Gibson Blueshawk

finally, i own a gibson. i'm very proud of this sucker. you know the specs from the other reviews, there's nothing more i can say. however, i play in a psychedelic/progessive/blues band. it's tasty, i promise (look for 'senator bigsby and the screws' on mp3.com if you're interested). the other guitarist in my band is a madman with divine skill and chops like a knife, so i suppose you could call me the rhythm player since i'm not the one who just came out of the crossroads. he's got a gibson es-347 which he plays through a peavey delta blues (yes, very beauteous, cream-pants worthy even) featuring some very high output pickups. the blues-90's can't even compete, even with my fender ultimate chorus on 10. but, uncranked, this guitar is capable of the real deal. yes, that's right, low down filth of the blues persuasion. the neck never goes out of tune. i didn't have to tune it for a month, and although i'm not sure if that's a good thing, it was cool (i play for my high school's advanced jazz band). i love the semi-hollow body look and the varitone is handy dandy as all get-out. the only complaints i have are the fact that it looks like a kids guitar because of its small scale and its half-assed pickups. also, when i get my john frusciante rubberband hand on for the funk tunes, i tear the guitar up. i don't have enough control to be playing without a pick guard. hopefully i can do something about that when i get the pickups changed. what were thinking gibson?

if you play the blues or jazz and want something lean or even meatless, this is what it's all about. you can break it down telecaster twang style or zip it up with the punch of any other semi-hollow body, but i wouldn't recommend trying to replace a full les paul sound with this puppy. the varitone is dreamy. i'm surprised they didn't call it versi-tone. just remember that soapbar pickups in any guitar are all about that thin stinging clarity. don't even bother if you're in one of this dime a dozen punk bands.

the frets are what throw alot of people off. i kind of like them myself. they're good for my vicious vibrato i overuse and the few songs my band has where i brake out the slide and sing it david gilmore-echoes style. the bottom line is, the fuckers are high. they're jumbo. and alot of people don't like them. but they're unique and give it a little somethin' somethin' you can't even try to get with another guitar, even another gibson. i read someplace that this was designed by blues boy king. that would explain pretty much everything. the intonation is immaculate on mine, but i can imagine how easy it would be for the gibson-folk to muck it up beyond repair. i'm not going to change the frets or the bridge like some other people. yes, sir, i like them indeed.

this is why the inlay says gibson instead of epiphone. i'll probably have this guitar for the rest of my life and then sell it to pay for my kid's college tuition (these hooda-ma-ha's are limited edition, mind you). once i find a pickup whose sound busts my buttons, i'll be in blues heaven. i'll admit i've never gigged with this before, but i would. and will. you'll see.

like i said, i've been playing through my fender ultimate chorus for about 4 years. i play in a band that sounds like radiohead, primus, zappa with a tangy blues twist from led zep. alot of extended jams with too many effects. the drummer and i are the only two who don't have an insane amount of talent and chops, but the bassist and the other guitarist make up for that. i'm not sure i'd buy another one of these if it were stolen. after comparing my other guitarist's es-347 to every guitar i've ever played with, i'd have to say i'm going es, if not full hollow body, for the rest of my life. his makes mine look like a toy.

This axe has a poplar back and maple top, and semi-hollow sound chambers inside....Fixed bridge with string-thru-body construction...Great setup, if you ask me...mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard and diamond inlays. And the gold hardware adds that elegant touch to an already-sweet looking piece. Master volume and tone, Varitone control and a push-pull pot (to activate or de-activiate varitone) and dummy coils to cancel that annoying single-coil 60-cycle hum. Great Blues-90's pickups...not quite a P-90, the blues-90's are a little hotter than their P counterparts. Great neck, too...I love a fat neck but the V-shaped neck makes up for it cuz it's so damn comfortable!! Mine came with a Gibson hardshell case (bought it from a private dealer) and I paid $599 for mine. Best damn investment I EVER made.

I play blues. And that's basically exactly what this guitar was made for...the blues. But it can be used in such a variety of different styles. Myself, I have 3 strats and an SG that I could use, so I don't use this guitar much for anything other than blues. The amps I'm using are a Peavy Bandit 112, with a 12" extension cab, and I also use a 2-12" Peavey Classic 50. Either one, it sounds amazing. My effects are pretty extensive, sometimes...depending on what I'm doing, I usually use a Danelectro Daddy-O overdrive pedal with either a Boss comp/sustainer or an Ibanez Tube Screamer with a Crybaby wah pedal. I also use a Korg AX1500G guitar effects processor with it and it sounds awesome with either setup. I usually use the varitone on the first setting (the one all the way to the left) with any pickup combination, but there's a few others that I use depending on what sound I'm lookin' for. I can get a real fat, woody clean tone with this thing, good for those old school blues numbers, or I can get a screaming distorted tone that just WAILS with sustain. the longer neck scale makes bending a breeze and the rosewood fingerboard gives me plenty of grip so I can cop off some wicked vibrato. Great sound...

The setup from the factory was pretty much perfect...a couple of things though. The tuning machines "ping" when I'm tuning, and that gets real annoying cuz I'm turning the peg and the string isn't moving then it pings and it's all outa tune....but it's all good. I can get over that. Also when I first bought it, somehow one of the connections inside the guitar screwed up the pickup selector switch, so I had to take it back to get it resoldered, but now it works beautifully. (I've had the guitar since '98). but everything else was pretty much perfect!! Action is GREAT....nice and medium, great for heavy pickers like myself...I beat the SHIT out of my guitars and she just keeps comin' back ready to go!!

I've been using this guitar for almost 4 years and it's never let me down...never broke a string at a gig with it, and hell yeah I'd use it without a back-up. Like I said above, I beat the hell out of my guitars, and I play 'em rough. They gotta be able to take the heat or get off the stage. And this one burns with the best of them. Finish doesn't seem too bad, although I have put many belt-buckle dents and scrapes in it...also my picks tear up the finish on the bottom part where the cutaway is (I use heavy picks). the strap buttons are my only concern. i don't feel like they're probably balanced...I used a regular strap and the damn thing kept coming off cuz I play with the guitar usually on my hip a little, and that wouldn't work, so I got some straplocks...oh, did I mention? I dropped the damn thing on a concrete basement floor neck-first, in playing position...didn't even knock the thing outa tune!! just dented the corner of the headstock...but hey, it adds character, right??

Mine was under warranty and I bought it through a private dealer, so I didn't have too many problems. Just the soldering thing was all it's needed....

I've been playing guitar about 10+ years, and I'm only 21....I can surely appreciate a great guitar when I see one. When I played that guitar 3 years ago, I knew I had to have it. And now I do. I own 3 other strats (70's reissue with Texas Specials, Mexican Stndard with Amer. Stnd pickups, and a shitty Squier that I'm gonna hot-rod, a Gibson SG-I, a Takamine acoustic-electric cutaway, and an Alvarez small-body acoustic that I bought in a "trade center"). If it were ever lost or stolen, I'd probably cry like a baby and then get belligerent. I'd HAVE to get another one...My favorite feature is the guitar itself. It's one big toy to me, and I love it. and there's not a thing about it that I hate. :D Great guitar for all the blues guitarists (and rock, jazz, funk...that stuff too).

1998, made in USA
Has two soap bar Gibson B-90's
Neck wood is mahogany
Body wood is maple on top, and poplar on back
Its black with a huge golden maestro, looks great.
Looks like a Les Paul, but better IMO
The neck seems more like a fender neck than a Gibson neck
Came with a gig bag.... fucking rip off
But it has a varitone, which is kinda cool, although i keep it off most the time

I play a lot of brit pop i guess you could say, not american pop like blink 182, Sum 41, or New Found Glory, but Brit pop like Oasis, Oasis is the best band ever. I only use an amp in my setup, which is a Marshall JCM2000 DSL stack. Its not that noisy, i think the dummy coils prolly help a lot. It has a nice sound, i use it for lead (when i really wanna cut through the mix, cuz i usually use my SG but when i want to REALLY cut through and have the lead be heard really well, i use this cuz single coils are good at doin just that). I use it for clean too and bluesy stuff, not so much rock. That's for my SG to handle. I cant really think of any dislikes about it, only that I prefer humbuckers, but i didnt get this guitar cuz i wanted humbuckers, i got it because i wanted a guitar that didnt have humbuckers, so i wouldnt really call that a dislike.

Great, the finish was perfect, action was great and its very comfortable. 'nuff said

Hasnt let me down but I dont think i've put it thru too much

never dealt with 'em

The only other electric guitar i have is an SG and that thing is the best, BUT when i got the blueshawk, i wasnt looking to replace my SG, that'd be impossible, but i wanted to add some variety to my arsenal, although a very small arsenal, it gets the job done, well, oh so very well. If it were stolen i'd be fucked cuz they normally cost $989 but i got mine for $600, so i'd prolly get a different clearance sale Gibson some day, but i dont want to have to do that, this guitar is just plain awesome, but if i did happen to find another one for $600, i'd buy it. I love the varitone, some different settings call for cool intros. I compared it to some strats, i was looking for a single coil sound, and i like this much better than the strats i compared it to (lone star, american std, mex std, powerhouse, super strat, and a couple others). I say if you like blues are just plain old hard rock, get this, it is a great guitar, it's very very versitile, more so than a strat if you ask me. Although, its not the best guitar, but its a great guitar, none the less.

This part has been covered by provious reviews, so I won't take up your valuable time here.

I play classic rock, blues, sothern rock ,and some country. this guitar easilly fits those styles (blondie, Journey, AC/DC, guns & roses, Melencamp, Allmans, Foreginer, Joan Jett, Fleetwood Mac, etc....). I play through a Mesa Maverick 1x12 or 2x12 depending 0n the size of the venue. I've been playing guitar since 5th grade and I'm 48 years young! I've owned over 120 guitars throughout my musicial career and this is certainly one of the best (especially for the $$). I pride myself in NOT sounding like anyone else. I own equipment that is not typically run-of-the -mill. My other guitar is a Levinson Blade. This guitar is light. Very easy on the back. the tones are very complex and useable. I've read some other reviews concerning the pickups in this guitar complaining they don't sound like P-90's - well DUH!!! they're not P90's. gibson makes no claim to that point. they are blues 90's and they sound great. they're a bit warmer than the P90's, but certainly have as much "spank". the 6 position Varitone switch is great. gibson has even gon so far as to put the treble-roll-off capicator "thing" on the volume control so you don't loose the highs when you turn down the volume. NICE!!

I bought it uses and it wasn't set-up real well. typical factory stuff - screws not tight, tuner nuts not tight etc... the finish is ok, as well as the frets. The fingerboard has dried up some, so some of the frets on the bottom are a little rough, but with a little bit of lemon oil, that will rejuvinate the rosewood just fine. the neck is straight. The bridge is no worse than a Strat's - it's NOT pot metal, but it is plate steel. No problem there. Saddles the same as a Strat's. As far as knobs getting loose - not on this one, but, if you have a problem - just put some clear nail polish on the shaft and tighten the screw (if there is one), and bingo - problem solved. I don't understand some of the people who write these reviews. Complain - complain - complain! Nothing's perfect! This guitar is no worse than a really good Fender Strat or Tele. No - it's not a $2000.00 Les Paul or PRS - but - it sounds much better that them (IMHO).

I treat all my instruments tenderly. If you don't take care of your tools, you won't be able to get your job done! No extreme hot, cold, or moisture. get a hard case. Clean and polish it regularly. Perform preventitive maintenance. Use a guitar stand. If you don't do these things, NO guitar will last.

Emailed them yesterday - they emailed me back today - what more could you ask for?

Overall - a nice guitar. It's not a piece of furniture. Nothin' fancy. Great tone. Light. Versitile. Stays in tune. I'd get another if I needed to. don't like the "Blueshawk" decal. the name should be on the truss rod cover. Inside wiring fine. dummy coil does it's job - to keep the noise down. Much better than any of the same-priced Epiphones. a real Gibson. good job guys.

Great electronics - P90 pickups with a hum-cancelling coil and a varitone (passive tone control) circuit. Small, lightweight semi-hollow body with a tummy cut - almost as comfy as a Strat. Nice neck, shaped like a Gibson but with a 25 1/2" Fenderish scale. From a sheer comfort point of view, it's probably the best guitar Gibson makes. Mine is the non-trem version with through-body strings - much better than a Tune-O-Matic! Mine came with a cheapo Gibson-labeled gig bag. A hard case is one of my future investments.

This is a really excellent sounding guitar for the money. The P90 pickups are round and fat-sounding, but not wooly like so many humbuckers. The varitone circuit gets pretty decent simulations of Strat cluck or hollowbody fatness (try the #2 position on the neck pickup). Hum cancelling works pretty well, and the true single coils sound MUCH better than the P100s Gibson puts on some guitars these days.

Besides the electronics, the semi-hollow body helps a lot. The tone is surprisingly rich and full, like a good Gibson. Lots of subtle detail... not as much as a really high-end guitar, of course, but more than anything else in this price range!

And ultimately, it produces a wider variety of basic *useful* sounds from its wood and electronics than any other guitar in its range. The only thing i can think of that compares for tonal flexibility is a PRS, which is significantly more expensive. Or a really great Strat or other such classic, and truly great instruments cost a LOT more.

As a footnote, i've played a Blueshawk with Dimarzio DLX humbuckers that utterly screamed. This one will be getting the same pickups soon. Apparently, a pickup change makes a good thing even better.

I'm currently playing it through a Trace-Elliot Velocette (the modern Gibson Goldtone amps are basically the same thing), which is fantastic. It LOVES moderate-gain tube amps. Other electronics include a Prescription Electronics Germ (mostly used as a clean buffer, and is never turned off because it improves the tone of EVERYTHING), a Crybaby, a ProCo Rat II (the one piece of gear i have kept), and a vintage MXR Flanger.

The setup SUCKED. I bought mine two years old used (original receipt in the gig bag). I'll bet it had the original strings. Action and intonation were completely screwed up. Two of the strings were installed wrong (i.e. knotted). At least the fret finish is okay, and the paint doesn't have any nasty runs like some of these do.

In addition, the component quality stinks. The tuners are cheap Schaller knockoffs of vintage Klusons. Gibson and Fender keep putting these blecherous pieces of shite on, supposedly because they're "vintage", but really because they're cheap. This guitar is getting Grovers asap. I can barely keep it in tune. Oh, and the bridge is cheap pot metal, and the fancy gold plating is already corroding. The pots weren't seated well, and don't feel good even when tightened down. The knobs were ugly imitation-strat... replace them with regular Gibson speed knobs, or something else. The shaft on the varitone is round and unsplined, which means that sooner or later the knob's set screw starts to gouge the shaft. Mine was already gouged... adjusting the knob's height fixed it, for now. I'll probably replace the whole varitone circuit with an aftermarket job, along with the cheap pots.

And if anyone from Gibson reads this... PLEASE ditch the "Blues Hawk" logo on the body! EVERYONE thinks it's ugly! (I think the guitar would look better if they closed the F-holes too, but that's just my opinion)

The varitone knob situation will probably start to fail in the hands of guys playing it at the store before you buy it. The Schaller/Kluson tuners lose their housings and fall apart after a few years. Other metal parts corrode. I even had a cracked tone knob, probably due to improper installation at the factory.

Repair or replace all the cheap awful parts that Gibson used to cut costs, and it will probably last forever.

Haven't dealt with them. If it needs work beyond what i can or will do myself, i'll ignore Gibson completely and take it to any one of several excellent local luthiers.

Despite my misgivings about hardware and construction quality, this is a fantastic guitar! It's comfortable to play and has a zillion great tones. I actually plan to invest heavily in this guitar - new pickups, new tuners, better varitone, and a hard case. I think the basic wood tone and design definitely justify working to make it as good an instrument as possible.

If something were to happen to it... it would depend on my budget at the time. If money was tight, i'd get another one. If i could afford something better, i would do that instead, but i'd expect to pay well over $1000 to beat this sub-$500 used honey.

No idea of the year of manufacture, but I would guess recent (96-00). Mine is the LTD with the Maestro vibrato and Blue finish. I saw it in a Mars Music store, where it had been beaten and neglected nearly to death. The scale length is 25 1/2 which really appealed to me since I'm a Fender type guy. The Vibrato is a Bigsby type affair which then leads to a tune-o-matic bridge that does not pivot like some Jazzmasters etc. The rest of the features are as described in previous reviews. It came with a Gibson gig bag with Les Paul documentation inside. I wasn't looking to but a guitar when I bought this, but for features I give it a 9.

This is what blew me away. It was sitting on the wall amidst $1500 Strats and $2500 Les Pauls, and seemed so sad. It had been neglected for a long time, with scratches, tarnished hardware, and a couple of chips here and there. I have played Fenders for years and always loved the bright tone they are famous for. I don't know what made me reach for the Blueshawk, but I did, and plugged it into a Vibro King they had sitting there, also a victim of music mall abuse. The sound blew me away. Very full and clean, with sparkling highs and solid lows. Much bassier than a Fender and cleaner than a Paul. I went through the various settings of the Varitone and pickup selection and was amazed by the variety of sounds I could get. I especially liked the way the Volume and Tone knobs tapered off. A fender tends to lose a lot of volume once you back off the knob a little. The Blueshawk didn't really start to drastically taper off until almost 3, which in my opinion, gives you greater control over your tone. Its so easy to overshoot with a Tele or Strat, but this one is a dream. I play Blues, Motown, Rock, some Country and Jazz, and this one can do it all, with a sound uniquely its own. I played it through my rig when I got home (Mesa Maverick), and it promptly put my other guitars to shame. Effects wise, I run a TC chorus, Rat, Tubescreamer, Boss DD-5 and a Bad Horsie, which it drives really well.

Horrible! But I can't blame Gibson for this since it had been used and abused at the store for months before I got it. The nut was actually set up as close to the way I like it (low), with the slots not overly deep. It had .009's on it, which I promptly changed to .011's, and as a result needed truss rod tweaking. Fret work is good, and the controls all seem first rate. The TOM is my only real gripe. Its cheesy pot metal like found on many Epi's and Korean models, though it says "made in Germany" on the back. I'll replace it with a Gotoh from Allparts as soon as I get a chance. One of the studs for the TOM is a very loose fit in the body.

Like I said, bought it trashed, so the finish is pretty well toasto, but that doesn't matter to me. I plan on taking a backup to the first few gigs, as string changing with the Maestro is a drag. Construction seems good and I think it will last.

Never dealt with them, but from experience, in this day and age, you better be happy with it when you buy it.

Been playing for a while and have been a staunch Fender nut. I did not plan on buying this guitar, but its sound is superb. I find it to be a rather ugly guitar, with the body looking like it had its growth stunted. Buying it almost felt like an obligation - very strange - as I have never felt that way about another guitar. I must have seen it a thousand times in Musicians Friend, and in that Mars store, but never even gave it a thought. I don't know what made me buy it, but I already know that I will never regret it. Go ahead and spend your bucks on a Strat (I did- a deluxe at that, then added Van Zandt's), or a Les Paul or PRS. You are buying a name and not necessarily good tone. Before you do that, go try the ugly duckling Blueshawk out, and think about price/performance. Besides, chances are you'll be the only one at Jam night with one, and its made in the USA for the same price as some of the higher end Mexican marvels.

This is a '98 model, but I only got it last Summer, I live in Ireland. Plenty of variety of features. The Blues 90's a great; humbucker sounds with more clarity, but tend to lose volume a bit when you select on pickup or the other. The varitone is cool, but suffers from the volume sap too. It'd be nicer if they'd put seperate volume/tone pots on this, made it like a BB King Lucille. But I'm only being niggly here. Fast neck, just how I like it, nice action. Shit machine heads. I replaced them with gold Grovers after I dropped the guitar and one of the machine heads bent. Best thing that ever happened...
Overall: great features, very satisfied with them. Don't like that volume drop though...

I play anything and everything, and this guitar gives me any sound I want. I love the 335 sound, and I get it from this guitar. I run it through the following: Danelectro Fish & Chips EQ, Boss DD-3 Digital Delay, Vox Wah, Ibanez Phasor, Boss Turbo Overdrive, into Vox Cambridge 30. I have owned rakes of gear, I've played with other peoples rigs, but I don't think I'd ever sell this guitar. Any sound I want I get. Its rich, full, and has plenty of attack when I want it. Great job Gibson.

There were a couple of miniscule bumps on the sides when I got it, other than that...I though it was quiet good. Action was smooth, the nuck isn't silky, but I don't mind that, I use finger-ease before gigs, so there's no problems there. A small scratch guard might be nice, but also might ruin the look of the guitar...oh, and for the love of Mike; get rid of the 'Blueshawk' logo on the body.

I've gigged with this guitar, and have gotten nothing but positive interest from people about it's live sound. It's solid as a rock, and beats the pants off having a Les Paul dragging you through the floor half-way throught the set...
Again, crappy tuners. Get Grovers, the go on a treat, and are a huge improvement.I'm going to put strap locking nuts on it aswell...

Haven't had any problems...

Great guitar, great sound. Would buy it again in a second. Very very happy with it now that I've changed the machine heads. Cracker.

Got mine used but minty, no Maestro, ebony with creme pickups, gold hardware and that silly logo. The case is nice and I think the ebony/gold combo works from a fashion perspective. Same specs. as all the other reviews, semi-hollow with the varitone, two P-100s(P-90s superwound?) pick-ups. Just about the right amount of stuff, the tone knob pull-up bypass for the varitone is a nice feature, as is the varitone. It has a nice weight and balance, very easy to play standing up or sitting down, can play for hours. Maybe some find the body small, I think the whole deal balances out very well.

I disagree somewhat with the others in the respect I don't think the semi-acoustic body adds as much as you'd think. The hollowed chambers are small. Unplugged, it sounds slightly better than a solid body, plugged I'm not sure your hearing more than the Ps and varitone.
But, I like the variety of sounds, it's a good reference guitar. If you have several different electrics I think you'll put this is the middle of the collection and use it the most. It pushes pedals very well and sounds good on all my amps, (Fender, Vox, Peavey). Strung with 9s you can bend, hammer, false harmonic and pull-off all day long with a ideal neck for multi-styles and accurate sound pick-up. Neck is not-to-thin, not-to-fat.

Once adjusted the actions is great, though not as low as a Strat without enduring some fret buzz.

Here's the core of my review: The Action, Fit and Finish from our friends at Gibson is just about the absolute worst I've seen in a guitar made by a better manufacturer. Absolute crap. Everything was misadjusted; neck, bridge, pick-ups, strings. Knobs were falling apart, loose, pick-ups were rattling around - and I said this one was minty - it's not the fault of the original owner. I can find lots of little defects in the finsh - defects that would have caused the guitar to be a second if manufactured by Gibson pre-90s. Extremely discouraging - get ready to spend a week reworking this guitar until you can start enjoying it. And oh yeah, the frets are nicely crowned, but undressed and the ends they tear at your hands when you run up and down the neck - charming. I guess when Gibson gets another 50 years of experience they'll figure this problem out.

Time will tell - I'm hoping the foundation of this guitar is solid but I expect to have problems with the cheap electronics - pots, and the hardware is nothing to rave about. As it sits now, I will not hesitate to gig with it - probably without a backup.

N/A - Based on how they assemble this guitar these are the last people I want advise from.

Overall, don't let the non-quality issues turn you off completely. I own wonderful E.B.s, Fenders, Ricks and have had a half a dozen nice Gibsons over my lifetime. IMHO, at the end of the day it's the playability and sound that matter most, you can get past initial quality problems. For example, the quality of my Rick is simply the best I've seen in a production guitar - but I play it least often.

I'm glad I have this and if lost I'd get another. It fits very well as an all purpose axe that you can get pretty aggressive on - or back off into some pretty mellow sounds. Best of all, I find it very comfortable to play and the neck/action is perfect middle of the road. (But, watch out for those nasty fret ends.) With my quality grips aside, I fully recommend it.

I was looking for a "unique" guitar, something solid and toneful. The world is full of Strats, Teles, and Les Pauls and I didn't want to join the masses. The Blues Hawk fit the bill: a real Gibson, versatile B-90 pick-ups, the way-fun varitone, light, confortable and simple. It's fun to play and not cheezy. The price was right on too, cheaper than a "real" Strat, Tele or Les Paul...but above the kids toys.

Nice, the right balance of Tele-twang, Strat-speed, and Les Paul-depth and bass. I liked it right-out-of-the-box, no effects needed to get a pretty universal sound for popular music. The varitone feature is great, fast switching to useable tone settings....but the varitone knob needs to be replaced with something more stylish. Gibson gets a 10 here.

Respectable for the price, certainly not a $2K PRS, but nice looking, ready-to-play action and intonation. The thin plastic pick-up covers are a bit cheezy.

No problems yet, I wish it had a pickguard !

The dealer was great and did a quick set-up and tune, can't speak for Gibson support.

What a great all-purpose axe; I wanted a Les Paul...but too expensive and clunky, I wanted a Strat but oh-so-common, I wanted a Dan Armstrong but too rare.....so this is it.

can a guitar have too much of a good thing? this one does i don`t think they should have ever made this model with the massive mastro. it takes up so much space and isuncomfortable. the mastro weights more then the guitar itself. i don`t think it should have the extra tone knob it is useless you really do not need all that. the body is too small to fit everything gibson wants to put on here. before they throw anything more on here they should adjust the size of the body. and no hardshell case.

an exceltent sounding guitar. tones of tone(maybe too much)i got lost in the knobs. i play through a roland jazz chorus 120 excelent for blues and jazz if you don`t wanna shell out the xtra $$ for an es. personally i like it better then an es-335 i think this little guy has more charecter.

action was good. i did get it with some flaws in on the inside so that knocked a 100 of so i was happy. everything fine in this department

im not sure only had it a fefw days we`ll see it should last its a gibson. but who knows. atthe moment i would gig with a back-up only cause my confidence has not been assured by this guitar yet

good semi-hollow with lots of charecter just wish that it was a little bigger so everythign would fit better. the mastro really is too big for this guitar you can`t really reach the knobs while playing for quick adjustments. i`ve been playin like 4-5 years and i have a fender hot rod deville 410 and a roland jc-120 used to have a digitech rp-7 but that got sold for this. guitars include a 50`s gibson l-4 1927 gibson f-5 mandolin fender 1972 tele reissue and the blueshawk