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Gibson is proud to introduce the HD.6X-Pro Digital Les Paul. The result of more than ten years of research and development, the instrument combines the most cherished qualities of a traditional Les Paul with the power of a complete digital audio system.

HD.6X-Pro Digital Les Paul

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Classic Mode Output

Gibson knows that guitarists can be hardcore traditionalists. If it doesn’t smoke, crackle, or run on tubes it is going to raise some eyebrows. That’s why the heart of the HD.6X-Pro is a real Les Paul. It got the classic Gibson humbuckers for pure Les Paul tone, a hand-oiled mahogany neck, low-profile frets, and a slightly wider fingerboard for great playability. Plug the HD.6X-Pro into a cranked tube amp and it’s a screaming Les Paul all day long.

Through the "Classic Mode"™ output, a guitarist can obtain the same sweet sound the Les Paul is renowned for. Classic Mode engages the traditional humbucking pickups only, and also activates the traditional Tone and Volume controls for each individual pickup. The HD.6X-Pro offers two ways to access the Classic Mode Output: directly from the guitar or from BoB.

From Jackplate: The standard 1/4-inch guitar jack on the jackplate bypasses all digital electronics and operates as a conventional, completely analog electric guitar. Use a standard guitar cord and plug directly into a processor or amplifier.

From BoB: The signal to BoB's Classic Mode jack starts out as analog from the humbucking pickups, gets converted to digital inside the guitar in order to send it through the Cat-5 cable as data packets, and then is converted back to analog inside BoB. Use a standard guitar cord to connect from BoB to a processor or amplifier. Connecting through BoB using a Cat-5 cable allows your guitar signal to be sent over 100 meters without the interference, signal degradation, and other tonal drawbacks of a standard guitar cord.

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Digital Mode Output... Where the Beauty of Tradition Meets the Power of Innovation

The HD.6X-Pro brings the 1930s technology of conventional electric guitars into the Digital Age, opening a virtually unlimited array of musical possibilities for guitarists.

Living up to the unparalleled reputation of Gibson instruments, the rich tone of the HD.6X-Pro is as incredible as any traditional Les Paul, while its digital capability offers musicians the opportunity to reach sonic dimensions they had never imagined.

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Six Strings… Unlimited Possibilities

Flexibility of six separate outputs: The best part of the HD.6X-Pro system is its delivery of signal processing on a string-by-string basis, providing increased quality and flexibility. This provides unprecedented control, with the ability to adjust volume, pan, and equalization of each string individually. Imagine using six guitar amplifiers—one for each string—or recording all six strings individually into a computer, or sending the six-string digital signal to a compatible guitar processor.

Hex output: Each string with its own output. This connection requires six separate analog audio inputs such as six amps or a PC audio card with six inputs. Plug each analog input into one of BoB's FROM GUITAR output jacks.

Dial in crunching, low-end distortion on the bass strings, light overdrive on the middle strings, and a clean shimmer on the high strings. Through advanced Gibson technology, each string's signal is isolated, converted from analog to digital and routed individually, giving the player a myriad of live performance and recording options. The sonic possibilities are limited only by a player’s imagination.

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Clean Digital Signal & Volume

Since its introduction 70 years ago, the electric guitar has used conventional pickups to translate string vibration into electrical signal, which is fed to an output connector on the body. Through the years, individual polepieces have allowed for small adjustments in individual string signals, and the guitarist has some control over tone and volume, but output has always been limited to a mono or stereo signal. The signal itself is noisy by today's digital standards, and stray frequencies often find their way to the pickups—manifesting as 60-cycle hum that guitarists have become accustomed to hearing. In addition, the guitar cable can also pick up unwanted audio. This is the way electric guitars and cables have always been manufactured—until now.

With the HD.6X-Pro, stray frequencies entering the guitar pickups are completely eliminated along with analog line-noise induced through the guitar cable. The limitations of analog technology are completely removed. The HD.6X-Pro converts the music to a clean digital signal at the source—inside the guitar—and can transmit it up to 100 meters with no loss of quality.

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Enhanced Live Performance

The HD.6X-Pro’s Breakout Box (BoB) can send the instrument’s signal to two, three, or even six standard guitar amplifiers, or individual audio sources. Through its intuitive input recognition feature, BoB automatically detects which outputs have been designated, and routes the signals accordingly. With exciting new opportunities for spatial placement, the HD.6X-Pro allows players unparalleled sonic freedom.

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Limitless Post-Production and Recording Capabilities

The HD.6X-Pro allows users to record each string separately, affording the possibility to manipulate the sound of each string without having to rerecord. Imagine the potential of sending each string to its own input on a recording system, and adding signal processing to each string individually.

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Breakout Box (BoB)

Once the Hex pickups capture the signal, covert it from analog to digital, and send it down the Ethernet cable, it reaches BoB, the HD.6X-Pro’s breakout box. BoB acts as the system’s air traffic controller, routing the signal to different destinations, automatically detecting which outputs have been connected and designated. BoB does the work, allowing users to focus on playing.

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Jackplate

Jackplate: The only visible difference between a standard Les Paul and the HD.6X-Pro is the jackplate. In addition to the conventional 1⁄4-inch jack, the HD.6X-Pro also has an RJ-45 Ethernet jack for delivering a pure digital signal. There is also a microphone input, headphone jack, and volume dial that can deliver a monitor mix straight to the guitar, putting monitor control where it has always belonged—with the guitarist.

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MaGIC

Gibson has developed Media-accelerated Global Information Carrier (MaGIC), an Ethernet media delivery system, to open up a new world of possibilities for the musician. It's designed to replace all wiring systems in both the musical instrument fields and consumer electronic applications. The current nest of wires behind home entertainment systems can be replaced by a single Ethernet cable. MaGIC-enabled consumer electronic devices will allow daisy chaining devices and plug-and-play capabilities—it's an Ethernet-based digital transport that can carry up to 32 bidirectional channels of audio over a single cable. One cable provides pure digital quality. It's the heart, soul, and brains of the HD.6X-Pro.

Hex output: Each string with its own output. This connection requires six separate analog audio inputs such as six amps or a PC audio card with six inputs. Plug each analog input into one of BoB's FROM GUITAR output jacks.

Find out more on MaGIC at www.gibsonMaGIC.comGibsonMaGIC.com.

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The Gibson Hex Pickup

Gibson's patented Hex pickup design offers a low-profile, non-intrusive solution to Hex separation. Set between the rear pickup and the bridge, the Hex is unobtrusive and extremely powerful—capturing all the nuances, attack, and phrasing of playing.

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Plug In and Play

Plug in the Breakout Box (BoB) which comes with a power source. First, connect the power cord to BoB's POWER jack. Then plug the standard three-prong plug into a grounded wall outlet. This is the safest way to power BoB.

Connect BoB outputs to analog audio inputs such as guitar amplifiers. Use a standard guitar cord with 1/4-inch plugs. There are three ways to connect the outputs:

* SUM output - all strings together through one amplifier. Plug the cord from the amp into BoB's SUM output jack. * STEREO output - 2x3 separation with EAD (lower pitched) strings through one amp and GBE (higher pitched) strings through a second amp. Plug the cord from the amp for the EAD strings into BoB's 2-B FROM GUITAR output jack (also labeled 4-5-6 R). Plug the cord from the amp for the GBE strings into BoB's 1-E FROM GUITAR output jack (also labeled 1-2-3 L). * HEX output - each string with its own output. This connection requires six separate analog audio inputs such as six amps or a PC audio card with six inputs. Plug each analog input into one of BoB's FROM GUITAR output jacks (1-E through 6-E).

Connect your guitar to BoB. Plug one end of the Cat-5 cable into the guitar's MaGIC jack and the other end into BoB's MaGIC jack. The Neutrik Ethercon locking connectors were designed to maintain a connection, without signal breakup, under typical guitar playing conditions. In digital mode, only the Master Volume control (the knob closest to the neck) is active.

Now, it is time to crank up the HD.6X-Pro and experience the exciting new world of sonic digital possibilities now available to guitarists.

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