McCartney's 1960 Burst - Serial No. 0 1182

[Guitar Whiskey]

Good point. The White Stripes get an amazing sound out of basically two instruments and vocals. The Beatles had a fair catalog of just two instruments and vocals as well.

 

[les strat]

From what I have seen in pictures, 1960 bursts have no consistency in anything!

 

[Tom Wittrock]

I doubt the serial numbers are in numerical order. Especially the lefties, as evidenced by the 57 GTs with humbuckers having such low serial numbers. :ganz

 

[Guitar Whiskey]

From what I have seen in pictures, 1960 bursts have no consistency in anything!

Yes I agree however it does seem that after about 0 7000 the tangerine burst finish was pretty prevalent from then on including the 1961 burst.

 

[GuitarDean]

would have sounded interesting with three guitars and no bass...:hmm

the remarkable guitar solo at the end of Abby road IS all three of them trading licks, and what is more, it was done IN ONE TAKE. Geoff Emerick detailed that in his recent book, and his not so subtle dislike of George Harrison & George Martin, and absolute godlike worship of MaCartney. I'll see if I can find out what guitars were used.

 

[Guitar Whiskey]

Just guessing I'm thinking McCartney played either a Esquire or Casino, Lennon a Casino and Harrison the rosewood Tele. I'm mainly thinking this because that's what I recall they were playing in this period. I'd have to go back and listen to nail it down closer. Pretty damn good for a little pop band if you ask me. They did an amazing job of putting out some of the best guitar tones around at that time. Still holds up today.

 

[GuitarDean]

Just guessing I'm thinking McCartney played either a Esquire or Casino, Lennon a Casino and Harrison the rosewood Tele. I'm mainly thinking this because that's what I recall they were playing in this period. I'd have to go back and listen to nail it down closer. Pretty damn good for a little pop band if you ask me. They did an amazing job of putting out some of the best guitar tones around at that time. Still holds up today.

Well, here's the follow-up to that. The guitar solo on "The End" was recorded on Wednesday July 23, 1969. Emericks book "Here, There, and Everywhere" (he was the studio engineer for the session, Mal did the mic'ing set ups) details that all three Beatles were using different guitars and different amps. I think your guess is correct on Lennon & especially Mac, but the possiblity that George was using a Strat or the LP "Lucy" vaguely exists because he was known to keep a large selection of guitars at hand. I was unable to locate any pics from that weeks sessions even though I personal think it was the Tele myself as well. More than likely the amps were Fender Twins (Blacks & Silvers) and Deluxe Reverbs, unlikely that there are any Vox's present on that triple solo but not impossible to rule out. Fender pretty much ruled the Abbey Road roost at that point amp-wise.

One intersting side note, the book, "The Beatles Recording Sessions" by Mark Lewisohn says that it was take seven, not take one. Emericks books says there was some short practice prior to the "offical" tape rolling so I am guessing that the first six takes were meant as dry runs and take seven (i.e. take "one") was the first offical take and has luck, and skill would have it, it was a keeper

 

[les strat]

Yes I agree however it does seem that after about 0 7000 the tangerine burst finish was pretty prevalent from then on including the 1961 burst.

There were some without the fade resistant tangerine finishes, like 0 8393
http://www.burstserial.com/gallery/main.php?cmd=imageview&var1=1960%2F0+8393%2F0+8393-01.jpg&var2=2

 

[Guitar Whiskey]

Do you think that towards the end they knew the burst was going to be dropped so they just started pulling whatever they had in the shop and finished it off to ship out? Maybe by this point it was less of a production model and more of a close out whatever burst stuff they could find lying around; hence the varied finishes.

 

[les strat]

Do you think that towards the end they knew the burst was going to be dropped so they just started pulling whatever they had in the shop and finished it off to ship out? Maybe by this point it was less of a production model and more of a close out whatever burst stuff they could find lying around; hence the varied finishes.

Speculative, but probably right.

Like you said, most later 1960 bursts are tangerine, but then out pops an unburst from late 1960 that looks like it could of rolled off the line in '59.

My little hypothesis (most likely wrong!) is that the with slow sales, the earlier 1960 burst- the ones identical to a '59 - were already produced or in production in late '59, shipped out with 1960 serial #s, and later on in the year they may have started back up with the jump in serial numbers to 0 7000 and all the changes that came with it. This has and does go on all the time in manufacturing.

 

[Tom Wittrock]

Do you think that towards the end they knew the burst was going to be dropped so they just started pulling whatever they had in the shop and finished it off to ship out? Maybe by this point it was less of a production model and more of a close out whatever burst stuff they could find lying around; hence the varied finishes.

I seriously doubt that. Their finishes seem pretty consistant to me. Certainly as consistant as 1959. :ganz

 

[Swinguit 57]

Back in the late `70's or 1980, a friend and I drove up to Red Bank from Atlantic County to check out The Guitar Trader, having seen his ads in GP. I was blown away by the racks of vintage guitars, but one that really caught my eye was a left handed `burst that looked to be in excellent condition. The owner struck up a conversation with us, and mentioned that Paul McCartney had expressed interest in the guitar. Since then, whenever I've seen pictures or film of Paul playing his `burst I've wondered if that 's the same guitar. I've read here that Paul got the guitar from Rick Neilsen; any idea what happened to the one I saw at The Guitar Trader?

 

[Steve Craw]

I played the lefty burst at Guitar Trader, back in 1985. It was #9 0136, and is currently owned by John MacEnroe. Guitar Trader sold it to someone in Japan, and it was purchased by MacEnroe a few years later. McCartney's burst is a 1960, and had been owned by Rick Neilson. Here's pics from that day in 1985 when I went to Red Bank, NJ to play her.

 

[Steve Craw]

 

[Swinguit 57]

How cool is this forum? Not only does someone know about a guitar I saw 20 years ago, they have pictures to boot! Thanks Elmo. I think it's really funny that Guitar Trader had instruments up there at prices that, at the time, were completely out of reach for me, but that I've paid more for lesser instruments since. He had pre-CBS Fenders for well under a grand, and Goldtops for not much more. Knowing myself, I'd have traded them off anyway, or redrilled them for Grovers. Thanks again Elmo, I'll be forwarding those pics to my friend, who still has the slab board `59 Jazzmaster that he took up there for appraisal that day.

 

[Steve Craw]

Happy to help! That day I went to Guitar Trader was such a cool trip. 23 years, and countless other guitar adventures later, it still is my favorite time. I like to refer to it as "Elmo's Great Adventure"

 

[Swinguit 57]

The Guitar Trader lives on! I sent the photos to my friend, who replied that he tells the story of our trip to his kids, both of whom play. They're not much younger than we were when we went up there nearly 30 years ago. Can John McEnroe play? He used to be in some ad or another, Kramer I think. I have about 30 years of GP magazine in my basement, I'll have to track one down and post a pic if possible. IIRC, he was strumming a tennis racquet in the photo.

 

[Rev.WillieVK]

McEnroe can play and was often seen jamming with the band on the set of his talk show.

 

[Steve Craw]

McEnroe can play and was often seen jamming with the band on the set of his talk show.

I understand he used his 59 burst on his show at least once!

 

[guitarvoodoo]

What is definitely NOT original to Macca's Les is the knobs. Reflectors were not used on the LP until the 7000 series.
(I also read this someplace once, about the switched knobs on his guitar, but I forget where. Switched before he bought it)
The first run of LP's in 1960 had the same basic specs, finish and parts as the '59 and it wasn't until the later 7000 series that the ketchup finish, reflectors and double ring tuners came into the picture.
2 reasons for the changes: a last attempt to make the LP sell, as Gibson was disappointed with sales of the model and had almost given up on it. And unfortunately they did, as we all know.
The new finish had to do with complaints that the '58 and '59 Bursts were losing far too much color far too fast and Gibson started using 'better' (but much redder) pigment.
So the '60 Bursts are really 2 different series during the same calender year.
I'm sure most of you know this stuff , but here's all the info in one place :ganz

I have the original 1960 Gibson catalog (the ONLY Gibson catalog to ever show the Burst, it wasn't in the '58 or '59 catalogs, they still showed a Goldtop!) with printing date May 1960. It shows an LP with the exact same specs/appearance as the '59 Burst.
_____________________________

The only other Lefty Burst I know of (apart from the ones already mentioned in this thread) is Don Stroup's 0 1504
which is seen in the BOTB book (pg 162).
It was ordered in Jan 1960 and delivered in May. Looks exactly like a '59 in all respects, but pretty much plaintop.
Price: $342.50 including case.
The catalog price for the regular righty was $265.

:] Fish