In 1992 the most expensive guitar in Samick’s own catalog cost $649. It was not a Les Paul copy or a jazz box. It was a bound, 24-fret superstrat with a licensed double-locking trem and a graphic carved into the top and painted by hand in Korea, and the KR-564 GPE in these photos is one of them.
A correction comes first. Earlier versions of this page described a basswood body, a fixed string-through bridge, two humbuckers and, in the FAQ, a semi-hollow archtop with a 24.75″ scale. None of that matches the guitar in our own photos. This rewrite is built from the instrument itself and from the few people who have documented the series properly.
The Alternative Series, and where the KR-564 fits
Samick launched its own guitar brand in 1990, after decades of building instruments for other companies (Wikipedia). Two years later it released a limited run called the Alternative Series. Michael Wright of Vintage Guitar, who examined a 1992 Viper (serial 2082134), lists the family as the Ice Cube (clear acrylic body), the Aurora (multicolored finish), the Nightbreed (a different viper carving) and the Hawk, with a carved hawk graphic (Vintage Guitar).
The KR-564 number is the shared platform. The GPSK suffix is the Viper; the GPE suffix is the Hawk. The Blue Book of Guitar Values lists the KR-564 GPE as the Hawk and marks it discontinued in 1994 (Blue Book).
The art is what separates these from every other early-90s Korean superstrat. According to Wright, the Viper’s snake and skull were carved in relief rather than silkscreened, then hand-painted, and Samick staff told him the carving was done by hand in Korea. Samick also told him the oft-quoted figure of about 1,500 Vipers was likely accurate. Nobody has published a reliable count for the Hawk.
What is actually on this guitar
Here is the spec sheet, checked against the photos on this page and the Blue Book entry:
| Part | KR-564 GPE (Hawk) |
|---|---|
| Body | Offset double cutaway alder, thin with an arched top, gold binding |
| Neck | Bolt-on maple, thin profile |
| Fingerboard | Bound rosewood, 24 frets, pearloid “sharktooth” triangle inlays |
| Bridge | Licensed double-locking tremolo with locking nut, black hardware |
| Pickups | Two single-coil-sized rails (neck and middle), humbucker in the bridge |
| Controls | Master volume, two tones, five-way switch |
| Headstock | Pointed six-in-line, black, Samick logo |
| Finish | Pale seafoam green with a hand-painted hawk on a branch and silver cloud work |
Wright’s Viper had a three-piece alder body, and he noted the triangle inlays carried slightly too much filler. He also found the original pickups were “not well matched” and wrote that Samick soon moved to Duncan-designed pickups. One Viper owner on Audiofanzine believed his unmarked neck pickup was a Seymour Duncan SSL3 and replaced the licensed trem because the high E string sounded weak through it (Audiofanzine owner review). Treat any “original Duncan” claim from a seller as unverified unless the pickup is stamped.
Hawk or Falcon?
Samick catalogued this guitar as the Hawk. Our page has carried the name “Falcon” since 2020, and at least one 1992 Reverb listing referenced on the Blue Book page uses the same name. Search both terms when you shop. The model number is the reliable identifier: KR-564 plus the GPE suffix, or the hawk graphic itself, which nobody mistakes for anything else.
Why a guitar this good disappeared
Wright’s verdict on the series was blunt: “the Alternatives arrived at just the wrong time!” In 1992 grunge pushed players toward cheap and retro guitars, and the Floyd-equipped superstrat went out of fashion almost overnight. Wikipedia’s superstrat history describes the same shift, with shred and heavy metal losing ground to grunge and alternative styles and companies that depended on superstrats suffering heavy losses (Wikipedia).
The irony is that Samick had the factory to compete with anyone. It started in 1958 as a piano maker, inherited most of Matsumoku’s contract work when that Japanese factory closed in 1987, built Squier guitars from 1989 to 1991 and later made Epiphones and Charvettes, and went on to build Kramers for Gibson from 1998 to 2009 (Wikipedia). Wright points out that the $649 Viper was a bargain next to the list prices of Samick-built guitars wearing other brands’ logos. If you want the full-price version of this formula, look at what Charvel charges for the American Neo-Classic San Dimas or how Kramer is mining the same era with its 50th Anniversary Collection.
Buying one in 2026: what to check
These come up rarely, and the asking prices swing wildly. Guitar-List recorded two 2017 sales of the Hawk at $319 in good condition (Guitar-List). Audiofanzine shows a dated $425 market value for the Viper (Audiofanzine). The Blue Book page shows a 1992 example listed on Reverb at $1,137, which is an asking price, not a sale. My read: the hardware and pickups are worth what any 90s Korean superstrat is worth, so everything above roughly $400 is a payment for the art. Price the graphic first.
- Date it from the serial. On Wright’s Viper the first three digits gave the year and month, so 208 meant August 1992. A Hawk that dates to 1992 or 1993 fits the documented production window.
- Inspect the graphic under raking light. The relief work and hand painting cannot be touched up invisibly. Chips in the cloud detail or the bird’s feathers are permanent, and an overspray is a red flag.
- Check the knife edges and fine tuners. A licensed double-locking trem from 1992 lives or dies by its pivot points. If the guitar won’t return to pitch after a dive, budget for a replacement bridge; a dropped-in Original Floyd Rose may need routing checks first.
- Ask about the pickups. Swaps are common. If the originals are gone, the value drops less than you’d think, but the seller should say so.
- Hold it in playing position. The Audiofanzine owner loved the thin neck but complained the volume knob sits too far back for quick swells. That is a feel issue worth knowing before you pay collector money.
- Look at the binding. The gold body binding and bound board can shrink or crack at the cutaway horns on a 30-plus-year-old guitar.
If you came here wanting a playing guitar for shred, a modern Jackson or Charvel does the same job with better hardware for similar money; see where Jackson took its own 80s designs in the Legend Series. If you want a hand-finished piece of the last months of the superstrat boom, built by the factory that was quietly making everybody else’s guitars, the KR-564 Hawk is one of the strangest and best-looking ways to own one.