The ShadowMusic Web Community

This is a question that MUST have been asked before but why did the shadows change from Fender guitars to Burns guitars in the mid 60s......and then change back to Fender a couple of years later?

There are a number of documented reasons about the Fender tremolo letting the guitar out of tune. I guess the Shadows didn't have the influence with Fender that they could with Jim Burns and he was keen to have some high profile users. He was able to customise to their exact requirements remember most people would or could not customise their own instruments at that time. Hank also wanted to use and experiment with 12 string guitars and Burns would again be a local source to discuss. Hank still uses Burns 12 string.
The Burns quality was good and probably better than Fender (CBS) were starting to manufacture. There are probably a host of reasons why they decided to change some official some speculative.
I think deep down Hank was a Fender man and when the opportunity arose with the end of any agreements and the Shadows split he reverted to his roots.
I always wondered why Hank never used a Telecaster with a Bigsby as the sound James Burton got appealed to him initially
I am sure you will get lots of quotes from other members with recorded comments

I think the main reason for changing back from Burns to Fender guitars in the early 1970's, was the fact that Hank's guitars were stolen. Maybe he would still be using Burns guitars, if his weren't stolen.

Quote : 'I always wondered why Hank never used a Telecaster with a Bigsby as the sound James Burton got appealed to him.'

I understand that Hank didn't actually know which guitar James Burton played back in 1959. He knew it was a Fender & had heard the records, but had not seen a picture. So, When Cliff offered to buy him one, they got the Fender catalogue & chose the flashy expensive Strat with gold hardware, not knowing that it wasn't the one that James played.

Tony.

Billyboygretsch wrote:There are a number of documented reasons about the Fender tremolo letting the guitar out of tune. I guess the Shadows didn't have the influence with Fender that they could with Jim Burns and he was keen to have some high profile users. He was able to customise to their exact requirements remember most people would or could not customise their own instruments at that time. Hank also wanted to use and experiment with 12 string guitars and Burns would again be a local source to discuss. Hank still uses Burns 12 string.
The Burns quality was good and probably better than Fender (CBS) were starting to manufacture. There are probably a host of reasons why they decided to change some official some speculative.
I think deep down Hank was a Fender man and when the opportunity arose with the end of any agreements and the Shadows split he reverted to his roots.
I always wondered why Hank never used a Telecaster with a Bigsby as the sound James Burton got appealed to him initially
I am sure you will get lots of quotes from other members with recorded comments

yes I can understand the bit about the strat going out of tune, my 98 still does if I accidently apply to much pressure to the tailpiece. You would have thought they could have rectified it after 60 years....you have to be careful how you hold a strat.

If a Strat is set up properly it shouldn't go out of tune. Applying pressure to the tailpiece and going out of tune is usually associated with very low gauge string (9s) or a combination of light strings and set up.

Tab wrote:If a Strat is set up properly it shouldn't go out of tune. Applying pressure to the tailpiece and going out of tune is usually associated with very low gauge string (9s) or a combination of light strings and set up.

Oh so that is what it is?....I use light gauge strings "9s" I will try using a slightly higher gauge. Thanks for the advice.

I use elevens on my 1985 American Vintage Series Strat and I absolutely NEVER have tuning problems.

The six screws on the strat trem plate are sometimes a problem ... always unsrew the mid 4 about 1-2 turns so it rests solely on the two outside screws. The nut can also cause problems with sticking in the slots and the string tree and these need sorting too.

A Strat fitted with a Bigsby would probably be a foolproof option.........It would look really good as well.