Les Paul Dark Fire Electric Guitar

Analog or digital, the Gibson Dark Fire Electric Guitar gives you an infinite number of tonal possibilities to let you change the tone of the Dark Fire to match your environment. And it begins with a guitar's most basic element”the pickups. The Gibson Dark Fire combines two of Gibson's most popular pickups”the P-90H in the neck position and a BurstBucker 3 in the bridge position. Both are capped with carbon fiber-like pickup covers, impeccably designed to match the Dark Fire's advanced fade.

Acoustic Capability.
The Dark Fire also 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. It does this by utilizing a revolutionary rotary potentiometer which is part of the pickup selector toggle switch. By twisting the switch's head clockwise or counterclockwise, you can blend the piezo acoustic sound from zero percent acoustic sound (100 percent traditional pickups) to 100 percent acoustic sound (no traditional pickups).

BurstBucker 3.
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, Michigan, 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.

Gibson's P-90H Pickup
The P-90H black soapbar pickup is another example of Gibson's drive to stay one step ahead. This pickup offers all of the soulful, classic tone of Gibson's prized P-90 single-coil pickup, but with none of the 60-cycle hum that usually plagues traditional single-coil 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 a highly sought-after pickup.

Piezo Bridge Pickup.
The Gibson 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.

Tone Potentiometer and CPA.
The Dark Fire guitar'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.

PerfectSetup by PLEK.
Also part of the Dark Fire package is a super fast 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.


And, It Gets Better...
Additionally, the Dark Fire features improved locking tuners, a Teflon-based frictionless nut, a bridge that locks to the studs and a chambering system that gives each one near-perfect tone, balance and weight. It also makes the Dark Fire one of the best-sustaining Les Pauls ever produced.

Chameleon Tone Technology.
The original Robot Guitar took the guitar world by storm when it was first introduced in December '07, but the 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 Powerhead tuners, the tuning brain, the battery function and the sonic capabilities of a fully digital guitar make the Dark Fire electric guitar a virtual upgrade in every respect. Perhaps most impressive is Gibson's 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 is guaranteed to give you a new, stunning level of tonal and functional freedom. Release your creative potential with this exciting Gibson guitar.

Master Control Knob.
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 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.

500 Tunings from a Single Battery Charge.
The Dark Fire's battery system and power circuit have also been significantly improved to last nearly twice as long, even with the guitar's enhanced performance. You can now expect nearly 500 tunings from a single charge. Additionally, you can play the Dark Fire while the battery system is being charged. ALso, there's a 12-volt DC connector for the Robot Interface Pack's power supply, which both powers the RIP itself and recharges the Dark Fire's battery when required.

Let it RIP.
While the heart of the Gibson 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 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. The Dark Fire electric guitar 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 the Gibson Dark Fire like any guitar with pickups, using the stereo TRS cable included with Dark Fire lets the RIP recharge its 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 electric guitar has ever gone before.

Fully Upgradable, Always Cutting Edge.
The Dark Fire you purchase today is designed to remain current with any upcoming developments from Gibson; the electronics can be removed from the guitar quickly and easily, and new electronics installed should the time come to upgrade to a future generation of Robot technology, or to change your pickups out of personal preference. The well-crafted, Les Paul-based core of the instrument retains its integrity whatever electronics you use with it, and therefore will retain its value despite what's done to alter its technological functions.

Every Dark Fire comes with Guitar Rig 3 and Ableton Live, integrated right out of the box.
Immediately take advantage of Dark Fire's radical digital capabilities with the easy-to-install software package that comes standard with every Dark Fire”including a full version of Native Instruments' Guitar Rig 3, the most popular guitar effects software ever sold, and Ableton Live 7 Gibson Studio Edition, an exclusive, Gibson-only version of the celebrated virtual studio software. The Gibson Dark Fire guitar also includes a professional-quality, low-latency driver that allows you to use any software you already own.

These two popular professional and comprehensive software packages have been tightly integrated with the functionality of the new Gibson Dark Fire and the RIP interface in a way that creates a seamless, easy-to-use platform, thus delivering the most powerful and mobile guitar experience in the world, aptly capable of replacing a trunk full of gear with a laptop and enabling you to transport your entire sound arsenal with you wherever you go.

Guitar Rig 3.
Each Gibson guitar comes with easy-to-install software with pro-quality low-latency driver to process the Dark Fire through a well-stocked library of effects, all of which is packaged with a Gibson-modified version of the popular Guitar Rig 3 processing software. Through the RIP's connection capabilities you can route these effects to your live outputs, your recorded outputs, or both. Tap into Guitar Rig 3's versatile selection of effects box, amplifier and speaker emulations, and instantly achieve the most desired guitar tones in the history of popular music. Naturally, Dark Fire owners will also 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.

Ableton Live 7 Gibson Studio Edition.
The exclusive Gibson version of Ableton Live software”dubbed Ableton Live 7 Gibson Studio Edition”provides Dark Fire owners with the ability to record, play loops and perform every other function needed to play in any live or studio setting. Enjoy the benefits of using the same virtual studio software and stage solution package already used by hundreds of touring professionals all around the world.

A Real Knock-Out.
The design and shape of Gibson's iconic Les Paul is timeless, and needs no real introduction or explanation. It is simply the most recognizable and functional guitar design in the world, and the new Dark Fire takes it to an entirely new level.

The Dark Fire's chambered mahogany body helps deliver near-perfect tone, balance and weight. The Dark Fire is a comfortable, lightweight guitar that is acoustically louder, with increased sustain and resonance than traditional solid body guitars.

The redesigned powerhead tuners on the Dark Fire are significantly smaller and lighter, and more in line with the size and weight of conventional tuners. They're also radically faster. You can now access any preset tuning in less than one second, which means you can realistically change tunings in the middle of a song, if needed. What's more, the tuners are now automatically engaged to operate both electronically or individually by hand.

Gibson's traditional flowerpot inlay graces the peghead of the Dark Fire. The classic block inlays found on the Dark Fire remain one of the most distinguishable features of many traditional Gibson models. 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 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.

Other exclusive design elements limited to the Dark Fire electric guitar are a distinct nut made from a special Teflon-based material that allows for smoother and faster tuning action, a truss rod cover made from anodized aluminum, black top hat volume and tone knobs with chrome inserts, and a super fast and comfortable asymmetrical neck profile design with Gibson's PerfectSetup, which is made possible by the revolutionary computer-controlled PLEK system, acknowledged as the most precise guitar set-up technology in the industry. As the guitar lies in a cradle, a computer-controlled robot arm moves along the neck measuring each fret's height, the fingerboard radius, even the bow in the neck. Using that data, the Plek machine adjusts the truss rod, cuts the nut slots for optimal spacing and height for each string, files each fret to a hundredth of a millimeter accuracy, and then polishes the frets. In a fraction of the time it takes a skilled technician, the Plek machine eliminates buzzing strings and dead spots, producing a neck with flawless intonation and superb action.