Anyone have a John Hawk bass?

[kesslari]

John was a luthier in So Cal (I don't believe he's still building instruments) with a build quality that was just unmatched. He made some really beautiful instruments.

Wondering if anyone here has a John Hawk bass, or knows his work?

 

[Luthier De Bass]

I apprenticed with John Hawk in Santa Barbara back in 1981-85 and also played in his band. During that period, John made some killer instruments for some big name guys including some amazing basses for Randy Tico and a beautiful acoustic guitar for Keith Richards. I also used to work on a lot of Joe Walsh's guitars for him. I made a few basses for myself during the years I worked with John. We would go to Seymour Duncan's lab after hours, and Kevin Becker would custom wind pickups for us to achieve the sounds we were looking for. John eventually took a position at College of the Canyons teaching art and design. I visited him at his home a few years ago, and he has his shop, but was not currently making instruments for a living. John is a great luthier, and his attention to detail is beyond compare. He is also the finest French Polisher ever. The finishes he put on Randy's basses were to die for. I no longer own any of the basses I made for myself at John's shop, but I am sure they are floating around out there. Just look for a Seymour Duncan custom red Humbucker and the H on the headstock.

 

[kesslari]

Nice that you found and bumped this. I actually did some work in John's shop back in the early 80's, he was gracious enough to show me how to build a bass. Being young and stupid and broke I sold it when I switched from 4 string to 5.
I'd love to find it again. It was koa with a maple neck and ebony fretboard, and looked like an early prototype of the Brian Bromberg basses (which is funny, because I designed it for myself before any of the BB basses came out - based on the lines of the BC Rich mockingbird crossed with a Fender) and the headstock just sort of followed.
And yes, it had those custom "Hawkbucker" red Duncan humbuckers.

John's attention to detail and the level of his craftsmanship were absolutely stellar.

 

[Luther P]

I apprenticed with John Hawk in Santa Barbara back in 1981-85 and also played in his band. During that period, John made some killer instruments for some big name guys including some amazing basses for Randy Tico and a beautiful acoustic guitar for Keith Richards. I also used to work on a lot of Joe Walsh's guitars for him. I made a few basses for myself during the years I worked with John. We would go to Seymour Duncan's lab after hours, and Kevin Becker would custom wind pickups for us to achieve the sounds we were looking for. John eventually took a position at College of the Canyons teaching art and design. I visited him at his home a few years ago, and he has his shop, but was not currently making instruments for a living. John is a great luthier, and his attention to detail is beyond compare. He is also the finest French Polisher ever. The finishes he put on Randy's basses were to die for. I no longer own any of the basses I made for myself at John's shop, but I am sure they are floating around out there. Just look for a Seymour Duncan custom red Humbucker and the H on the headstock.

I have the very first bass John made! A fretless four string, neck thru, extended range, custom single Duncan hum-bucker pick-up with a coil tap, custom Stars Bridge. I'm pretty sure you saw it because it was at his shop around the time you were there. He had just finished a luthier class with the Master builder Bozo building his first acoustic guitar. Btw, Bozo loved John's finished guitar! I also lived in the house with a band and manager in front of his shop -where John brought in his finished guitar so we could see it and hear it. Hearing it was something special -so special that I asked him if he built basses too? He said no -but he would like to at some point. So, I told him about an idea I had for a bass -he asked me to draw a pic of it so he could see what the style and shape would be. I drew the bass on a brown paper bag and gave it to him. A couple of days later he came to the house with a poster board cutout of my bass in it's actual scale! He got the wood for it, built it with some of his own special features to make it NICE! I still have that bass -and it still works! I've been looking for John for years -do you know have any contact info for him? Please PM me if you do.

 

[TJL]

Oh happy day! I just acquired the second bass I made for myself when I was apprenticing with John. I sold it almost 40 years ago, and the same guy still had it. He listed it for sale, and a fellow I know bought it. He emailed me to ask about the bass, and I told him I would love to get it back, so here it is, playing as great as the day I finished it in 1981!

 

[TJL]

I have the very first bass John made! A fretless four string, neck thru, extended range, custom single Duncan hum-bucker pick-up with a coil tap, custom Stars Bridge. I'm pretty sure you saw it because it was at his shop around the time you were there. He had just finished a luthier class with the Master builder Bozo building his first acoustic guitar. Btw, Bozo loved John's finished guitar! I also lived in the house with a band and manager in front of his shop -where John brought in his finished guitar so we could see it and hear it. Hearing it was something special -so special that I asked him if he built basses too? He said no -but he would like to at some point. So, I told him about an idea I had for a bass -he asked me to draw a pic of it so he could see what the style and shape would be. I drew the bass on a brown paper bag and gave it to him. A couple of days later he came to the house with a poster board cutout of my bass in it's actual scale! He got the wood for it, built it with some of his own special features to make it NICE! I still have that bass -and it still works! I've been looking for John for years -do you know have any contact info for him? Please PM me if you do.

I believe this is your bass. This is the one John had just completed when I first was working there.

 

[Reedt2000]

Threads like this one are part of what makes TB great!

 

[kesslari]

@TJL I remember that bass! And if I'm remembering you correctly, your Alembic (Persuader? Distillate?) and Subaru...
You taught me to slap... and a bunch of other musical stuff.
So stoked to see this thread get bumped, and to see you got your bass again!

 

[TJL]

@TJL I remember that bass! And if I'm remembering you correctly, your Alembic (Persuader? Distillate?) and Subaru...
You taught me to slap... and a bunch of other musical stuff.
So stoked to see this thread get bumped, and to see you got your bass again!

Yes, I had an Alembic Distillate at the time as well. As you can see, I was modeling my Hawk bass after the body shape of the Alembic. John's standard shape for his basses was much more traditional. Like a Fender on a diet. I worked on two basses for Randy Tico that had that body shape. I should ask Randy if he still has those basses.

 

[TJL]

Here is the first bass I made for myself while I was an apprentice with John.

 

[kesslari]

I remember you working on that bass - remember the zebrawood. The bass I built was koa with a body shape that I saw later on Brian Bromberg's basses - I just mashed a BC Rich style lower horn and a Fender-ish shape together, and put the "beak" on the headstock.
Very cool to see you here and remember that time period.

 

[TJL]

Here is bass #1 during the build. This bass had like 28 frets! Stars Guitars bridge and tailpiece. I would love to get this one back too. Someone out there has it.

 

[kesslari]

Always thought it was remarkably cool of John to work with us and teach us.

 

[TJL]

@TJL I remember that bass! And if I'm remembering you correctly, your Alembic (Persuader? Distillate?) and Subaru...
You taught me to slap... and a bunch of other musical stuff.
So stoked to see this thread get bumped, and to see you got your bass again!

Oh, that silver Subaru! Worst car I ever owned, but it got me back a forth from UCSB to John's garage shop on the Mesa for a couple of years.
I just spoke with John yesterday via email. He said he is currently doing a restoration on a guitar he made back when he was in Seattle 27 years ago. He has been a professor for the last 25 years.
John gave me so much more than I could have ever understood as a 19 year old kid back then. As an old man now at 57, I can say without question that his generosity with his knowledge and skills back then, set me up for a lifelong path as a luthier that has culminated this year in the completion of an acoustic guitar I designed for Alembic called the Element. I owe John a lot, no doubt.

 

[kesslari]

Sadly I have no pictures of the bass I built... sigh. Other than a very clear mental picture.

 

[Reedt2000]

A bump for ya here too