1983 / 1984 Skyhawk

Hey guys, well I've had my hawk for around 2 years now, but I finally decided to take her apart, clean, put back together. Learned something interesting, the body is from May 83, the neck is from Mar 84, so I guess it's a Nighthawk body (not that there was any difference).

I also believe the finish is nitro, now that I've had a better look at it, or I should say a closer look. I wish I could tell what the wood is, but I don't think it's Mahogany...

Took some more photos and while I was at it, scanned the manual and warranty cards. (A couple of the photos are older, but I figured I would add them in)

Hi Echoes,

Great looking guitar! And yes, you could be correct that the finish is nitro if the body is that early. G&L used nitro on some guitars up to late '84. Weather-checking of the finish would be a dead give-away. There is some more info on the Nighthawk/Skyhawk on GG Jaguars web site where you'll note that his Nighthawk has a nitro finish whereas the Skyhawk from a year later is listed as polyester (not even polyurethane).

BTW, on his page for a red Skyhawk from April '84 he notes that his neck has a production date commensurate with a Nighthawk with the body date being later. Which leads him to ask the very question you answer in your post!

- Jos

that's a beauty

Hi Echoes,

Great looking guitar! And yes, you could be correct that the finish is nitro if the body is that early. G&L used nitro on some guitars up to late '84. Weather-checking of the finish would be a dead give-away. There is some more info on the Nighthawk/Skyhawk on GG Jaguars web site where you'll note that his Nighthawk has a nitro finish whereas the Skyhawk from a year later is listed as polyester (not even polyurethane).

BTW, on his page for a red Skyhawk from April '84 he notes that his neck has a production date commensurate with a Nighthawk with the body date being later. Which leads him to ask the very question you answer in your post!

- Jos

How very interesting!

And yes, it was some slight weather checking in a few places, when I looked very close that made me realize it was Nitro.

I wish I could tell what the wood is, but I don't think it's Mahogany...

If you have any shots of the neck pocket, post them. We may be able to tell from the grain. The one thing I can tell from the neck-off picture is that the body is not mahogany. That would have been a much darker reddish-brown.

Ken

I wish I could tell what the wood is, but I don't think it's Mahogany...

If you have any shots of the neck pocket, post them. We may be able to tell from the grain. The one thing I can tell from the neck-off picture is that the body is not mahogany. That would have been a much darker reddish-brown.

Ken

Unfortunately I don't have any really good close and clear shots, did they only use red mahogany or did they also use white? Because there is both. The weight of the guitar leads me to believe it isn't ash, so maybe maple? Unless they were using northern ash as opposed to swamp.

Unfortunately I don't have any really good close and clear shots, did they only use red mahogany or did they also use white? Because there is both. The weight of the guitar leads me to believe it isn't ash, so maybe maple? Unless they were using northern ash as opposed to swamp.

Leo-era mahogany was very dark and very heavy. A clear finish over mahogany on a Leo-era instrument is usually called "Clear Root Beer", and any wood showing through dings is the same shade (just not glossy). Here's a shot of the neck pocket on my 1981 'hog F-100:



I don't have any shots of the dings on my '82 S-500, but the mahogany showing through in them is even darker than the F-100's neck pocket.

I am not sure whether it was northern ash on the Leo-era bodies, but it definitely wasn't swamp ash. IME, it is typical for an ash guitar from the '80s to weigh around 9-10 pounds. I doubt that any of mine are much below nine pounds, but I would need to check my records to be sure. Maple was a coin toss; some of mine are lightweights, but others are up around nine pounds.

Ken

Those early Skyhawks have tone that's hard to beat! She's a beauty. Out of all the G&Ls I've played (that's a lot), my #1 is a black skyhawk much like yours.

Those early Skyhawks have tone that's hard to beat! She's a beauty. Out of all the G&Ls I've played (that's a lot), my #1 is a black skyhawk much like yours.

Yeah, the thing is just amazing, love the Ebony board too, smooth like a maple, but unfinished, so wild.

Unfortunately I don't have any really good close and clear shots, did they only use red mahogany or did they also use white? Because there is both. The weight of the guitar leads me to believe it isn't ash, so maybe maple? Unless they were using northern ash as opposed to swamp.

Leo-era mahogany was very dark and very heavy. A clear finish over mahogany on a Leo-era instrument is usually called "Clear Root Beer", and any wood showing through dings is the same shade (just not glossy). Here's a shot of the neck pocket on my 1981 'hog F-100:



I don't have any shots of the dings on my '82 S-500, but the mahogany showing through in them is even darker than the F-100's neck pocket.

I am not sure whether it was northern ash on the Leo-era bodies, but it definitely wasn't swamp ash. IME, it is typical for an ash guitar from the '80s to weigh around 9-10 pounds. I doubt that any of mine are much below nine pounds, but I would need to check my records to be sure. Maple was a coin toss; some of mine are lightweights, but others are up around nine pounds.

Ken

Ahh ok, so they were using red mahogany, so we can rule that out. That leaves ash and maple. Here are a few pics, but they are not as sharp as I would like, it just doesn't seem figured enough to be ash:

[image]http://i.imgur.com/wS82tsv.jpg[/image]

[image]http://i.imgur.com/v17DjqS.jpg[/image]

[image]http://i.imgur.com/bRBtkXh.jpg[/image]

It's hard to tell from those pics, but I'm leaning toward maple. You would have seen an obvious grain if the body was ash.

Ken

It's hard to tell from those pics, but I'm leaning toward maple. You would have seen an obvious grain if the body was ash.

Ken

Hey Ken, yeah that was thought as well, plus the guitar seemed too heavy for ash, at least for swamp ash.