Filbert

Is that the Guitar Village in Farnham? I am a Hampshire lad myself and know it well. I still have my Dad's Kramer Ferrington that he bought from there in the early '80's.

Watched rugby, watched football, noodled on the Tele for half an hour or so. Now drinking wine. listening to some of my late father's vinyl collection whilst playing World of Warcraft.

I don't think the perfect anything exists...

Thanks so much for the info all of you, very interesting! I find position 2 to be the 'best' sounding, at least to me anyway; it cuts a little of the top end off so it doesn't sound too shrill or trebly but overall, a very subtle effect.

Yes, I know, I have already posted about this in the 'Blueshawk Club' thread but I felt I had to share my experience today in a new thread. I was fiddling with my Marshall DSL15C, basically just knob twiddling really, trying to get to that sweet spot without perforating my eardrums or aggravating my neighbours. Well, anyway, today must have been one of those days when everything cosmically aligns and turns out perfectly. The amp settings seemed to be spot on and the Blueshawk really sang. It was unbelievable, such a great tone. I'm not a good guitar player, far from it, but even with my lumpen hands of clay, it just sounded so, so sweet! I still cannot get over the tone that comes out of this thing! Anyway, sorry for raving, just wanted to share! As an aside, I also gave it a quick wipe-down, a set of new Hybrid Slinkys and a pic in the sun: Whoever owned this guitar prior to me really took care of it - just the most superficial of dings and blemishes and only very light evidence of fingerboard wear. I don't think it was used much, certainly not gigged, unless the guy (or gal!) had a feather touch anyway. I suspect it spent most of its time hanging or on a stand. It's weird - my Blueshawk and my Nighthawk, despite being roughly the same age, are like the yin and yang of guitars; the Nighthawk looks every one of its 26 years - it has been well-played, well-used and shows it whereas the Blueshawk, well, as you can see, it's nearly factory fresh bar the odd mark here and there.

A good year? I hope so. I too have bought 2 new Gibsons this year - an HP LP and a Firebird and both are superb instruments so I have to agree, Gibson seem to have their mojo back. That being said, I also own a 2015 LP that everyone and their dog seemed to take pleasure in pissing and moaning about and that too is also excellent - no sign of any supposed QA/QC issues. I suppose some people may well have got duds but I have been super happy with all my Gibsons - both electrics and acoustics.

I am now a proud owner of both a Nighthawk and as of today, a Blueshawk. Never heard of the models before but I must say, I am loving them so far. The Nighthawk is a little more beat up, being the older of the two and has obviously been used and loved way more. Posted these pics elsewhere (with standard apologies for the low quality of them) but here my two are: Also, I am looking for info on resources on exactly what the various knobs and switches do on the Blueshawk - beyond the obvious! Mine didn't come with an owner's manual so I am a little in the dark.

UPS man has just been and Wow! The Blueshawk is in even better shape than I thought - some very minor dings and scratches but other than that, it is in superb condition. Photos really don't do it justice, the blue is a beautiful shade and then neck is ultra-playable. Five minutes in and I love it! Why don't Gibson make these anymore? On a related note though, does anyone have a link to an instruction manual of some sort? I have been fiddling with the various knobs without being completely sure of what they do. I know it has some sort of dummy coil to eliminate noise but that is about it. There seems to be controls to coil tap and to go out of phase as well as a push/pull on the tone knob.

Holy necro Batman!

It seems I have a fascination with the slightly oddball Gibson models! Hot on the heels of my Firebird and the Nighthawk pictured here, I have a Blueshawk arriving from Germany tomorrow. Pics to follow as and when UPS turn up on my doorstep!

Totally agree. So glad my dad introduced me to their music when I was a lad. I have been lucky to see them on pretty much every UK tour they have been on since the mid eighties. Such a shame we won’t see anymore new music from them but if anyone deserves their retirement, these guys do.

Yes, I should clarify when I am talking about storing them in the conservatory, I mean they will be in a rack or stand and not in cases. They won't be in direct sunlight. It also helps that our conservatory wraps around the side of the house and 2/3rd of it are standard brick walls with the UPVC windows/roof so it is not subject to the usual variations in temperature/humidity that one would normally find with 100% glass or UPVC constructed conservatories. The reason I want to store some there is so they are next to my desktop PC and record player so that I have a guitar and amp to hand whenever the mood strikes as opposed to how it currently is where all my guitars and gear is upstairs in my study. But as you say, I will see how the Strat and an Epiphone Les Paul fare for a few months before moving any thing else there. I don't think any of my Gibsons or acoustics will be going there at any rate - just low value solid body stuff.

As per title, I am running out of room in my study for storing guitars - the plan is to keep some of the less played (and less valuable) guitars in our conservatory. I am wondering if this will prove problematic or damaging? From what I am led to believe, and please correct me if I am wrong, it isn't high or low temperatures on their own that are damaging to guitars but rather any rapid change in temperature and humidity. Our conservatory isn't heated but it is insulated - it does get hot in the summer and can get cold in the winter but the key fact is that the temperature is more or less consistent; it's either hot or cold in there depending on the time of year but it doesn't have wild swings in temperature over the course of a given day. Bear in mind, I live in the UK so humidity is not much of an issue and bear in mind the UK is a pretty moderate climate so when I say hot, we are talking maybe 30 degrees centigrade or so and when I say cold, I mean in the low single digits degrees centigrade so probably not what those of you from more extreme climates may term 'hot' or 'cold'. Has anyone got any experience of storing guitars in a conservatory that can advise? I probably won't risk storing acoustics in there - it will be solid body electrics only I think. I have had one of my Strats in there for a few months and haven't noticed any ill effects yet.

OK so I took some very quick photos, sadly the weather here is a little overcast so I am not sure how well or how much detail one can make out from these pics but there you go... OK, it's only the bog standard 2 pickup model but all in all, very happy - yes, it's a little beat up but then again, it is only 10 years or so younger than me. Previous owner(s) were obviously very heavy strummers too given the teardrop shaped wear below the strings! It has obviously been well worn and well played - probably gigged as well I am guessing - you can see wear where a strap has been used and there is wear to the back of the neck too. Plays very nicely with the Blues Junior I got the other day too. As suggested, I gave it a very light clean with some Dunlop polish and used Dr Duck's Axe Wax on the fretboard - it has cleaned up nicely and plays beautifully - gives some nice tonal variety to the usual Gibson sounds and I have to say, it doesn't feel like a Gibson either, if that makes sense. Puts me more in mind of a Fender in many respects.

Well, let me give it a clean and a restring first!

OK fair enough, thanks for the advice - a very light buff it is then!

I got a well-used '93 Nighthawk off eBay today and I have to say, I think it is a lovely little guitar, IMO. My example, however, is well used. One of the (admittedly minor) issues is that the pickup covers/ surround are slightly tarnished. Were they originally supposed to be gold? Mine appear to be yellowy/silver. I am hoping they will smarten up with a little cleaning - what would you suggest to get the shine back and remove the tarnish without damaging anything?

If you have a Blues Jr, a top tip I learned was to turn the Master control to max and then use the Volume control to set the level. I have mine set to 2 and that is plenty loud enough but it apparently helps to get the best tone out of them.

I'd exchange. This issue now could be a harbinger of something more problematic down the line. Why risk the stress? Get it switched out now.

Definitely. Volume is not necessarily required to hear the characteristics of each guitar, at least not in my (albeit limited) experience. I own a 2015 Les Paul, a 2019 HP Les Paul, a 2012 SG, a 2019 Firebird, a 2019 Fender Elite HSS Shawbucker, a 2016 Fender Tele and a 2012 Fender Strat and they all sound different with a unique voice, even at the low volumes I play at. Different guitars suit different amps and pedals too.

I have a bunch of amps and a bunch of electrics and I play exclusively at home, at low(ish) volumes, in my study. I would love to crank my Marshall and get the power amp overdrive that everyone seems to rave about but sadly, a wife, kids and close neighbours mean I have to be satisfied in recreating that tone with an overdrive pedal. Mostly, it sounds OK although I would caution against chasing the tone rabbit hole where you think 'oh, just this pedal/amp/guitar' will make my tone awesome - it's an easy trap to get into! Latest acquisition is a Fender Blues Jr and couple with a Boss EQ pedal to raise the Mids and Highs just a smidge, it really sings. Loving it so far.

So reading this thread the other day, inspired me to buy a Boss GE-7 EQ pedal and I have spent an hour or so productively fiddling with it so far. Haven't found that 'holy grail' setting just yet but I am encouraged enough by the results so far to keep trying. It got me thinking though as a good idea for discussion, what is your 'secret weapon' pedal (for those of you who use pedals, of course)? What is the one pedal that you absolutely, positively cannot do without? Just to kick it off, this is mine: Which is the ThorpyFX Fat General pedal. Never previously paid much mind to compression pedals but after reading reviews of this and after buying one, it never leaves my board and is never switched off - I find it that essential to my tone. So what say you? Show me your secrets!

Actually this topic makes me think of a 'reverse mondegreen' where I was 17 and travelling in the car with Dad, listening to a band called The Wildhearts and the track 'My Baby is A Headf**k'. Dad asked me if they were singing 'my baby is a heifer' and all I could do was nod and agree...

A wipe down with Dr Duck's Axe Wax is also supposed to help breathe life into old strings, or so it says on the bottle anyway.

For me, it would be 'revved up like a d o u c h e' from Blinded By The Light.