Gibson Blueshawk

American made, Poplar body with maple cap, looks similar to the Les Paul but has two F-holes. It's got a Blues 90 pickup, which most confuse with a P-90, but no, not the same thing, as well as another standard LP pickup. Laminated Top, Semi-Hollow body, Amazingly light, great on the back, quite comfortable.

It's got a volume and tone switch, standard, as well as a pickup changer , and an amazing varitone switch, it can play just about anything.

It's got 25.5 in. scale, and string through body.

I play just about everything, Blues, Classic Rock, Old School Rock, anything from the 60s and 70s, some Jazz, the list goes on. I was using it with a practice amp, and I wasn't expecting much from such a mediocre amp, but the sound was amazing, I instantly fell in love with the guitar, it's got a rich yet subtle tone that I can't get enough of.

The guitar can hit virtually every spectrum of music.

I got it use, so it wasn't that well set up, but everything it amazing, I know most people say there isn't such a thing as an amazingly set up guitar strait from the maker, but this might just be the one.

No flaws I can see, tuners could be better.

It stays in tune for a while, I can safely say I'll be playing this guitar ten years from now.

Eh, haven't dealt with it, and I dunno about the warranty.

Frank Zappa once said if you pick up a guitar and it says "take me I'm yours" then that's the one for you. I couldn't agree more, and the first note I played on this guitar was swimming with that, I instantly fell in love, bought it on the spot at went home, I've been playing if for about 5 hours, my fingers are killing me but I need to go on, I am in love with this guitar.

Gibson Blueshawk; made in 2005, no case--bought aftermarket case. NOTE: if you buy a hard case for this MAKE SURE THE NECK AND THE BODY LAYS FLAT. If it doesn't it could hurt the integrity of the neck and headstock, as uneven pressure in a case will be harmful in the long run. Black NitroCellulose finish, lightweight. Other specs have already been mentioned in other reviews, so I won't be redundant here.

This guitar has got to be one of the best-kept secrets around! I am surprised that it is not more popular, but I guess you either like this guitar or you don't. I do. It has many different sounds, from Strat to Humbucker tones. The humbucker sound is not as fat as a Les Paul or PRS Singlecut, but the variety of tones with great sustain nevertheless is the secret of the Blueshawk. And it it is sooo light---it's hard to see how this puts out such sweet tones from such a lightweight body. The lightest-sounding Strat tone is the weakest in volume(with the position switch farthest away from you) but the Varitone knob has different settings which increase the gain more. I like the 'chicken head' knobs----and I've found two more on a 60's homemade radio in case I lose one! Very classic and retro. I'm using it with a Fender Blues Jr.; low wattage amps seem to be a good fit for this as per other reviews. P-90s very quiet with the hum cancelling coil between them.

Sounds like the workmanship on other reviews has been very spotty; on this 2005 model, everything was right on. Maybe they got a clue to do things right by '05, one year before they stopped making it! Whoever had this guitar before me(I'm the third owner), they didn't play it much, for the frets have no wear. I've got 11's on it for strings; I think anything less than 10's would give a thinner tone. Nice smooth black finish, inlays tight and have no filler around them, gold hardware looks spotless. Only a correct hard case(see my opening advice about that) is hard to find but not impossible.

Strap buttons are way too small---they're the same ones on regular Les Pauls. Can't understand why they put those small one's on there--do they want an accident? Of course this would stand live playing, but I'd never gig without a backup no matter what the guitar was. With it's light weight, you could easily play this axe all night.

They seem to respond to questions in a timely manner.

Been playing 25+ years; mostly acoustic but this electric is a keeper in my palette of sounds.
I like the fact it produces such a variety of tones, just waiting for your creativity.
These can be found easily for $600 or under used---they are a fabulous value. You can't get a USA Fender for anywhere near this price. The different tones, light weight--like I said, this guitar is highly underrated by those who don't have a clue. I think the Blueshawk is a classic guitar--not made anymore but will ultmately be sought after by those who know what it can do. The Blueshawk is an unsung wonder in Gibson's history.

1997, first year i think, u.s.a. 21 frets? laminated top, volume, tone, three way switch varitone control,two single coil pick-ups,(blues 90) not sure about wood, red in color, thin line style body etc.

does everything well, us it with a fender tube amp from the 80's, many sounds, no noise, full, and bright does everything i like.

bought used, and was set up fine. tuning keys upgraded, everything has worked well for the 8 years i have owned it

guitar will last forever, if you take care of it. pick up covers rattle a bit, bit have fixed that problem. finish may wear with time, but who cares, this is meant to be played, not looked at. replaced strap buttons with locking model. i can, and do depend on it, no problem. always have a back up no matter how good.

gibson brain dead in service. no warranty, would not trust them anyways.

been trying to play for over thirty years. nope. if lost or stolen, i would look for another (not made anymore) a really unique guitar. i love the feel, the sound, the vibe, the color, the price, and have been very happy to have owned it. could of bought anything, but this one is in a class of it's own, for any price. too bad Gibson quit making these, because it really is something special

Updating a previous review - This guitar gets better through the years! Bought it new in the summer of '98 and have been in love with it ever since.

Features are simple but versatile. Less complicated than the Fender Jazzmaster, but more versatile than the Les Paul Specials or Juniors with P-90's. It's a hybrid of an ES-137 Custom, a Nighthawk, which was discontinued in 1999, and a Les Paul Special.

"Tone chambers" keep it light and accentuate some unique frequencies, but aren't really designed to resonate like a semi-hollow, so don't expect them to! "Varitone" switch lets you dial in tones reminiscent of older guitars like Rickenbackers or Danelectros and similar to Stratocaster and Telecaster sounds.

So sweet! I use it for everything from Rock to Pop to Jazz & Blues. Perfectly versatile for all styles except those that require a really crunchy humbucker sound. The resonance of the body is very similar to a '72 Thinline Telecaster, though the BluesHawk's set neck gives just a little more sustain and left-hand connection to your tone. The Blues-90 pickups are just like P-90's, only they sound a little more modern. Everywhere I go with it people are amazed at its tone.

Recently played through an Orange amp for a night and was absolutely blown away by the tone. Normally I use Hughes & Kettner amps and Electro-Harmonix effects, an Ibanez TS-9 for a little grit and a Boss RV-5 to fill it out a bit.

"Factory" set-up was garbage, but I get the feeling it was someone at that particular Guitar Center that didn't quite know what they were doing (which I hope is rare). A few adjustments and it played like a dream. Still does!
The actual construction of the guitar is pretty flawless.
The fit is excellent for smaller folks too. Feels like a Les Paul Junior.

After almost 10 years and about 50,000 miles worth of playing and touring it's still my number 1. It's held up extremely well. Intonation is good and it stays in tune on gigs.

Replaced one tuning machine after a freak accident broke it. Probably would have broken on any other guitar too... Cleaned up all the pots and switches twice, but haven't had to replace or re-solder any. Re-set the grommets that hold the pickup screws into the body. They started to come loose after a few tours, but it was an easy fix. Haven't re-fretted it yet, but it's about time I did. The finish is good and thick. It has taken a few scratches, but has only chipped off on top of the headstock from a couple run-ins with cymbals on stage.
The bridge is nice and smooth so strings don't break easily, and it's easy on your hands.
I wouldn't be afraid to use it on stage without a backup, but that just wouldn't be smart in the first place, no matter what guitar you play!

Gibson mailed me a new tuning machine, no questions asked, but that was about 8 years ago. I don't know how they are now, but back then they were perfectly helpful.

I do all my own repairs, and this guitar is simple enough that it doesn't require too much expertise.

If I lost this guitar I would be absolutely devastated! I wouldn't think twice before buying another one, no matter what the price. It's just so unique!

If I had the resources I might try to build my own Blues Hawk, only with a bigger headstock and an ash body.

Well made guitar ! Features already mentioned !

Initially my guitar sounded too honky !!! So I pulled the back off and compared the wiring to my friends Blueshawk !!! Only difference between the two , was that my black wire on the switch (bridge pickup) was soldered to the upper side of the capacitor ! So I soldered the black wire to the underside of the cap . This made the guitar more even in volume levels , but the honk was still there . I then reversed the black wire with the pickups white wire (reversed the polarity ) - now the guitar sounds like my friends - very nice !!!! You still get the honk in positions 1 and 2 (bottom setting on the varitone ) , but the other 4 sounds are great and useable ! The way it was wired , made the guitar almost useless !
So if you have a Blueshawk , check the bridge pickup wiring - as I believe some of them came with reverse wired bridge pickups !

Nice ly set up , low action , good neck ! All said before !

The gold hardware will eventually give way - but till then , I will enjoy this guitar !

No comment , have not contacted them yet ! But what worries me is the availablity of parts like the swithch , varitone selector etc.

Just a nice guitar now !!!!!!!!

I wrote this review mainly to mention some easy mods I've done. Mine's a red '98, apparently hardly played by the former owner.
The Blues 90 pickups with dummy coil is a unique setup. The varitone offers 6 positions, some more usable than others, including one that does pretty much nothing - but that can be fixed.
Love the feel of this guitar. I swore off Gibson years ago because of their high-and-mighty attitude while producing crappy guitars for extreme prices, but this little guy reminds me of what I used to like about them - the slick neck, the quality finish, the smell; it all takes me back to younger days.

Thanks to the Blues 90s and varitone this guitar is effectively capable of covering a lot of ground from jazz to twang. BUT I still felt some minor changes were in order. First, out came the treble bleed cap on the volume control. The value chosen (.005 uF) is much too large for that job; it effectively keeps the control from having any effect on volume from 10 down to about 2. What it does do is slightly cut BASS instead of volume; novel, but there are better ways to do it. Without the cap the control works like it should & I don't find there's much treble loss at all. The volume pot is 300K linear taper; the value Gibson has been using for years on various guitars for whatever reason.
Next I noticed that varitone position 1 (fully counter-clockwise) did almost nothing so I lifted the module wire from that switch contact and soldered a .002 uF cap from the switch to ground. That gives a kind of humbuckerish roll-off in pos. 1 now.
Next I noticed when shorting out the noise-cancelling coil the pickups gained a certain amount of Fender-y brightness, sort of like switching a humbucker to single-coil, adding a sweet Tele-like shimmer. Rather than just leaving it like this, or going to all the trouble of swapping the volume pot for a push-pot, I'm going to attach a small pushbutton switch just inside the f-hole for switching between "normal" & "bypass". Oh, and for what it's worth, without the coil the noise level goes DOWN, not up. YMMV.
Post-mods I'd rate this a 9.

I got the impression the former owner didn't play this much and doesn't know much about guitars anyway. When received, every single nut was loose - the pots, jack, & varitone all spun freely. Worse, the truss rod was left completely slack allowing the neck to warp....when left like this for years a neck will take a "set" preventing it from getting straight again without a fret or neck leveling. BUT, the action really isn't bad the way it is; it's just not all it could be and eventually I'll take it to a shop.
More annoying is the weak pickup mounting springs. Sometimes when I play my right hand knocks against the bridge pickup which sets relatively high off the body; the knocking sound actually comes through the amp because the pickup is bouncing up & down on its screws. After a while the screws work loose (rotating easily in their threaded inserts) and the treble end of the pickups gets right up to the strings. Next string change I'll fix this with foam padding and surgical tubing to prevent the screw rotation.

Some people seem to think this is a fragile balsa-wood guitar, it's not. It's a solid-body with 2 small chambers. It's not as effective in a barroom brawl as a Tele but if you're playing in those kinds of places you really should be exercising your second-amendment rights anyway. It needs straplocks. My tuners don't seem too bad but they're probably going to get get replaced with lockers anyway. The finish looks good but the Gibson "inlay" is a decal and the black paint (veneer?) on the headstock is sloppy. Inside the cavity the wood is rough & full of untrimmed shavings that have been painted over. I'd say it's as dependable as any solid-body out there and the light weight means your spine won't age before its time.

Been playing 45 years, since I was 10. I'm currently trying to pare down my guitar collection to a few bare essentials & I consider this Blueshawk one of them. Despite my habit of modifying everything I get my hands on, from cars to barbecue grills, the Blueshawk is a fine guitar just as it comes from the factory. It's different, innovative, and it's a blast for tinkerers. And for a Gibson, the current used prices are surprisingly reasonable. My other main guitars include a '52 RI Tele with a Bill Lawrence 280/290TL set; a Frankenstrat with splittable Hot Rails, 2 Carvin AE185s, a Rickenbacker, Guild, Taylor, Tacoma, PRS, etc. Amps are mainly old & new Fenders.

The Blueshawk takes everything I like about a Gibson and fixes everything I don't. 25 1/2" scale for more room on the fretboard and more tone and sustain than a 24 3/4" scale (the same reason a grand piano sounds better than an upright). Replace the Gibson humbuckers (which I find are imbalanced and harsh) with Blues P90s wired up to a dummy coil to keep them quiet like humbuckers without altering their tone. Varitone switch (5-position notch filter), trimmed down Les Paul style semi hollow body with f-holes, 22-fret set neck with rosewood fretboard, diamond inlays, through-body hardtail, and creme binding around the body. 2 small complaints, the tuners seem a little sub-par, they work fine now but they'll probably need replacement in 18 months or so. Also, the push/pull pot to activate the Varitone will be more user friendly on the fly once I've replaced it with a quicker push/push pot, makes a big difference.

P90's are a nice halfway-point between single coils and humbuckers. The Blues P90's add punch, grit, and output to the P90 but still sound distinctly different from humbuckers. Perfect match with a high quality tube amp, the tone is complex and organic. The Varitone switch opens up a lot of possibilities, Rickenbacker tones, Telecaster tones, the Brown sound, smoky archtop tones, even a lo-fi "guitar through a telephone" sound. The semi hollow body adds resonance and overtones. Very flexible, without sounding sterile and artificial like modern high-tech guitars (Line6 Variax, Parker Fly, etc). Great tones for blues and rock, perfect for jazz, even sounds killer for the hybrid jazz/deathmetal/fusion stuff that I play.
A word to the wise, these pickups are extremely honest and responsive, if you play sloppy, you'll sound very sloppy. They don't do all of the work for you like EMG's, and they won't lie to cover for you.

Perfect action and intonation (was setup by the music store prior to purchase). Love the fretwire. The soft V neck profile takes some getting used to, but plays great once that small adjustment is made.
The type of finish used is thin and porous, great for the guitar's tone, but smudges and scratches easily. Also gets a little sticky on the back of the neck, not a problem if it's kept clean. There are minor finish flaws where the neck meets the body and where the fretboard is glued to the neck.

This guitar is made to hold up to playing and gigging, but clearly not built to withstand a beating. A hardshell case is a must with this guitar (I gladly paid $150 extra for one). After less than 6 months of careful but frequent use, is shows some minor scratches, a couple small dents and a little tarnish on the hardware. It will not look new forever, but that's okay with me, I like a guitar with some added mojo.
More importantly, it still stays in tune, the neck and intonation haven't required adjustment, all electronics still perfectly functional.

I go through my local dealer, they kick ass. I've dealt with Gibson on different occasions, they kick ass too. No worries though, I typically do my own work, repairs, and maintenance. Never had to bug anyone else for anything too serious.

I've played 15 years or so, owned maybe 30 guitars, a dozen or more amps. I've owned and played instruments of much higher quality. Most of which eventually lost my interest. This guitar has a very inspiring quality, it's an instrument with some serious friggin' mojo, it truely continues to challenge me and sustain my interest. I'd like to buy another, just to own two, but they don't make them anymore so we'll have to see what happens to their used resale value. This is currently my favorite guitar I own, and in my opinion it blows away any other Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, or PRS, all of which being brands I've shopped excessively.

you know i am sure !!!!!!!!!!!!!

My style is blues and then at times I play real loud Blues !!i play my Hawk through a Fender Super Sonic 112 .I have really found a great sound with this combo !Alot of people on here have really knocked that amp but I think that with the Celestion 30 vintage and this guitar I have found Bliss.The guitar itself is really mild on the noise .It does have some buzz and some hum (not as bad as my strat of course but for sure not a "Paul")just a great great sound i mean there are so so many options with the Hawk .You can have a strat sound and a Tele cluck !and then pull the pull pot and its crunch time !Love it .the only thing that is of concern is it is a really fragile guitar (not a Fender ...thats for sure !!)i would get some strap locks on this thing ASAP!!if it falls on the neck (which is the heaviest part .its all over and ..Oh yea they do not make these anymore!!I do wish that it had a clear pick guard or maybe a small cream "paul" style guard ..but those are me being some kind of guitar builder and i am not .I think that this guitar has some how slipped through the cracks and it is just the best .I can not put it down !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

I put strap locks on it ASAP!!i had to adjust the pickups and the pickup mounting screw that the pickup fits into came loose from the body (i just glued them back in place ).The neck was bowed out, do to sitting at zoo music in ft worth on a stand high out of reach ..for six years ..(guy bought it new ,brought it right back and got a refund and it sat till I saw it !!It was covered in dust and the vari-tone switch was really loose (tightened ).Had it set up neck went back to new (in- toned) and its been "Christine "ever since ..I really like the bridge it has string guides for the string to ride in .(less string break )Also string through Body with the Gibson headstock angle = sustain sustain !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Blues P-90s really high output and dummy coil !

this is where i have to give it some low marks ..Like I said it is a fragile little guitar .It came with a really padded guitar gig bag (way better than what fender would ever offer ..but on the other hand brand new this guitar is 1249.99 msrp ..Gibson for ya I guess)so I bought the old hard case with the PIMP shag purple fur on the inside and the Pimp cover that goes over it ...I dig it ,all goes well ..I mean its a Gibson right ..I would for sure consider this option.It looks like after some years it will have some serious pick marks and more than likley a ware spot where i strum ..Finish is good and it has a maple top .I keep her clean with dunlop polish and no probs ..You just have to take care of it ...

Gibson was great i emailed them and they emailed me back in a hour ..!!!!!!!!!!!!!

been playing dem blues six years ..i have a 2006 Fender highway nitro finish one strat (i will be the first to write a review and that monster too !!its Kick ass as well )If this thing was lost or stolen I would nt even belive it that it happened !!!I would buy another one asap ..i wanted to but another one (Black) but i dont think that it would be the same as the RED one that I have now ..I dont want to be dissapointed ,,ya know I think that this guitar is the best guitar that i have ever owned ever i play this thing all the time !!!!there is just something about it !!!maybe the pretty gold writing that says blueshawk (kidding )..I dont know !!I just really think that if you love the blues and like high output this is it for sure !!!!!

My Blueshawk has been customised at some time before I bought it, either that or it's a Limited Edition. It's called a BluesHawk Phantom. From the serial number it was made in '97. It's ebony black with all the usual Blueshawk details. The customised parts are : modified truss rod cover - engraved with "Blues Hawk Phantom" ; Mother -of-Pearl/Abalone scratchplate; Gold knobs and fittings. It also came in a fitted Gibson solid case. Otherwise it's as others have described - 22 frets, "Fender" scale length, Diamond inlays as fret markers, 2 x Blues 90 pickups, single volume and tone controls, Varitone switch, thru-body stringing, solid tailpiece, chambered with two f-holes, etc, etc. I've found more info about these guitars from the www.blueshawk.info website. The varitone swtich gives this guitar something like 18 tone options - which I find to be too many for most purposes!

I play mainly blues, hence why I bought this guitar. I bought it without having played it (ebay purchase), confident that I'd like it a lot. I've found this to be a very bright sounding guitar, although the tone control is very effective in allowing me to roll-off some of the brightness.

Can't say how well it was set up from the factory as I bought it 2nd hand. However with a few minor tweaks I've got it just the way I like it.

The gold on the vol/tone knobs is wearing off, but that's not a problem. Whoever made the scratchplate for it made a very good job of ensuring it would fit neatly and follow the shape of the body.

I'm not overly keen on the "Blueshawk" script on the guitar body, but I'm not going to try and take it off.

An annoying feature is that the pickups are mounted into the body on some kind of springs. When I play, I find that my right hand position is on top of the bridge pickup so I sometimes find that I'm pushing the pickup into the guitar. This isn't good so one mark off for this aspect.

I've only used it for a couple times live so can't comment on how it would stand up to a load of gigs, however it does seem well put together and the Gibson case will take whatever knocks come it way so it shold be sturdy enough. I've replaced the strap buttons with Schaller straplocks - nothing particularly wrong with the Gibson fit ones, just that I like to have locks.

I don't gig without a backup guitar, but I wouldn't expect to need to use it. This is a comfortable and versatile guitar - so it should cover a whole night of playing easily.

The hardware is simple, nothing much to go wrong here.

Not contacted Gibson, although I should contact them soon to find out about the "Phantom" model.

I've been playing for years and years. This is an excellent electric guitar which has a huge range of tones - thanks to the varitone switch. Having praised it, the varitone would be far more useful if it had some kind of marker (or collar) or some way of marking out which setting was which. I find it's not easy to remember which position gave which sound (OK so my ears can tell me, but it's nice to know what to expect). I might well add the marker/collar from a Lucille for this reason. High marks again in this section, as it does pretty much all that I ask of it.

If anyone knows anything more about the history of this model - The Phantom - I'd love to hear from you.

Just played my neighbors, and I'm going to save up for this guy. 22 frets, Maple Top, Poplar Back, Semi Hollow. The unique Vari-tone control is great. P-90's with dummy coils. This guitar is great. I would buy it just for the P-90's and the varitone. You can get any sound except for that real heavy metal sound out of this thanks to the varitone. Frets could be a bit bigger, but thats a personal preference. Everything you need to play the blues and jazz.

I play the blues and blues/rock. This guitar, paired up with the right amplipier can make any sound you want, except for that tinny heavy metal sound. My favorite tone is with the varitone set for its bassiest setting, playing through the neck pickup. Usually I play through the bridge pickup with my presence set all treble, but the warm buttery sound pushed through my Epiphone valve Special is great! I'm sure it could work as a decent jazz guitar, but as the name implies, this thing was designed for the blues. For that warm, smooth as butter overdrive, this guitar does a great job.

Playing this through both my Epiphone Valve Special, and my neighbors Fender, I must say this thing is sweet. And it can adjust to play pretty much anything. My neighbor plays the blues as well, but he's into the clean stuff. Personally I'm into smooth and buttery overdrive. No matter what you play you will love this guitar. The one question I have is for Gibson, and that is WHY DID YOU STOP MAKING THIS GUITAR...