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wingsdad
January 14th, 2008, 09:25 PM
I posted the following earlier in the thread titled "P-90 vs. H-90 pickups" in the Amps, Pedals, etc. 'forum', and realized that this guitar was probably a Topic of its own:

Not only did Gibson have this type of P-90 before, but they were at the heart of a remarkably low-priced Memphis-made Gibson, the BluesHawk. I think its last MSRP was about $1,200, including gigbag. It had the dummy coil going on, and so they called the pickups 'Blues 90's'.

Here's a link I've somehow saved to what used to be its page on the Gibson website in 2002:
http://www.gibson.com/products/gibson/Hawk/BluesHawk/BluesHawk.html
The BluesHawk is strange, for a Gibson. Strangely 'Fenderish'. A 25 1/2" scale length like a Strat or Tele, as opposed to the common 24 3/4" Gibson electric scale length. String-through-body like a Tele. Very lightweight with a Semi-hollow poplar body with a maple cap top. 'Belly' Contour on the back like a Strat. And the Vari-tone switch, combined with the 3-way Strat-style selector gives you 18 different pickup/tone combinations. Nitrocell lacquer not poly, finish.

The BluesHawk was introduced in '96 as a follow-up to the NightHawk, and finally discontinued in 2006. There were a few different 'Hawks' in the Hawk Series, including it's 'top of the line' model, the 'Little Lucille', that came with the only hardshell case customized to fit a Hawk, and with B.B.'s mojo, went for about $200 more.

Why did they stop making it? Too cheap? Too Fender? Because it's slightly odd body shape didn't let it fit in an LP case?

They occasionally pop up on e-bay, and BlueBook or Vintage Guitar says they're worth about $700-$800 in good shape.

I managed to get a '99 in nice shape 2 years ago for $700. Here's front & back shots of her. The access panel in the middle of the back is how you got at the dummy coil if you wanted to disconnect it:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/wingsdad/Forum%20Profile/BluesHawk1x3.jpghttp://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/wingsdad/BluesHawk2sm.jpg

Great little axe. Alas, I, let her go for a modest profit on trade-in to cap a bargain deal on my Fender AmVint 62RI Strat.

MORE INFO: BluesHawks (& other Hawk Series guitars) have something of a 'cult following', with that 'cult' having an informative website started & maintained by a guy in England, loaded with info:
http://www.blueshawk.info/intro.htm

Besides e-bay, this site is a good spot to search for used/vintage & sometimes new stuff, from guitars to pickups, for sale usually by dealers specializing in this sort of thing, like Elderly Instruments in Michigan, but not on e-bay. I didn't see any Hawks there just now, but a couple of years ago, there were a couple.
http://www.gbase.com/

markb
January 15th, 2008, 01:26 AM
The 'hawks were nice guitars but imo they went head to head with Telecasters and lost (see my signature for why I might hold this opinion). I notice that Tone at blueshawk.info's latest guitar is a thinline tele. As you mention, finding a good case to fit is tricky (they weren't included) and they start to look like a bad deal despite being great guitars. A great shame but one that afflicts many otherwise excellent Gibson and Fender guitars. I looked at an nos Squier Esprit today, great guitar (a friend has a Fender original) but you can't get a decent case without a custom build.

If my addled old brain doesn't deceive me there was an Epi' version for a while too.

SuperSwede
January 15th, 2008, 02:54 AM
Wingsdad, I havent played on the Blueshawk myself but I do love the Nighthawk! Especially the three pup version. I dont recall that it was fender scale though.

wingsdad
January 15th, 2008, 08:23 AM
mark, that's exactly what happened in my case. I was attracted to the BH in the first place because it was 'Fender-ish', the semi-hollow bod, the P-90's and the vari-tone. But after a year, my G&L ASAT Semi-Hollow (sim to a Tele Thinline) proved its superiority. And I was smitten by the 62RI Strat I traded it for, an opportunity too good to pass up. Yep...the Hawks nose-dived because Gibson players didn't go for the Fender scale, and Fender players...probably felt like the thing had cooties.

And yep, the Epi NightHawk Std (2-pup) and ST3 (3-pup) 'economy versions' of their Gibson sibling were Samick-Korea Epiphone like many Epis from the mid-late 90's.

Yep, S-Swede, the NightHawks were/are 25 1/2" 'Fender' scale necks, too.

And the 3-pup model? Heh, heh...there's one in black hanging on the wall in the same store I got & traded my BluesHawk...at least it was there Sunday morning, and I think it's price tag was around $600 US with Gibson Gig Bag. I know when it came in a week ago, they had to replace the dead slant-coil bridge humbucker, and the tech was going to try modding a Seymour Duncan (forgot which model) to make that happen. He did.

markb
January 15th, 2008, 01:55 PM
And add to that the fact that you can drive fence posts with a tele, you can see the attraction. I've never really got on with the Gibson varitone or rotary switches generally on guitars. It's just too easy to overshoot the position you want.

wingsdad
January 15th, 2008, 09:55 PM
Great BarWars weapons, those Teles.

Your'e right about the varitone & overshooting the position. If you notice, there's no position marker ring on the BluesHawk's. They put them on ES-345's, Lucilles and top-shelf axes. I emailed Gibson to see if I could order one. They quite tersely said they don't sell them as parts, just on the guitars.

Gimme an F'in break....

SuperSwede
January 16th, 2008, 04:31 AM
Yep, S-Swede, the NightHawks were/are 25 1/2" 'Fender' scale necks, too.

And the 3-pup model? Heh, heh...there's one in black hanging on the wall in the same store I got & traded my BluesHawk...at least it was there Sunday morning, and I think it's price tag was around $600 US with Gibson Gig Bag. I know when it came in a week ago, they had to replace the dead slant-coil bridge humbucker, and the tech was going to try modding a Seymour Duncan (forgot which model) to make that happen. He did.

Good price no doubt, but I really like the stock pickups on that guitar. I wonder why they wanted to replace it in the first place.

wingsdad
January 16th, 2008, 08:35 AM
The guitar was a trade-in. The bridge pup was dead, and it wasn't wiring or a pot. Since it's an unusual, slanted/offset coil thing, in a parallelogram shaped hole, they tried to get a factory replacement from Gibson. Of course, since they're not a Gibson dealer (not many independent stores can afford a $300,000 minimum standing inventory) they got Gibson's corporate-head blow-off response, as I had trying to get a Varitone indicator ring, actually referring to the aftermarket pup mfr's.