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musical instrument details
Amazing Gibson Les Paul DARK FIRE, beautiful and technically jaw dropping!!
Estimated price for orientation: 750 $
Category: Electric Guitars
Class:
Description Brand: Gibson USA String Configuration: 6 String MPN: Dark Fire Country/Region of Manufacture: United States Right-/ Left-Handed: Right-handed (w PLEK system) Body Material: SolidMahoganybody/neck wMapletop Body Type: Solid Items Included: All h/w & s/w including Robot i/f pack Model: Les Paul Limited Run Features: P90h,BurstbuckerIII,Piezo saddles, firewire computer interface
I obtained this amazing piece of equipment together with some other instruments(see my other listings) from a friend who had amassed an enviable collection of rare guitars. It had sat in its case for many years never seeing the light of day and from what I can see it hardly looks like its ever been touched in its lifetime!I found the internal battery pack was completely dead and would not recharge and it was at that point that I had to embark on a long frustrating journey gathering facts and obtaining parts before I could go any further.To cut a long story short I was forced to open up and inspect the old internal battery pack to see if I could solve the problem (Gibson UK offered no replacement part at the time!) sure enough there were two 3.7volt Li ion rechargeable cells inside which I was able to replace and 'hey-presto' one hours charge time later and eureka! bells and whistles and features never seen or witnessed before!Probably at this point you should go on YouTube and view the many Gibson Dark Fire videos and testimonials and see for yourself but after I insist you carry on reading this Description and then make a judgement for yourself.Basically Gibson took it upon themselves to invent the most complex and technically advanced Guitar imaginable and launch it before all the hardware was ready, before all the software was ready and before any decent documentation was ready. It can be summed up that the Dark Fire failed miserably in its launch in 2007 because it just wasn't ready for release! It wasn't until 2008/9 when all the hardware and software became available and by that time its reputation was effectively ruined! This was exacerbated by the fact nothing had been done to improve the appalling user documentation!Now, if you consider this guitar was released in 2009, so it has all of its hardware, it has all of its software, it has all its intended 'bells and whistles' it just needs you to master its functionality using THE most poorly written user manual you will ever read!!I am 60+ years young and I cannot even get close to understanding and following the user manual! The Dark Fire has a massive array of features, from ROBOT tuning, to effects and simulation(Chameleon Tone Technology), to computer interfacing, to individual piezo pick-ups selection all of which are accessed from ONE multi function control knob!! It is just so complicated that it has me beat! There must be hundreds maybe even thousands of different switching commands to master before you know your way around its full capability! The manual 'skims' over how to operate its functionality so loosely that I find it misinforms and keeps you blind! To some youngster it maybe that it is just instinctively obvious, but not for me. For weeks I've tried, but I am now admitting defeat! By trial and error i'm 99.9% sure I've proved that every Guitar feature works, but I just found I got lost in a maze of complexity and when I attempted to return to a certain feature everything had changed! Grrrrrr! I haven't tried any computer interfacing using the supplied h/w and s/w as that will definitely be out of my league!So bottom line is unless you consider yourself to be computer literate and 'techy', avoid or face a tough learning curve!If you are however 'that way inclined' then go ahead and bid and land yourself an incredible instrument . Not only is it an incredible sounding guitar, but it has also become a collectors classic, which will just grow in popularity especially for those operating within a recording environment! Since fixing the battery pack (not that elegantly!) I found out that an organisation called 'Tronical' in Germany will supply a replacement battery pack (current product fitted to the Gibson Dusk Tiger) so you can resolve that issue more appropriately should you wish? The original battery pack was a sealed black plastic box housing the two old rechargeable batteries and a circuit board which I had to break open. It is now minus the black box therefore it currently consists of the two new rechargeable batteries connected to its circuit board bound in insulating tape. A new black empty battery box is included should you wish to repackage my solution better?Also it is worth mentioning that in the first week of owning the Guitar I had James Millman work his magic and provide a professional Luthier set-up on the Guitar so it plays beautifully! James is a renowned Luthier here in Devon and can be easily researched on line to see his work. He did quote how he liked the Guitars sound and playability (this was before curing the battery, so in basic Les Paul form!)I am sorry but the Guitar will be sold on the basis of no returns. I don't want to be kept waiting while you go through mastering its learning curve and then say its not for you. However you can be reassured that the above is fact taken from my 100% eBay record and I can assure you that if you can master the functionality you will be thrilled with your purchase. Even if you don't quickly master it you wont be disappointed, it is after all a high end Gibson Les Paul plugged in conventionally!Please note that the apparent mark in picture 11 is just reflected light also the back of the Guitar is not faded or worn, this is as per its factory finish.I have started the bidding at a very low start price with no reserve so best wishes to all participants.My intention is to convert the Dark Fire into a Gibson Les Paul standard or custom probably involving a cash adjustment so if you are in a position and interested in doing an appropriate exchange please don't hesitate to contact me. Also genuine enquiries would be more than welcome to come and view before auction end.Postage fees if sold internationally will be calculated at auction end using UPS or similar tariffs and be added to auction sale price. Any interested international bidders please contact me before auction end. Overseas shipment will take longer to arrange, so please allow 5 days to organise.Many thanks and best wishes.
Description
| Brand: | Gibson USA | String Configuration: | 6 String |
| MPN: | Dark Fire | Country/Region of Manufacture: | United States |
| Right-/ Left-Handed: | Right-handed (w PLEK system) | Body Material: | SolidMahoganybody/neck wMapletop |
| Body Type: | Solid | Items Included: | All h/w & s/w including Robot i/f pack |
| Model: | Les Paul Limited Run | Features: | P90h,BurstbuckerIII,Piezo saddles, firewire computer interface |
I obtained this amazing piece of equipment together with some other instruments(see my other listings) from a friend who had amassed an enviable collection of rare guitars. It had sat in its case for many years never seeing the light of day and from what I can see it hardly looks like its ever been touched in its lifetime!I found the internal battery pack was completely dead and would not recharge and it was at that point that I had to embark on a long frustrating journey gathering facts and obtaining parts before I could go any further.To cut a long story short I was forced to open up and inspect the old internal battery pack to see if I could solve the problem (Gibson UK offered no replacement part at the time!) sure enough there were two 3.7volt Li ion rechargeable cells inside which I was able to replace and 'hey-presto' one hours charge time later and eureka! bells and whistles and features never seen or witnessed before!Probably at this point you should go on YouTube and view the many Gibson Dark Fire videos and testimonials and see for yourself but after I insist you carry on reading this Description and then make a judgement for yourself.Basically Gibson took it upon themselves to invent the most complex and technically advanced Guitar imaginable and launch it before all the hardware was ready, before all the software was ready and before any decent documentation was ready. It can be summed up that the Dark Fire failed miserably in its launch in 2007 because it just wasn't ready for release! It wasn't until 2008/9 when all the hardware and software became available and by that time its reputation was effectively ruined! This was exacerbated by the fact nothing had been done to improve the appalling user documentation!Now, if you consider this guitar was released in 2009, so it has all of its hardware, it has all of its software, it has all its intended 'bells and whistles' it just needs you to master its functionality using THE most poorly written user manual you will ever read!!I am 60+ years young and I cannot even get close to understanding and following the user manual! The Dark Fire has a massive array of features, from ROBOT tuning, to effects and simulation(Chameleon Tone Technology), to computer interfacing, to individual piezo pick-ups selection all of which are accessed from ONE multi function control knob!! It is just so complicated that it has me beat! There must be hundreds maybe even thousands of different switching commands to master before you know your way around its full capability! The manual 'skims' over how to operate its functionality so loosely that I find it misinforms and keeps you blind! To some youngster it maybe that it is just instinctively obvious, but not for me. For weeks I've tried, but I am now admitting defeat! By trial and error i'm 99.9% sure I've proved that every Guitar feature works, but I just found I got lost in a maze of complexity and when I attempted to return to a certain feature everything had changed! Grrrrrr! I haven't tried any computer interfacing using the supplied h/w and s/w as that will definitely be out of my league!So bottom line is unless you consider yourself to be computer literate and 'techy', avoid or face a tough learning curve!If you are however 'that way inclined' then go ahead and bid and land yourself an incredible instrument . Not only is it an incredible sounding guitar, but it has also become a collectors classic, which will just grow in popularity especially for those operating within a recording environment! Since fixing the battery pack (not that elegantly!) I found out that an organisation called 'Tronical' in Germany will supply a replacement battery pack (current product fitted to the Gibson Dusk Tiger) so you can resolve that issue more appropriately should you wish? The original battery pack was a sealed black plastic box housing the two old rechargeable batteries and a circuit board which I had to break open. It is now minus the black box therefore it currently consists of the two new rechargeable batteries connected to its circuit board bound in insulating tape. A new black empty battery box is included should you wish to repackage my solution better?Also it is worth mentioning that in the first week of owning the Guitar I had James Millman work his magic and provide a professional Luthier set-up on the Guitar so it plays beautifully! James is a renowned Luthier here in Devon and can be easily researched on line to see his work. He did quote how he liked the Guitars sound and playability (this was before curing the battery, so in basic Les Paul form!)I am sorry but the Guitar will be sold on the basis of no returns. I don't want to be kept waiting while you go through mastering its learning curve and then say its not for you. However you can be reassured that the above is fact taken from my 100% eBay record and I can assure you that if you can master the functionality you will be thrilled with your purchase. Even if you don't quickly master it you wont be disappointed, it is after all a high end Gibson Les Paul plugged in conventionally!Please note that the apparent mark in picture 11 is just reflected light also the back of the Guitar is not faded or worn, this is as per its factory finish.I have started the bidding at a very low start price with no reserve so best wishes to all participants.My intention is to convert the Dark Fire into a Gibson Les Paul standard or custom probably involving a cash adjustment so if you are in a position and interested in doing an appropriate exchange please don't hesitate to contact me. Also genuine enquiries would be more than welcome to come and view before auction end.Postage fees if sold internationally will be calculated at auction end using UPS or similar tariffs and be added to auction sale price. Any interested international bidders please contact me before auction end. Overseas shipment will take longer to arrange, so please allow 5 days to organise.Many thanks and best wishes.