Epi Nighthawk Custom RI

[howlin]

Its been a long time since I've considered anything from Gibson/Epiphone as far as an electric guitar goes. In spite of the fact that my first 3 guitars were all Gibsons [LGO, ES 335, Firebird] and my first bass was a Gibson [EB-2] over the years I've always chosen a Fender as my preferred axe. The Epiphone Nighthawk definitely blurs the lines between the two marks - in a good way. Add to that the killer price and I now own what I consider to be the best of both worlds.

When Gibson first offered the Nighthawk back in the mid-90's I was immediately drawn to the style and concept behind the guitar. I definitely got what they were going for. Unfortunately, the ones I tried weren't very good. Poorly dressed frets, faulty knobs and switches, etc. After playing several different samples I walked away disappointed thinking that Gibson had missed the mark in a big way.



How things have changed. Forget the "Made in Indonesia" label. Forget the bargain basement price. Just go play one and see for yourself. Great sounds. Great neck. Nice contoured body. What's not to like?

Okay there are a few things that come to mind. It is a bit neck heavy but that can be remedied with the proper strap or, if you don't mind putting holes in your new guitar, you can either move or add another strap button. Right now I’m keeping mine the way it is. The only other real issue I see is with the front pickup. It works well enough and with the proper height adjustment it can hold its own with the other 2 pickups but, unlike the other 2 pickups, its not mounted very well inside the pickup ring. Where the middle & bridge pickups can't be moved in any direction - except when adjusting the height with a screwdriver - the neck pickup sort of floats in the ring. Its not a big deal but it can vibrate at times when I play the open d-string which, admittedly, can only be heard when playing the guitar acoustically. Obviously not a big deal but I plan on putting a piece of foam under the pickup the first time I change the strings.

As for the fit & finish: I could only find one very minor flaw and the was a slight rough spot on the fretboard side of the binding at the first fret. Its really hardly worth mentioning to be honest. Everything else works very well. Pots are smooth & clean. The Grover tuners work as expected. The bridge intonates well. The nut is cut & slotted properly. The control cavity looks like it well help in cancelling out hum:



Some may find the fact that I counted 5 pieces of wood in the body a bit disconcerting but I’m not one to put much stock in such issues. The interesting thing is I first discovered this while I was inspecting the top of the body which makes me wonder how thin the maple veneer is on this thing. Here again, its not an issue with me but worth mentioning all the same. The one construction aspect that does concern me is how the headstock is attached to the neck. There is a very clear line running just below 3/4" from the center of the high & low e tuning keys. Knowing just how vulnerable this headstock design can be to snapping off it makes me wonder, with all of the other excellent features of this guitar, couldn’t they have at least attached some sort of volute to the neck? Its far enough up into the headstock that it wouldn't get in the way and since this guitar [design] isn't as hidebound to tradition as their other models, why not go all the way and set a new standard? Anyway, as long as I’m careful and it doesn't get knocked over and I keep it away from the little hands that come to visit once in a while, it shouldn't be a problem.

The only part that I could ever imagine changing out is the bridge saddles. Even though it functions well, at close inspection its obvious that the metal isn't all that great. Not a big concern at this point and I have to say that its nice to buy a guitar and not be too concerned about having to change out pots &/or pickups. I can't tell you how many Fenders I've owned that needed modification just to make them payable. Not as much as in the past but, still, it can be an issue. So, for now, the honeymoon is still on. Let's see how long it lasts . . .

[studio1087]

Those are cool guitars. A friend of mine has one. You can get so many sounds. They look funky......in a great way. Congratulations!

[Jeff_K]

Yeah, I've had one for a couple of years now, the honeyburst, and it's everything you described. Serious Gibson tones in it if you want that, but some Strat/Tele sounds in there, too. Not exactly like the Fenders, but close enough if you're a Gibson guy just wanting the occasional Fender tone. Excellent fit and finish. It's a great guitar but you have to get past the funky shape. At first, I thought it looked like I was playing a Guitar Hero guitar, with its small body, but it just plays so well and sounds so good, you get past that. My only semi-regret is that I didn't get the black one. I think your honeymoon will last a long time. We have 15 guitars in our house but the Nighthawk is one of the two that I play all the time. [The T-style here is the other one, a Tradition Jerry Reid Pro, another unheard of model. Notice it has similar pickup configuration. Same sonic benefits as the Nighthawk.]

[howlin]

Great looking Tele! I've been wondering about the placement of the bridge p/u on the Nighthawk and from the looks of your Tele it seems to confirm my suspicions that its definitely farther away from the bridge. A long time Strat player that I know contends that the bridge p/u on a Fender is too close to the bridge and, if he could, he'd move it forward about that much. The sgl coil sound may not be exactly like a Fender but in this case, who cares? Its unique and that's what this guitar is about IMO. Good to know that you like yours so much. Good to know that its been going strong as long as it has.

[howlin]

4 months since I got this guitar. Is the honeymoon still on? I think you could say that the relationship has matured nicely.

After having read many of the posts out there on this guitar and having several experiences with Asian-made instruments I took advantage of a recent trip to the States and ordered some replacement pots & a blade switch "just in case". Well, yesterday my foresight played out. The push/pull tone pot gave out. Ironic too in that I hardly ever do the coil-tap thing. The neck p/u just doesn't have enough balls for it and the bridge p/u was just meh on that setting.

Today its a different story. While changing out the tone pot I replaced the cap with an Orange Drop [.022]. I also took advantage of the wire length on the bridge p/u and turned it around so the active single coil is towards the neck just to try it out. Seeing as how I usually use the middle and bridge p/u mostly for rhythm and the neck for lead [I'm weird that way] the more mellow tone from the bridge p/u is a welcome addition to the tonal palette. The full 'bucker is way better sounding too.

If I really get in to modding this thing I might consider 2 concentric pots - 1 500k v/t for the humbuckers with a .022 cap + 1 250k for the middle p/u with a .047 cap. The other option is using a mini-switch to go back and forth between the caps but then there's the pot values to consider. I'm also considering going more in the direction of where this guitar is coming from and change out the bridge p/u for a Tele p/u wired by John @ Benson Custom + use his middle p/u as well. If I go in that direction and, depending on how it sounds, I might then put in an SD Vintage mini-hum in the neck. Hopefully, that's a ways down the road.

Other upgrades so far: Replaced the bridge saddles with GraphTech saddles and that made the strings more slinky somehow and that mellowed the tone a bit too -both good things in my book. Also replaced the stock knobs with Tele-style knobs which, now that I have the new p/p pot, should facilitate using it more [I love the speed knobs but they're next to impossible to pull up on the fly IMO].

Long story short, so far so good. Love the neck profile, which is my #1 reason for buying this guitar. The belly cut really makes it very comfortable to play and, now that I have my string gauges dialed in [48-38-28-15-13-10], its become the most playable guitar that I've ever had.