glennc Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 Hello to all, I went out to check on an epiphone 339 Pro. Did like it enough and saw the Nighthawk. Wow what a guitar. Looks great, plays great, excellent quality, not built in China, and such an array of sounds. Bought the sunburst which seems to have an ebony fretboard, is that possible? Plays so good I didn't realize it was a 25 1/2" scale length. Is there a specific guitar case for this model, or would an SG or LP protect it securely? Only thing that seems a little not great is the humbucker. Has anyone tried better caps in these guitars? Anyway it is cool! Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennc Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 Hi Congrats on the Nighthawk yep, I think mine has an Ebony board, too when was it built ? maybe the first run had ebony boards.... and the Standard Epi SG case will fit perfectly for the Nighthawk Hello Pete.R, I don't know how to decipher the s/n and haven't got a hold of Gibson to find out the manufacture date as yet. Thanks and congrats on your's also. Also for the info on the SG Case. Will look into that. Cheers Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennc Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 The serial reads like YYMMFF12345 Y Year, M Month, FF Factorycode, should be 23 for made in Indonesia mine was made Nov 2010 Thanks, Mine made Nov. 2011 in Indonesia. I saw a amber one at the shop and it appeared to have rosewood. Did check it's date!! Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennc Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 Hello Pete.R, I don't know how to decipher the s/n and haven't got a hold of Gibson to find out the manufacture date as yet. Thanks and congrats on your's also. Also for the info on the SG Case. Will look into that. Cheers Glenn Hmmmm, just got off the phone with Gibson and the tech advised me that Epiphone indicates that they only use rosewood on all the Nighthawks. Mine is a very dark solid colored rosewood! Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rednefceleb Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 My N'Hawk has an Ebony fretboard. I don't know if just certain finishes use the darker ebony or if you just got lucky. I consider ebony superior to rosewood. You can "dig into rosewood" as some people put it. The harder ebony gives a better percussive response for hammer-on & pull-off. On my Night Hawk I polish the hell out of the frets between string changes. I also use a Q-Tip to carefully apply 3-in-one oil lightly just to the ebony. I feel that too much oil may compromise the crown inlays & loosen them. Some of you probably may think that 3-in-one is a bit harsh, but it works! The grade of ebony on a N'Hawk is not that great. But it'll do. Better ebony is more dense and shiny. More responsive. Buy one of those inexpensive cases $35.00-$40.00 that fits Les Paul...it'll fit. Better p'ups and bridge saddles will make a different guitar of it. I am also going to but some (locking) Grovers. I hope that they weigh more. The heavier the mass at the bridge and @ the tuning pegs results in a much superior "ring" of strings. The better the 'acoustic' response on an electric guitar, the better she'll put out when plugged in. Rednefceleb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennc Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 My N'Hawk has an Ebony fretboard. I don't know if just certain finishes use the darker ebony or if you just got lucky. I consider ebony superior to rosewood. You can "dig into rosewood" as some people put it. The harder ebony gives a better percussive response for hammer-on & pull-off. On my Night Hawk I polish the hell out of the frets between string changes. I also use a Q-Tip to carefully apply 3-in-one oil lightly just to the ebony. I feel that too much oil may compromise the crown inlays & loosen them. Some of you probably may think that 3-in-one is a bit harsh, but it works! The grade of ebony on a N'Hawk is not that great. But it'll do. Better ebony is more dense and shiny. More responsive. Buy one of those inexpensive cases $35.00-$40.00 that fits Les Paul...it'll fit. Better p'ups and bridge saddles will make a different guitar of it. I am also going to but some (locking) Grovers. I hope that they weigh more. The heavier the mass at the bridge and @ the tuning pegs results in a much superior "ring" of strings. The better the 'acoustic' response on an electric guitar, the better she'll put out when plugged in. Rednefceleb. Hello rednefceleb, Have seen some of your posts in the search on Epi Nighthawks. Do you believe a better say PIO cap would have a positive effect on the sound. Right at the moment, I like the sounds of the mini-humbucker, the single coil seems okay, but would like eventually a better sounding bridge pickup. Any suggestions? Just Lemon oiled the fretboard, it is now almost black in color. Could you go over the saddle and what ones are the best replacement, I think there was something about non-standard string spacing? Thanks for any assistance Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennc Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 IIRC the first run was advertised having Ebony boards...... the actually models are described as 'Rev 2,0' whatever it means... at least it's the darkest rosewood ever used on a 300 Euro Epi Very dark rosewood with no visible grain. Lucky I guess! Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfine Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 The original Gibson Nighthawk Customs from the '90's had ebony fingerboards--so did the first batch of the new Epiphone reissues. Subsequently, it looks like they've switched to rosewood on those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennc Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 found it.... dated Aug 2011... Well then there you go! Cool, didn't think it was rosewood! Thanks! Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telemike Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 My Transparent Amber Nighthawk appears to have Ebony. The cardboard case says Limited Edition Nighthawk Reissue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennc Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 My Transparent Amber Nighthawk appears to have Ebony. The cardboard case says Limited Edition Nighthawk Reissue. Hello telemike, It sure seems to be a matter of being at the the right place at the right time. Don't when exactly they switch over... I like the ebony, but overall I believe this guitar would be great with the rosewood. Congrats! Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooki Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Quite a little deal going on here. Let me ask a few questions myself please. How do you tell the difference between ebony and rosewood? Seems like there is a lot of unsure and "I think mine is a ?" Also~~ When did they start making the Epi NH reissues? According to what your saying and my serial number, mine was made in November of 2007. That seems to far back to me. Mine reads: 11072314312 Thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telemike Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Ebony is black or dyed black with very tight grain, run your fingernail over it nad it will be smooth. Rosewood is reddish-brown and more open grained. Run your fingernail across and it will catch in the grain (cracks). Mine is dated 11/07 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanatic Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Hmmmm, just got off the phone with Gibson and the tech advised me that Epiphone indicates that they only use rosewood on all the Nighthawks. Mine is a very dark solid colored rosewood! Glenn He's wrong. I'm 100% positive of that. First of all, the guitar specs are shown on both the gibson and epi sites, and one site says ebony and one says rosewood. Mine is rosewood and i have seen 2 others both of which were ebony. theres zero mistaking that. I was at a epiphone event recently where I talked to the rep as I was looking at and remarking about a hawk which indeed had an ebony board. That rep said he didn't even know they ever used rosewood on any of them ! The opposite of what the rep u talked to said ! The only way you will get the real answer would be to talk to the people at the top who spec'd the guitar for the indonesian factory that was to make them. reps generally are clueless. i've talked to many and you tend to think they'd know at least a lot if not everything, but they are cluelss beyond what you'd ever imagine. Seen that far too many times to be fooled again. Now, as far as your new hawk and improving it, get a set of 2-1/16" fender vintage style saddles for it. They are the import ones and sound worlds better the the stock saddles or fender american vintage ones. You can get em on ebay for about $15. thank me later. Several here will tell you the same. the stock ones kill the clarity. as to pickups, there are options for the neck, one option for the middle, and if you can pull pickup coils off thier baseplate and solder, you can use most regular humbuckers in the hawk's bridge position by mounting them on the slanted stock pickup's plate. I'm running a super distortion there now. Seymour makes two slanted models for it, but i don't think they sound good in it. But they are there if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooki Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Your guitar was made July 2011 if you can't see or feel the different from Ebony to Rosewood you should not care about it You are rather hard core dude!!!... I'm sorry to hear you have a problem with the fact some of us are just learning and a stupid question with the "so boring" response only confirms my belief. There are those that make the learning feel small, and others that are willing to share their knowledge towards growth for others. Thanks for explaining the date of manufacture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooki Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Ebony is black or dyed black with very tight grain, run your fingernail over it nad it will be smooth. Rosewood is reddish-brown and more open grained. Run your fingernail across and it will catch in the grain (cracks). Mine is dated 11/07 Thanks so much for the info. I had never given thought to it until the forum lit up about it. If I had several guitars, maybe I could of made a comparison, but only have my NH. Mine also is ebony. Thanks again.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 You are rather hard core dude!!!... I'm sorry to hear you have a problem with the fact some of us are just learning and a stupid question with the "so boring" response only confirms my belief. There are those that make the learning feel small, and others that are willing to share their knowledge towards growth for others. Thanks for explaining the date of manufacture. Pete R. knows everything about Epis.........Keep that in mind........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 My Transparent Amber Nighthawk appears to have Ebony. The cardboard case says Limited Edition Nighthawk Reissue. Don't believe what's written on a darn cardboard box........ ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennc Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 He's wrong. I'm 100% positive of that. First of all, the guitar specs are shown on both the gibson and epi sites, and one site says ebony and one says rosewood. Mine is rosewood and i have seen 2 others both of which were ebony. theres zero mistaking that. I was at a epiphone event recently where I talked to the rep as I was looking at and remarking about a hawk which indeed had an ebony board. That rep said he didn't even know they ever used rosewood on any of them ! The opposite of what the rep u talked to said ! The only way you will get the real answer would be to talk to the people at the top who spec'd the guitar for the indonesian factory that was to make them. reps generally are clueless. i've talked to many and you tend to think they'd know at least a lot if not everything, but they are cluelss beyond what you'd ever imagine. Seen that far too many times to be fooled again. Now, as far as your new hawk and improving it, get a set of 2-1/16" fender vintage style saddles for it. They are the import ones and sound worlds better the the stock saddles or fender american vintage ones. You can get em on ebay for about $15. thank me later. Several here will tell you the same. the stock ones kill the clarity. as to pickups, there are options for the neck, one option for the middle, and if you can pull pickup coils off thier baseplate and solder, you can use most regular humbuckers in the hawk's bridge position by mounting them on the slanted stock pickup's plate. I'm running a super distortion there now. Seymour makes two slanted models for it, but i don't think they sound good in it. But they are there if you want. Hello hawkfanatic, Thanks for your response and great info. It appears that the string saddles are made by Fender and are called vintage with 2 1/16th string spacing. Will certainly look into that. Not so sure about the mods on the slanted humbucker. Will try to find a youtube video tutorial on it. Really would open up the choices. Can't recall the name of the company, but I saw that a vendor is rewinding the middle single coil to custom specs at reasonable prices. Don't know if it will help the sound, but I do like the Texas Special strat pickup sounds. Currently running everything through an old American made Blues Jr and no pedals. Cheers Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zuicey227 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 110723 = 2011-July- Indonesia He's wrong. I'm 100% positive of that. First of all, the guitar specs are shown on both the gibson and epi sites, and one site says ebony and one says rosewood. Mine is rosewood and i have seen 2 others both of which were ebony. theres zero mistaking that. I was at a epiphone event recently where I talked to the rep as I was looking at and remarking about a hawk which indeed had an ebony board. That rep said he didn't even know they ever used rosewood on any of them ! The opposite of what the rep u talked to said ! The only way you will get the real answer would be to talk to the people at the top who spec'd the guitar for the indonesian factory that was to make them. reps generally are clueless. i've talked to many and you tend to think they'd know at least a lot if not everything, but they are cluelss beyond what you'd ever imagine. Seen that far too many times to be fooled again. Now, as far as your new hawk and improving it, get a set of 2-1/16" fender vintage style saddles for it. They are the import ones and sound worlds better the the stock saddles or fender american vintage ones. You can get em on ebay for about $15. thank me later. Several here will tell you the same. the stock ones kill the clarity. as to pickups, there are options for the neck, one option for the middle, and if you can pull pickup coils off thier baseplate and solder, you can use most regular humbuckers in the hawk's bridge position by mounting them on the slanted stock pickup's plate. I'm running a super distortion there now. Seymour makes two slanted models for it, but i don't think they sound good in it. But they are there if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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