Gratuitous picture of some S-500s, Nighthawk, and Skyhawks

Clockwise from upper left: 1982 mahogany S-500, 1991 S-500 Signature with gold hardware assembled less then 3 weeks after Dale's retirement, 1990 Skyhawk Signature which, except for the chrome and the absent expander switch, is almost a spitting image of the former, 1986 Skyhawk w/Kahler vibrato, and 1983 Nighthawk.


- Jos

Jos,

Nice group of "birds" in flight!

Such beautiful examples of what was going on in some small business from the 80's.
I know what'll be in my dreams when I finally get to sleep.

I'm also amazed at what must be some fine networking skills that you have to bring those birds (and all
the others in your collection) to be in one place at the same time.
Congrats on being on a fine path in life, and thanks for sharing the joy ..keep it up !!

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Actually just noticed something interesting. In the picture you see 2 Cherryburst Signatures. To my surprise, the S-500 Signature has its pups in the same position and orientation as the Skyhawk Signature. In other words, their pickguards are identical except for the added expander switch on the S-500 Sig.

I reread Gabe and Greg's S-500 article in Vintage Guitar and at the end it lists some changes Dale Hyatt made to the S-500 including the switch to single plastic pickguard as well as Skyhawk pups, although with a few more windings. But there is no mention of "reorienting" the pickups especially the one in the bridge position which is slanted less than on the earlier mahogany S-500.

For those of you possessing both a 2-guard S-500 as well as a single guard S-500, do you see the same?

Just curious.

- Jos

hmmm...I wonder if that was to save on production or if the newer S-500's
were too trebly since not as many (if any) of the single guard S-500's were mahogany bodies.

I have a '82 S-500 with no guard or plate (bought just the body), and I had a Skyhawk guard...
it drove me nuts that it would almost work, but wouldn't no matter how long I stared at it

There's a fine tuner sig. S-500 on ebay now, not sure if the seller is a member here,
he's had some cool G&Ls for sale.

Those bursts are so warm and friendly.

I have a single guard 1991 S-500 Signature and your'e right, it looks the same as the Skyhawk sig. Not sure what you are asking otherwise though.

BTW, nice set of birds, always love to see gold hardware too.

Tom

Got a reply from Gabe: yes, the 1-piece guards on the late Skyhawk and S-500 are identical. So the bridge pickup on the S-500 is rotated compared to an earlier version. Also, you could order the "old-style' S-500 all the way to the end before BBE took over. So both S-500 configurations were available.

Thanks Elwood and Tom. For you to check was all I was asking for

- Jos

Beautiful ! That black one is my favorite.

Love that blue colour Jos.
I was just playing my 82 S-500
Probably the best sounding guitars in history

Sorry but the picture in the original post has been updated. Have to throw in a sickle headstock Skyhawk too.

- Jos

Beautiful Skyhawk! I simply love my sickle Skyhawk with maple body and rosewood fingerboard. The tones are simply stellar. Nice to see you have found that too! I struggle to choose playing it or my Comanche, which holds a special place in my heart.

So thats where all the cool old G&L's are.

Questions: Which one of those guitars is the heaviest? I have an idea.

Does one of these guitars stand out from the others as a musical instrument? Which, of that bunch, would you grab for a gig?

What kind and size of an amp do you find works best with these old guitars?

Inquiring minds want to know,

y2kc

So thats where all the cool old G&L's are.

Questions: Which one of those guitars is the heaviest? I have an idea.

Does one of these guitars stand out from the others as a musical instrument? Which, of that bunch, would you grab for a gig?

What kind and size of an amp do you find works best with these old guitars?

Inquiring minds want to know,

y2kc

Casey,

The maple Nighthawk is the heaviest actually, followed by the hog S-500. My fave right now is the sickle headstock Skyhawk. I have only played it through a Mesa/Boogie Subway Blues for extended periods of time and that combination rocked it. Lots of spunk, plenty of quack, and (yes) you have to work the tone controls a bit for vintage sounds. Would love to try a vintage Princeton (Reverb) to do an A/B comparison.

- Jos

nice little group there , love the sickle head stock best too