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Does anyone know when the Shadows switched over to Burns guitars, and
if they used them in the studio? I'd like to find a decent example
of one.
--- In , "supertwangreverb"
<supertwangreverb@y...> wrote:
> Does anyone know when the Shadows switched over to Burns guitars,
For public appearances in early '64. It appears they may have been
recording with the prototypes as early as '62, though there is more
than a little controversy over this issue among the sicko obsessed
fans. They were definitely recording with Burns guitars by
late '63. Their early Fender Strats were not owned by them, but were
rather lent to them by the British Fender importer. When they
started endorsing Burns guitars, they gave their Strats back. The
first time Hank actually owned a Strat was in '72...
> if they used them in the studio?
Pretty much exclusively from '64 through '72, when Hank's main white
Burns was stolen. (The Shadows broke up in '68, but they did a one-
off LP in '70, and then reunited as a vocal group under the name
Marvin, Welch & Farrar in '71 and '72 - you can hear the Burns on
those recordings.) Since then he's been a committed Strat man,
until, funnily enough, last month. The Shadows are reuniting yet
again after 14 years apart for one final UK tour which starts next
month, and Hank will be using a Burns Marvin reissue again (probably
only for the songs originally recorded with those guitars).
> I'd like to find a decent example of one.
Hah!!! That's funny! I think there were only something like 250
Burns Marvins made, and they easily fetch $5000 - if you could
actually find one in the USA, which is almost impossible. Of course,
you can find all sorts of other Burns guitars, but they do not
compare to Fenders. You might be able to find a later Baldwin
Marvin, which depending on the year is very similar or at least
pretty close to the Burns version, but even those will fetch around
$1500....
However, Burns company is active again, and making extremely faithful
(and VERY expensive) reissues of Burns Marvin, which they named Burns
Legend, since Hank has been endorsing Fenders and they couldn't use
his name anymore. This is the first time that new Burns is using his
name, and they have a limited edition of high-quality Korean-made
Burns Marvins which go for less than $1000, and are identical to the
model that Hank will be using on the upcoming tour, so you may want
to check that out. Burns has a nice website, just google it...
Probably more than you wanted to know....
Ivan
Hi,
Our Bass Player owns a '63 Burns-London Jazzbass, which he plays for our
band rehearsals and gigs.
It sounds very different to a Fender Jazz Bass or P-Bass in general.
It's a three pick ups style Bass with a rather unsual PU switch
Going from "Bass" "Contra Bass" "rumble?bass" and a forth option of
which I forgot the name.
It's a light weight bass compared to a Fender and the neck is also very
different. The headstock has a "batwing" which is a cool looking
feature. Neck profile comes close to a C-shape Fender neck.
He bought the bass in a music store a while back when he was looking for
an MIJ Jazzbass, but after hearing the Burns and playing it, he was
immediately hooked to the Burns and it's deep sound. It came with La
Bella flat wounds and he kept it this way.
The Bass was not very expensive (for a vintage instrument that is IMHO
it was 150 Euro more then a the 2nd hand White MIJ jazzbass)
There are a lot of Burns guitars out there from the different Burns
periods. They are as Ivan said not compareable with Fenders, very
different guitars. They did make a model called "The Spitfire" which
looks like a strat and goes for around $ 400 on the 2nd hand market
(depending on the state it is in) They also made "Cheapo guitars"
simelar to the EKO's.
They are back now and have a web site on which their current models are
on. For my taste they are a bit posh looking.
I played a few at local music stores, but I didn't like them that much.
-Jerry S.
I've seen new Burnses (sic?) go for arund 350 euros here..... haven't
played it so couldn't comment.
I've seen musiciansfriend offer bizons and marquees for around 550
dollars, not a clue about their quality.
the burnsguitardotcom site opens with a planned Hank Marvin signature
for 750 pounds, that's something like 1300 USD. It looks killer too
my taste.
wannes
--- In , "Jerry" <jerry.soetewey@b...>
wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
>
> Our Bass Player owns a '63 Burns-London Jazzbass, which he plays
for our
> band rehearsals and gigs.
> It sounds very different to a Fender Jazz Bass or P-Bass in general.
> It's a three pick ups style Bass with a rather unsual PU switch
> Going from "Bass" "Contra Bass" "rumble?bass" and a forth option of
> which I forgot the name.
> It's a light weight bass compared to a Fender and the neck is also
very
> different. The headstock has a "batwing" which is a cool looking
> feature. Neck profile comes close to a C-shape Fender neck.
> He bought the bass in a music store a while back when he was
looking for
> an MIJ Jazzbass, but after hearing the Burns and playing it, he was
> immediately hooked to the Burns and it's deep sound. It came with La
> Bella flat wounds and he kept it this way.
> The Bass was not very expensive (for a vintage instrument that is
IMHO
> it was 150 Euro more then a the 2nd hand White MIJ jazzbass)
>
> There are a lot of Burns guitars out there from the different Burns
> periods. They are as Ivan said not compareable with Fenders, very
> different guitars. They did make a model called "The Spitfire" which
> looks like a strat and goes for around $ 400 on the 2nd hand market
> (depending on the state it is in) They also made "Cheapo guitars"
> simelar to the EKO's.
>
> They are back now and have a web site on which their current models
are
> on. For my taste they are a bit posh looking.
> I played a few at local music stores, but I didn't like them that
much.
>
> -Jerry S.
--- In , "mono_tones_1" <rockverb@h...>
wrote:
> I've seen new Burnses (sic?) go for arund 350 euros here.....
haven't
> played it so couldn't comment.
>
> I've seen musiciansfriend offer bizons and marquees for around 550
> dollars, not a clue about their quality.
Yes, that's true. New Burns has all sorts of economy models, Marquee
being the best known one. I actually have a Marquee that I bought
new in 2001 - for $200!! It needed a fair bit of work to make it
playable (the bridge is the most problematic part of the guitar), but
now it's pretty good. It doesn't sound nearly as good as my US
Fenders, though. The pickups are crap, and the bridge kills some of
the tone. Great woodwork and finish, though. And it's worth
pointing out that the Marquee looks almost identical to the old Burns
Marvin, with the major exception being the bridge/tremolo assembly, a
complex and large contraption on the original Marvin - but with a
great sound.
However, I thought that the gentleman inquiring about the Burns
guitars wanted an original Burns Marvin, or at least a sixties Burns
guitar. Back then most of them were quite unique and not very Fender-
like (except for the Marvin). I used to own a '65 Jazz Split Sound,
and I found it almost unplayable. Very short scale, funny neck, a
tremolo which would not stay in tune. I got rid of it as soon as I
could, and never looked back. Today the Burns guitars are much more
Fender-like, and I'm sure they make many fine models.
> the burnsguitardotcom site opens with a planned Hank Marvin
signature
> for 750 pounds, that's something like 1300 USD. It looks killer too
> my taste.
I must say that I would like to own this guitar. It looks like a
perfect reissue in all respects. But $1300 for a Korean-made
guitar? I know Koreans are starting to make high quality stuff, just
like Japan before them, but it still seems a bit steep. Maybe
because the dollar is so cheap nowadays....
Ivan
Ivan,
Thanks! I remember seeing some cheaper Burns of London knockoffs a
few years back. They looked cool...
--- In , "ipongrac" <ipongrac@g...>
wrote:
> --- In , "supertwangreverb"
> <supertwangreverb@y...> wrote:
> > Does anyone know when the Shadows switched over to Burns guitars,
>
> For public appearances in early '64. It appears they may have been
> recording with the prototypes as early as '62, though there is more
> than a little controversy over this issue among the sicko obsessed
> fans. They were definitely recording with Burns guitars by
> late '63. Their early Fender Strats were not owned by them, but
were
> rather lent to them by the British Fender importer. When they
> started endorsing Burns guitars, they gave their Strats back. The
> first time Hank actually owned a Strat was in '72...
>
> > if they used them in the studio?
>
> Pretty much exclusively from '64 through '72, when Hank's main
white
> Burns was stolen. (The Shadows broke up in '68, but they did a one-
> off LP in '70, and then reunited as a vocal group under the name
> Marvin, Welch & Farrar in '71 and '72 - you can hear the Burns on
> those recordings.) Since then he's been a committed Strat man,
> until, funnily enough, last month. The Shadows are reuniting yet
> again after 14 years apart for one final UK tour which starts next
> month, and Hank will be using a Burns Marvin reissue again
(probably
> only for the songs originally recorded with those guitars).
>
> > I'd like to find a decent example of one.
>
> Hah!!! That's funny! I think there were only something like 250
> Burns Marvins made, and they easily fetch $5000 - if you could
> actually find one in the USA, which is almost impossible. Of
course,
> you can find all sorts of other Burns guitars, but they do not
> compare to Fenders. You might be able to find a later Baldwin
> Marvin, which depending on the year is very similar or at least
> pretty close to the Burns version, but even those will fetch around
> $1500....
>
> However, Burns company is active again, and making extremely
faithful
> (and VERY expensive) reissues of Burns Marvin, which they named
Burns
> Legend, since Hank has been endorsing Fenders and they couldn't use
> his name anymore. This is the first time that new Burns is using
his
> name, and they have a limited edition of high-quality Korean-made
> Burns Marvins which go for less than $1000, and are identical to
the
> model that Hank will be using on the upcoming tour, so you may want
> to check that out. Burns has a nice website, just google it...
>
> Probably more than you wanted to know....
>
> Ivan
> > the burnsguitardotcom site opens with a planned Hank Marvin
> signature
> > for 750 pounds, that's something like 1300 USD. It looks killer too
> > my taste.
>
> I must say that I would like to own this guitar. It looks like a
> perfect reissue in all respects. But $1300 for a Korean-made
> guitar? I know Koreans are starting to make high quality stuff, just
> like Japan before them, but it still seems a bit steep. Maybe
> because the dollar is so cheap nowadays....
>
> Ivan
Ivan, check out the spec sheet:
Its made in Japan and China, then assembled in the UK.
I must say I like that control scheme, 5 way switch, master volume, two
tone, with a push/pull on one of the tone pots for more pickup combinations.
That Rez-O-Tube tremolo system looks far out though! Anyone know how it
works? Whats up with the diagonal tubes? Those detached pickguard "horns"
are pretty far out too. I agree with you guys, its designed to be a
Cadillac.
BN
--- In , "Brian Neal" <bneal@i...> wrote:
> Ivan, check out the spec sheet:
>
>
> Its made in Japan and China, then assembled in the UK.
Oops, I screwed up! Not Korea, but Japan and China. Well, it still
seems on the high side... (I wonder what is made where?)
> That Rez-O-Tube tremolo system looks far out though! Anyone know
how it works?
I don't know much about it, but apparently there is some sort of
increased sustain since the strings go through these special tubes.
> Whats up with the diagonal tubes?
Do you mean the ones above the tremolo system? I think those are
just a guard so you don't push on the tremolo mechanism accidentally
with your hand or arm while playing.
> Those detached pickguard "horns"
> are pretty far out too. I agree with you guys, its designed to be a
> Cadillac.
I was told that the neck shape of my Marquee is very similar to the
original Marvin neck, and I must say it's a very comfortable neck.
It's almost like a '80s metal neck - wider and flatter than a
standard Fender fretboard, with just the right amount of neck heft
(thicker than most '80s necks). Ultimately it's a very playable
guitar.
Ivan
I looked into the Burns guitar (website) and must say that's a pretty crappy
looking guitar, but the built-in notepad could be handy for those late night
tab sessions!
Robb
----- Original Message -----
From: "ipongrac" <>
To: <>
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2004 12:45 AM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Shadows question
> --- In , "supertwangreverb"
> <supertwangreverb@y...> wrote:
> > Does anyone know when the Shadows switched over to Burns guitars,
>
> For public appearances in early '64. It appears they may have been
> recording with the prototypes as early as '62, though there is more
> than a little controversy over this issue among the sicko obsessed
> fans. They were definitely recording with Burns guitars by
> late '63. Their early Fender Strats were not owned by them, but were
> rather lent to them by the British Fender importer. When they
> started endorsing Burns guitars, they gave their Strats back. The
> first time Hank actually owned a Strat was in '72...
>
> > if they used them in the studio?
>
> Pretty much exclusively from '64 through '72, when Hank's main white
> Burns was stolen. (The Shadows broke up in '68, but they did a one-
> off LP in '70, and then reunited as a vocal group under the name
> Marvin, Welch & Farrar in '71 and '72 - you can hear the Burns on
> those recordings.) Since then he's been a committed Strat man,
> until, funnily enough, last month. The Shadows are reuniting yet
> again after 14 years apart for one final UK tour which starts next
> month, and Hank will be using a Burns Marvin reissue again (probably
> only for the songs originally recorded with those guitars).
>
> > I'd like to find a decent example of one.
>
> Hah!!! That's funny! I think there were only something like 250
> Burns Marvins made, and they easily fetch $5000 - if you could
> actually find one in the USA, which is almost impossible. Of course,
> you can find all sorts of other Burns guitars, but they do not
> compare to Fenders. You might be able to find a later Baldwin
> Marvin, which depending on the year is very similar or at least
> pretty close to the Burns version, but even those will fetch around
> $1500....
>
> However, Burns company is active again, and making extremely faithful
> (and VERY expensive) reissues of Burns Marvin, which they named Burns
> Legend, since Hank has been endorsing Fenders and they couldn't use
> his name anymore. This is the first time that new Burns is using his
> name, and they have a limited edition of high-quality Korean-made
> Burns Marvins which go for less than $1000, and are identical to the
> model that Hank will be using on the upcoming tour, so you may want
> to check that out. Burns has a nice website, just google it...
>
> Probably more than you wanted to know....
>
> Ivan
>
>
>
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