Tribute Superhawk vs Tribute Rampage

so i've got a tribute rampage, and that custom wound humbucker SINGS. it's so hot, it chugs so well on my JCM2000 without any pedals in front, i LOVE it.

i've got an ASAT Deluxe tribute as well, but those pickups are much more mellow and don't chug as much, and aren't as hot.

i'm looking to get a tribute superhawk to get that chuggy sound like my rampage, but keep it tuned standard and have the ability of both pickups, but i see there's a deluxe, with paul gagon designed hums, and a regular with just an alnico humbucker.

my question to you guitar gods here is, which one, if any, has the same pickup as the rampage?? i want that exact sound, but in the superhawk. is this not possible? did they not do the same custom jerry cantrell pickup in the superhawk as the rampage? please help!

so i've got a tribute rampage, and that custom wound humbucker SINGS. it's so hot, it chugs so well on my JCM2000 without any pedals in front, i LOVE it.

i've got an ASAT Deluxe tribute as well, but those pickups are much more mellow and don't chug as much, and aren't as hot.

i'm looking to get a tribute superhawk to get that chuggy sound like my rampage, but keep it tuned standard and have the ability of both pickups, but i see there's a deluxe, with paul gagon designed hums, and a regular with just an alnico humbucker.

my question to you guitar gods here is, which one, if any, has the same pickup as the rampage?? i want that exact sound, but in the superhawk. is this not possible? did they not do the same custom jerry cantrell pickup in the superhawk as the rampage? please help!

The Tribute JC Superhawk models use the exact same bridge pickup as the Tribute JC Rampage pickup.
See: List of pickups used in G&L guitars.
Unfortunately, we don't currently have any other details on those pickups. But I did ask Paul when the Tribute
Superhawks came out, if the bridge pickups were the same as the Tribute Rampage pickup and he confirmed that.

You might also be interested in these posts, which are in our Knowledgebase, too:
Decoding the various G&L pickup part numbers.
Current G&L Tribute Series Standard Production Models.
2014 G&L U.S. Specifications and Options.

Hope this helps.

sweet! thanks craig. what i don't get is the differnece between the deluxe and regular, then? it seems the only difference is pickups, but you're saying both use the same pickup as in the Rampage? musicians friend doesn't even stock the ivory colored one with black hardware anymore; they only stock the deluxe.

sweet! thanks craig. what i don't get is the differnece between the deluxe and regular, then? it seems the only difference is pickups, but you're saying both use the same pickup as in the Rampage? musicians friend doesn't even stock the ivory colored one with black hardware anymore; they only stock the deluxe.

Here are the specs (from the link I gave previously). I have underlined the differences.

Superhawk Jerry Cantrell Signature
Finish Ivory, clear satin neck with ivory headstock and ebony fingerboard
Body wood Soft Maple
Neck wood Hard Rock Maple with satin finish
Neck dimensions 1 3/4” width at nut, 12” radius
Pickup Paul Gagon designed humbuckers
Controls 3-position pickup selector, volume, tone
Bridge G&L Saddle Lock

Superhawk Deluxe Jerry Cantrell Signature
Finish Blueburst, clear satin neck with black headstock and ebony fingerboard
Body wood Soft Maple with flame maple veneer
Neck wood Hard Rock Maple with satin finish
Neck dimensions 1 3/4” width at nut, 12” radius
Pickup Paul Gagon designed humbuckers
Controls 3-position pickup selector, volume, tone
Bridge G&L Saddle Lock

Hope this helps.

I recently got one of the Tribute Superhawks. Cool guitars.

I measured the DCR of the pickups
neck came in around 8.16K according to me meter.

Bridge was measured at ~12.38K

I also have a tribute ASAT deluxe carved top. The pickups pretty much measured what the pickup page says. Though the DCR on the neck seemed a little on the low side. The covers and hotter wind of the ASAT buckers would account for the more 'mellow' tone. (less highs)
The superhawk has a much more lively high end.

craig, thanks, but on the G&L website for these, this is what I see:

Deluxe:
ONSTRUCTION: bolt-onSCALE: 25 1/2"
PICKUPS: Paul Gagon designed humbuckers
BODY WOOD: Soft Maple with Flame Maple veneer BODY FINISH: Blueburst NECK WOOD: Hard-Rock Maple with Ebony fingerboardNECK FINISH: Clear Satin back with Black headstockNECK PROFILE: G&L custom profile with 12" radius and 1 3/4" nut-widthFRETS: 22 medium jumbo, nickelTUNING KEYS: 18:1 ratio, sealed-backBRIDGE: G&L Saddle Lock™CONTROLS: 3-position pickup selector, volume, tone

Regular:
CONSTRUCTION: bolt-onSCALE: 25 1/2
PICKUPS: Two alnico humbuckers
BODY WOOD: Soft MapleBODY FINISH: IvoryNECK WOOD: Hard-Rock Maple with Ebony fingerboardNECK FINISH: Clear Satin back with Ivory headstockNECK PROFILE: G&L custom profile with 12" radius and 1 3/4" nut-widthFRETS: 22 medium jumbo, nickelTUNING KEYS: 18:1 ratio, sealed-backBRIDGE: G&L Saddle Lock™CONTROLS: 3-position pickup selector, volume, tone



see how the pickups listed are different?

also, there's no tone circuitry in the Rampage, and there is in the Superhawk. that alone will create a difference in tone, but I wonder how big of a difference? i basically want exactly what my rampage sounds like, but with dual pickups like the Superhawk.

That could just be a misprint. Or someone getting lazy. It doesn't even list a model like all the other G&L guitars. The pickup page claims they use the same bridge pickup. Pretty sure the only real difference between the Deluxe and regular is the flame maple cap, and paint.


The tonal difference between a 500K tone control and not having one, will be small, but noticeable to many. There will be a tad more high end, without the tone control. You could easily wire a tone bypass, or just use a Push/pull on the volume for the coil split, and use a 'no load' tone pot. 'No load' pots will be out of the circuit on '10' and will be tonally the same as having no tone control. You could also modify the stock push/pull into a 'no load' but that tends to be a little more tricky.

craig, thanks, but on the G&L website for these, this is what I see:

Deluxe:
ONSTRUCTION: bolt-onSCALE: 25 1/2"
PICKUPS: Paul Gagon designed humbuckers
BODY WOOD: Soft Maple with Flame Maple veneer BODY FINISH: Blueburst NECK WOOD: Hard-Rock Maple with Ebony fingerboardNECK FINISH: Clear Satin back with Black headstockNECK PROFILE: G&L custom profile with 12" radius and 1 3/4" nut-widthFRETS: 22 medium jumbo, nickelTUNING KEYS: 18:1 ratio, sealed-backBRIDGE: G&L Saddle Lock™CONTROLS: 3-position pickup selector, volume, tone

Regular:
CONSTRUCTION: bolt-onSCALE: 25 1/2
PICKUPS: Two alnico humbuckers
BODY WOOD: Soft MapleBODY FINISH: IvoryNECK WOOD: Hard-Rock Maple with Ebony fingerboardNECK FINISH: Clear Satin back with Ivory headstockNECK PROFILE: G&L custom profile with 12" radius and 1 3/4" nut-widthFRETS: 22 medium jumbo, nickelTUNING KEYS: 18:1 ratio, sealed-backBRIDGE: G&L Saddle Lock™CONTROLS: 3-position pickup selector, volume, tone



see how the pickups listed are different?

also, there's no tone circuitry in the Rampage, and there is in the Superhawk. that alone will create a difference in tone, but I wonder how big of a difference? i basically want exactly what my rampage sounds like, but with dual pickups like the Superhawk.

The G&L main website spec page is out of date and does not reflect the latest Price List. We have the most current specs and options here in the Knowledgebase.
In case you are not aware, this website is owned by G&L. I try my best to keep the current specs and options pages as accurate as I can here.
I am on the dealer mailing list and get the new US and Tribute Price Lists. That is the source I use to update the Knowledgebase.

Hope this helps.

sweet, thanks!

i love that superhawk, but in order to get it to sound identical to the rampage, i'd definitely have to mod it. if they were going for the same guitar, just with an added pickup and no kahler, i wonder why they included tone in the first place. my hums in the ASAT deluxe are muddier, much less hot, and feedback to all hell when palm muting, so i definitely don't want that on the superhawk.

must be the metal casing on the ASAT, idk, bc my rampage pickup is so much hotter and will never feedback when my hand is near it.

craig, did they discontinue the ivory version of the superhawk? aka the regular one?

all i can find now is the "deluxe" which is the blue flamed maple one. i like the ivory bc of the black hardware like my rampage has, but i mean the blue is nice too...but musicians friend said they aren't selling ivory at all now.

[Craig]

well I went ahead and ordered it! haha. that blue burst finish grew on me. $60 off coupon from musicians friend brought it down to [actual price removed]. totally worth it. hope it gets here by Friday!!

Last edited by Craig on Mon Apr 06, 2015 9:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: edited out actual price by admin because new prices are not allowed to be posted.

Cool man, good going! I see ivory Superhawks listed on ebay all the time... but blueburst is good too... congrats and I look forward to hearing what you make of this guitar when it arrives!

craig, did they discontinue the ivory version of the superhawk? aka the regular one?

all i can find now is the "deluxe" which is the blue flamed maple one. i like the ivory bc of the black hardware like my rampage has, but i mean the blue is nice too...but musicians friend said they aren't selling ivory at all now.

I had sent your question to Dave and have just heard back:

Hi Craig,

I think it may just be supply. MF can place big orders, but often we don’t know when they will happen and we can wind without enough inventory.

We have not discontinued the ivory version of the Superhawk.

Thanks, Craig.

Dave

I do know Musicians Friend recently had the Ivory Tribute JC Superhawks in one of their "Stupid Deal of the Day" offers. That's probably
why they did not have any in stock when you wanted to order one.

Hope this helps.

ugh craig, i know! I remember seeing it but I didn't see it until a day after the deal was over.. i was so mad. I got my asat for 300 on the stupid deal of the day. ugh. well, whatever.

the blue is pretty sweet though. honestly I may replace the hardware with the black bridge and knobs though. might look better than chrome.

guitar comes Friday! woo!

Got my ASAT and my JC Superhawk both for $300 stupid deal of the day. It was stupid to pass up. I wasn't really interested in the JC model, with the exception of the ebony fretboard, which I found fairly desirable, it's the main reason I got it. I passed on a Fallout for a stupid cheap price, and told myself, "If that had an ebony board I'll be all over it" Well the JC model popped up on SDOTD, a few weeks later.

[Craig]

how do you like the 'hawk? i'm pumped.

craig, do ALL g&l guitars get plek'd? i notice on MF, the description of the rampage says Plek dressed, but superhawk doesn't.

also, crazy, the tribute rampage is [actual price removed] now! i got it for [actual price removed] in 2012 after a 15% off coupon. crazy how much the price went up in just 3 years.

Last edited by Craig on Wed Apr 08, 2015 4:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: removed actual prices

how do you like the 'hawk? i'm pumped.

craig, do ALL g&l guitars get plek'd? i notice on MF, the description of the rampage says Plek dressed, but superhawk doesn't.

also, crazy, the tribute rampage is [actual priced removed] now! i got it for [actual price removed] in 2012 after a 15% off coupon. crazy how much the price went up in just 3 years.

No, only the USA models are PLEK'd. A reminder that posting new G&L prices are not allowed. See: GbL History & G&LDP/G&L Knowledgebase/Marketplace Guidelines.