Topic: Introducing Gibson's Dusk Tiger: A World Premiere!!

[matbard]

http://www.sonicstate.com/amped/2009/11/09/innovative-gibson-guitar-announced/

[Elantric]

"Dusk Tiger"

Sounds like an "End of an Era" name - we call them "Sunset Technologies".


Who the hell comes up with these terrible names for products?




===

Innovative Gibson Guitar Coming Soon

Here's the press release from Gibson...

Gibson Guitar has revolutionized the face of the music industry, whose quality, prestige and innovation have earned the loyalty and admiration of musicians the world over. Through extraordinary innovative efforts in recent years, Gibson introduced groundbreaking technology with its premier of the Gibson HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitar, the Gibson Robot Guitar, and the Gibson Dark Fire, creating some of the biggest advances in electric guitar technology and design in over 70 years.

When Gibson launched the HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitar in 2006, it coupled its long-standing legacy with a completely digital setup, allowing the isolation of individual strings and a direct connection to your computer. In the following year Gibson continued to explore new ways to bring novel features to its guitars. The Gibson Robot Guitar was the first ever integration of an analog guitar with a physical self-tuning system, becoming the electric guitar that sold faster than any other in history and revolutionized the industry. Gibson USA recently announced the limited availability of 57 HD.6X Pro Digital Guitars signed personally by the late, great Les Paul along with 105 of unsigned models. This low quantity of this innovative and industry changing guitar is the last among the 2009 allotment and once sold there will not any others available this season.

The combined pioneering technologies of the HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitar and the Gibson Robot Guitar paved the way for the axe that would change the guitar world forever, the Gibson Dark Fire. Gibson Guitar CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, along with Tronical, MIT and Craig Anderton, some of the most brilliant minds in tech, continued to push the guitar to the limit, making the Gibson Dark Fire the most versatile tone monster ever created.

Based on the legendary Les Paul Standard, Gibson's Dark Fire is nothing less than the most versatile 6-string music-making machine on the planet. From analog to digital, or a blend of both, this guitar's capabilities are nothing short of miraculous, and they open up previously unimagined horizons of creativity to the adventurous guitarist. Combining a pair of Gibson's most popular pickups (a Burstbucker 3 in the bridge and a P-90h in the neck), a piezo bridge with individual pickups loaded into each string saddle for an acoustic-like tone, and direct-to-digital capabilities via the included Robot Interface Pack (RIP) breakout box, the sonic potential of Dark Fire is truly unprecedented. Using the guitar's analog magnetic and piezo outputs alone, there are already more than 20 separate tonal combinations available through Dark Fire's onboard control matrix and Master Control Knob. Send it direct to your computer via the RIP, and use the Guitar Rig 3 effect and amp simulating software and/or the Ableton Live 7 Gibson Studio Edition recording software that are both included, and the sky's the limit.

Even beyond its sonic capabilities, Dark Fire revolutionizes your live performance by carrying the automatic-tuning facilities of Gibson's pioneering Robot Guitar series. Turn the knob, and within seconds Dark Fire's automated machine heads put you back into standard tuning, or any conceivable alternate or original tuning you might desire.

Long a name associated with tradition and first-class craftsmanship, Gibson has always been home to a stunning amount of innovation over its nearly 120-year history. This historic company has introduced more significant advancements in guitar design than any other single manufacturer. With the invention of the archtop in the 1980s, followed by models such as the L-4, L-5, and the fancy L-12, Gibson began building a heritage of playability and stability in its guitars, with much thanks to the truss rod, another industry first introduced in 1922. To fit the bill of the acoustic guitar struggle to be heard over other louder instruments, Gibson presented the world with the ES-150, the first production electric guitar from a major manufacturer which, when partnered with the EH-150 amplifier, offered unforeseen new horizons to the guitarist. Electrification and amplification took the guitarist out of the shadows and into the spotlight, and we have never looked back.

The guitar boom of the 1950s brought new challenges to this growing technology, and Gibson's innovations came at a faster pace than ever before. In 1952 Gibson married its archtop styling with a design that would prove to be the world's most desirable solidbodied electric guitar to introduce the Les Paul "Goldtop", but company president Ted McCarty new intuitively that further advancements were required to make this early model into all that it could be. In 1955, McCarty himself invented the Tune-o-matic (ABR-1) bridge to achieve more action and intonation adjustment than was afforded by its predecessor, the wraparound bridge.

First introduced on the Les Paul Custom of 1955, then on the Les Paul Standard the following year--and other models soon after--the Tune-o-matic was a true revelation in intonation, and set a standard for simplicity and functionality that has never been bettered.

The "humbucker" pickup was developed in a fantastic effort to perfect the tone and performance of the electric guitar, and first appeared on the Les Paul Standard and Les Paul Custom models in 1957, representing another revolution in electric guitar design.

Through the late 1950s and early '60s the Gibson innovations kept coming, namely in the guise of fully formed new models, many of which were deemed to be ahead of their time. The ES-335 of 1958 proved an instant classic, but the Modernistic Series models released that same year, the Flying V and Explorer, were too futuristic for very many guitarists of the day to accept, although they have since become iconic rock and blues guitars. The LP/SG (later just SG) of 1961 was an instant hit, though, and the "reverse-bodied" Firebird that followed it in 1963 has also become a favorite of players and collectors alike, and the visionary guitar making just keeps coming.

Gibson Guitar will soon announce the next installation of a new model guitar marked by innovative new technology and amazing new advancements available December 2009. The Dusk Tiger will soon change the world.

More information:

[dirtypurple]

new advancements available December 2009. The Dusk Tiger will soon change the world.

...but wont work properly until late 2010. If at all.

[matbard]

Who the hell comes up with these terrible names for products?

Our nice friend Henry... 

[secretagentman]

Dusk Tiger....

I will be judging it AFTER I know what it is about.

[Elantric]

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=2481384


Introducing Gibson's Dusk Tiger: A World Premiere!!

Craig Anderton wrote>


As many of you know, I've been a big fan of both the Gibson Digital Guitar and of course, the Dark Fire. I was involved with Dark Fire in terms of doing presets for Guitar Rig, beta-testing the guitar itself, and working on the documentation; as that worked out well, I've become a sort of "outside objective person" for Gibson's high-tech guitar efforts.

Well, I was invited to Los Angeles at the beginning of October to be part of a focus group consisting of a bunch of guitar players like Zakk Wylde, Dean Parks, Steve Lukather, Alison from the Donnas, Rich Fortus and DJ Ashba from Guns 'n' Roses, etc., to check out what Gibson was going to do next. The guitar is called Dusk Tiger and while I don't have a ton of firm info on it yet, I do have some pictures (see attached) and Gibson is okay with me posting them here as a "sneak preview" to all you high-tech axe slingers.

It's still under development and I don't want to say too much, as features and specs are always subject to change. But basically, it builds on Dark Fire with many of the same features (Robot tuning, hex outs, RIP interface for use with computers, Chameleon analog tone technology, no digital modeling, bundled software, etc.) but with a simplified user interface. It has a different look compared to Dark Fire - reflective pickguard, somewhat different body shape, and an overall less "traditional" vibe than the DF. I played a prototype and it feels great. The electronics are a bit more streamlined compared to Dark Fire (e.g., less current consumption, replaceable battery) but the functionality is pretty much the same. Some of these changes may allow bringing in Dusk Tiger at a somewhat lower price than Dark Fire, but we'll see...lots can happen between design and production.

If you have questions I'll try to answer them but don't want to violate any confidentiality issues ("What?!? You told them about the anti-gravity flux transformator?!?") so please understand if I have to say "no comment" from time to time. I guess one obvious question is "So does this make Dark Fire obsolete?" to which I would say no. I have a great Dark Fire setup, the hex patches are tweaked for it, it plays like a charm, and I can't see giving that up. Dusk Tiger has some tweaks to the electronics that give different sounds, so I'll probably come up with a tweaked set of patches for it as well. What I expect based on what I've seen so far is that I'll use both guitars, but for different applications. I'm assuming that as time goes on, for some projects I'll reach for the Dark Fire, and for others, I'll reach for the Dusk Tiger...we'll see.

I'll keep you posted as much as I can, but it took a little arm-twisting to be able to post this info so I don't want to overstep my bounds . However, I really do appreciate that Gibson understands the importance of this forum enough to let me break the news here. These high-tech guitars have really changed how I play, the way I record, everything...it'll be interesting to see how Dusk Tiger progresses over the coming weeks.

[Elantric]

[secretagentman]

....seems like we will be seeing the configuration tool soon!!??

[Elantric]

....seems like we will be seeing the configuration tool soon!!??

For Dark Fire Too?
Sorry - I'm just grown used to buying bleeding edge technology that becomes orphaned from future updates after the new improved model arrives.

[Elantric]

Wait - I know the answer"

"This will be Gibson's Decision"

[secretagentman]

...You have to sift between talk and reality :-)

[matbard]

Zakk Wylde told on his Twitter that he was going to discuss the RD Artist Reissue with Gibson.
Multiple models with Robot II technology?

[Elantric]

Since they are doing photo Tiger Stripes directly on the wood, -

Maybe they can do a Ted Nugent Camouflage edition?

http://www.gibson-talk.com/forum/other-gibson-solid-bodies/26012-gibson-dusk-tiger.html

[MCK]

Since they are doing photo Tiger Stripes directly on the wood, -

Wow. Another way to mask sub-prime wood. Endless creativity it appears...

[Sympodius]

A very personal thing, I suppose, but I'm not loving the look of the Dusk Tiger. But I join in the hope that this leads to the release of a unified configuration tool for both Dark Fire and Dusk Tiger. I wonder if the Bluetooth kit or even a complete tech upgrade kit for Dark Fire will ever see the light of day