Gibson Blueshawk

The Blueshawk was discontinued by Gibson in Spring 2006, and returned in 2015 under the Epiphone brand. Carl Perkins received the first prototype Blueshawk in 1996. A variant on the Blueshawk is named Gibson Little Lucille and features a stop tailpiece and tune-o-matic bridge.

• Title — Gibson Blueshawk • Manufacturer — Gibson, Epiphone • Period — 1996–2006 (Gibson), 2015 (Epiphone) • Bodytype — Semi-solid - two sound cavities with f-holes • Necktype — Narrow with slight V shape • Woodbody — Maple cap over Poplar (Gibson) Maple cap with a Flame Maple veneer over Mahogany (Epiphone) • Woodneck — Mahogany • Woodfingerboard — Rosewood • Bridge — Low-profile string-through-body system with Maestro tremolo option • Pickups — Two Blues 90 with hum canceling dummy coil (Gibson) Two Epiphone P-90 Pros (Epiphone) • Colors — Heritage Cherry (transparent red), Chicago Blue (transparent blue), Ebony (black)

The Blueshawk has a number of distinctive features that distinguish it from virtually all other Gibsons. The Blueshawk's body outline is the same as a slightly earlier range of guitars — the Nighthawks (1993–1999) — but unlike the Nighthawks, the Blueshawk is a semi-hollow bodied guitar with twin f-holes. Other distinctive / innovative features include: • 25.5 inch scale length (the same as many Fenders, Gibsons more typically have a 24.75 inch scale length). • Through-body stringing and bridge construction - similar to the Fender Telecaster • Blues 90 pickups (superficially resembling a P-90 pickup) • Noise reduction circuitry which employs a dummy coil • A Varitone circuit (similar to that used on the Gibson ES-345) - the Varitone circuit is a mid-cut/band-stop filter with a choice of five center frequencies • The 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.”

During the 2015 Winter NAMM Show, Epiphone revealed a "reissue" of the Gibson Bluehawk called the Epiphone Blueshawk Deluxe. While it has similar specifications to the original Gibson version, the Blueshawk Deluxe features a flamed maple veneer on top of a solid maple top, Epiphone's own PRO-90 single-coil pickups, a bound fingerboard, and no option for a Maestro tremolo, instead of a non-figured maple top, Blues 90s single coils, unbound fingerboard, and option for a tremolo.