The Burstbucker 3 arrived on the scene in 1990, and — like the Burstbucker 1 and 2 — represents Gibson's drive to capture and recreate the characteristics of the vintage Patent Applied For humbuckers of the late 1950s. On the shop floor of the original Gibson plant in Kalamazoo, Mich., the earliest Gibson PAF humbuckers were wound using imprecise machines, resulting in pickups with varying degrees of output and tone. The Burstbucker line represents those variations, but with some modern appointments. The Burstbucker 3 provides historically accurate PAF tone with two slightly overwound coils, creating a raw, airy tone packed with enough punch to cut through any mix.
The new P-90H black soapbar pickup is another example of Gibson's drive to stay one step ahead. This new pickup offers all of the soulful, classic tone of Gibson’s legendary P-90 singlecoil pickup, but with none of the 60-cycle hum that usually plagues traditional singlecoil pickups. Gibson’s pioneering engineers were then able to secure all of the P-90’s vintage sonic characteristics, and deliver the same high output and sweet treble response that still makes the P-90 one of the most desirable pickups in the world.
The Dark Fire also features a revolutionary Gibson-designed piezo bridge pickup that actually consists of six individual piezo pickups — one for each saddle/string. These piezo pickups go through a studio-quality active amplifier that allows for a stronger and more natural acoustic guitar sound. Combined, the two classic electromagnetic pickups and the piezo bridge pickup are wired in such a way to allow each individual coil to be used in a switching matrix, giving you over 20 separate combinations of tone and an incredible array of tonal possibilities.
The Dark Fire's tone potentiometer and CPA have also been redesigned so that turning the tone knob allows a very intuitive and significant change in tone, thus giving you even more ability to dial in your desired tone. This pioneering Gibson circuitry is studio quality with very little noise and/or signal loss, which delivers as much of the guitar's authentic tone as possible.
Also part of the Dark Fire package is a superfast and comfortable asymmetrical neck design that is rendered to optimum playability with a PerfectSetup™ by the revolutionary, computer-controlled PLEK system, which has been acknowledged as the most precise guitar set-up technology in the world today.
Gibson's traditional flowerpot inlay graces the peghead of the Dark Fire. This art nouveau inlay was first used in a similar form on the headstock of the 1911 F4 mandolin, and later on the L5's peghead veneer directly below the Gibson logo. This classic inlay also graces the headstock of several other Gibson models, including the Byrdland, the new Longhorn Double-Cutaway, and several other mandolins, banjos and acoustics.
The classic block inlays found on the Dark Fire remain one of the most distinguishable features of many traditional Gibson models, including the ES-335s of the early 1960s and today's Flying V Custom. On the Dark Fire, the block inlays are made from acrylic and given a unique, carbon-fiber look for an ultra-modern appearance. They are inserted into the fingerboard using a process that eliminates all gaps and doesn't require the use of fillers. The result is a fingerboard that plays as fast and smooth as it looks.
Each of the Gibson Dark Fire Limited Edition First Run guitars features a dramatic Dark Fire nitrocellulose finish created especially for this exclusive run. It is one of the most striking finishes ever to leave a Gibson factory and is achieved by combining the time-tested techniques of applying a standard nitro finish with several new procedures that help bring out the natural beauty of the wood. The result is a stunning, deep gloss color that naturally highlights each piece of wood's distinctive grain patterns. The mahogany back and neck of the Dark Fire are given a satin finish, while the top and peghead face are sprayed with a gloss finish.
The body is also bound with dual black binding, which accents the Dark Fire's exclusive finish perfectly and provides both the protection and beauty of traditional Gibson binding. The process of applying the body binding to the Dark Fire is the same process employed by Gibson craftsmen for over 100 years. And while some question the value of adding binding to a guitar, Gibson believes it to be an essential part of is rich guitar-making history, and a vital design element that adds elegance and helps protects the edges of the body.
Next is the Dark Fire's chambered mahogany body, which helps deliver near-perfect tone, balance and weight. One of the ways the expert craftsmen at Gibson achieve this equilibrium is by carving carefully mapped-out chambers in the solid mahogany backs of the Dark Fire using a Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) router before the maple top is glued on. The positioning of the routes were first established after careful examination of the resonant characteristics of the Les Paul. Gibson approached this process with the awareness that every change to the formula would have repercussions on the instrument's sound. The results are comfortable, lightweight guitars that are acoustically louder, with increased sustain and resonance.
The original Robot Guitar took the guitar world by storm when it was first introduced in December '07, but the new Dark Fire from Gibson is simply the most advanced guitar system ever developed. In fact, many of the technological advances on the Dark Fire were virtually inconceivable just a few years ago; the Robot Tuners™, the tuning brain, the battery function and the sonic capabilities of a fully digital guitar make the new Dark Fire a virtual upgrade in every respect. Perhaps most impressive is Gibson's new Chameleon Tone Technology, which allows you to change your guitar's tone to match countless environments and to recreate any guitar sound you ever lusted after. The Dark Fire has arrived, and it's guaranteed to give you a new, stunning level of tonal and functional freedom. Release your creative potential.
The key to controlling the powerful functions of the Dark Fire is the Master Control Knob (MCK), which has been completely redesigned with much improved ergonomics and a sophisticated full color matrix display featuring LEDs and high-tech light pipe technology, all to deliver a more powerful and easier to see visual display under any light condition. In addition to the MCK's top mounted display, LED-lit symbols now adorn its outer edge, which blend with the color of the knob so that they're only visible when lit. The Dark Fire's new MCK also controls the ability to change pickups and coils, allowing you the ability to adjust tone and tunings automatically and simultaneously, even several times during the same song.
While the heart of the Dark Fire’s abilities lie within the guitar itself, the compact Robot Interface Pack (RIP) interface can connect this versatile guitar to Windows or Mac computers to release Dark Fire’s ultimate tonal versatility — live or in the studio. In fact, the RIP lets you realize the full potential of Gibson’s new Chameleon Tone Technology.
RIP connects to your computer with a single FireWire cable: There’s no need to open up the computer, and you can easily move RIP from desktop to laptop or any other computer. The computer gives you instant access to countless recording applications and software effects processors, including Ableton Live 7 Gibson Studio Edition and Native Instruments’ Guitar Rig 3, both of which come with every Dark Fire guitar. Use these programs to record your latest ideas, access hundreds of different guitar effects and amplifiers, create backing tracks and much more.
How The RIP Works.
RIP includes high-quality converters that translate Dark Fire’s analog signal to a digital signal that works with computer music programs. Record and play back layers of your guitar riffs, add in drum parts included with Live, mix your tracks and play everything back through two standard, 1/4-inch main output jacks. These are compatible with a huge variety of mixers, amps and powered monitors; or monitor through the RIP’s 1/8-inch stereo headphone jack.
In addition to accepting a master guitar output and piezo pickup output for acoustic sounds, RIP can also extract a signal from each individual string, and process each one with individual effects — putting a virtual symphony at your fingertips. Add octave dividers to the lower strings for thundering bass sounds, distortion on the top three strings for searing leads and chorus on all six strings for liquid rhythm guitar sounds — all playable simultaneously. It’s the biggest guitar sound you’ve ever heard.
And that’s not all: Another special output is compatible with guitar-to-MIDI converters from companies such as Axon and Roland, turning Dark Fire into an exceptional MIDI guitar. Dark Fire owners will even be able to connect to the internet through their RIPs to download firmware updates, along with upgraded functions and software features, as they become available from Gibson.
While a standard guitar chord lets you use Dark Fire like any guitar with pickups, using the stereo TRS cable included with Dark Fire lets the RIP recharge your Dark Fire’s long-life battery, even while you’re playing! You can also separate the magnetic pickups and piezo pickup, and send them separately through the two outputs — imagine a distorted sound through an amp, and the clean, doubled piezo sound going through another amp or a PA system.
RIP isn't just another pretty box: It’s the key to taking Dark Fire to places no guitar has ever gone before.