Instrument Of The Issue
Gibson custom Justin Hawkins Signature Les Paul
When I was struggling to think of an instrument to focus on this month, Justin Hawkins’ weapon of choice didn’t even occur to me. In the past, I’ve revealed the secrets behind Dan’s Black Beauty and Frankie’s Thunderbird, so it’s the next logical step.
Although nowadays Justin is relying on his trusty and delightfully colourful Ibanez Phllip, his three Les Paul customs were a staple part of the gang back in the day, and were paraded in their fully glory during the 2004 Winternational tour. His customs were made in silver, pink and blue bursts, all appealingly sparkly, with PAF pickups and Bigsby vibrato tailpieces. The fingerboards each have an inlay of rather fetching mother of pearl and abalone flames licking their way to the head – a difficult and expensive procedure, but well worth it for a kick-arse guitar. Because of the craftsmanship involved, Gibson have only made eight signature models available for purchase, and they’re bloody expensive to boot. For mega Justin fans who have more money than sense only.
Justin’s equipment is ever-changing, but according to the 2006 tour programme, his tools are the trade are currently as follows:
Picks – .73 custom Jim Dunlop
Strings – 9-46 Hybrid Slinky Ernie Ball
Amps – 2 Mesa Boogie custom habitat guitar amplifiers
4 Mesa Boogie custom habitat 412 cabinets
4 Sennheiser custom radio receivers
1 Lehle custom switching box
2 Mike Hill custom switching box