|
.playability...
why the BluesHawk sounds so good...
sound cavities and f-holes
the blueshawk can't make up his mind how much affect these components have. The BluesHawk is not an acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar, although it is often referred to as one, it simply has small chambers cut out of the body which open to the front of the guitar via f-holes. In fact, un-amplified it sounds only slightly louder than a Strat or Tele, although the tone is significantly brighter than either. It certainly is not as loud or as woody sounding as a 335.
materials of construction
The two familiar materials here are maple for the body cap, and mahogany for the neck. Far less familiar is the use of poplar for the majority of the body. This particular combination of tone-woods clearly contribute to the distinctive sound of the BluesHawk. However, there seems to be no convincing analysis of how and why - although it is said that maple lends brightness to the sound of a guitar and mahogany necks emphasise the mid-range more strongly than maple necks.
Discussing fingerboard materials in the FAQ section of the G&L discussion site, they say "(we think) 60% of the sound are the pickups, 30% the body, 10% the neck/fingerboard..... That being said, we find that (a) maple (fingerboard) is brighter ~ the highs seem to have more clarity and an edge to them. Rosewood is more of a thicker, midrange sound. Ebony is a hard wood and has the brightness of maple, with a slight edge in the midrange like the rosewood. Now, NONE OF THIS is a "dramatic change" in tone, you're back to our "10% of the tone" theory. So yes, small nuances and parts of the music will sound different depending on the neck fingerboard."
scale length
Longer than most Gibsons, at a scale-length of 25.5" the BluesHawk has more in common with Fenders - and that shows in the BluesHawks ability to twang. The longer scale length means greater string tension but that does not restrict the ability to bend notes - bends of up to 5 semitones (a major third) can be achieved - and 4 semitones are a doddle. This is helped by a fairly gently radiused fingerboard which means bends are rarely choked, even when the action is set low.
pickups & electronics
Blues 90 pickups are similar to P90s but with Alnico magnets rather than ceramic, and less coil windings than the P90. Having said that, early Gibson P90s were said to have alnico magnets, later ones ceramic, and most recently they have apparently returned to alnico. Blues 90s have also been said to be the most Fender-like of Gibson pickups - but again I'm not quite sure exactly what that means.
One thing is clear - Blues 90s are single coil pickups - however, what is not clear, is what effect connecting them in series with a dummy coil has - this arrangement certainly "bucks hum", but how far it takes them into the sonic territory of humbuckers i.e. the treble roll-off, reduced attack and other timbral/envelope changes so apparent in humbuckers.
Another thing that is true, is that before you even touch the Varitone, the BluesHawk has two quite distinct sounds - the comparatively smooth and balanced sounds of each of the pickups alone, and the edgy, "skrinky" sound of them combined. Part of the reason for this contrast is the effect of the treble bleed network that is in circuit when the pickups are combined (ie the middle position).
Mostly - without the Varitone "engaged" - the BluesHawk sounds more like a classic Fender style guitar than a Les Paul - however switch the Varitone switch to one of the "on" settings, that is positions 2-6, and things change radically - see the page on Varitone for just how that happens. Check here for some samples of blueshawk sounds
Perhaps - in the end - it is not possible to be much more analytical than to say that the BluesHawk is a happy combination of a number of unusual elements. The range of sounds achievable runs from Telecaster bridge pickup through to the warm smoothness of a 335 neck pickup.
•
