Goshawk | Perfect Pair

In their own words…

Hi, Rick!

For the last hours I have had the pleasure of getting to know the intricacies of the Gowshawk™ and these are my first impressions. I ran the guitar through my new Komet 60 HD and in stereo with a Tone King Falcon to create a bit of ambience and fuller sound. I should point out that the Komet is also a new acquaintance so I might need some time to dial in the sounds to perfection.

Where to start? It’s hard to put the guitar down once you’ve started playing. The ergonomics of the instrument are first class, in fact I have never played a guitar that is more comfortable and inviting than this. It’s extremely light weight. When I carried the box inside my house, I was worried that there was no guitar inside. The shape of the body gives the guitar a distinct and unique shape, unlike any other traditional guitar. It has its own DNA, and the balance of the guitar is perfect regardless if you play sitting down, standing up or laying on the floor in cheer joy. It just melts in with your body.

The neck shape (Advantage™ Neck Profile) is great for any type of playing, and unlike some other guitars, there is no fatigue even after hours of intense playing. In particular when soloing on the higher spectrum, the frets are well accessible and you can really articulate high notes all the way and better than on any guitar I have tried before. The neck was perfect right out of the box, and tuning appears to be very stable. The fretwork is flawless and dots and markers give excellent visibility in low light settings, on stage, etc.

Both the tone and volume knobs are highly interactive and shape the sound significantly. The pickup selector has no less than 10 settings and I have not gotten around to figure out how it’s wired in all different settings, but I anticipate that in combination with the volume and tone control, virtually every sound a guitar can make is available right at your hands.

What was truly amazing was how consistent the sound was all across the board. Most guitars have their sweet spot, a place on the fretboard where it really sings. This means that other areas are weaker or a tad too loud and must be compensated with work on the volume or tone knob when you move around. The Goshawk™ is different. The sound is consistent all across the fretboard, you can drop your E and play with the devil and in the next moment go to screaming highs and the guitar will project a well balanced sound all the way through. Also between pickup settings there is very little loss of volume, although going from a single coil to humbucking fattens up the sound as desired.

The placement of the guitar volume knob is perfect for me and the knob itself is an absolute gem to work with. The (DiMarzio™ exclusive) pickups are indeed touch sensitive and the volume knob interacts very noticeably in every pickup selection, and goes all the way from grit to high and chimey sounds without the use of pedals or adjusting amp settings.

The placement of  the input jack makes the guitar easy to hold regardless of playing position without the often annoying break and tear of cable that other locations often produce.

Sound-wise the guitar is very versatile and can reproduce nearly any guitar sound imaginable, but like I said it has its own DNA. In that regard, and this was very pleasing to experience, the guitar has its own distinct sound and character, instead of trying to imitate established guitars and brands. This guitar has the capability to render a lot of guitar collections redundant, simply because it will be the «go to» guitar for many tasks. It will be the ONE guitar that you always pick up.

The native sound of the instrument is excellent, and as said, very versatile for all types of music. Adding pedals enhances sounds in all directions and allows entrance to guitar heaven. It can very fast become an addictive and trance-like state of being, and your companion, friends and family might have a challenge in getting in contact as you get lost, forget to eat, or sleep.

Thank you, Rick. This was a great experience and the process of ordering and communication on creating this instrument was first class all the way.

Hopefully in a not too distant future I will post some samples of how she sounds in my hands. I noticed you put 009 gauge strings. Any reasons for this? All my other guitars are 010. I however noticed the more expressive and articulated bends I am able to get, so I might experiment with 009’s a while.

Thanks for a truly great guitar.

Cheers,
(Carl, Norway)

…and…

Rick:

Thanks a lot. Now my fingers are sore.

I couldn’t put it down last night. It really opened up after about an hour of playing and I just kept going. Then I got up early and played it again because I didn’t really believe it was that good. I have a bunch of questions and would love to talk with you about why this and why that type of stuff. It’s just so cool. My all-time favorite guitar (which I own) just feels dead now compared to the Goshawk™.

So I want to order another one. Let me know if you are around tomorrow to talk. I’ll call you.

Again, well done, just well done.
(Mark, California)

goshawk guitar
PHOTO: Goshawk™ natural Swamp Ash and roasted Flame Maple with mother of pearl inlays and bone nut.
rick toone guitar
PHOTO: Goshawk™ Swamp Ash and roasted Flame Maple with mother of pearl inlays and bone nut. Iceland-inspired finish.
trapezoid neck profile
PHOTO: Trapezoid Neck Profile™ is supremely ergonomic for thumb-over and pinch-grip players.
advantage neck profile
PHOTO: Advantage Neck Profile™ is the perfect design for a mix of playing hand positions: thumb-over, pinch-grip, classical.
goshawk swamp ash guitar
PHOTO: Intonation Cantilever™ precision machined stainless steel solo bridges, Carbon fiber pickguard, OEM DiMarzio pickups.
goshawk guitar iceland
PHOTO: Intonation Cantilever™ precision machined stainless steel solo bridges, Carbon fiber pickguard, OEM DiMarzio pickups. Note jack location on this custom guitar.

The Warning | Second Spearfish

The Warning recently band purchased a second Spearfish™ 6-string guitar, the mighty Moby Dick. Daniela Villareal has put the guitar to immediate use, in the studio and live. The Warning will be touring the US once visa issues are squared away. PS: The answer is YES.

She LOVES it!

Dany always wants another of your guitars, if it where up to her she would have 10 by now!

In the studio and live, I am sending you pictures…

We arrived home last Wednesday at noon after a red eye flight and went directly to interviews and promotions of our 2 weekend shows (which went great both of them) then Sunday we received at our little studio fans that came from Brazil, Canada, Sweden, Germany, England and the USA, so now we are finally having some time to rest a little before we go to Colombia to the Rock al Parque Fest June 29.

I have a request for you, it would really mean the world to us if you can make a trip to watch them play live, I would really love to have you there, so you can watch them, hear them, be with us, know us better.

What do you say my friend? (Luis Villarreal, Manager)

the warning band
spearfish guitar
dani villarreal
daniela villarreal
spearfish guitar

Spearfish | Vintage Sunburst Relic

This beautiful Spearfish™ appears throughout the Gift music video, providing clean and overdriven tones which add the atmospheric thunderstorm within the song story.

Swamp Ash solid body with light relic vintage nitro sunburst finish. Patent pending Element™ single billet aircraft aluminum neck. Patented Intonation Cantilever™ solo bridges, precision machined from solid stainless steel. Proprietary OEM DiMarzio pickups designed by Steve Blucher. 10-position pickup selection, featuring true single coil and humbucking tones.

This guitar is extraordinary.

element guitar neck headstock
spearfish guitar
intonation cantilever bridges
element guitar neck

Gift | Music Video

There’s a local tavern with a long history. During the War for Independence it quartered Hessian troops, the commander of which — Count Carl von Donop — was infatuated with a “beautiful young widow” by the name of Betsy Ross (age 24).

Betsy, when she was not sewing flags for the Revolutionaries, applied her skills such that Count Dunop was “distracted” by her company on Christmas Eve, 1776.

She held him out of position that night, allowing George Washington’s significant victory a few miles north, in the Battle of Trenton. Von Donop’s desire to occupy her territory proved fatal to the British Empire’s ambitions to control the American Colonies.

Betsy entertained the Count at her place in Mount Holly, New Jersey, a few miles south of this very same tavern. Mount Holly is home to a fantastic start-up — Spellbound Brewing — which brings us full circle to Ken sitting beside me on a bar stool drinking Spellbound Porter as we talked politics, sports, and music.

Ken is almost done his doctoral dissertation in psychology, and despite off-hours, the psychologist’s lens is never really dormant. He turned to me, looking over the top of his spectacles: “Son,” he said, “when was the last time you actually played music?”

We’ve been friends since 7th grade.

“All work and no play makes Rick a dull boy,” he concluded.

“You have set yourself a huge first challenge, I’d say. An a-rhythmical lyric, with syntactical sense that spans multiple line ends, sung at the edges of your vocal range, against a rhythmic accompaniment where the melodic component is a textural combo of counterpoint, choppy guitar and an extended, almost freeform bass line. You know how to aim high, for certain.” (Gethyn)

“I like the minor second above the root in the melody on ‘mare’ and ‘feet’!” (Adam J. Wilson)

“Whoa. That’s a left turn!!! Hats off, Rick. That took a lot of guts. Is this gonna be a thing?” (Chris Buono)

“PISCES: You might feel yourself shying away from a situation, which is actually a good indicator that you should go forward instead. The only way to conquer fear is to let it dissipate through the action it was so afraid of.” (Holiday Mathis)

“Rick: Was not expecting this! Very different, love the vibe. Great recording…the tones of your guitars are so recognizable to my ears.” (Gabriel Levi)

“What’s amazing is how quickly you took this from concept to full realization. The tensions and resolutions and irresolutions (and ear resolutions!) really speak to the spirit of what we need as creative souls navigating our paths. Good to see you, too.” (Killick)

“So intense, it made me think of the writings of Emerson and Thoreau which always for me have a certain gravity and profound thoughtfulness about them, a timelessness.” (Will Pitt)

Goshawk | Jazz Guitar Today Magazine

Screen on my phone illuminated. Incoming call: Bob Bakert. Bob is editor of Jazz Guitar Today based in Atlanta, GA. The magazine features jazz scene and instruments more traditional than avant-garde, so it was a pleasant surprise when they decided to do a feature on Goshawk™ 6-string guitar. Ede Wright and Bob Bakert had connected locally, and Bob fell in love with Goshawk’s design.

Bob was calling to tell me the article had just been published.

He’s an interesting person, athletic, fit, intelligent, actively playing (and pursuing) all things guitar since the late 1960’s. Our conversation drifted — as it quickly does — into music tangents. He was still aglow from a recent compliment where a well-respected industry insider told Bob he is an excellent musician. What was especially interesting was the follow-up comment: “Musician, not guitar player. Those are two different things.”

Many of us who play tend to bring a set of patterns (musical or thought) to the guitar, then attempt to fit those into the current context, possibly contextually appropriate. Approaching guitar as a musician, instead of as a player, happens when we lead with our ear instead of our skill set.

This is something I have noticed as well, and mentioned recently in the video interview with Mike Dawes. The difference seems based on the ability to listen. Really listen.

Mind still, and present in the moment, as Buddha would say.

jazz guitar today rick toone
IMAGE: Goshawk™ 6-string electric is featured in May 2019 issue of Jazz Guitar Today Magazine.