DPT Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Will Gibson please answer if they are going to make good on their marketing promises for a Bluetooth connection and a Hex cable for the Dark Fire? It has been over a year since the debut of the Dark Fire. Also, any word if we will be able to replace the battery? I'm just looking for a straight answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elong21 Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I'm in the same boat with you. Bought my Dark Fire in January 2009 and still can't get a hex cable. Hopefully with Gibson's imminent release of their new Dust Tiger guitar on Dec 7th which is supposed to include the RIP box (which took me almost a year to receive) and a hex cable, we will see the hex cable in Gibson's online store (or on Ebay!). I'm not thrilled with Gibson's level of customer service these days. They just seem to be cranking out guitar after guitar with different paint jobs without any concern for their customer's needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matbard Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Gibson has discontinued the DF and the promised DF features remains as they were: promises. The Bluetooth module is no longer on development, the hex cable will be included in the new DT but no answer from Gibson and probably will be not sold as a spare part. If you want a DF with all the promised features, you have to buy a DT. - Matteo (angry DF owner) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris Ashby Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Yea,actually,I think Gibson sucks on customer service,price and should give us first run DF owners a Dumb Tiger!!I want my hex cable.What the hell are they including one with the tiger and not the Darkfire.I want the features of the tiger.Why put out a product thats not ready..oh I get it,promise a killer instrument,break promise after selling enough units of DF to pay for the manufactering of the Dusk Tiger.It would be different if they werent priced and a used car price!!!!Come on???!!!I might sell the DF,tell people to buy anything but Gibson,its just a guitar! P.S. I hope this doesnt get ignored,like I m some crazy fool,I know Raymond and James over there in Florida and am pretty sure I can get ahold of a head guy,mabe not but I am gonna try!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Yea' date='actually,I think Gibson sucks on customer service,price and should give us first run DF owners a Dumb Tiger!!I want my hex cable.What the hell are they including one with the tiger and not the Darkfire.I want the features of the tiger.Why put out a product thats not ready..oh I get it,promise a killer instrument,break promise after selling enough units of DF to pay for the manufactering of the Dusk Tiger.It would be different if they werent priced and a used car price!!!!Come on???!!!I might sell the DF,tell people to buy anything but Gibson,its just a guitar! P.S. I hope this doesnt get ignored,like I m some crazy fool,I know Raymond and James over there in Florida and am pretty sure I can get ahold of a head guy,mabe not but I am gonna try!!!!![/quote'] Really? I think gibson has one of the best customor service in the guitar world. Any who told you to buy anything but gibsons? I never hear that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gplayer100 Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 The story as I understand it is: ... that the Dark Fire has a plug in receptacle for a Bluetooth transmitter from Panasonic. Bluetooth was never part of the Dark Fire capability but was presented as an optional add on. Panasonic was sued for patent infringement, and the court has an injunction on use of these bluetooth electronics, something Gibson could not do anything about. The midi cable was not promised as part of the Dark Fire purchase, but it was to be made available for optional purchase. Gibson placed a purchase of these cables with the plans for Dusk Tiger production. These cables will be available for purchase very shortly. Batteries will also be available. I have found Gibson customer service to be very responsive to any questions. Very few companies in any industry have 24/7 support with real people answering the phone. 1-800-4GIBSON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCK Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 The story as I understand it is: ... that the Dark Fire has a plug in receptacle for a Bluetooth transmitter from Panasonic. Bluetooth was never part of the Dark Fire capability but was presented as an optional add on. Panasonic was sued for patent infringement' date=' and the court has an injunction on use of these bluetooth electronics, something Gibson could not do anything about. The midi cable was not promised as part of the Dark Fire purchase, but it was to be made available for optional purchase. Gibson placed a purchase of these cables with the plans for Dusk Tiger production. These cables will be available for purchase very shortly. Batteries will also be available. I have found Gibson customer service to be very responsive to any questions. Very few companies in any industry have 24/7 support with real people answering the phone. 1-800-4GIBSON[/quote'] Welcome back gplayer100. Great to hear. Look forward to seeing a midi cable for the Darkfire as well as spare batteries ... PS. It is not actually a midi cable. It is a DarkFire to Roland GK series cable. To connect a Darkfire to midi you need some additional elements on top of that cable. Just to let you know so you don't create new expectations that will remain unmet ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matbard Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Welcome back from me too... Looks promising. I'm less angry now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReValt Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Looks promising. I'm less angry now. If Gibson does not keep its promises on Dark Fire, why should be credible in the technological products that will be after DF? I know that a lot of Gibson seller will not order Dusk Tiger... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPT Posted December 12, 2009 Author Share Posted December 12, 2009 The story as I understand it is: ... that the Dark Fire has a plug in receptacle for a Bluetooth transmitter from Panasonic. Bluetooth was never part of the Dark Fire capability but was presented as an optional add on. Panasonic was sued for patent infringement' date=' and the court has an injunction on use of these bluetooth electronics, something Gibson could not do anything about. The midi cable was not promised as part of the Dark Fire purchase, but it was to be made available for optional purchase. Gibson placed a purchase of these cables with the plans for Dusk Tiger production. These cables will be available for purchase very shortly. Batteries will also be available. I have found Gibson customer service to be very responsive to any questions. Very few companies in any industry have 24/7 support with real people answering the phone. 1-800-4GIBSON[/quote'] gplayer100: Thanks very much. That is the most amount of info I have received about the issues. I cannot understand why Gibson has neither responded directly to this thread (unless that's you), or why they have not made any of that information public just to calm the Dark Fire community. My whole experience with the Dark Fire has been nothing but aggravation and disappointment. Being a solid Gibson supporter for many years, I was appalled with their service to update and repair my Dark Fire. I was without the instrument for over 5 months. Customer Service was doing their best, but having to hear "we are waiting for parts" over and over for months - only to see the Dusk Tiger miraculously appear with similar parts - was the last straw. I was very surprised to see how the Nashville BBB rated Gibson at first, but now I understand. I finally have my DF back, but it came back with a different DF box that was crushed on edge, a different DF case, and the guitar was barely cleaned (heavy dust and fingerprints all over). I'll continue to support the "real" Gibson brands, but I will never consider another technology product due to their sorry lack of support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saffenkoff Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 i seriously dont understand what gibson is doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itoucheverything Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Saffenoff, i think they may just be competing now'a days Gibson told me that the cables will be available for the Darkfires, direct question and a direct answer over the phone. Just call customer service & ask... I was given a good reason for the delay. They haven't changed the specs on the RIP and quite a few people have made thier own cables because they didn't feel like waiting. If they didn't come through I'd actually be shocked, they have nailed down every problem and question we have had with any gibson we've purchased including the DF... that includes answering pre-sales questions, and offering advice that had nothing to do with currently owned products, just guitars in general! think it may depend on who you talk to, but their support in general is damn good, not to mention 24/7 and in English a few hundred miles away from where i actually live! Think we need to remember the DF was delayed to get the bugs worked out, it's LOL not that hard to imagine something so radically different to have a few issues... ever record a song that seemed like you were just about done and ended up finishing it over several months because you started to hear something different, or to get it just perfect? Far as I can tell they have been coming through with all their promises. only thing i am aware of that is up in the "air" so to speak is the bluetooth option, but if you look around in the forums, it doesn't appear to be their fault. When you think about it, how many of the DF & DT are even out there? Compared to the just a standard run of the mill gibson that simply has a beautiful sound and the amazing ability to chose one pickup or the other or even both!! whoooooohhh heavy man We have been starting to pickup more gibsons because the support is so good... and they are creating new stuff, that gives us a reason to, I love gibson but to be honest how many do you need if you aren't collecting them & the only thing you need is a new paint color? The company is changing, for the better I think. They are becoming really competitive and it's awesome to see. I am one of the least patient people you will ever meet, and I wouldn't extend myself to offer up anything other then my own opinions regarding any guitar or company, I am also new to these forums, am up late a lot lately and sharing a few thoughts is always fun. I'm thinking with the DF & DT, it's seems they are simply making sure everything is right and perhaps getting ready for a non-limited production run guitar to include all this new tech, just like it seems what they did with the original robots?? In all of this fixing or adjusting they did they didn't make a darkfire II they created the dusk tiger, and i can tell the differences are fixes and the housing of this new tech was something a lil' crazy, that takes balls. it will all trickle back down in firmware, cables, component boxes for the hex similar to "The Magical BOB" etc... all i know for sure is I'm happy there won't be a DF III it will be something different as well. It's like waiting for your favorite bands new album... sounds like them but it's new and you smile when you play it and sing along waiting for the next! That's new for gibson! Look what moog did? less then a few hundred, then a production run making that crazy groovy guitar available to everyone! wish i had the skills to combine these two guitars like people implant variax guts into whatever guitar they have, that would be a scream machine from hell... is so cool to be alive and have all my years of tuning guitars behind me, companies like moog and gibson creating guitars I actually HAVE to have, that inspire, that can create a tone unique to the person playing that guitar at that moment? It's good for me, my own business and just fun. Our first Darkfire had bugs but parting with it for the short few weeks or so to get it up to spec with the new changes/fixes was like losing a damn limb!!!!!! Rambling like this is like listening to Zakk Wylde make a pinch harmonic wander around high, so night and I wish ya nothing but the best, but that's what I think gibson is doing ; ) ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnflyingv Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Seems to me that Gibson is going down a slippery slop with some of this technology. Robot tuning is one thing; that can remain fairly constant. But once you get into battery technology, circuit board, MCK design, etc, how are you ever going to retrofit a DF with later versions of the technology. Even if Gibson makes kits available (and frankly, why should they), you might have routing to do to handle the new parts. And if only certain dealers can make the changes (or maybe only Gibson), you might have months of downtime. And even if you can retro fit your DF, how many times can you do that, and at what cost? We all know too well that technology is throw away. Look at software, operating systems, and home computers. We expect a $3-4K guitar to last a lifetime, but to keep up with the technology, it will cost a fortune. Even the Firewire and Bluetooth connectivity that we rely on today will probably be obsolete in 5-10 years. What do we do with our guitars then? And what is Gibson going to do for us? Tell us to buy a new model for $5K? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itoucheverything Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 You are very right that in 5-10 years perhaps Gibson may not be able to retrofit the Darkfire or the Dusk Tiger, who knows, but Digidesign/AVID & Apple aren't offering to guarantee us an upgrade path either!!! Technically as studios relate to them they are hardware and software companies, we have heavy investments in both, but we honestly need their stuff at the moment to compete and more importantly experiment! If there was a cheaper option we'd take it, but for now it is a standard we can rely on to work with others. It's pay to play with them as always. And yes, you are right that these guitars to are hellbent on being different! So different they may not take off, I believe they will as right now they do blend into a modern studio, but you never know... so replacement or upgrade parts may not be readily available as they will break one day. So you don't buy one of the few out there, I certainly wouldn't recommend one for your first guitar until there is a real unlimited production run, but I trust the people who do own these first new guitars them will help themselves if they have to, or don't care about 10 years from now. I can't even remember how many guitars I have gone through over the years. Yes, I am proof you can accidentally really f*** up an older Gibson as well LOL... even worn frets into a grand buzzing sensation off a guitar an chosen not to re-fret it. Simply wanted something newer/better ( anyone else dig the stainless steel frets on a Parker? ). I am more curious what kind of tech is going to be in newer guitars in 5-10 years! Hope I do live that long... & I'll knock on one of these guitars as they are still mostly wood but just out of curiosity, are you intending to record or play live any of the songs you may write in the next 5-10 weeks or months? If so, you really should try one, these are damn fun tools if playing guitar is your craft! I keep checking this and the future guitar now forums for new info or updates or things people have tried with their rigs or in the studio however I keep seeing posts like yours... I sincerely do not mean this as an insult, but do you remember when you had to use tape & unbalanced connections to record? For instance if you didn't have money pouring in so you could record in someone else's studio? I do. & no I'm not 40 yet either... Do you remember how expensive those first computers where? When you had to add tubes to soften the sound up? As software plugin's that emulated tape saturation well weren't around yet to help sculpt your sound? Man we have come along a long way, everything has changed why shouldn't our tools for making noise? Anyway, I do remember our first computer in the studio, non linear editing. Talk about change and one camp fighting with another... but now there is no real argument, people add tubes or saturation plugin's to their DAWs to control the sound or find the sound they want. Right now a small studio can compete with even the largest quality wise. Why wouldn't you encourage Gibson or other guitar companies to think harder? It's great to know we can all go out an buy a regular Gibson, they will never take that away from you, but it's pretty damn groovy to have a choice right now! What if another company did just what Gibson is doing now an just eventually flat put them out of business over 5-10 years? Don't think it could happen? Have a good one, an I'll race ya changing strings warming up and then dropping down to open G anytime :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourdogsdancing Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Hi all, I've had my DF a while now & although I love Gibson's anyway, the real clincher for me was the promise of being able to connect it to my Roland VG-99 etc without using a stick on GK3. The Gibson Rep was actually in the shop when I bought it and I was assured the Hex/13pin adaptor would be available 'shortly' I can't really see that happening now but I did hear of some guy who had started to market his own cable. Does anyone know if this is true & how to buy one? I can't seem to find anything on the net about it. Regards Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPM Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I haven't heard of anyone marketing their own cables, but according to the Gibson USA blog http://www2.gibson.com/N...le/Blogs/Gibson-USA.aspx, they will be selling the "RIP hex to MIDI Cable". I believe it is the same cable that is included with the Dusk Tiger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourdogsdancing Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Hi RPM, Fantastic, thanks for that! Made my new year complete. All the best, Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCK Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Cable is easy to make if you have some soldering skills or know of someone who can help. Checkout FGN for details. hope Gibson comes through with its promise soon so you will not need to DIY like we all did but if you need it here is the link : http://www.futureguitarnow.com/forum/index.php?topic=193.0 Happy new year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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