Guitar
guitarz.blogspot.com:
I hope that regular readers will forgive me for returning yet again to one of my favourite guitars. Of course we all have our favourites; mine include the Ovation Breadwinner, the Yamaha SG-2 and SG-3, and - the guitar we are looking at here - the Burns Flyte.
In 1965 Jim Burns sold the original Burns guitar line, that is Burns London Ltd, to the Baldwin Piano and Organ Company of Cincinnati who soon re-branded the guitars with the Baldwin name before discontinuing the line in 1970. Jim Burns bounced back in 1974 with Burns UK, and one of this company's most recognisable guitars was the futuristic looking Burns Flyte, styled after the British/French supersonic airliner Concorde and originally to have been named the same.
I've seen Flytes in silver and natural finishes before, but never before a red example like this Flyte currently listed on eBay in Germany. The lack of a Burns logo or Flyte legend do make me wonder if this red Flyte may be a refinish job, but the eBay seller seems to be implying that it is original when making the statement:
Whilst I'm in a questioning frame of mind, I often see quoted that the Burns Flyte was played by Marc Bolan of T Rex and Dave Hill of Slade; we know that Bolan did indeed play a Flyte - there is plenty of photographic evidence - however, I have never seen a photo or footage of Slade with such a guitar. I remember going through a rather exhaustive (now defunct) website detailing all the guitars used by Slade and never saw the Flyte listed there either. Do any of our readers know if Dave Hill or ANY of the members of Slade ever played a Flyte?
Anyway, the red Burns Flyte pictured above is currently listed on eBay Germany with a Buy It Now price of €1444.
G L Wilson
© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.
- 1977 Burns "jubilee" Flyte With Faded Uk Union Flag Finish
guitarz.blogspot.com: As I have mentioned many times in the past on this blog, I am a big fan of the Burns Flyte guitar, even though the only time I have actually seen one up close and personal was last year when my band was playing a psychedelic festival...
- Burns Uk Flyte 1999 Prototype - A Reissue That, Sadly, Never Came To Be
guitarz.blogspot.com: Regular readers will know already that the Burns Flyte is one of my favourite guitar designs. Here's a UK-made prototype for a reissue from 1999, and doesn't it look fantastic? I wonder if the the neck is just a generic Burns...
- Burns Bandit From The 1980s With Odd-shaped Body & Pushbutton Switches
guitarz.blogspot.com: The Burns Bandit is a model that I was previously unaware of. According to Burns Guitar Museum website the Bandit is from the 1980s and the general design and pushbutton selector switches would seem to support this. As such it would...
- 11 On 11/11/11: #3 - Baldwin Southpaw Semi-hollowbody Bass
OK, it's the 11th November 2011, that is 11/11/11, and as such today has been designated Nigel Tufnel Day. To celebrate this day of Maximum Elevenness, we here at Guitarz - for this day only - will be posting an unprecedented ELEVEN blog posts! So,...
- Burns/baldwin Virginian From The Late 1960s
guitarz.blogspot.com: We previously looked at a prototype Virginian from Jim Burns' involvement with Hayman guitars at the beginning of the 1970s, but the design predates that era and was previously issued in the late 1960s when Burns London Ltd had...
Guitar
Supposedly ultra-rare Burns Flyte guitar in red finish... original or refinish?
guitarz.blogspot.com:
In 1965 Jim Burns sold the original Burns guitar line, that is Burns London Ltd, to the Baldwin Piano and Organ Company of Cincinnati who soon re-branded the guitars with the Baldwin name before discontinuing the line in 1970. Jim Burns bounced back in 1974 with Burns UK, and one of this company's most recognisable guitars was the futuristic looking Burns Flyte, styled after the British/French supersonic airliner Concorde and originally to have been named the same.
I've seen Flytes in silver and natural finishes before, but never before a red example like this Flyte currently listed on eBay in Germany. The lack of a Burns logo or Flyte legend do make me wonder if this red Flyte may be a refinish job, but the eBay seller seems to be implying that it is original when making the statement:
one of a kind, 1975 handmade in England for guitar trade show...which isn't to say that it hasn't been re-finished. I should imagine that it would be important for any guitar made for a tradeshow to have the company logo on it at least.
Whilst I'm in a questioning frame of mind, I often see quoted that the Burns Flyte was played by Marc Bolan of T Rex and Dave Hill of Slade; we know that Bolan did indeed play a Flyte - there is plenty of photographic evidence - however, I have never seen a photo or footage of Slade with such a guitar. I remember going through a rather exhaustive (now defunct) website detailing all the guitars used by Slade and never saw the Flyte listed there either. Do any of our readers know if Dave Hill or ANY of the members of Slade ever played a Flyte?
Anyway, the red Burns Flyte pictured above is currently listed on eBay Germany with a Buy It Now price of €1444.
G L Wilson
© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.
- 1977 Burns "jubilee" Flyte With Faded Uk Union Flag Finish
guitarz.blogspot.com: As I have mentioned many times in the past on this blog, I am a big fan of the Burns Flyte guitar, even though the only time I have actually seen one up close and personal was last year when my band was playing a psychedelic festival...
- Burns Uk Flyte 1999 Prototype - A Reissue That, Sadly, Never Came To Be
guitarz.blogspot.com: Regular readers will know already that the Burns Flyte is one of my favourite guitar designs. Here's a UK-made prototype for a reissue from 1999, and doesn't it look fantastic? I wonder if the the neck is just a generic Burns...
- Burns Bandit From The 1980s With Odd-shaped Body & Pushbutton Switches
guitarz.blogspot.com: The Burns Bandit is a model that I was previously unaware of. According to Burns Guitar Museum website the Bandit is from the 1980s and the general design and pushbutton selector switches would seem to support this. As such it would...
- 11 On 11/11/11: #3 - Baldwin Southpaw Semi-hollowbody Bass
OK, it's the 11th November 2011, that is 11/11/11, and as such today has been designated Nigel Tufnel Day. To celebrate this day of Maximum Elevenness, we here at Guitarz - for this day only - will be posting an unprecedented ELEVEN blog posts! So,...
- Burns/baldwin Virginian From The Late 1960s
guitarz.blogspot.com: We previously looked at a prototype Virginian from Jim Burns' involvement with Hayman guitars at the beginning of the 1970s, but the design predates that era and was previously issued in the late 1960s when Burns London Ltd had...