HAWKES DOUBLEBASS

If the setup is good, a big bass can be easy to play. Transport can be less pleasing.
Make sure, the string length is right for you! If you play standing think about a bent endpin to handle the weight better.
I never played a hawkes, i can imagine there are problems with the high shoulders and deep sides when playing lots of solomusic.

 

You need to play on some big basses to find out if they are for you. A lot will depend on your size and how far you and your body are willing to go to accommodate the increased size. I found that after playing a Hawkes, a large Rogeri model, and a New Standard Cleveland, that large shoulders are not for me. Too much right hand reaching for pizz. I've been playing 3/4 basses my whole life, and as seductive as the big sound can be, I probably will never take one on.

 

Not a problem for me. I went from decades with a 5/8ths 103mm scale Quenoil style to a 7/8ths 106.5mm scale Busan without issues. I use both today and practice in thumb position a lot.

The Hawkes may be more extreme. Almost 5 decades ago my teacher asked ‘do you want a fat bass?’ and grinned. His old Italian bass was in the repair shop and he had been loaned a Hawkes. I should of jumped at it but had just bought the 5/8ths one. The Hawkes was a fine bass with big shoulders. I guess you do not want hear the Hawkes price was something like $750 (maybe 900) the going rate at the time.

 

I guess it depends on the kind of music you play and your height/reach... I've owned a couple big basses and the downsides to me are:

1. accessibility of the notes around Eb to G on the G string due to big shoulders on one particular bass. This has been the most significant issue for me.
2. extra weight/size to pack around for gigs. Not too big a problem to me.
3. Having a big bass on a small bandstand can be a pain sometimes. I have the luxury of having a different bass I can use in this situation.

I'll also add that, with very rare exception, I drive to all musical activities. If I had to take transit, my feelings would be quite different, I'm sure.

 

For me, the main question is upper bout width and if the shoulders slope enough. How wide is your Busan compared to the 5/8ths?

I was sent an old French bass to audition and it had the old cello shape and was a 7/8s in all other aspects. I'd need a step ladder to play that thing in thumb position, even with the endpin all the way in.

 

Good question, so I checked!

The Busan is 20” wide with 7.5” ribs at the deepest. The Quenoil style is 19” wide with 8” ribs. The Quenoil is in my avatar.

No wonder the big bass was easy to get used to! The Busan style was modeled after an actual 1750 Busan. I have the drafted plans of the newer bass. One change for playability from the original Busan was slightly less deep upper ribs. It does have a bit of a cello look to the shoulders, yet easy to play.

The Hawkes may have deep upper ribs and be wider. (?)

The smaller bass is deeper in the upper register but lacks the big low end of the bigger bass. Both are fully carved and sound good.

 

Yes, this one has 21.73" shoulders and almost 9" depth.

Hawkes & Son Double Bass for Sale

 

If it’s in good shape, the sound is there, and you can swing it without damaging your financial life, grab it.

You can always sell it if things don’t work out. Just check the numbers with extreme care.

 

I have had at least 3 Hawkes basses pass through the shop in the last several years. The string length is surprisingly short, at 41 1/2", more or less. They are easy to play when using stool and having a neck that has been reset to provide a much more modern overstayed height.

 

There is a fair bit of variation in those old basses, so it really depends upon the individual. Make sure you keep a handy repair fund available. With all of that creaky, crunchy old wood, you don't stop paying on it the day you bring it home? If you get a troublesome one, it will be a lot cheaper to buy a sailboat or old volkswagon....

Casey: $750 for a Hawkes back in the day!!!????!!!!! 'Probably about the same time I paid $375 for a 1957 Les Paul goldtop and then proceeded to bust it into 100 pieces on stage after overplaying Babba O' Riley because it was just an old guitar and I could always get another, but there would never be another day with all of that youthful energy on stage mimicking Pete Townshend!!!

 

+1. I played on an old Hawkes at the Gage shop while bass shopping a few years back. Neck hadn’t been reset and boy, what a drag it was to play. And to @james condino ‘s point above re: variation, I remember feeling a bit let down once I played it. Sound just didn’t quite knock me out.

 

I know of one that is a nice bass and plays great, but there have been literally 100s of repairs over the years- so much that the rib garland has almost three layers of patches and is almost 6mm thick all around! The last time I worked on it, I felt that it would open up tremendous if all of those old layers were removed or a separate new rib garland was made and then the plates and neck were moved to it. You could keep the original busted up ribs in a closet for posterity, but for sound and performing, use the much better responding new set.

I believe there were several different variations that were made in different shops. One thing for sure- if you can handle the size, once you get the hang of it, playing a giant old bass like that with a huge rumble is pretty cool!

 

Hawkes & Son.. (The Official KSB Hawkes Bass Discussion Thread) - Ken's Corner (Bass Forums Sponsored By KSB)

 

Talkbass may be much more polite and respectful to each other now that he is banned, but the wealth of information that Ken used to contribute is greatly missed...

 

I tried to be on a FaceBook forum with KS a few years ago. More and more his posts turned my stomach into aching knots and I had to permanently block him. It is just too toxic ...

 

Ken Smith has started up a few forums on FB recently, in case you're curious. He's mostly polite, genuinely interested in sharing information and seems very knowledgeable. I've been enjoying them a whole lot.