Dates on my 84 Skyhawk

[Skyhawk]

I have a 83 Nighthawk and a 84 Skyhawk that is very close in serial number......only 17 digits off from one another with the nighthawk being the 17 digit lower number. My nighthawk has an ash body. My skyhawk is much heavier......now, my skyhawk body is dated Aug. 83 and the neck is dated Jan. 84.....I thought this may be interesting to some. I think the body is mahogany. I am going to try and post the pics.http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/strin ... sort=3&o=1
http://s1287.photobucket.com/user/strin ... sort=3&o=0

Hope it works.
LS

[KenC]

If the Skyhawk is the guitar with a red finish, I don't think it's mahogany. It would be easier to tell if you posted a higher resolution shot, though. I believe mahogany was out of production by '84. Fred Finisher made a comment in one of his posts about being there when the remaining mahogany stock went away, and IIRC he left the shop around '84.

The mahogany used on early G&Ls is quite a bit darker than the current Equatorial Mahogany. Here's a shot of my '81 F-100's mahogany neck pocket:



The flash brightened it up quite a bit. In real life, it's significantly darker.

My color vision isn't the best, but it looks to me like your neck pocket and neck heel shots show about the same shade. Maple would be a much more likely candidate by 1983. Unlike the lightweight maple bodies found on many first-style SC-series guitars, full-size maple instruments (like 'Hawks or ASATs) could be quite heavy. I haven't weighed them yet, but I'm guessing some of mine are up around nine pounds.

Here's the neck pocket on my maple Nighthawk, which is also from August '83:



I hope this helps. Please post a closer-up photo of your Skyhawk's neck pocket.

Ken

[Skyhawk]

The skyhawk Ken is white. The red guitar is an F-100 that I had posted awhile back. I have taken the neck off the skyhawk. The body prob. was going to be a nighthawk body but was put on a skyhawk instead when they changed the name.

[Skyhawk]

Ken, I try to get a better pic. up. I think its mahogany. It has little black lines going through the grain with some reddish color to the wood, or at least, it looks it to me.
LS

[Skyhawk]

Sorry Ken, I won't be able to get a pocket pic as of now. I forgot I already to the guitar apart and changed strings etc. so..............the next time I change strings, I will do it.
LS

[Skyhawk]

I made a mistake on my serial numbers. My skyhawks serial number is actually only two numbers lower than my Nighthawk.
LS