Gibson Nighthawk Studio

I just bought this second hand from a seller on Facebook Marketplace. The first thing that struck me positively was the weight of this guitar. Way lighter than a Les Paul. The neck has a 60’s profile which makes playing this instrument a breeze. I was able to adjust the guitar to get a nice low action with no fret buzz anywhere on the fretboard. The construction is good, but I have seen a few of these guitars that have what looks like a crack just below the binding on the body. There is no actual crack...just a visible line along the body just below the binding.
The pickup selection is very versatile. This model has a three way switch, and a coil tapping option by pulling up on the Tone control pot. This give you the option of 6 unique sounds available with this configuration.
The back of the guitar has a body cut away like a Strat, and the single cutaway is very similar to a Les Paul, but deeper allowing much easier access to the upper fret region on the neck.
Gibson made these guitars to lure over Fender players to the Gibson line of guitars. This guitar has a 25 1/2 inch scale length, and the pickups are bright with a nice Strat like jingle to them. It’s a great guitar for Blues and Classic Rock. Swapping out the pickups would likely make this into a great Metal guitar.
The materials and construction are very good. The wood is Poplar so the guitar is very light. The neck is mahogany with a roasted maple fingerboard. So far, I just love this guitar. The overall feel, neck profile, and great vibes are well worth checking out. I would definitely choose the Nighthawk over a Strat or Tele because it has more tone options, plays better than most Fenders and the Plentum Blue is a very good color for this guitar.
I would highly recommend this guitar for anyone from novice to a Professor. I give it 9 stars out of 10 for ascetics, a 10 out of 10 for playability, and 10 stars out of 10 for versatility and tonal expectations.

The Gibson Nighthawk was one of Gibsons later attempts to get more of a Fender sound. They usually came with a crazy pickup setup with a mini hum and a single coil and whatnot. This is the new Studio Nighthawk model so it retains the base Nighthawk feel with a simpler layout for the electronics. The Nighthawk has a strange look to it since the body is a bit smaller and the neck is the longer 25.5 inch scale. The body is made out of Poplar for a more Fenderish sound as well. The set neck is mahogany with the thin 60s profile. This model has a simple gold top finish. The tuners up top are standard Klusons. The bridge is the old Nighthawk bridge which is kind of like a Fender style hardtail. The pickups are a set of Burstbuckers and the controls are a volume and tone with a 3 way blade switch.

UTILIZATION

This guitar was designed to have a different feel than a Les Paul. It was another attempt to get more Fender players over to Gibson. With the longer scale there is more room to breath on the fretboard. If you have big hands and find your fingers getting bunched up on a normal Gibson neck this might be the Gibson for you. The cutaway is also larger for good upper fret access. The bridge is a bit different than most Les Pauls. It is a string through Fender style hardtail. The string through design gives you a bit more sustain.

SOUNDS

Being the Nighthawk studio it is more inbetween a real Les Paul and a real Nighthawk. While the real Nighthawk has an assortment of pickups this guitar has a standard dual humbucker set. This guitar has a set of burstbuckers which I normally do not prefer but work well in this style of guitar. Poplar is very similar to alder. Most guitar companies who use Alder would probably use Poplar if it looked better and was cheaper. With this kind of tone wood you can a more high end strat type sound. This combines well with the Burstbuckers to give you more twang than you would get on a Les Paul. The twang is all around and evident with this guitar. The bridge gives you a bit of sustain and lets the Poplar tone soak in to the sound.

OVERALL OPINION

This model might do better than the normal Nighthawk models. This guitar sells for less than 1000 dollars and has a familiar electronics setup. The normal Nighthawk guitars have a pretty crazy electronics setup that might scare some people off. This guitar can ease them into Nighthawk owner ship. It does what it was designed to do. It has a more Fenderish feel and sound while retaining the Gibson construction techniques. If you are a Fender guy and want a Gibson you might want to check one of these out. If you are a Gibson guy who wants a bit different tone in your lineup you can also check this guitar out. Something different isnt always something bad.

made in usa, 6 bridges bridge, string-through body and mahogany neck, pickups Burstbucker spitables mechanical Kluson, 1 volume, 1 tone push / pull, that's good!

UTILIZATION

not too thick super nice handle, body (unless LP) with cutting and much lighter which dumbbell nothing sound, great fun to play!

SOUNDS

spitables Burstbucker pickups provide, and the range of sound is very wide both in its clear (micro way) that distortion (humbucker) in short super versatile!

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for 6 months, the build quality and sound pallette make this guitar a great instrument! the price / quality ratio is unbeatable!
the gold finish is not cheap, it is rather a gold veillit and it gives him the stamp!
I would do this choice without hesitation.

USA 2011: beginning thus making wooden handle keys bizarre (baked maple or maple roasted)

easel-type strato six jumpers, but better bcp
Telecaster string-through-type (one is used for the twang and sustain)
body and mahogany neck (there are also poplar for the body)
very thin body with belly cut at
microphones and split Burstbucker 2 (bridge) and BB1 (handle)
mechanical KLUSON
factory mounted in 010-042

soft case included, also a mini-screwdriver to bridge

UTILIZATION

Handle longer than LP Standard Fender tuning types.
Access to acute perfect because the cut is deep.

It is not as fast as my LP up in 009, but it is not bad.
The sound is beautiful, it goes well beyond Telecasters, while keeping the "twang" rock'n'roll potato and egg given by the pickups Burstbucker 1 and 2.

SOUNDS

This guitar will definitely inspire me to my songs,
she qque thing that makes me smile every time I touch it (plus it weighs half of my Les Paul).

To alternative rock or punk rock as it ensures a plow shop. It has changed me a lot of opinion vis-à-vis their Gibson guitars and not always match their price ...

OVERALL OPINION

Bought a few days ago, suddenly of heart!

The sound and feel that it provides are fabulous ... if only one is not snobbish, you have to try this little fender at Gibson