Gibson Nighthawk Special (2 Pickup model)

As other reviews. Bought mine new in , I think, '94. Bought it because I wanted a light guitar. Wasn't into Gibsons, but the guy in the music store said I should try this one. It was light! and sounded ok. At the time I played noise, so the specific sound options were not very interesting for me.

The reason I'm writing this review: I started playing other types of music, and discovered that the nighthawk had a very nasty squeling, piercing tone in the high strings when played clean. Last year I bought a very good Ibanez 335-type guitar, which sounded much better, but... the nighthawk sounded as good as the Ibanez when played unplugged. To make a long story short, the reason for the high squeling sound was due to the bridge saddles. There is another review for a 3 pickup model where some guy had the same problem. He changed the bridge saddles and solved the problem. I did the same. I made new saddles out of hard wood(!) for the 3 high strings. It Worked! No more squeling, the sound got a bit warmer but not too much. I think there is a bit less sustain, but there's enough left. I'm now very happy with this guitar, I only wished I had done /known this ten years ago... This guitar is great for all kinds of music; I love to play rithm guitar on it. With some eq tweaking on the amp u can use every pickup setting, clean or distorted. A 10 for sound, after my change of bridge saddles. Before is was a 6.

Can't remember. I set up my guitars myself. It's quite easy to st this one up. Change bridge hight now and then - makes it sound a bit different. Bridge: see above. I'm not sure if I had bad luck or every nighthawk might have the same problem. There are some compliants of very bright, harsh sounding nighthawks... Hardwware is oxidizing, I don't mind.

Played live with it a lot. It fell down on stage a couple of times, it survived the back of a tour bus. I always play with a back up guitar, i ncase strings break.

Never dealt with Gibson

Been playing 33 years... Had a couple of guitars, most of them not very good. I had a washburn falcon which was ok, but extremely heavy. Had a fender bullet, an epiphone (kind of Brian May guitar lookalike). I have now an Ibanez AS 193 (ES 335 model, but brighter sounding) Very good guitar! I made my own guitar out of an old hagstrom body with GFS-pickups. Strange souding guitar, lots of twangy bass. Th Nighthawk is my 'studio'guitar. Amps: Music man RD 65, vox pathfinder. If I had to buy a new guitar I would definitely look for another light guitar; might very well be a nighthawk, but there are many good guitars on the market these days... Most of them cheaper, as nighthawks are selling second hand for the price I paid new back in the nineties.

94 or 95 model. Gibson US. 5-way selector switches from neck mini-humbucker to coil split neck humbucker to coil split neck and bridge humbucker to slanted (strat style) bridge humbucker to coil split bridge humbucker. And that's from just 2 humbuckers!

Mahogany body with maple cap. Les Paulish shape, thinner lighter with body contours. String-through bridge. Gold hardware. Tulip style tuners.

Strat style neck scale. Mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard Slightly thin C neck design. Medium frets. 22 medium sized frets.

Built with the blues player in mind but it works great with anything rock. This guitar lends itself to a lot of "soulful" playing. It has a lot of sustain, clarity and definition. It was advertized to be the Brightest Gibson Ever Played. And they're right, you can get anything from a classic buttery LP sound to a bright twangy strat. You have to hear to believe.

It would be unfair to judge the action, fit and finish since I bought this just a year ago and it had been sitting in store for 8 to 10 years!

When I bought it, the hardware had corroded, the neck had bowed slightly, it had a few dings and scratches and it buzzed in all the wrong places-in spite of the high action. But it sounded great and I've always wanted a nighthawk.

I had just finished working on the set up (with a little fret dressing and neck adjustment) and was able to lessen the corrosion as well. So now it looks nearly new-but it plays great.

Was never a fan of the Gibson finish-which is light and can get sticky and is quite delicate.

I'm not a live player so I wouldn't know but I suppose it would stand up to anything you dish out. The bridge seems to be a more solid design than the Les Paul bridge. Strap buttons are regular Gibson-not that great.

The finish looks like it wears off easilly. But I guess a "worn" guitar adds to the appeal doesn't it?

Good dealer support. Non-existent Gibson support in the Philippines though.

Been playing for ten years although more often these days. Have an epi elite lp custom (damn good guitar), Gibson SG Special, American Standard Strat, Taylor 110-E. After putting in all the work to get this playing great, I'll hunt the guy who stole it down.

I love the shape, sounds, how comfortable it is to play. Love the price as well.

Wish it had a more durable finish.

In a nutshell, this guitar solos like it has a lot of "soul" to it and I can't find anything as versatile for rhythm duties.

1995, 22 frets, string thru body bridge, mahogany neck, rosewood finger board with parallelogram inlays, mahogany body, quilted maple top, bound neck and body, beautiful sunburst with gold hardware - it looks devine. The body is light and modern in shape. Although only an inch shorter than a Les Paul, it looks very small. Mini humbucker at the neck, big slanted humbucker at bridge, 5 way switch yielding a versatile palette of sounds.

These were made from about 1993 to 1998. I guess the instrument didn't catch on, which is puzzling as the sounds are varied and all are gorgeous. It's lightweight and very playable. Strong output from both humbuckers - warm at the neck, big and tight but not sharp, at the bridge. The single coil sounds makes this two guitars in one. The neck single is similar to a Strat. The bridge is bright and clear but again not sharp, and with more tone than a Strat. The neck and bridge singles together have an accoustic flavour on a clean channel, but are also tasty with some Marshall overdrive.

The fretboard has a beautiful touch, so good that I traded my USA Strat for it the moment I first held it in my hands. Strats are nice, but not as versatile as this Gibson, which has both grunt and sparkle. I found that I needed a big amp to drive a Strat. Not so the Nighthawk.

The slim, short scale neck, however, is not suited to those with big hands, like me.

The guitar is well made and finished, the quilted maple sunburst and gold hardware giving it much class. The standard gloss black headstock, however, looks a bit agricultural on such a sophisticated unit. My tusq nut replacement makes a subtle improvement in tone over the standard plastic.

I have used it continuously for three years as a semi-professional and have not needed anything else.

N/A

Playing for thirty years. Semi-professional for last ten years, the first seven with Tele and Strat. The Nighthawk is a well made, versatile guitar with extremely good tone. It delivers that warm, strong Gibson sound, as well as enough single coil options for me to make a Fender superfluous. I use it for 60s, 70s, rock/pop/party music, blues and slide.

1995 , with two pickups. made in usa. i own a fender fat strat , a gibson lespaul standard, a flying v , an ibanez art core, and this nighthawk sounds better then all of them. I play it threw a visual sounds jekle and hyde ,and a dunlop crybaby into a fender princeton 65. the makes the clean sound a little bit muddy so ii unplugg the wah and clean souns amazing. I love the pickups becaus they have such a range in sonds. honestly i just bougt the guitar because it was cheap and it was a gibson. but when i plugged it in i was blown away.

I play funk rock,blues ,and classic rock (influenced by jimi ,beck, led zep and the chili peppers. sounds great clean and it handles my distortion perfectly. it suits my style of playing. great for rock ,alt,funk,blues,jazz,country,. the pickups can hadle almost any levle of distotion be fore sounding bad. has amazing sustain. best soud under 2k

great neck realy fast, light weigt a little less than a strat. les pauls are rediculisly heavy. i guese the wood is mahagony with a maple top. i cant tell because min is ebony finsh.

will gig withougt back up. the gold hardware fades fast. the finish will last forever. strap buttons are a litlle small

havent had to

buy this guitar if u see one. better than les paul and cheaper.
its a shame they were discontinued

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This is a followup to my earlier review. Where I usually play blues/jazz/Eagles-like rock, I have been experimenting with a heavier sound lately for a recording project. Using a Digitech preamp (-32db mids, +32db bass/treble, both tube and solid state circuits in parallel at 100% gain), the pickups handle the punishing distortions better than the Ibanez JS100, Gibson LP, or PRS Custom 22 I tried with the same setup, and fuller, warmer, smoother resonse.

The sound is HUGE...excellent bass, and while the bridge humbucker was good, the middle position (bridge and neck single coils) were even more clear and powerful without any additional noise. The tone was best at about 7...a higher setting got squeally, and a lower setting was too nu-metal for me, but both were usuable for their own seperate styles.

The pickups are very powerful...for the ultra-high gain, I need a solid state rectifier: dual 5V4 rectifiers couldn't handle the input with that preamp setting.

see below

see below

Gibson have become a bunch of bastards policy-wise, but I haven't dealt with them yet...still rock-solid!

The more I play it, the more I like it...truly the best guitar for heavy rock and metal, even though they're not really my thing! You can't find a better tone for less than $2K.

Nighthawk Special in ebony finish, with gold hardware, an M-series mini-humbucker in the neck, and an M-series slanted full-sized humbucker in the bridge. One volume and one tone knob, and a 5-way blade switch.

Not really sure what to put for this category...I sought out this exact guitar with these features because they were 100% what I wanted. However, it doesn't have a AAAAA quilted top or artistic gemstone fretboard inlay, so I'll give it an 8.

Exactly what I wanted, but it doesn't have the artistry of a $10K+ axe either.

Blues-rock, jazz, and alternative rock for 8 years. I run my guitars pretty much straight into a BadCat Black Cat Reverb 30watt combo (1x12?), with a Visual Sound Rt.66 pedal in front for compression, and on rare occasion I patch in a Digitech floor processor to horse around with effects.

My other electric for recording and performance alike (not counting my Ovation Celebrity quilt-top), is a Gibson Blueshawk, and these two guitars are a perfect compliment. Where the Blueshawk is low-output semi-hollowbody and does sweet clean and light-crunch tones and rhythms very well, this guitar is a solidbody and VERY high-output, and loves to sing on leads and gets balls-thru-the-wall aggressive on chords. Not only does it sound very different from a Les Paul, but despite its solid construction, it resonates very well unplugged.

What a thick, aggressive tone! Warm and focused, this guitar cleans up fairly well, although there?s not a lot of headroom with some amps. It can do a very warm, well-defined clean tone?bright in coil tap and fat in humbucking mode?but comes alive in the vicinity of medium-crunch, and heats up from there. On the neck pickup, I can get some buttery smooth cleans in coil-tap position, and with both coils engaged in the neck mini-hb, there are loads of warm, crunchy rhythm tones to be found. The great thing is that the string-definition is preserved and accentuated even with a fair amount of overdrive, which is uncommon on any neck pickup.

Mid position has some thick tele tones (mid position is tapped), and those have some application for me; there?s some quack, but it?s not extreme, which I find a plus??quack? is not a tone I look for. Rather it sounds much like the old Fender teles that had the humbucker in the neck and s/c in the bridge?some bright cutting tone with a warm, bassy background.

The bridge pickup is very nice, as it is not too bright, but rather warm with a full midrange and a solid, tight bass and can REALLY push my amp?s front end to its limits. Very thick, but again, string-definition is preserved. Even with a lot of overdrive, I can still hear each string ring individually in a chord, which is something I don?t get on Les Pauls. It does saturated leads very well, and can do the modern ?wall of sound? overdrive, but musically, because you can hear every note in the chord while the sound is blasting you against the wall. Never harsh or shrill, which is the important thing here?with a good amp, you can get as heavy as you want and play as high on the board as you want without tinny, shrill, or harsh frequencies popping out.

When recording at home, I use the Blueshawk for semi-acoustic clean or slightly dirty rhythms and effects, but this guitar I always run straight to the amp, because it shines when there is nothing making the tone except it and the amp tubes. The more I play this guitar, the more I realize that the fundamental sound of this guitar is so outstanding that any effects or additional EQ just get in the way of what cannot be easily-if-at-all improved upon.

Great neck (thick but fast), and fantastic low action without buzz after some minor tweaking. Finish is very nice as well?nothing exceptional, but nice. I got it with 0.11?s, but had it set up with 0.12?s by the local guitar guy for thick tone and heavy sustain?plays like a dream.

This is the solidbody brother of the Blueshawk, and as the Blueshawk has held up well for me, this can only be even more exceptional.

Feels solid as any telecaster ever did.

A hell of a lot more guitar than an LP Standard or LP Studio, at between half and a quarter of the price. Great Gibson features, but better feel, weight, and tone.

I needed a second guitar to fill the bill in the studio, as the Blueshawk just can?t do rock, and I was looking at either this guitar (which is now hard to find), or an Ibanez JS100 which I knew I?d have to replace the pickups on immediately. I?m glad that I made the choice I did?both guitars have great (though very different) necks, but this has a warmth and string-definition that I doubt that I?d have gotten otherwise (at least without $250 in Tom Anderson pickup replacements). And because of the non-tremolo, string-thru design of the Nighthawk, I got far more sustain than the Ibanez has, all without the Les Paul crappy feel and cliche tone I was worried I?d get in a humbucker-equipped Gibson with the same body woods. And this will probably appreciate in value over the years if I maintain it in mint condition?I abuse the hell out of the strings, but am careful with the guitar itself.

Mahoghany body with maple top, string thru body, mahoghany set neck, rosewood fingerboard, mini M series neck humbucker, bridge humbucker, volume/tone, 5 way switch. Abalone Gibson headstock logo and dot inlays.

This nighthawk special that I own sounds killer! Neck humbucker is Fat and Warm but also has plenty of bite with the tone knob turned up. The bridge pickup has good bite and thickness. Other positions range from sounds similar to les paul and strat. Can be very twangy to clear glass like sound. I love this guitar. They were made between 1993 and 1999 only. Grab one when you have the chance!

I purchased mine used so don't know how the original setup was. I had to do a setup and intonation adjustment on mine and it plays effortlessly. Finish is great but the gold harware tends to fade somewhat easily. I have owned several Nighthawks and have seen this gold fading on all of them. Also, the Kluson tuners can go out of tune somewhat if you do alot of string bends.

It's a Gibson....Will last a lifetime!

Haven't dealt with them.

I highly recommend the Nighthawk! Grab one when you have the chance. You be happy you did.

1992-3
Looks like some chicks guitar but when you play it puts other guitars to shame.lighter that les paul.

I had a fat strat,a JEM ,a 72 SG and a dc 127 before.but after pluging this guitar to cheap crate 15w amp in a store ,I was like what the f*ck!I couldn't believe my ears.the sound is detailed and clean with punch and power,higher register doesnt fart ,22 frent is still sweet and powerful.output is freaking loud too.4 and 5 positions you can get a les paul or much better than best Saymor Duncun oe EMG equipped Jackson or Ibanez 1500$+ models,3rd position is usable tele mixed strat sound without weakness,1 st and 2 nd is more gary moore like,or ES 3** wanna be great tone.The pickups are unbelievible for a passive catagory. this baby can swallow distortion with ease without any noise.

strap buttons are too small.vol controls are small too.I changed them.

I would use it without backup.

This is the only Gtr you might take on -country-pop-rock-hardrock-metal gig.shame that they discontinued them.
2 pk special was in retail for 1799 US $
I saw a brand new 3 pk model for 2300 US$(said to be a Joe Walsh"s favirate)
if you can get it just grab it and hear it and you'll thank me.

My NightHawk is a pretty early one- a '93 if I'm correct. It's the black with white binding version, with a rosewood board. One mini-bucker and one slanted full-size. It's a pretty simply built instrument, but what with the coil-tapping it's pretty versatile!
I like how it is a mix of Les Paul and Strat... It has a Les Paul body shape (basically) and a thick neck, but has what is essentially a strat bridge and a Strat scale-length. As well, the 5-way switch and single volume and tone are strat-like.

This guitar sounds fantastic... The middle pickup selection and the coil-tapped bridge aren't too useful, but all of the other selections are amazing. The neck mini-bucker is very smooth and jazzy, and when it is coil-tapped it produces a very strat-like funk tone. The bridge humbucker is _loud_!! Far louder than any other position, it is full of mid-range and very thick. It is excellent for classic rock.
I couldn't really ask for any more sounds on this guitar. It is very versatile, and sounds far more expensive than it is.

I can't really say how it was set up. I bought this guitar second hand in the first place, and it was already very beat up. Then I sold it, forgot it for two years, and then found it on-line and bought it again!! =) But everything seems to be solid except the neck humbucker, which is very loose (I hear this is caused by loose washers inside- I'm going to have a look). Also, the volume and tone pots feel pretty cheap.

This guitar is a trooper. I would worry about the overly complicated pickup selection, but the finish and construction are rock solid. It feels more like a Fender than a Gibson... The strap buttons are a little but small and badly placed, however.

I doubt Gibson would give me support on a ten-year-old third-hand guitar, but I asked them some questions about one of my other Gibsons and they answered _very_ quickly, and were very polite and helpful.

I've been playing for about five years now, I guess, and own ten other electric guitars, some basses, and an accoustic. This certainly isn't the nicest of them (in fact, it's definately the beater), but sound-wise it really holds its own with the top few. Only the allmighty Howard Roberts Fusion sounds better consistantly =) If it were stolen and I came across another for the price I paid (which is close to $200 American <g>) then yes, of course I would buy another.

Basically, if you ever find a NightHawk, buy it. Don't let its girlish looks put you off =) It is a hard-rocking tone machine!

Mid-90s Heritage Cherry model with 22 frets on rosewood. Covered neck H, slanted bridge H. You can read all about what this guitar looks like and what it can do. It's like the Les Paul's evil younger sibling.

I got it used on eBay, and although there are a couple of minor dings/scratches on the finish and some wear on the metal of the covered humbucker and tuners, it's in great shape. The case it came with has seen better days, but I don't mind having a case that looks like it went through a war. Promotes that rock image.

I only give it this rating because its actual features are not unlike those of your average guitar. It has the tone knob, the volume knob, and the 5-way pickup selector. Solid design but nothing fancy or groundbreaking here.

This is where this guitar can really shine. It takes the best qualities of a Strat and LP and rolls them into one awesome package. Position 1 is bright, but not as nasal as a Strat can get. Just slamming and in your face. Very powerful tone, but obviously not a lot of bass. Position 2 boosts the midrange a lot, and it's my only complaint about this guitar - this particular pickup setting isn't really good for anything other than atmospherics. For rhythm and lead, there are better settings to choose from. 3 is jangly and soothing, 4 is a bit fuller (still with a bit of jangle), and 5 gets you that jazzy LP variety sound. Coupled with a nice slight tremolo, there's just no beating the warmth it gives off.

I generally only use 1, 3, and 5. Never could figure out what to do with 4, and 2 is just too high in the midrange, muddying the other registers. I just haven't taken the time to play with my amp settings to see if I can get it to sound decent. However, the overall sound is absolutely to die for.

I play 2 rather unrelated styles: Country-ish folk rock and British-inspired dream pop. How else could Whiskeytown and the Cure be two of my all-time favorite bands? Anyway, I've found that this guitar is a perfect match for both genres. I use Line delay, distortion, and modulation modelers and the Tech 21 SansAmp GT2 through Tech 21 Trademark 60 1x12 and Fender Princeton Super Chorus 2x12 amps. It can definitely hold its own in the basement jam session or when gigging, and sounds outstanding from both tube and solid state amps (obviously, one is slightly better than the other, but I'm not going to argue).

I can't grade the factory setup since I wasn't the original owner, but I will say that it was pretty bad when I received it. Intonation was out of whack, there was a break in the headstock, and the action was too high (and I'm not a metal soloist or anything). The electronics were also noisy and the fretboard was badly in need of oil treatment. So I took it to my friend Ray, who set it up for me and repaired the headstock. After that, dare I say it was perfect? Well, like in calculus, you can never reach infinity, but you can approach it just like this guitar does to perfection.

It's held up very well under some obvious abuse conditions from its previous owner. Like I mentioned, there is some wear on the metal humbucker cover and the tuners, but that's simply a cosmetic issue with the gold finish and doesn't affect performance. I think it's a really well-built guitar that I expect to still be able to play many years from now.

As I mentioned, I use Tech 21 Trademark 60 1x12 and Fender Princeton SuperChorus 2x12 amps, and my effects loop is: SansAmp GT2, Line 6 DL4/DM4/MM4, Boss TR-7/DD-5, Tube Screamer. I also play a Godin LGX-SA. I own a mid-priced Takamine A/E guitar as well, and when I play bass, it's usually with a Fender Jazz Bass through a Gallien-Krueger 700RB combo. (I primarily play guitar, but sometimes you gotta suck it up and handle the bottom end when the need is there.) I've been playing guitar and bass for about 12 years, and at the time of this review, I'm 23 years old. I have previously owned a Les Paul Standard, several Strats, a '52 Tele RI, an Ibanez Talmon, an old Seagull acoustic, and several really crappy lo-end basses made by Aria. This is one of the best instruments I've ever played for the money and time I've spent on it.

Gibson Nighthawk Special (two pickups) - not sure of the year (as far as I know, Gibson only made these guitars for a few years in the early Nineties). Single cutaway mahogany body, set/glued mahogany neck w/rosewood fretboard, Gibson "tulip" tuners, 22 frets, fixed string-thru-body bridge, binding on the body, black finish. Passive electronics - slanted uncovered humbucker in the bridge position, covered "mini-humbucker" in the neck. One volume knob, one tone knob, 5-way switch w/regular and coil tap selections. Bought used, so included leather gig bag.

This is a very versatile guitar. This was the first guitar I bought about two years ago, after learning on a friend's loaner - the Eighties "Epiphone by Gibson" Strat knockoff with the banana headstock, I'm sure many of you know the one. A real piece of junk, that one, so when I went to buy a guitar I was naturally playing everything in the store in my $500ish price range. At the time, I wasn't as aware of what to look for in a guitar in terms of playability, so I was basing my descision more on sound. The sound of this guitar jumped out at me right away - full and rich. I noticed particularly in the 1, 2 and 5 positions (which are still the ones I primarily use) that the guitar had a very nice singing tone, and sounded expressive even with my, at the time, limited skills.
The Nighthawk is a surprisingly loud guitar, louder than my Strat's single coils (not really a surprise) and my Carvin's humbuckers, and turning down the volume pot does not destroy the quality of the sound or change the EQ drastically like a Fender. The tone pot is also very even, and has a generous sweep - turning it back and forth rapidly gives you a definite "wah" sound. I play with Ernie Ball 10-46 strings, and I'll take just a second to repeat what I've heard many others say: I've broken strings before, but never with my green Ernies.
Overall it is dark and full of character in the 2 and 5 positions, which I assume are the bridge HB and neck HB settings. 2 is fat and bright - not biting bright, but singing bright. 5 gives you a very full, deep, mellow sound, but with more than enough definition. Position 1 produces a very bright, semi-Tele-like bridge sound, very useable and crisp, which I assume to be the bridge coil-tap setting. Position 3 sounds like a mix of tapped bridge and tapped neck, and 4 sounds like the tapped neck. In these two positions the volume drops off enough to warrant readjusting your settings a little if you want to stay to the front of the mix, however both of these settings have more subtle thin vibes, similar in feeling to 3 and 4 on a Strat, and in my opinion not as distinctive and big as the 1, 2, and 5 settings.
When using overdrive or distortion, I almost exclusively use 1, 2 and 5. Sound perfectionists take note: I run a Snarling Dogs Whine-O Super Bawl Wah, Tech 21 Comptortion, Danelectro Cool Cat (chorus) and Danelectro Dan-Echo through the effects loop of a Rogue 30W amp. The Comptortion produces a thick, smooth, singing distortion, and the Rogue's built-in "overdrive" is the typical crappy ear-splitting raunch expected of a small solid-state amp. I typically use the Comptortion for subtle or medium smooth distortion, and mix in just a touch of the amp's overdrive if I want it to bite. Anyway, with distortion, setting 1 is biting and retains a lot of definition even as you push the gain, setting 2 really screams with more midrange and is a definitive lead tone, and setting 5 is lower-midrange, with a bit less definition and big - we're even approaching Zepplin-big if the amp's settings still let the highs be voiced. Rolling off the volume allows for different distorted sounds - very useful - and with the proper settings you can use the volume knob to do the clean-to-distorted trick very easily. The guitar can get noisy when turned up to "11" and may feed back easily but controllably, although this has a lot to do with the Comptortion's ability to make anything feed back on its higher settings. I swear, that thing could make a rusty fork feed back if you soldered a lead cable to it and plugged it on.
Overall, it complements my music style very nicely - lots of classic rock, with a dose of funk and a smattering of punk (and if I'm feeling creative, both at the same time), and the occasional Gilmour/Vai-ish solo-type excursion, because dammit, it's fun to play.

The action in the store was low, which I like. After bringing it home, I discovered that the low E string buzzed against the frets when plucked with any great force, so I brought it back in and had an "adjustment" done. The guitar came back with even better action, but that damn E string still buzzed. I recently tried raising the saddle a bit, but that didn't solve it. I've grown to ignore it, even when it does occasionally come through the pickups, but since I haven't adjusted the truss rod since I bought it, I'm sure that I could fix it if I wanted to. By now, the A string is starting to do the same thing, but again - it hasn't been set up for two years, so I'm not complaining.
In terms of playability, it's great. I've never been one for minding the difference between a vintage Fender 9.5 radius and my Carvin's 15 radius - as long as it's not friggin' flat, it feels good to me. String bending is easy on this, probably due to the shorter scale of the Gibson neck. Even though this is a fixed bridge, I still dust the nut slots with pencil graphite every time I restring to keep the strings from sticking on bends. The G string will go out of tune if I push it past a slightly flat whole step, but this is a problem common to many guitars. I can very slightly feel the grain on the rosewood fretboard, but it doesn't interfere with my playing. The neck has some substance to it - it's certainly no baseball bat, but it's satisfying in the hand and gives you something to dig into on bends. The highest frets are not very useful, but it's not the single cutaway but rather the heel that impedes using them, combined with the somewhat tall frets this high up - presumably still tall because they don't get used, as the majority of the frets have that broken-in flat crown that I like so much.
The guitar was dinged quite a bit when I bought it, but remarkably with no chips out of the finish. I'm sure it was glossy black at one time, but this particular finish turns dull at any contact point relatively quickly, even with frequent polishing. The tarnished look doesn't really bother me, and I don't mind the buildup except on the back of the neck, which will slow me down a bit during long slides unless it's been recently wiped down and polished.
The binding is still excellent. The bridge is oxidizing green a bit, but then again as far as I know it hasn't been cleaned since the day it was manufactured. I know I haven't cleaned it yet, and I should. Lazy me. The tone knob falls off the peg fairly regularly, but again, I haven't done anything about it, so there you go. Based on how it has aged, and keeping in mind my reticence to take care of it, I'll give it a 7.

This guitar would and has withstood live playing, no problem. The hardware is close to ten years old by now and in good shape considering the lack of care - the 5 way is still quite crisp and the knobs roll with no problem. The finish was good enough to withstand the forest of dings that the previous owner gave it without cracking anywhere, so that's a pretty good indicator. It's been slung to and from jam sessions and gigs in a gig bag and come out just fine - I've been kind to it, but it hasn't exactly been babied. The strap buttons are very solid, and since I don't bounce around like a jackalope I wouldn't worry about it falling off. No-one should ever gig without a backup, because Murphy plays onstage with you every night, but if someone held a gun to your head and forced you, you could feel safe gigging with just this in terms of reliability as well as versatility.

I bought it used - never dealt with Gibson.

I have been playing, self-taught, for between 4 and 5 years now. I also own a Mexican Standard Stratocaster, which are very good for the money (but as with all Fenders and Gibsons, only if you play them all and pick the one that stands out), and a Carvin DC127 (a singularly awesome guitar, from the unsung heroes of guitar makers), both also used. If it were lost or stolen, I would probably get a Gibson SG first, just because it's next humbucker guitar on my wish list after a Fender '69 Tele Thinline, then save up the money for another Nighthawk. I love its tone, big for its size and big for its price - and hell, just big overall. It's not a Les Paul or an SG, but it has tones that you would expect to come from one or the other if you weren't looking. Overall it's a useful guitar with a wide range of very pleasing tones, it has its own distinct sound, and hardly anyone plays them since they're something of a rarity. I might sell mine for the right price, but if I take good care of it, it'll be worth a hell of a lot in the not-too-distant future.

My Gibson Nighthawk was made in USA in 1996. It has 22 frets, solid top, 1 volume selector, 1 tone selector, 5-way PU selector, a mini humbucker (neck) and a regular humbucker (bridge). The finish is black. Gig bag included. For any other details check Gibson's site.

I use this guitar for various music styles - From Metal and Heavy Rock (Metallica, Soundgarden) to classic rock like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Aerosmith and even jazz. This guitar suits all my needs - there is a sound for everything. The only problem is jazz - the guitar's sound isn't full enough - but that wasn't my goal when I buyed the guitar. I've played it trough various amplifiers - my practice amp is not really good, but it still sounds fine, w/Marshall 75W it sounds just GREAT! I've also played it using Sansamp GT-2 and it sounded really good!

The guitar was well adjusted - low action, VERY comfortable for playing, no flaws.

I've played this guitar on many opportunities, it has hit MANY walls (I wasn't to careful) and some sharp objects. However the guitar is in pretty good condition. The only problem is that several times the guitar got out of tuning while I was playing.

Never used it.

I've been playing guitar for only 2.5 years, but I've beein playing a violin for 10 yrs. In this 2.5 years a played quite a lot, and had many performances, and I always enjoyed the guitar... If it were stolen/lost I would definitely buy it again. I've played several guitars, and I like mine the best! The only thing I'd like to try is the 3 pickup model, maybe it's even better... I highly recommend buying this guitar!

I purchased my Heritage Cherry Nighthawk Special around '95 or '96. This guitar has been a workhorse for me. It is now the ONLY guitar I play. It features a mini-Humbucker at the neck and a unique slanted full size Humbucker at the bridge. I think all nighthawks feature the M-seris pickups, and mine does too. It also features a 5-way switch. This guitar looks like a toy - seriously - It has a tiny body and makes the neck look fatter than it is. I think a Les paul has a wider neck. It is soo light you can play this from dawn to daylight and only the tips of your fingers will hurt. A brilliantly unique guitar.

I'll be honest and say that this guitar's tones has probably shaped / created / influenced my style which is mainly never ending solos like Pearl Jam, Niel Young(GOD), Soundgarden...So on (No Nirvana - I wouldn't insult this guitar that way). Anyway this guitar spanks every monkey out there. Hard rock, jazz, blues, anything. My FX line up is -> CrybabyWah, TubeScreamer 808, Delay DD-5, Distortion DS-1, Phaser PH1r, Stereo Chorus CE-3 - Now all these effects sound great on this guitar and into my Sovtek Mig100. You can't go wrong with this guitar - I tend to play the Slanted Humbucker the most for rock. The single coil/Full options are unique and very useful. The mini-humbucker's single coil mode seems to simply be quieter than the full humbucker sound(which is so deep, so warm). For NeilYoung solos I go from the single coil to the full humbucker on the slanted bridge PU,and tapp in some delay - TOO GOOD! - This guitar ROCKS, and just for that it the only guitar thats beutiful and moody when being played quitely and then clear, but abusive on overdrive time.

I had been playing a cheap guitar that my guitar teacher did up for me. It therefore had an insane low-action. Therefore I've been a low-action kinda guy and the nighthawk was one of the only guitars that I pickup up off the shelf and felt great! - Even though I was going from a flat neck to a slightly round neck the nighthawk screamed play me. Unfortunetly Im going to have to bitch in this section. My lacquer job is worse than neil youngs. I either got a fault lacquer or I shouldn't have used a silicon based polish when i gave her the first going over. Anywhere my arm rests or touches the guitar consistantly no longer shines, until I polish it with Martin wax based polish, but you can then still see it. A guitar tech got rid of it for a while by using some sort of polish that I haven't got my hands on yet. There is some mess around frets, but im not going to complain - this is a cheap guitar that has the same PU's as a Custom model. The lacquer was probably my fault so just ignore i said that Ok.

As I said before the finish will probably not last another 5 years. Thats if my lacquer, in areas, isn't already gone. I would and have to use this guitar without a backup, im on a budget. And this is the best guitar. No not just becuase I have one...I could have brought a Les paul and said it was the best like every other Wa%k$r out there, but NOOO - some Individuality was at hand. I don't care if this guitar sounds like a strat of a gibson. It sounds great FULLSTOP!

They blamed me for the lacquer problem so - what am i ment to do? Its only a lacquer anyway. When I brought the guitar I wasn't concerned on how it looks. The gibson ppl in Australia are pretty nice, but.

I've been doing the guitar masterbation thing for about four years now. Now I would have put 10 in every column if - My guitar was the 3-pickup model, and if I hadn't stuffed up the already thin lacquer. If my nighthawk was stolen - I would become a serial killer and then buy it again and with enough money start a whole collection including the arhhhhhhh CUSTOM NIGHTHAWK 3-PU model. I have been told to buy a strat by many ppl. I haven't touched one yet that can deliver 5-tones that are so clear, defined and abusive when neccessary -