hawkfanatic Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 I know a lot of you don't believe in the notion that upgrades really don't improve tone much. But they can and often do, but i don't want to start a debate about that. I want to tell you how to improve your hawks tone in a big way. eccod, are you listening? I mentioned to you in that other post that i felt the saddles on these guitars are inhibiting the tone substantially. I've had experience with those same pot metal block saddles on some other guitars like squiers and the upgrade to vintage steel bent saddles has always been big. I thought on this model it would be even bigger. Well, long story short, i'm actually amazed at how right i was about this. I just plugged it in after changing to fender vintage style saddles today and i swear, the improvement was bigger than i usually get changing to better pickups. The guitar just came alive. It became so resonant that i could hit a low string and feel it resonate thru the strap into my skull ! The tone is just sick now compared to before. I just knew those saddles were choking it ! Oh, and the bridge+middle strat quack tone is now FAR better. It rivals my strat. Just fabulous. I don't know how to describe how strongly i recommend all you NH owners do this. Also, In another thread eccod said he put one of those duncan slanted PAF '59 pickups they are making especially for the hawk's bridge position in his guitar and he was blown away by the improvement. I ordered one too. I can't even imagine how it will sound with that too ! In fact, i intend to also replace the neck pickup which sounds great for single notes up the neck with gain. But for anything else it's too hot and muddy. I am now positive this guitar is capable of tone that will not just match but beat most gibsons at any price. I've been playing 40 years and have owned literally 100's of guitars. This is honestly the most incredible tone i've had to date in some ways, and i'm positive in ALL ways once the pickups are upgraded. Anyways, do the saddle swap at least and i believe the difference is so much that even newer players with undeveloped ears will have no trouble noticing a big improvement. If you want to try it, there is someone on ebay selling the proper saddles for 17 bucks and no shipping. Just google "2-1/16" saddles" and that should find them. Thats the key....you need saddles with a 2 and 1/16th inch spread which generally only come on some of the cheaper fender imports. I had some that were wider but ground them to a shorter width with a dremel and stone wheel. But i will be buying good ones now that i know what a difference they make. I'll be going with callaham which are $40. Those $17 ones will make the sort of difference i described, but i tried a lot of fender vintage saddles on a strat a while ago and the of the 4 or 5 sets i tried the only on that was not fender was the one that won...a set of callaham. And he makes a 2-1/16" set so thats what i'm going with. I may hear a improvement but i'm not counting on it. I think it's worth a shot tho knowing they won the tone test on my strat. But either way, try this....i guarantee you will NOT be sorry. It transformed the guitar to my ear. Cannot WAIT for that '59 to arrive ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Um, er, I'm not good at links.......Can you link the related threads to this one ??? Great post by the way......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanatic Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 Sure, it's the thread where i was asking (more like begging) for someone to please evaluate the duncan slant pickups for the NH. eccod finally replied after about 2 months of asking here and elsewhere. This thread... http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/85964-duncan-slant-pickups-for-nighthawk-evaluation-anyone/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eccod Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I think I found the saddles you're talking about. http://www.ebay.com/itm/230570325251 I've been considering the GraphTech saddles for the nighthawk, would that be a similar improvement? They do make them in 2-1/16". Also, what about strings for the NH? I'm currently using Gibson Vintage Reissue nickel strings (11s), and I like them, but I'm always open to suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanatic Posted April 21, 2012 Author Share Posted April 21, 2012 I wouldn't worry about strings if you're happy with them. They're pretty much one of the most subjective things so it's hard to recommend something unless it has some specific thing about them that is what you were asking for. I use ernie ball slinkies in 10 just because they are like the name suggests lower tension than others. I also like the way they seem balanced. But thats me. As for the saddles, unless you prefer a guitar thats less resonant and duller sounding, this isn't subjective at all. They liven the guitar up big time. Like a blanket was taken off your amp. And yes, those are the ones i was suggesting, tho if you want the best go with the callahams at $40. Those $17 ones will do what i described, but i went with the callahams because to me they just sound a bit better than any of the fender saddles. Maybe not by enough for you, but either way i say get one or the other. Put it this way....if i had the choice between new pickups or saddles for this guitar but not both, i'd pick the saddles. They are the only thing blocking this guitar's natural tone from the wood and design from coming thru, and they are blocking it in a pretty big way. The closest thing i could use as an analogy, and i think it's the perfect analogy, is it sounds like a new set of strings on a good acoustic compared to a old set thats dead as a doornail. Looking at it like that, $17 is a no brainer to put it mildly. Don't bother with the graphtech. They are tonally going to be no better than the stock ones or worse. And the main reason to get those is tuning issues, which if your hawk is anything like mine is something you don;'t have to worry about. Mine stays in tune better than any of my guitars. I literally have had a week or 2 go by w/o tuning it ! Anyways, GT are for tuning issues, not tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanatic Posted April 21, 2012 Author Share Posted April 21, 2012 You know, come to think of it, if you do consider the callahams you may want to wait and i can tell you whether they are worth it over the fenders because i have fender imports vintage saddles on mine now which is basically what those ebay ones are. So when i put the callahams on i can tell you whether the difference is worth it or not, if you wannna wait. Should have them on within a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamb100 Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Great post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T17 Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 So, Hawk, how'd the Callahams sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanatic Posted May 5, 2012 Author Share Posted May 5, 2012 So, Hawk, how'd the Callahams sound? Great. Better than the fender vintage i had on it, maybe not enough to make it worth the extra $ for some. For me, yes. I could have stuck with the fender vintage and been happy. But the improvement of the callahams over the fenders to me was worth the 40 bucks. It just depends on your ears and how fanatical you are about tone i suppose. $40 isn't a lot of money to spend on a guitar you prize. On the other hand, the fenders work great and are worlds better than stock. They're likely good enough for most. I would say if the stock saddles are a 1 and the callahams are a 10, the fenders were a 7 or 8. Just replace that stock crap with any bent steel saddles and it will be well worth it. If you want the best and realize $40 is nothing when it comes to a guitar you prize like i do the NH, then go with the callahams. Not sure if I agree with them, but the folks over at Graphtech disagree: Of course they do ! They DO have a bit of interest in them. You may feel different, but i tried them once and they were slightly worse sounding then the stock saddles they replaced. Would they sound better then the NH saddles? Maybe so....the stock saddles are pure junk. Will the sound better than the callahams or fender vintage? Not to my ears i can assure you. But like everything, YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rednefceleb Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Thanks "Hawkfanatic" for the saddle info. I can testify that Callaham are far better than most any stock Bridge assembly. My Jimmie Vaughn Strat came to life with a Callaham bridge assembly and a set of tightly mounted Sperzels. What a difference. If an electric guitar is responsive acoustically, it will be much more responsive when plugged in. I also put in a 25 db mid range boost kit. I don't crank up the boost knob much, but she's always active when plugged in. Very alive. Now I begin my Nighthawk dream. I feel like a kid on Christmas![it's being delivered 5-07]. I too, am planning on a JB NHT. Not sure about that mini neck humbucker. It's gotta be a Blues pickup. I need some help from anyone who knows where I can find a wiring service diagram for The Nighthawk. Thanks from a new member. Glad I joined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Bill Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 I believe that GraphTech compounds may be a better choice for the top nut (to replace the factory plastic material), but I wouldn't be convinced about a benefit from using the GTs as far as saddle material goes. While replacing several factory nuts with GTs, I found that they are made of considerably different compounds. When I drop a factory nut on a hard surface, it makes a bit of a *clack* noise, whereas the GT sounds more like a *tink* sound (the GT sounds like a more dense material to me). Brass nuts can can be found, in addition to the other more conventional materials. I've looked at saddle materials including titanium and I think the best material for any player is what the player likes best. The factory zinc/diecast/potmetal saddles are completely suitable for many players, although the thin strings may wear the fine edges of the factory saddles fairly quickly, depending upon the players habits. I believe the previously mentioned formed steel saddles would sound different than GTs, and also the factory zinc version. Aside from the formed steel saddles also having a small amount of lateral flexibility which the zinc diecast saddles probably don't exhibit, both types are supported by steel screws over a steel plate. While softer materials may not actually dampen string vibration, I believe they are less beneficial at conducting vibrations to the body. Sound travels well through air, but better through water, in that it's conducted over longer distances with less loss (from tapping a couple rocks together, to ultrasonic/sonar frequencies). If saddles were made of pencil erasers, then adding glass strands/beads to the rubber compound would very likely improve it's ability to conduct string vibrations/sound. I haven't tried a brass nut yet, but eventually will, and I'll probably try other (saddle & nut) materials to see what I can hear. My guess would be that some players may actually find that some materials are better (to their liking) for strings 1-2-3 and a different material for 4-5-6. When a goblet is lightly struck with something, it generally emits a resounding note.. so glass/crystal saddles would be better if made from glass than soft wood, for example. A glass bridge on a cello may sound sick, and on a violin may cause bleeding ears (Mariah upper notes to a hard-core rock or metal fan, I suppose). Placing different materials between a tuning fork stem and a guitar bridge or body will give a fairly good representation of the ability/range of sound that's conducted by various materials. Bill Not sure if I agree with them, but the folks over at Graphtech disagree: How does it sound? BLACK TUSQ XL will bring out hidden harmonics in your guitar. The highly resonant material couples your strings' vibration to the neck better than anything else. You will hear more richness from every note, especially on open strings. Black TUSQ XL is designed to boost guitar tone and performance. This precision engineered nut is made with a specially formulated material which couples the strings' vibrations to the neck and brings out the hidden harmonics and richness in every note. It is based on the highly resonant TUSQ man made ivory, but is impregnated with PTFE to improve the tuning performance of the guitar. Love my Graphtech saddles and nut either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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