Welcome to the first of what will become a semi-regular series of posts on used baritone gems: baritone guitars which, if you stumble across one, are worth adding to your arsenal or, at the very least, represent a good reason to linger in the pawn shop a little longer.
Our first used gem is the Tacoma Thurderhawk acoustic baritone. Continue reading to see our full review including a video, specs, and more.
Tacoma Guitars produced instruments between 1991 and 2008. The company made a name for itself with some norm-defying features such as their offset soundhole, bolt-on necks on acoustics, and offering American-made acoustics at reasonable prices. In my opinion, the Thunderhawk is an example of their finest work.
Tone and Playability
The Thunderhawk is a joy to play. The satin-finished neck is thin and begs to held. The guitar is light and well-balanced. Tonally, the Thunderhawk is bright and lively when compared with most baritones. Individual strings ring clearly with a sound that feels like a mix of handcrafted wind chimes and earthy grit at the same time. Here is video of the Thunderhawk in action: 
In case you are still wondering about the bolt-on neck, here is a pic of the neck joint. Despite the conspicuous presence of those bolts, the guitar does not suffer from any deficiencies in playability or tone. In fact, it excels. On a personal note, the Thunderhawk was the first baritone I ever played. I can still remember where I sat in that old mom and pop music shop in my college town. At that time, the used asking price was around $500.
A Sad End to a Promising Baritone Maker
Sadly, Tacoma Guitars closed its production shop shortly after being purchased by Fender. The folks at Fender initially indicated that production would continue at a different location. But, production stopped in 2008. Since then, the price of a used Thunderhawk has climbed dramatically. In 2016, you can expect to pay between $1,100 and $1,600 to bring home one of these USA-made gems. Thunderhawk Features Here are the specks on the Tacoma Thunderhawk:
Conclusion Thanks for spending some time with this post. Have you played a Thunderhawk? Please post a comment. Do you resent the folks at Fender for mothballing the Tacoma Guitars factory? Please post a comment. Do you have a used baritone gem that we should feature in a future post? Please post a comment and share this post with others. We'd love to hear from you. You might also enjoy... Acoustic Baritone Reviews Electric Baritone Reviews The Ultimate Guide to Alternative Tunings for Baritone Guitar The Baritone Guitar in Ten Tracks Our Guide to Baritone Strings
45 Comments
2/24/2016 01:49:37 am
I share your enthousiasm! I have a thunderhawk, and also their acoustic bass, which is just as enchanting. Tacoma is the only brand which I associate with the "Excalibur!" exclamation (-> from Wayne's World, the movie ...).
Matt Cox
2/25/2016 07:33:03 am
Laurent, resonant is a great way to describe what is so wonderful about the Thunderhawk. Also, I am glad you mentioned the Papoose. What a great a great instrument. For any readers not familiar with the papoose, it's almost the opposite of the Thunderhawk - it's a short scale 12 string instrument tuned a to a, basically octave higher than a baritone tuned a to a.
LMC MUSIC
11/25/2020 11:23:12 pm
Bonjour , je possède une Walden Baryton mais j'ai un ami qui a une Tacoma Thunderhawk Baritone et la différence est flagrante surtout dans les basses. Je cherche vivement une occasion de m'en acheter une ...si vous en voyez une merci de me prévenir.Gérard Cohen Tannugi lmcmusicpro@gmail.com 4/24/2016 07:19:56 am
Great instrument. Have one which I purchased used (hardly used :-)). Used it in some of the songs on Aanonymous, "Feelings". You can listen (if you like) at http://aanonymous.se/ 5/11/2016 08:06:31 pm
I love the sound of that instrument! I am clueless when it comes to strings (I play Native American flutes). But when the host of the open mic I regularly attend pulled out that massive beast and began playing, I knew I had to jam with it. You can see the result at http://youtu.be/tUoH0IARvX8. Unfortunately you can't see Rob or his guitar because he is behind the camera, manning the sound board. Rob told me the story how he had previously owned the Tacoma, but was forced to sell it years ago for financial reasons. He was thrilled when the situation recently reversed, and he was able to purchase back the very same instrument. He promises to never part with it again :-) 6/4/2016 09:45:06 am
Nice write-up about the Thunderhawk. I am actually selling mine to buy a new synth if anyone is interested.
Matt Cox
6/26/2016 10:32:14 pm
Steven,
Darren Matthews
7/8/2016 06:46:02 pm
Are you still selling the Thunderhawk? If so how much, thanks,
Kim
9/4/2016 08:41:37 pm
I want a Thunderhawk but I can find only one on ebay. When I questioned the 2200 dollar asking price (asking very polity I mite add. I received an email that was rather abruped and not that polite in return). I don't care whether they are few and far between. They are a fantastic instrument but they are not built to warrant a over $2000 price tag. That price is 500 to 1000 dollars more. Than what they are worth. Vintage Guitar values them in the price range stated above. I just looking for some help trying to find one. Steve are you still looking to sell yours. If so how much are you asking for it.
francois
6/26/2017 03:32:27 am
The Hawk still for Sale? :-)
LMC MUSIC
11/29/2020 08:00:39 am
Bonjour , si vous l'avez encore , merci de me contacter , je vous l'achète , si c'est une Tacoma Thunderhawk baryton guitare BM6C
Kim Jon Kesler
8/19/2016 07:01:57 pm
I share the resentment towards Finder as to what they did to Tacoma Guitars and the Thunderhawk in general. This has been done to other great companies like when Tascam bought out ensoniq and then destroyed the hole line of keyboards. Now those of us that have ensoniq's can't get parts to fix them or even get help in fixing them from the manufacture. I wish, we as musicians, had more power to somehow smack a company that does this to great instruments. These companies don't give a crape about the musicians that play these instruments. All most of them care about is weather they are going to make a huge enough profit on a product to line their pockets. Wouldn't it be just fitting if some one bought Fender (or better yet have a hostel take over of the company, all the exec's get put out on their ear) and then trash all the hard work put in to the design of their products and then turn to them and say, "Oh freakin' well". Then thumb your nose at them company exec's. Oh no I don't think I'm TO ANGRY that a great instrument as the Thunderhawk has been buried. Guitars are my absolute passion! This is why I am a Luthier, and it is truly painful when a guitar like this dies. A tree stands in one place at rest and does not make a sound its whole life (sometimes 100's or even over 1000's of years). When it dies we take the body of that solitary life and shape into something that sings forever. 8/21/2016 04:00:01 pm
Kim,
Trey
8/21/2016 08:13:26 pm
i want to buy it
Dennis P
11/4/2016 04:45:49 pm
I'm wondering if anyone can help me with some information on a Acoustic Baritone I picked up used about 8 yrs ago. It is labeled as being a "Thunderchief BF28C" even though Tacoma Baritones are usually "Thunderhawks" and "Thunderchiefs" are usually their acoustic Basses. It has the gloss finish, solid flame maple back & sides, single cutaway. The serial number starts with "G" which I believe indicates it was built about 2006. Does anyone else have a Tacoma Baritone that is a "Thunderchief BF28C" rather than a "Thunderhawk"?
Pat Lundquist
4/15/2020 10:05:30 am
There was a guy up in Washington who was converting acoustic bass guitars to baritone guitars by adding two extra tuners, changing the nut and bridge to hold 6 strings, He had a "signature". Five tuning keys were regular guitar size but the bass string tuning key was the extra large size of a tuning key on a bass. Whether or not you have that extra large key, you might have a conversion. Should sound just as good as a Thunderhawk.
Pat Lundquist
4/15/2020 10:30:59 am
The guy doing the conversions is named Terry. Here is his website with pics of a Thunderchief that he converted to a baritone; http://terrysbaris.blogspot.com/2015/07/tacoma-thunderchief-no-1.html
B
12/20/2016 12:27:06 pm
https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/msg/5924908885.html
B
12/20/2016 12:29:07 pm
Price is in CAD by the way, I think most of you are probably US
David Brown
3/3/2017 09:40:17 am
I perform and record with one of these.. folks might enjoy checking out "Wider Circles" by Rising Appalachia to hear the baritone in action. I typically play it in a drop D style tuning, which is AEADF#E. The low A is much more useful than B for fiddle tunes, which is what I like to accompany. My thunderhawk has excellent tone, though I'd call it very "flat." It's even and uniform between strings, and has plenty of low end, but it lacks the body resonance that a nice Martin has. 3/20/2017 09:52:03 am
David,
Pat Lundquist
3/21/2019 05:34:14 pm
I just stumbled across your site while researching Tacoma Thunderhawk prices. I'm planning to sell mine. These old bones don't take kindly to the stress of playing heavy acoustic baritone strings anymore. Love the tone of the guitar and would like to dare Tommy Emmanuel to play "Initiation," on one. It would sound incredible with that thundering bass string.
Pat Lundquist
5/25/2019 12:51:40 pm
Having played that Blacktop Baritone for awhile I can honestly say it totally rocks. That being said, I've decided that as awesome as the Joe Barden humbucker is, the pickup does not match the tone of the two DiMarzio Area T pickups; neck and mid. I just ordered a pickup hole converter so I can switch out the Joe Barden HB for a Dimarzio Area T bridge single coil. Here's hoping it works in reality as good as it does in my imagination.
Pat Lundquist
4/15/2020 10:15:27 am
Just a follow up. I installed a Texas Custom Smooth Play bridge. I tried a 6 saddle bridge but the baritone strings were so heavy they pushed them off center. I switched to a 3 saddle bridge which worked great. Then replaced the original barrels with Wilkinson compensated barrels for better intonation. And finally, that third Dimarzio Area T did the trick. That guitar totally rocks now. With the Warmoth 24 fret maple fret board neck and the Area T's it is clear, articulate. Sounds phenomenal.
Terry Atkins
5/25/2019 08:58:54 am
I used to be the VP of Operations at Tacoma and I designed and built the prototypes for the baritone. This was without a doubt my favorite Tacoma instrument.
Pat Lundquist
5/25/2019 12:43:38 pm
Terry Atkins, Thanks for your response and even more so, thanks for designing such an incredible guitar. I've owned three Tacoma guitars. The Thunderhawk is my favorite. It has been tuned in B since I got it. I mentioned before the stress of playing was hard on my bones. The guitar has been on consignment for months and I just lowered the price from $1,475 to $1,275. Now I need to rush down to the music store and, if they still have it, tune it to A and see how much easier it is to play. If it hasn't sold yet, it might be coming home. Oh, and please add my name to the list of people who are thoroughly disgusted with Fender for their policy of corporate squashing. It's not like Fender ever made an acoustic guitar capable of competing in the same class as Tacoma so what was the point?
Ken Herbst
7/10/2019 08:28:07 pm
Hi Pat, I am very interested in purchasing your Tacoma Thunderhawk if it's still available. I have 100% Perfect feedback on eBay (Recacoustic / 1200+) and Reverb (Landwatersky).
Dennis P
4/14/2020 04:10:55 pm
Hi Terry -can you answer my question about my Tacoma Baritone BF28C labeled as being a Thunderchief??
Pat Lundquist
4/15/2020 10:39:29 am
Dennis, I just realized you asked that question in 2016 as well. I gave an answer to that post in error. Anyway, Terry, of Terry's Baris converted a Thunderchief to a baritone. Could this be your guitar? http://terrysbaris.blogspot.com/2015/07/tacoma-thunderchief-no-1.html
Dustin Neufeld
10/27/2020 04:18:41 pm
Hi Terry, very interesting stuff about your role in the Tacoma company. I love my Papoose and play it often! I would also really like to find a thunderhawk. I'm wondering if it is possible to convert a Thunderchief to a Thunderhawk. Are the scale lengths the same? Thanks! dustin dc.neuf@gmail.com 5/16/2022 01:50:04 pm
I have been playing a Thunderhawk for a couple of years now. I have done a lot of experimenting with strings and tunings. I have settled on tuning B to B using the D'Addario 16-70 set of baritone strings. I like the way the guitar sounds set up this way the best. For a while I thought that tuning A to A would be preferable. However, just tuning down a step with the same string set was unsatisfactory to me. The strings felt sloppy, the volume decreased and the tone got muddier. In order to get the same quality and volume of sound I bought a custom string set from John Pearse that ranged from 17-80. I thought this accomplished my objective, in terms of maintaining an acceptable level of sound quality and volume. But ultimately, the very low A to A tone was just too deep for the old time type of music I play. I ended up using a capo at the second fret a lot of the time. So, I eventually just switched back to the D'Addario baritone set and play mostly B to B.
Devan
5/21/2023 11:00:15 pm
Terry, I think I might have just accidentally purchased one of your Tacoma baritone prototypes but would appreciate it if you could confirm this. (A little history) back in 2004, I had originally purchased a 29 inch scale Tacoma Thunderhawk from Westwood Music in LA for $1100 and regrettably sold it for financial reasons, in 2008 for $1000, mistakenly thinking I would be able to find another one at some point in the future. Unbeknownst to me, this was right around the time fender was dismantling them and from that point forward the few of them that would show up on eBay just kept increasing in value just out of my price range. I’ve been trying to find a baritone of that quality and in that same price range ever since.
Kenneth Herbst
7/8/2019 10:13:07 pm
Hi Pat, I am very interested in purchasing your Tacoma Thunderhawk if it's still available. Perfect feedback on eBay and Reverb. Thanks! - Ken
Kenneth Herbst
8/10/2019 03:41:57 pm
Hi Folks, just a heads up that I purchased the Thunderhawk from Pat Lundquist recently, and that I will not be interested in selling it. Good luck on your search!
Bruce Blanton
8/9/2019 11:42:29 pm
I’ve been the lucky owner of a Thunderhawk that is I n excellent condition for the past 4 years now that I bought off a dentist also named Bruce on the island of Guam. He co-founded the music store it was on consignment at. I met up with him that evening at a local gig he was performing at and he told me all about it, how he ordered it and why he let it go and I even let him play it for the last time. He said he had too many guitars and didn’t play it anymore and figured it needed to be played rather than just sit in its case.
Kirk Haselden
10/19/2020 08:27:33 pm
Still selling your Thunderhawk?
Pat Lundquist
8/10/2019 05:51:57 pm
Ken Herbst is right, I sold him my Tacoma Thunderhawk. I played a couple chords before letting go of it and kind of miss it but it's just too much for the old bones. I drove it from California to Washington, right past it's birthplace then handed it off for the rest of the journey. That guitar sure sounded great through an amp. I'm still working off and on with the Fender baritone. The tone pot is doing nothing so need to take another run at it. My hot soldering iron may have compromised the innards. Also, the 6 saddle Texas Customs smooth play bridge can't handle the weight, girth and pull of the bass string which is shoving all the saddles in the lead direction so I need to try their 3 saddle bridge. I loves me a challenge...
Peter Coates
1/12/2020 02:13:09 pm
A few years late to the party, only just got interested in Baritone's but I also share your resentment of Fender. I have an early acoustic Tecoma, relatively cheap guitar with nothing special about it (I got it for 100 euros in France), except the exceptional binding and attractive bridge, but i love it. In the hand it feels wonderfully balanced and I have yet to play any guitar that fits my hand so well. It sounds good and was setup perfectly, maybe the French guy did it. They produced them in China for a couple of years after Fender bought them and apparently the quality dropped off rapidly. A lot of poor reviews on the internet which I am sure are all due to the later Chinese guitars. Pity especially since now the Chinese have learnt how to produce guitars of good quality, but maybe that would not have suited Fender. 5/16/2022 02:01:09 pm
I have played a BM6C model for two years now. And, I just listed it for sale in another post in this strand. I am selling because I had the good fortune to find and purchase a different Thunderhawk model, a BF28C.
Markay Mull
4/16/2020 09:23:45 am
Please let me know when I can buy a Tacoma Thunderhawk!
Pat Lundquist
4/16/2020 12:02:32 pm
Search eBay, Craigs List, Reverb, Guitar Center Used guitars, Google Tacoma Thunderhawk plus keep an eye out at local consignment shops. Sooner or later one will come up. It took me years to find the one I got. I was the only bidder on mine because the guy spelled it Chunderhawk. How I managed to stumble across that misspelling is beyond me unless I misspelled it in my search...?
Dave Kreimer
5/20/2022 04:55:56 pm
I have one for sale. See details in comment toward the end of this strand. 5/16/2022 01:37:13 pm
I have a Tacoma Thunderhawk BM6C for sale. It is in mint condition and the price is $3200. It "resides" in Seattle WA. I have greatly enjoyed playing it for the past couple of years. I am selling because I bought a different Thunderhawk model that better suits my purely acoustic, no amplifier needs. I love these guitars. They are serious baritones for serious players! My email is nstepcon@gmail.com
robert evans
6/8/2022 09:54:40 am
i have inherited a Thunderhawk and would like to find out more about it - when it was made, type of strings I should use when re-stringing, etc. Model: BM6C SN: I2305060 Leave a Reply. |
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