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the Blueshawk - in a nutshell |  |  |  |
| the BluesHawk is what happens when Gibson “do a Fender”. And the results? – A mini masterpiece… a guitar with unique looks, unique sounds and unique features, that combine to form a truly inspiring guitar. |
Let’s start with the basic spec and construction. The BluesHawk is an extremely light and comfortable guitar - the choice of woods, small body size, hollow tone cavities and minimal hardware all contribute to a distinct lack of heft. The body outline resembles a single cutaway Les Paul that has been slightly compressed along its length – it looks a bit strange at first, but strapped on it’s just right. The back of the guitar is contoured at the waist for a comfortable fit.
The top is edge bound and pierced by a couple of f-holes – these open into small sound chambers - more like a Tele Thinline, than large 335-like voids. Despite appearances the BluesHawk is essentially a solid guitar, not a semi-acoustic - perhaps a semi-hollow, although it has much less "air" in it than a Tele Thinline.
The pickups are also deceptive – they look like P90 soapbars – in fact they are a new P90 based design called Blues 90s – with a unique sound that is enhanced by two other unusual features – a hum-bucking “dummy” coil, and Varitone circuitry. These features mean that although this is essentially a single coil guitar, it is hum free under normal circumstances, and you have a palette of 18 distinctive sounds to choose from. The tones range from toppy Tele to warm 335, from bell-like Strat to rounded, woody jazz - all under the control of a six position rotary chicken-head knob, in addition to a Strat style three position pickup switch and single tone and volume controls.
The one piece mahogany neck/headstock offers a less obvious surprise – with a 25.5 inches scale length it is longer than any other Gibson, and the same as most Fenders – this has a big impact on both the sound and the playing experience. The neck profile is a shallow-ish D rather than a clubby V, making it comfortable and fast. The unbound rosewood finger-board has medium width, high-ish frets that you can really feel – this is not a fretless wonder. The string spacing is quite close with a lot of fretboard either side of the first and sixth strings. All this encourages big bends and committed vibrato. Diamond-shaped, pearlised markers decorate the fingerboard and headstock.
The bridge is very like a recent Tele, with individually adjustable, cast bridge pieces, and the strings passing through the bridge to the back of the guitar.
The far ends of the strings pass over a neatly cut nut, and onto vintage Kluson style machine-heads.
This all sounds great – so are there any problems?
 | The BluesHawk takes a bit of getting used to – it doesn’t play or sound quite how it looks – Blues 90s are not P90s, and have a distinctive sound. The Les Paul shape suggests it might relate to that family of guitars – but it definitely doesn’t. The Varitone is complex and needs time to explore. The appearance is different and may never appeal to some... ... The BluesHawk disappoints superficial expectations - you need to spend a little time and effort getting it to sing. |
| Gibson have done themselves few favours with quality control – BluesHawks can be poorly finished and setup. The up side is that BluesHawks can be had for bargain prices, and a little time spent setting up etc can give you fully-fledged, cracking Gibson for under £600. The BluesHawk however, is not a budget instrument and represents one of the few recent attempts by a major manufacturer to try something genuinely new. |
| The machine-heads seem to be crap – they look flimsy and poorly made – many BluesHawk users replace them. Having said that, the ones on my BluesHawk work well, and tuning stability is good. |
What’s great about the BluesHawk?
| It’s extremely comfortable and well-balanced. The neck is fast, and positively encourages enthusiastic playing. |
| The sound is great – dynamic and responsive with bags of sustain - the BluesHawk responds well to a playing style that - sets the amp to loud and crunchy, but then controls tone and level via the guitar controls and picking dynamics. Feedback, when it arrives, is warm, fun and controllable. This kind of stuff is particularly good for blues (the clue is in the name!) but will suit many styles. However, if you want thick humbucking tones the BluesHawk will disappoint – get a Les Paul. |
| It’s not an identikit guitar – you won’t be just another Les Paul or Strat player searching for something that isn’t a cliché. The BluesHawk gives you a new palette from day one, all you have to do is explore. |
I have had my BluesHawk for some time now and I consider it to be the best guitar I've ever had, and I’ve had (and played) quite a few.
