Launch of the Gibson Dark Fire

London, England

Three of London's most iconic and prominent landmarks The Tower of London, Big Ben and Battersea Power Station were used as the backdrop to mark the imminent worldwide launch of the new Gibson Dark Fire.

Sydney, Australia

The worldwide excitement surrounding the launch of the Gibson Dark Fire has arrived in Sydney, Australia, with images of the groundbreaking new guitar projected onto prominent Sydney landmarks including the biggest one of all the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The bridge, or "Coathanger" as Sydneysiders often refer to it, opened in 1932 and is the world's widest long-span bridge and is the fourth longest spanning arch bridge in the world.

The Dark Fire image was also projected on to the side of buildings in the city's center along busy Liverpool and Oxford streets, causing excitement throughout the city. The Gibson Dark Fire is the world's most technically advanced guitar in the history of musical instruments and is set to become the most-wanted product this Christmas.

Gibson Guitar Launches Dark Fire - The most remarkable New Guitar in 50 years on Monday, December 15, 2008


Saturday, November 29, 2008

Gibson Guitar, the world's premier musical instrument manufacturer and leader in music technology announced today the limited availability of the Gibson Dark Fire guitar. Embracing the spirit of innovation and technical advancement that inspired the original Gibson Digital guitar in 2006 and Robot guitar in 2007, Gibson's Dark Fire™ guitar is poised to change the music industry overnight.

The world's most technically advanced guitar will rock the music industry to its core and will soon become the most sought after musical instrument of its time.

AN EXCEPTIONAL LOOK
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. In addition to traditional touches, Gibson developed an entirely new look that required many changes in the manufacturing process.

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. The result is a comfortable, lightweight guitar that is acoustically louder, with increased sustain and resonance.

OUTSTANDING PLAYABILITY
Taking much of its inspiration from the 2008 Les Paul, this instrument features a super fast and comfortable ergonomic neck shape with asymmetrical carving and with Perfect Setup™. This is made possible by a computerized PLEK system, a computer controlled device that scans and dresses 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 includes Teflon (allowing for the tuning action to be smoother and faster [without breaking strings] and has a higher density than bone.

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 during lots of hard playing.

The instrument will feel like butter in your hand even after 4 or 5 hours into a gig.

TONE MONSTER WITH CHAMELEON TONE TECHNOLOGY
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 6 low noise relay switches giving you more than 20 separate combination of pickup coils leading to an incredible variety of tonal possibilities.

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 awesome Chameleon Tone Technology is a pure analog signal path preserving the authenticity of instruments tone while giving unimagined tonal possibilities.

ADD A LITTLE ACOUSTICNESS PLEASE
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 revolutionary rotary potentiometer which is part of the pickup toggle selector. Twisting the toggle head blends the piezo acoustic sound from 0% acoustic sound [100% traditional pickups] to 100% acoustic sound [no traditional pickups].

The piezo bridge pickup consists of six individual piezo pickups, one for each saddle/string, which can be brought out as individual audio channels.

TV ON CONTROL KNOB
The key to controlling the new functions of the Dark Fire is the Master Control Knob (MCK), which incorporates a sophisticated, full color matrix display (mini TV screen). The Dark Fire's new MCK also controls the ability to change pickups, coils, EQ settings and tunings allowing the ability to adjust all quickly and simultaneously - even several times during the same song.

There are 8 tone guitar settings that cover the most popular guitar, and 18 different guitar tunings. In addition, there are 24 user defined guitar setting. All can be accessed with a quick use of the MCK.

ROBOT GETS STERIODS
The redesigned power head tuners on the Dark Fire are radically faster and significantly smaller, compared to the original Robot Guitar tuners. You can access any preset tuning in less than one second, so you can 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.

COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE INCLUDED
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. We call it a Robot Interface Pack [or RIP for short]. RIP can be used live, in real time.

With a headphone out, you can carry RIP in you guitar case and set up your playing environment anywhere with or without your computer. 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 (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 and be using it in minutes (on any contemporary Microsoft or Apple operating system) and be harnessing the enormous music-making power of these studio tools. By working with the software developers, Gibson has fined tuned the software specifically for Dark Fire and included simple and powerful templates.

The combination of Dark Fire's on board Chameleon Tone Technology and the software tools, dozens of effects and emulations puts a truckload of sound and thousands of dollars of capability in the hands of the player simply and easily.

DARK FIRE GETS AN INTERNET COMMUNITY SITE
Gibson is setting up a Dark Fire community site to allow the lucky owners of this exceptional guitar to share tips, get new information, and discuss how to best use this state of the art instrument.

One amazing capability that comes with the guitar is software that allows you to use your computer to change user presets and store them. Users can then publish their personal favorite preset designs.

MORE DARK FIRE GEAR BEING DESIGNED
Gibson Guitar is already developing a range of audio equipment designed specifically to work with the new Dark Fire, some of which are already scheduled for release in early 2009, including a small transmitter module designed to work with Bluetooth wireless technology, allowing you the ability to connect wirelessly to your computer or laptop.

LIMITED QUANTITY - 400 STORES WORLD-WIDE
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 5 of the sought after guitars and no guitar can be sold before 5pm on Monday, December 15, 2008. Once the guitars are sold out they will not be reproduced.

This highly collectible guitar will be available in the Dark Fire finish only. To find the list of exclusive Gibson Dark Fire guitar dealers go to www.gibson.com/darkfire. Artist from around the world will take part in exclusive events during the launch of Dark Fire. A schedule of events in each city will be available on www.gibson.com. Events include special artist appearances, exclusive VIP programs and viral marketing campaigns.

The official slogan of Dark Fire is “Light Your Fire” and musicians from around the world believe their roadies can take the night off with this newest offering from the musical leader, Gibson Guitar.

Robot Guitar Joins Gibsons Historic Lineup of Limited Editions

The Gibson Robot Guitar, a new limited edition first-run Les Paul, continues two great Gibson traditions: cutting-edge innovation and a limited edition first run that will surely go on to become a highly sought-after Gibson instrument.

These limited edition Les Pauls, featuring Gibson's amazing self-tuning robotic technology, launch globally on December 7, 2007, at select dealers, each of whom will have only 10 of these beautiful guitars. If previous limited run releases are any indication, they won't have them for very long.

Each limited edition, first run Gibson Robot Guitar will feature a dramatic Blue Silverburst nitrocellulose finish, created especially for this limited run. It will never be used on any other Gibson guitar. Also featured is a certificate of authenticity, a power adaptor for the systems rechargeable lithium battery, and a limited edition first run case with silver tolex and a plush silver interior. Each Robot Guitars serial number will also be sequentially exact, beginning with "RG0001," and continuing through the end of the limited run.

Many of Gibson's limited run models of the 1950s-guitars that could be purchased for as little as a few hundred dollars-now command huge sums of money as some of the most desirable collectables in the industry, and the same is proving true with Gibson's recent limited runs. If history is any indicator-and it usually is-the Robot Guitar will soon join the ranks of such models as:

* 1958 Flying V (only 81 produced; typically sell for $100,000 and up)

* 1958 Explorer (only 100 produced; one example with original Bigsby and custom made plate cover sold for $611,000at a Skinner Auction in Boston in October 2006; it was purchased new in 1958 for about $250)

* 1958 Les Paul Standard (only 434 produced; typically sell in the $50,000-$250,000 range)

* 1959 Les Paul Standard (considered the Holy Grail of guitars; only 643 produced; typically sell in the $100,000-$500,000 range, and up)

* 1960 Les Paul Standard (only 635 produced; typically sell in the $50,0000-$250,000 range)

* The 2004 Gibson Custom Shop Duane Allman Signature Les Paul (only 57 produced, and rarely available for purchase)

* The 2005 Gibson Custom Shop Eric Clapton \"Crossroads\" ES-335 (250 guitars produced, sold out in 72 hours)

* The 2006 Jimmy Page Custom Authentic Les Paul (first 25 were signed, played, and numbered by Page himself; $25,000 original price tag, but now typically sell for $80,000-$100,000)

* The 2007 Custom Shop Jimmy Page Signature EDS-1275 Doubleneck (25 Aged, 250 VOS models, sold out in less than two weeks)

The limited edition, first run Robot Guitar will certainly follow in the footsteps of these legendary Gibson instruments.

Robot Guitar Receives "Best of Show" at CES

The Gibson Robot Guitar received "Best of Show" honors on Sunday, January 6 at the annual NEWS TIPS Cherry Picks event at CES. The Cherry Picks award has become known for targeting trend-setting technology and recognizing the most exciting and promising products each year. The Gibson Robot guitar was presented in front of worldwide media at the annual Cherry Picks event held in Las Vegas and competed against products from a hybrid vehicle to the latest in technology's best home and business products. The Gibson Robot guitar received an overwhelming vote for "Best of Show" and was recognized in a special award presentation.
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The Robot Guitar made history in December with its launch as the first guitar with robotic self-tuning technology. The guitar eliminates tuning problems for artists by automatically tuning to a standard A440 and allows players to access six commonly used altered tuning presets at the push of a button. The technology also makes string changes an automated breeze and allows the guitar to be intonated in seconds after string changes, truss rod adjustments or weather changes.

The system's high technology components are extremely light and do not change the instrument in any way. The user interface of the Robot Guitar is the Master Control Knob, which has all operating and control functionality contained in 11 different positions. The Powerhead-Locking tuners, constructed with lightweight alloy housing, represent a revolution in guitar technology and are not any heavier than common tuning keys. Each Powerhead has a motorized high-performance gearbox controlled by signals from the CPU. As the motorized tuners adjust the pitch of the strings, they are monitored by means of a Tune-Control Bridge. The Gibson Robot Guitar is the first production instrument offering robotic ability and is exclusive to Gibson Guitar.

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