Pro-Music-News Stringed instruments and accessories

Gibson Guitar's launch of Dark Fire guitar delayed!!!

Gibson Guitar announces the limited availability of the Gibson Dark Fire guitar from later than December 15, 2008, maybe early 2009. Gibson's flowerpot inlay graces the headstock of the Dark Fire as seen on other classic Gibson models such as the Byrdland and the 1911 F4 Mandolin. The Dark Fire was showcased at Winter NAMM show 2009 along with the first production runs of the Joan Jett Signature Melody Maker, the Gary Moore BFG and the Nikki Sixx bass. Other new models by Gibson at winter NAMM include the Custom Jeff Beck VOS Les Paul, the 50th Anniversary Korina Tribute guitar. Gibson Acoustic als offers a host of new models.
The Dark Fire has a nitrocellulose finish created especially for this exclusive 1st run. The mahogany back and neck of the Dark Fire are given a satin finish, while the headstock face is sprayed with a gloss finish. The Dark Fire's chambered mahogany body helps deliver an optimum combination of tone, balance and weight.
Taking much of its inspiration from the 2008 Les Paul, this instrument features an ergonomic neck shape with asymmetrical carving and with Perfect Setup. This is made possible by a computer controlled device scanning and dressing a guitar under actual playing conditions, strung and tuned to pitch.
The tune-o-matic piezo bridge has been redesigned. It is much sleeker and the bridge now locks to the studs with new technology and works better. The nut is made of a new high tech material which has a higher desnity than bone and includes Teflon allowing for the tuning action to be smoother and faster. The bridge lock and the new frictionless faux bone nut insure maximum tone and sustain. The locking tuners insure that tuning and string tension are maintained.
The Gibson Dark Fire combines two of the most popular pickups, the P90h in the neck position and a Burstbucker 3 in the bridge position. Both are capped with new carbon fiber-like pickup covers, designed to match the Dark Fire's finish. There are six low noise relay switches giving you more than 20 separate combination of pickup coils.
The resulting pickup combinations are directed through optimized traditional volume and tone controls and then through a studio grade 4 band parametric equalizer/preamplifier. This Chameleon Tone Technology is a pure analogue signal path preserving the authenticity of instruments tone while expanding tonal possibilities.
The Gibson Dark Fire gives you the ability to adjust and blend the acoustic sound from the piezo bridge pickup with the sound from the guitar's traditional pickups using a rotary potentiometer which is part of the pickup toggle selector. Twisting the toggle head blends the piezo acoustic sound from 0% acoustic sound (100% magnetic pickups) to 100% acoustic sound (only piezo pickup). The piezo bridge pickup consists of six individual piezo pickups, one for each saddle/string, which can be brought out as individual audio channels.
The key to controlling the new functions of the Dark Fire is the Master Control Knob (MCK), which incorporates a full color matrix display. The Dark Fire's new MCK also controls the ability to change pickups, coils, EQ settings and tunings. There are eight tone guitar settings that cover the most popular guitar, and 18 different guitar tunings. In addition, there are 24 user defined guitar settings.
The redesigned power head tuners on the Dark Fire are faster and significantly smaller, compared to the original Robot Guitar tuners. You can access any preset tuning in less than one second in order to change tunings in the middle of a song.
The powerhead tuners are lighter than traditional tuners. The tuners can be used either by hand or automatically without the need to engage them. The battery uses new technology that results in exceptionally long life and light weight.
The Robot II comes with a small box about the size of a pack of playing cards that acts as a high quality studio preamp and a full interface to a computer using a firewire port, called Robot Interface Pack (RIP). With a headphone out, you can carry RIP in you guitar case and set up your playing environment anywhere. The RIP's front panel carries a single 1/4-inch stereo input for the Dark Fire, a 1/8-inch headphone out with level control and a pilot light, which changes from dim blue to bright blue when the Dark Fire input is detected.
The rear panel carries two balanced 1/4-inch line outs, a FireWire connector to link to your amplifier or sound system and a hex connector that carries the analog outputs of each string, which can drive Roland or Axon guitar-to-MIDI converters.
To make full use of your laptop or computer, Dark Fire comes with two of the most powerful and popular software packages being sold today; Native Instruments’ Guitar Rig 3 (recognized as the industry’s most flexible amp and effects simulation software), and Ableton Live 7 Gibson Studio Edition which is a multipurpose recording environment for everything from songwriting, to demos, to full-blown productions.
Both companies have collaborated with Gibson to ensure you can install all the software in minutes on any contemporary Microsoft or Apple operating system.
Gibson Guitar is already developing a range of audio equipment designed specifically to work with the new Dark Fire, some of which is already scheduled for release in early 2009, including a small transmitter module designed to work with Bluetooth wireless technology.
The world’s 1st run limited edition Gibson Dark Fire guitar will go on sale on December 15, 2008 at 400 dealers throughout the world. Each store will be limited to carrying only five guitars and no guitar can be sold before 5pm on Monday, December 15, 2008.
Gibson Dark Fire Guitar
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