Gibson Nighthawk


The Gibson Nighthawk was a family of electric guitars manufactured by Gibson. Introduced in 1993, the Nighthawk represented a radical change from traditional Gibson designs. While its maple-capped mahogany body and set neck were reminiscent of the classic Gibson Les Paul, the Nighthawk incorporated a number of characteristics more commonly associated with Fender guitars. But the Nighthawk was not a commercial success; production of all models was discontinued in 1998 after only five years.
In July 2009, Gibson revived the Nighthawk with the Nighthawk 2009 limited edition. Current production models include the Nighthawk Studio, the 20th Anniversary Nighthawk Standard, and the 2013 Nancy Wilson Nighthawk Standard. Some of these newer models are faithful to the design of the original Nighthawk, but others are only cosmetically similar.

Models

Original models

All of these models were available with either two or three pickups. The two-pickup models have an M-series mini-humbucker in the neck position and an M-series slanted humbucker at the bridge. The three-pickup models have the same pickups as the two-pickup models, plus a third NSX single-coil pickup in the middle position. The photo above shows an original three-pickup Nighthawk ST3.
The five-position knife switch common to all Nighthawks provides five tone settings, but on the three-pickup models, the tone knob includes a push-pull feature that provides access to a second set of five, for a total of ten tones. It is often said that when the knob is pulled out, the humbuckers' coils are split, but this is somewhat misleading. All Nighthawks have a mixture of humbucking and split-coil tones whether or not they have the push-pull feature. On the two-pickup models, only positions two and five use both coils of the same pickup; the other three positions are split-coil. On the three-pickup models, one or both humbuckers are split in positions one, two, four, and five with the tone knob pulled up, and in position five with the tone knob pushed down.
The pickup selections on the reissue Nighthawks of later years are usually different from the original models of the 1990s.

Special editions

With its set neck and maple-capped mahogany body, the Nighthawk is structurally and aesthetically a Gibson, but certain key aspects of its design take it into Fender territory. The slanted bridge humbucker has less gain than the regular Gibson humbucker and has a bright, sharp tone which in single-coil mode is similar to that of Fender's Telecasters and Stratocasters. The mini-humbucker neck pickup has a mellower and warmer tone than the bright bridge pickup, and in single-coil mode is also similar to the sound of the neck pickup in a Stratocaster. The middle pickup is a single-coil design similar to the middle pickup of the Stratocaster. The Nighthawk's scale length is Fender's standard 25½" rather than Gibson's usual 24¾". This important difference, which requires greater tension for a given gauge of strings, makes the guitar feel more like a Fender from a playing perspective and adds to the tonal similarities. The Nighthawk's body is closer in mass to a Fender guitar than a typical Gibson Les Paul, and the string-through-body bridge is similar to that of the Telecaster.
Some Nighthawk Customs use a Floyd Rose locking vibrato unit instead of the Gibson Vibrola or Bigsby vibrato tailpiece more commonly found on Gibson guitars.

Notable Nighthawk players