EdwardMarlowe

From what I can see online, these earlier bits also have a reputation for being better quality than the (often cheaper) Valvetronix stuff that Vox replaced them with as time went on, so it could be an element of that keeping their price up used.

IT's certainly incredible how things have come on. I started playing at the turn of the 90s (Dec 91 to be exact), and the difference I see now against then is incredible. Mainly at the budget end, just how ridiculously cheaply you can buy a great guitar, as well as the real rise of the 'mid-price' section of the market, with the likes of MIM Fender being a real contender for a "serious" guitar, you weren't limited to either a bottom rung Squier (which were better than most competitors, but not what they are now) or jumping up to that US Fender that you bought because it was only £50 to £100 more than the Japanese one.... (much bigger gap between the US and MIM models now). The sheer accessibility of guitars and related bits now is crazy, it's such an irony that the market also is, I'm told, smaller than once it was...

The impression I've long had is that the revived Burns (1992 onwards, when the retro guitar boom really started ime) were substantially better built than many originals, though that seems to be a common "secret" with many brands. I've never gotten near enough originals to know for myself, but it's certainly far from an uncommon opinion in the industry that a lot of brands improved markedly in quality when they were bought out or otherwise assumed by the Japanese.

The guys who founded the PMT chain of guitar / instrument shops apparently were looking for a new project after they sold that business, and having done retail thought it would be fun to try the manufacturing end. The business plan from the outside doesn't seem to differ hugely from what went before (cheaper, far-Eastern models made in Korea or China and pitched at the Epiphone / Squier / lower end of the Fender MIM price band, custom instruments built in London). Rumour has it that the previous owners were very knowledgeable about guitars but struggled with the business side of things - I have no knowledge as to whether that is fair or not. The interesting thing about Marvin I only discovered recently was that he moved from the Fender to the Burns, not the other way around. The main innovation the Burns seemed to have (aside from the Trisonic pickups being somewhere closer a humbucker in SC form than a true SC in their sound) was the vibrato system, which I believe was touted as more stable than the Fender-style. It certainly looks different - it's one of the visual things that appeals about Burns, though inevitably the more affordable Marquee series has something much more conventional on it.

Any Burns players out there? I've been a little tempted by the cheaper series Stratalike Marquee and Cobra models of late, not least given they seem to be selling for Squier money on the used market. Any players/ experience here? I see the new owners are still teasing the relaunch, which was originally to be 2020, but is now still listed for 2021.... Be interesting to see what they stick with and what they redevelop. Some years ago I did go looking for one of the Marquee four string basses; a friend is one of their endorsees (Al Gare, formerly of the Imelda May Band, Katmen, Palookaville, among others), and while I'll never play like him, they're clearly well up to pro standard usage. Alas, at that point in time they didn't do lefties. We'll see what comes next, personally I'm hoping for more batwing headstocks and maple boards. A backed maple neck & board would be something on a Burns...

Ouch, I think that's about what they went for new. I seem to recall paying about £150 new for my VC-12. The footboards were sold separately, and I have a feeling a lot more people in those early days bought the amps and didn't stretch to the foot controller as well.

For most things, I don't honestly notice a huge differenced in 'feel' switching between Gibson and Fender lengths. That said, I remember when the Squier Supersonic first came out (in the Vista Series, made in Japan), I did consider Hendrixing one (I just LOVED that blue sparkle!), but I took fright at the much shorter scale length than I was used to. Felt somehow too small. Would like to try it again now, though I suspect what I'd really prefer I suspect would be a 68 spec Strat neck on that body style... For me, nut width seems to make a bigger difference fast than scale length; I'm so much more comfortable on a 42mm than a 43mm nut, it's ridiculous...

Lovely amp, the AC30. The hernia you'll get from carrying one, on the other hand..... definitely an amp for guys who have roadies...

I did quite like the thin body... When it comes to a pointy, I think I'll always be more of a Firebird man, though....

Stumbled over this old shot and couldn't resist posting them. Me playing the only Flying Vee I've ever loved - and would buy in a heartbeat if it were ever on sale and I had half a million odds to spare!: Not that my threads are close to as groovy as the original owner.... Clearly my problem is the bald. "Hair are your aerials."

This nutube tech does seem really good soundwise. I'd be interested to try a traditional AC30 built with nutubes to see what differenced it made there. I wonder if Vox plan for this to replace the Valvetronix in time? Also be interesting to see it applied to a bass amp (I have an old Vox T-25 for my bass; pure SS, the sound is a joy), though I think Vox stopped doing bass amps a while back?

Not had a chance to play one of these myself, but everything I hear whiel watching other players use them sounds excellent. I'm down with cheaper, lighter alternatives to a traditional tube amp; were I to start playing out again, one of these would certainly be tempting. I like the idea that they're so convenient, you could carry two (one back-up, just in case) to pretty much any gig, and either go straight into the PA or have a cab made for them. This would mean you could match the cab to whatever aesthetic you want (black tolex, stained wood, tweed....), which can matter. As things are now, I'm more tempted by the Mooer pre-amp pedal range in combination with the Mooer Baby Bomb 30w poweramp pedal - then with or without a cab. Two little micro-pedals... Worth trying this opposite the Vox if you can, see what you prefer. You can buy the Mooers on Thomann for around £65 a pop, so one preamp plus the poweramp pedal would be the same price as one of the Voxes, more or less. The preamps cover all the same territory as the Vox MVs, so it might simply come down to which sound you prefer, or whether you prefer the pedal form factor. The one big advantage with the pedals I supposed would be if you wanted to have two or three different ones - a Marshall, a Fender and an AC30 sound, say - buying the preamps as separate pedals to use with the same poweramp pedal would give you more variation in the sounds for less. Bonus ball: my understanding is that you can have several of the Mooer preamp pedals all linked together at the same time and switch between them, so if that's a plus.... Both options sound great, just different ways of doing it.

Aha! Thanks, that makes sense. I hear you about gigging with cheaper guitars. If I were playing out these days, I'd be the same. To be honest, though, with guitars like MIM Fender, the 5xxx series Gretsches, Vintage and Harley Benton around, I'm honestly increasingly questioning whether I could ever begin to justify the price of some big money guitars now. I mean, *sure* if money were no object I'd buy a 6210, but I'm honestly not convinced the price gap to the 5240 now is worth it - for one comparison. In particular, given that my main preferences tend to the more utilitarian Fender styles, there's a lot to be said for going cheap now. I remain of the opinion that the higher end Squiers are arguably the truest product line Fender now produce to Leo's original design intent of putting a giggable, workingman's instrument in the hands of as many players as possible... Those Vintage SGs are the ones that really got me to look at the brand. They're stupidly good for the money. Ironically, I also think they look better than the Epiphone option, a headstock thing mostly. Just looks nicer than the Epi, even the new one imo. The relic style Vintages are great fun too, especially considering the cost of any such thing from the big boys. Sure, they might look a little uniform if you study them, but the general vibe is there, and it must be so much nicer to gig with a guitar you can play in anger and not worry about damaging...

I know a cabaret performer who had just completed a rehearsal at home of a new number, looked at his cat and said "What did you think?" Whereupon the cat vomited on the floor, and stalked off. Everyone's a critic...

Very nice. What's different about the JD wiring, aside from the Strat pup in the neck? The JHS Vintage range is lovely stuff; I'd genuinely struggle to choose between the likes of a Squier CV and the Vintage 52. I'd probably be seduced by quite a lot of the Vintage range, save for the fact they don't do many of the more interesting looks left handed. For Gibby styles, I think they're far better value than Epiphone, and snapping at the heels of the very top Squiers for Fender types, while being markedly cheaper than either.

Interesting project. From experience, I's suggest you may notice playing this one unplugged it will have a darker sound than maple and the usual.... right up until you plug it in, and then any difference will rapidly diminish, especially once you start using overdrive and f/x. This looks cool. I have in the past toyed with the idea of doing something similar, except using second hand parts from ebay. Let chance dictate what crops up (especially being lefty). For now though I need to thin the herd or I'll be in trouble with a Higher Power who - quite reasonably - thinks I should play the ones I've got more before I buy more guitars!

Not a Tuesday, I know, but.... The Fender Noventa I: If they did a lefty (I don't believe they do at present), I'd be seriously tempted. I've always loved the sound of an LP Junior (Johnny Thunders, Mick Jones), but I feel much more comfortable with a Fender in my hands. This looks like somebody in Fender figured they'd have a go at making a Junior with Fender parts.... Wonderfully brutal, takes the Junior concept and makes it even more utilitarian. If Squier did a lefty of this, it would be an amazing modding platform... This Harley Benton Tele-style with filtertron type pickups looks cool AF: I like how these have something of the Barncaster vibe to them (the three in the middle, anyhow - that green.... yummy), while also that hint of Gretsch-style from the pups. It's be interesting to see one of these with a Bigsby. They do do a lefty I've seen (inevitably in the much less interesting finishes on the outside left and right). I wish they'd put a more conventional, standard headstock on them, though I suspect I could also be won round by the practicality of an inverted headstock (my first electric was a Hendrixed right hander, and the tuners on the bottom were actually much more convenient in many ways). While I've yet to play a Harley Benton, it's really interesting following them online and seeing the brand take established, classic designs and playing around with them like this. A pity that the Brexit upcharges have made it much less practical to take a punt on mail-ordering from Thomann. I'm pretty fixed on knowing what I like nowadays, but I'm wary of paying upcharges and import taxes I can't get back if something turns out not to be right. That aside, though, nice to see a brand emerging at this price point that has a real sense of character to it.

Looks really nice - a hint of Yamaha in the styling. I like it a lot. Not normally a fan of a cutaway on an acoustic, but this thinner body style really makes it work.

Robert Rodriguez' 1994 made for tv flick Roadrunners is on Youtube at present - well worth a look if you like some old-school, hardcore rockabilly (and a bunch of Link Wray on the soundtrack too). I've also recently discovered vids from an English guy who lives in Austria - under 'The Guitar Geek'. Seems pretty decent reviews.

Funnily enough, I'm a guitar player primarily who dabbles with bass - I joined basschat before I signed up here, but I post here far more. I have something in the region of a dozen guitars and have probably owned 15 or so altogether over the last 30 years. I've got three basses - a Squier Precision Special (a hybrid with a J neck, P body, and P J pickup arrangement), a Brandoni 62 spec P type Bass, and a rare, early natural finish Westone Thunder IA, all lefty. I have over the years discovered that the only bass that really bites me is a p bass. I'm intending to sell the Squier and the Westone. Eventually I'd like to buy a Fender Player P Bass in tidepool. If ever I got into playing out again, I might be tempted to save my pennies for a Ric 4003 in midnight blue. I'm also going to sell most of my guitars and replace those with another Strat or two (aim at present, a Tidepool Player and a ShiJie in Daphne if I can try before I buy and like it), a Gretsch type and a non-cutaway archtop of some sort, likely a Godin.

Definitely a 50s type repop. According to Reverb, the Japanese ones are anywhere between £700 and £1000 depending on condition; asking price for a US model goes up to £900 to £1500, again it seems depending on condition. Did the US versions have a 'made in USA' transfer on the back of the headstock? I know at some point Fender's US range stopped and started putting 'made in USA' on the front - at one time the US models had 'made in USA' on the front while the Mexican and Japanese guitars had it on the back, but I don't know what the deal was with this specific one. Could be worth owner sending an email to Fender to establish which model - ime they're pretty good about responding to that sort of thing.

Yeah, I wouldn't risk hanging them on a stud wall unless you're into the studs. I have three up in my place currently, with a circular base to them. I made sure to put the two screws 'top and bottom' rather than left and right as it anchors it better.

Very cool. Is this intended to have an archtop-type sound (without the feedback, obvs)? It's not every new design I like, but this for me has the perfect balance of being something that looks genuinely different and yet also with a truly vintage aesthetic.

Not yet, but it's been in my Amazon wishlist for a while!

I think that edge of 'artificial' look is why I quite like it! Nice to see a maple board on this sort of thing for a change, too.