Burns or Strat?

[Bojan]

I just hope we'll be around to find out !!

[Bill Bowley]

I think I should go on record here and say that I have not formed a 'positive' opinion on whether or not it was a Strat or a BURNS for 'Atlantis', but I must say that the Shadow's 'memory' is an interesting subject to me. 'It all goes back to...' he begins, to when Paul Day was getting information together for his excellent 'Burns Book', and I had asked him (Paul) about the BURNS (BALDWIN) with single piece scratchplate that I had seen the Shadows use in Sydney in 1967. As I remember it (sus, I know!) Paul said that he spoke about it with Hank but he was quite vague on the subject, interesting considering at that time it was only recent history. The initial break came when Paul found a template for a one piece scratchplate labelled 'MARVIN' at Eddie Cross's factory, however the mystery continued on for years without being 'confirmed or denied'. In the long run it turned out, well the evidence is attached. I'm sure that something will turn up to finalise the 'Atlantis' mystery in due course.

Perhaps Paul Day might like to add comments to this?

[Bill Bowley]

Yep, April 1967.

[dave robinson]

he also said some nice things about Burns when the 2004 Anniversary came out!

I'd have said some nice things about Burns if I had a cheque for seventy five grand as an incentive . . . . . . . .

[Bill Bowley]

I don't suppose being presented with the second production Strat (Ser NoV000002) from the newly formed 'Fender Musical Industries (the first one Ser No V000002 went to the FMI Boss Bill Schultz) at a special banquet in London on February 12, 1986 would have any effect on Hank's preferences though.

[dave robinson]

At the risk of boring everyone with this because I have said it quite a few times, it is easy to make the Strat sound like a Burns Marvin and vice versa. It's all down to settings and technique, as I demonstrated to a friend (to his amazement) in my house only yesterday whilst setting up the ToneLab SE. I still believe that he main ingredient of the Burns 'sound' as we perceive it, is the use of the tone controls on the Vox AC30 Top Boost along with the use of heavy compression and very little echo . . . on the other hand the Burns can be made to sound very 'Strat like' through a normal Vox AC30/15 (especially with the EF86) with plenty of echo.

That said, I love my Burns Marvin and 'Shadows Anniversary' models to bits, just as much as my Strats' so I have no axe to grind here.

[neil2726]

David,
Glad you said what i was thinking about Hank's kind comments on the Anniversary Burns! He did have a little incentive! I think if Vox offered me a cheque of that size I would say someting nice about their after sales service, which currently in my opinion is a waste of time!

[Pierre TEODORI]

I agree with Dave and others about the similarity of sound between the Fender Strat and the Burns Marvin, and don't forget Hank asked to James Burns to make a guitar with a sound close to the Strat. Myself on my album "Influences" I have on the tune "Stratosphère" a Burns sound (at least close to) while I played with a Fender Strat Anniversary 1979, but nevertheless I thinkThe Burns Marvin guitar has her particular sound on the albums of the "Burns period". Surely it's also due to the recording technics and gear, etc, but I don't think it's the only reason.If we also take as an example the first Hank's solo album, the sound would have been different with a Strat (and the same recording conditions, of course).
Just my opinion.

Best regards and happy weekend to all.

Pierre

[Iain Purdon]

Surely nobody is suggesting that an "elder statesman" in the music world who has made a fortune from it would accept a financial inducement to endorse somebody's instrument? Surely they would simply say what they actually thought?

And yes, you can make a Marvin sound like a Strat, and a Strat sound like a Marvin. As we know, you can also make a Gretsch CG sound like a Fender Strat. But that doesn't mean they are all the same instrument!

Iain

[hansaustria]

Dave IMO today it`s easy with the parametric EQ`s but I think it was not able in the 60`s !
The character( tone ) of an instrument was more important than today in our 0815 hitec music
production world.
The chance that we can hear the PURE tone of an instrument ( Free / Stealer .... Knopfler ) are long
time over.

But I agree that the topboost of the AC 30 influences the sound of a guitar immense. But I`m
a follower of the theory - Burns prototype guitars !!!!


Hans