I’d only seen a handful of Burns guitars when I bought this one in Perth in the mid 80s. I’d seen lots of photos and had read the Burns book written by Paul Day. It has a lot of the same features as the Burns Marvin of the same period…
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1964 Fender Stratocaster – Candy Apple Red (Serial Number L20641) Back in the late 70s / early 80s I was becoming aware of vintage guitars and their sound. This was the time when second hand (vintage) guitars were starting to appreciate in value. I had played (and borrowed) early 60s…
I had been looking for something other than either a Fender or Gibson guitar to use mainly for recording. I was looking for a guitar with different sound. I’ve always loved the sound of those 50s lipstick pickups and these pickups don’t disappoint. When this guitar came up I just couldn’t refuse it.
Fender Bassman Amp 1958 serial number BM00932 Original Tweed 4×10 Fender Bassman amplifiers from the late 1950s are among the holy grail of all guitar amps, even though they were originally designed as a bass amp they became popular with guitarists for their great sound and power. I hadn’t seen many…
MXR Phase 90 original 70s model serial number 118271 Some time in the mid 70s I went to a Perth music store that I used to frequent and they had these new guitar pedals, MXR. There was a Phase 45, Phase 90 and a Phase 100, I liked the Phase 90….
1972 Fender Stratocaster, Sunburst (SN 372123) I got my first electric guitar around the age of 13, it was a Teisco “Top 10” in red. My father swapped a nice mantlepiece style radio for it. I used this guitar in my first band. I still own it, although I haven’t seen it…
(Serial Number 22600) Telecasters from the fifties are the Holy Grails of Telecasters – especially black guards – more on that in a minute. I’d been looking for a maple board fifties Fender Telecaster for some time but hadn’t found quite the right one until this guitar came up, it grabbed…
Some time in 2015 I received an email from Alan Entwhistle, an English guitar designer/builder, saying that he would like to make me a guitar and what would I like? Alan has long respected history in the guitar making world and I was excited by the prospect of him building…
Fender Jazz Bass 1965 (candy apple red) serial number 118999 Fender Jazz basses from the 60’s are hard to come by here in Australia and I had been looking for one for sometime when I found this great sounding example. I already had a vintage Fender Precision Bass but wanted…
Gibson Chet Atkins CE Guitar (Natural Color) Classical Acoustic Electric, made in 1982 s/n 82462555 I bought this guitar in Perth, Western Australia in the 80s, I’m the second owner. I found this guitar lurking at the back of a music store and at the time pointy guitars and loud amps…
Danelectro UB2 Baritone 1964 Original Danelectro guitars are uncommon here in Australia and this is the only original Baritone I can remember seeing. It has two great sounding ‘lipstick’ pickups with a clear classic sound. It’s tuned down a fifth from regular guitar tuning (B), has a fabulous sound on…
1979 Fender Stratocaster, Antigua worn finish (s/n S950670) When I acquired this guitar circa 1990 it had already been modified with the Kahler tremolo and the wood at back of the guitar had been cut to make the body slimmer, now more like the thickness of an earlier model Strat,…
1966 Fender Stratocaster Foam Green (s/n 186111) I bought this guitar in Perth, Western Australia in the mid 80s from someone who had just brought it into Australia from the USA. Not sure of the correct colour name, it was already re painted this colour when I got it. The…
Gibson ES-175D 1962 (S.N. 80158) I’d been quietly looking for one of these guitars for years and was very happy to find this one. It’s a great sounding and playing Gibson ES-175D which was made late 1961/early 1962. It has 2 excellent sounding PAF pickups and is from what is considered the holy…
Gibson Les Paul Custom 1959 (s/n 9 0103) This is a fantastic sounding guitar with two exceptional sounding PAF pickups. Most later model Les Paul’s, 70s onward, have a somewhat muddy sound to my ear where as this one is very clear and has great resonance. It gets used for…
1967 White Gibson SG Junior (Serial Number 000000) Around the start of the 2000s I walked into a ‘famous’ Sydney guitar shop and all the guys were crowded around this guitar, it had just come in. They were trying to determine if it was original because of the 000000 serial…
1965 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster (Serial Number L87419) Martin with Norm Harris The guitar came from Norms Rare Guitars in Los Angeles. I was in the U.S for a few weeks and didn’t take a guitar with me, so I thought I’d call by Norm’s and see what they had. I…
1960 Gibson Les Paul Junior Cherry Red (Serial No. 0 7051) I’d always liked the idea of these guitars – simple one pickup Rock ‘N Roll guitars from Gibson’s golden period of guitar making. Living in Perth, Western Australia, in the 1980s these guitars were scarce. A friend brought this…
Made in 1982 (Serial No. V002729) A friend of mine who worked in a music shop in Perth City called me and said “I have a guitar here you need to see” so I went to the shop and this was the guitar that he had. (Actually I think he…
1966 Fender Super Reverb Amp – Blackface (Serial No. 18938) I bought this amp in Perth, Western Australia in the 80s and have had an on / off relationship with it. I’ve had much more success with it in the studio than at live gigs. It has been used on…
1970 Gibson J-160e, Sunburst (Serial No. 631022) The J-160e model is famously associated with The Beatles although this is a later model than they used it still sounds similar. When I bought this I was looking for a guitar for a roving jazzy gig using a small battery amp. It…
1958 Gibson ES125 3/4 (Factory order No. U1423.8) Around 1990 I was hired by a drummer/singer/songwriter to play guitar on some of his songs. These songs were in the early rock and roll / rockabilly style. He had his own large recording studio space with natural reverb and I was…
Fender Stratocaster 1962 sunburst L series (Serial Number L23755) This is a fabulous sounding Stratocaster, all original and with 3 way pickup selector switch still in place. I played it at an Atlantics gig ‘once’. Our sound man came up to me after the gig and said “guitar sounds great…
Burns Marvin mid 60s (Serial Number NA) This guitar has an interesting story. It started out as a left handed model. Some time in the 70s in Perth, Western Australia I saw an ad in the local paper that said something like “Burns Hank Marvin model guitar, left handed, no…
1958 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top (Serial Number 8 1113) Ok take a deep breath… This is about as good as it gets… This one guitar literally cost me – a 1957 Stratocaster, 1964 Stratocaster, 1956 Les Paul Custom, 1956 Les Paul Soecial TV, an L series Fender Jazzmaster, and…
1964 Gibson ES335 Red (Serial Number 70664) I’ll start off by saying that this is one of the best sounding guitars ever. A big wrap I know, but it’s true. I’d previously owned several Gibson 335s, all of which were good guitars but this one really shines above them. At…
1961 Fender Bass VI (Serial Number 70174) Original Sixties Fender Bass VI’s are not very common here in Australia. I found this one in a guitar shop on Coogee Bay Road (not far from where I was living) and the shop’s owner had just returned from the US with this…