I had a Hawk briefly around 1967, it was a six-string and superficially similar to a contemporary Hagstrom - dark sunburst finish, neck of aircraft-carrier section, action like a double-bass, plastic headstock with a gold hawk printed on it. Only kept it a few months and sold it together with a "Nashville 10" and a very cheap Egmond 12-string in order to purchase one of the first "John Pearse" Aria guitars.

The Aria was a totally different animal, based on Guild D-series and, so later rumour had it, some were made by Guild luthiers in Japan as they taught the Japanese to assemble them. A superb guitar for the GBP70 or so I paid for it (at the time a Martin D18 would have cost around twice as much). I sold it to a friend in the mid 70s, having by then acquired my Martin and begun to descend the slippery slope to SGAS. Wish I'd kept it, one turned up at a session I played at recently, and it was still good, if battered. Not bad for a laminated wood guitar.

Played the occasional borrowed Eko, and another similar make of Italian guitar (possibly a badged Eko?), but all suffered from the huge block of wood holding the neck in place, and many from having an ebony (or something like it) neck that weighed a ton. Never fancied buying one, though.

Almost uniquely among my guitar-playing friends and acquaintances, I have never owned a Yamaha - Yairi, Takamine, Kimbara, Washburn, Westone, Tanglewood, Artisan, etc, etc, but never a Yamaha. My current collection of 4 Martins (D-18, SPD-16, DM12, 000CS-GTE) 2 Washburns, and one each from Yairi, Westone and Tanglewood will probably see me out, but I keep an eye on eBay and other places in case on of those early Arias surfaces!!

Alan