The Gibson Blueshawk was discontinued by Gibson in Spring 2006. Introduced in 1996, The Blueshawk is a guitar that tends to be overlooked by guitar players, even hardcore Gibson fans. Reason? It’s just one of those guitars that either gets your attention or it doesn’t. And, you either like it or you don’t. If you like it, then you probably understand it, for it is in the understanding of the Blueshawk that one finds fulfillment therein. It's not a hardcore guitar, yet a six-string beauty that’s bound to be a classic.
The Gibson Blueshawk is great for jazz and blues, and this guitar indeed designed mainly for blues players. However, any music with a harder attack or bending of strings, the guitar will gets out of tune.
The Gibson Blueshawk is noticeably lightweight, lighter than a Gibson SG even. In fact, it’s one of the lightest guitars on the market. Anyone who has played on stage with a Gibson Les Paul slung over his shoulder should be able to appreciate that. And the shape of its body is basically that of a Les Paul anyway.
Below is Gibson Blueshawk Guitar Features:
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| Gibson-Blueshawk |
Manufacturer: Gibson
Period: 1996-2006
Construction
Body type : Semi-solid - two sound cavities with f-holes
Neck joint : Narrow with slight V shape
Woods
Body : Maple cap over Poplar
Neck : Mahogany
Fretboard : Rosewood
Hardware
Bridge : Low-profile string-through-body system with Maestro tremolo option
Pickup(s)
Two Blues 90 with hum canceling dummy coil
Colors available
Heritage Cherry (transparent red), Chicago Blue (transparent blue), Ebony (black)
Below is Other innovative features of Gibson Blueshawk:
- 25.5 inch scale length (the same as many Fenders, Gibson’s more typically have a 24.75 inch scale length).
- Through-body stringing and bridge construction - similar to the Fender Telecaster
- Blues 90 pickups (a modified version of the P-90 pickup)
- Noise reduction circuitry which employs a dummy coil
- A Varitone circuit (similar to that used on the Gibson ES345) - the Varitone circuit is a mid-cut/band-stop filter with a choice of five center frequencies
- The Gibson Blueshawk is a light guitar (less than 7lbs) - the body is made from poplar, capped with maple - the body is small and relatively thin and has two cavities - the hardware is minimal.
- The Blueshawk has a contour carved into the back - similar to the Fender Stratocaster.
- Simple control set - master volume, master tone, 3-way pickup selector, 6 way rotary Varitone control switch.
- Just above the fingerboard and parallel to it, between the front (neck) pickup and the front strap pin, there is a cursive-writing emblem using paint, saying “Blues Hawk.”
