the Nighthawk was Gibson's shot into Fender's territory. The single coil chamber in this Epi-Hawk body is not like the original NH where in the original, the mounting screws are nearly "IN" the PU where my Epi-Hawk has mounts on the outer edges of the PU, but not as "wide" as a strat. Nonetheless, I believe it will fit nicely. And the mini-hum is pretty much standard dimensions and I foresee no issue here. Basically, I want to see if anyone has thoughts on these JBE pickups which aren't cheap... I plan on making this Epi-Hawk a guitar for jazz sounds and the like. I have pretty much modified the entire internals as I detested the original wiring scheme... I thought the stock stuff made the guitar "thin" and cheap sounding, but the woodworking and construction is pretty solid. The electronic parts were a bust though as I have ranted about a few times in the past on this forum as the switches, pots, and input jack (and plate) all failed over regular usage. I replaced all of it - totally gutted all electronics and rewired cleanly. I can do this though - I have a lot of experience soldering on SMT PCB's and such, so a guitar is SUPER simple for me to do - and I have all the necessary soldering station equipment. I don't burn wires :-). Trust me, my wiring scheme and soldering skills have done great justice to this instrument. Overall, love the guitar - wouldn't have bought the originals if I haven't fell in love with my Epi-Hawk years ago - still love it after I had dressed and new bone nut installed. Just want to put in some jazzy PU's and figure out if anyone likes the JBE PU's. All thoughts and information are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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  • 1 month later...

I thought I would share a picture of this wonderful guitar... Check it out! Let me know if there are any questions. This guitar has been seriously upgraded and I am tempted to say it blows away the actual Gibson NH's of the 90's...

 

looks great, to me. :) Oh yes it does...indeed :)

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