The Ed King Burst

[pinefd]

Below are some photos of the well known ’59 burst owned by Ed King, of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Strawberry Alarm Clock fame. There have been threads about this in the past, but I don’t recall seeing any decent photos of the guitar itself. Anyway, a friend of mine and I had the pleasure of meeting Ed and his wife Sharon while we were in Nashville for this past weekends’ Gibson Summer Jam. My friend John is acquainted with Ed through both his work on the Strawberry Alarm Clock message board, and his meeting Ed at the 2006 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. We met Ed and Sharon for lunch, and then were invited back to their house where we got to check out some of Ed’s guitars, including the burst about which this fascinating story (on
Ed’s website) was written: The Official Website of Ed King

This past weekend at Gibson was absolutely fantastic, but I have to say that the highlight for me was meeting Ed. What a genuinely nice guy. We invited him to come and attend some of the Summer Jam on Saturday, and he and Sharon showed up, much to the delight of quite a few fans. And after telling him about all the good things I had heard about the ’07 Les Pauls, he decided to try them out for himself. After telling me about the dozens and dozens of reissues he’s tried over the past few years that didn’t do anything for him, wouldn’t you know, the first guitar he picked up at Gibson he fell in love with. It was a chambered R8 flametop, that looked and sounded absolutely killer…and is now property of Ed King. And in an email I received from him two days later, he said he hasn’t put it down since bringing it home.

Sorry, but I digressed a bit. This is a thread about Ed and his original ’59. His burst is so cool! While he let us play it as much as we wanted, I must admit, I’m a bit shy about handling (and drooling on) someone else’s prized possessions (not to mention the fact that I’m not much of a player these days), so I did very little more than fondle it a bit. Anyway, here are some photos we took of Ed and his burst. In retrospect, I would like to have taken a lot more, but I didn’t…at least of the guitar. And if you’re reading this, Ed, thanks again for your kindness and hospitality.

Frank

Ed and his burst…and is that a gold record I see hanging in the background? Sorry about the reflection of the flash on the guitar. Also, notice the unfaded red spot where the toggle switch tag once hung.


Another picture of Ed and his burst:


Here’s my friend John, thoroughly enjoying the the guitar and the moment:


And a picture of me with a real stupid look on my face…or is that just my normal face…in any event, with editorial tools at my disposal, off with my head (and focus on this rather nice shot of the guitar)!

[johnreardon]

Great pics. Guitar looks mint

[jmf]

Sweet pics man... Sure was great meeting you and John this weekend... Make sure he signs up!

[TrapperDoo]

What a neat brush with fame. And what a spectacular guitar! You're a lucky guy for the experience. Skynyrd was never the same after Ed King left. His strat and playing style were a huge part of their guitar dynamics (Curtis Lowe, Swamp music, The Railroad Song...all their best stuff!)

[FrankiePRS]

Wow. You're a lucky guy -- and that's a beautiful guitar - thanks for sharing!! Ed King is one of my all-time heroes.

[captain tightpants]

Great post!! Ed's looking pretty healthy.

[Red Baron]

Great thread pinefd - you're certainly very fortunate to share that experience with Ed, something you'll never forget

That's an absolutely georgous looking burst too! ...sounds like you had a really great weekend.

[FLICKOFLASH]

Originally Posted by captain tightpants

Great post!! Ed's looking pretty healthy.

i saw him there & thought the same

[Ray]

That's too cool.

What caused that lack of fading up around the switch, I wonder?

Is that spot as evident in person, or did the flash bring that out more?

[FLICKOFLASH]

Originally Posted by Ray

That's too cool.

What caused that lack of fading up around the switch, I wonder?

Is that spot as evident in person, or did the flash bring that out more?

original hang tag

[John Catto]

Hi guys!! post 1

And here's how he got it back, from these photos in the Japanese version of Beauty Of The Burst

[Markster]

Great pics John!

[FLICKOFLASH]

V.I.P Welcome John Catto welcome dude about time you joined us. Havn't heard from you in a while

[BCRGreg]

Why doesn't anyone put the Mr Dealer fademark on any reliced guitars? It looks so cool, and only those that know would get it!

Ed looks great, he's happy and it shows. Great shots of a fantastic guitar.

[FLICKOFLASH]

Originally Posted by BCRGreg

Why doesn't anyone put the Mr Dealer fademark on any reliced guitars? It looks so cool, and only those that know would get it!

Ed looks great, he's happy and it shows. Great shots of a fantastic guitar.

believe
me already thought of it & fingerboard wear & neck wear

[pinefd]

Great photos, John. Thanks for finding and posting those.

I should mention, though, that the color in my original photos are much closer to the actual color of the guitar than those shown in the BOTB shots above. In fact, Ed's comment to me after seeing the photos was: "Your photos are the only ones I've seen where the finish on the guitar is ACCURATE to how it actually appears."

But of course, as we know, different lighting conditions can often mask...or accentuate the red on a burst.

[FLICKOFLASH]

Gibson News

[lp junior freak]

kewlness

[nicolasrivera]

Bump for Ed's homeless burst now.

[j45]

Dude what are you talking about. Ed is fine and his burst hopefully is just as well at home with him.

[RAG7890]

Awesome pics Frank. Thanks.

I think Ed goes to quite a few Summer Jams at Gibson. I know he was there in 2007 because a friend of mine met him there.

I have a set of photos of him playing the CR8's that Gibson promoted in 2007 with Ed saying it was one of the closest Historics he had played to his Burst. He is supposed to have a CR8 himself from what I am told.

[RAG7890]

Originally Posted by BCRGreg

Why doesn't anyone put the Mr Dealer fademark on any reliced guitars? It looks so cool, and only those that know would get it!

Ed looks great, he's happy and it shows. Great shots of a fantastic guitar.

Hey Greg, please excuse my ignorance but I am not sure what you mean by a dealer fade mark. Does this relate to a fade caused by the Lester sitting in the shop window with a shop card covering part of the guitar?

Thanks.

[j45]

Exactly. There was a hang tag on the selector switch from the factory. A lot of these bursts took most of their fade early while new in dealer store display windows. The factory tag blocked UV light and left darker spot in that same place on many. You will notice this spot on quite a few bursts.

[j45]

I took this pic of my old burst 9 0636 with the original tag where it would have been from Gibson. You can kinda see how it happend to Ed's

[skynyrd67]

Awesome post and great pics, Skynyrd lost alot when he left BOTH times. Ricky and the others are great players but after Ed left due to heart issues that Skynyrd sound went with him. Thanks for posting the pics and story,,that had to be an awesome weekend.

[j45]

Originally Posted by skynyrd67

Awesome post and great pics, .

Agreed, I remember when these pics were taken 4-5 years ago and tried to give Ed grief about the Tabasco shirt. I'm just wondering why this guy would bump the thread and say Ed's burst is "now homeless"??

[Kim]

Originally Posted by RAG7890

Awesome pics Frank. Thanks.

I think Ed goes to quite a few Summer Jams at Gibson. I know he was there in 2007 because a friend of mine met him there.

I have a set of photos of him playing the CR8's that Gibson promoted in 2007 with Ed saying it was one of the closest Historics he had played to his Burst. He is supposed to have a CR8 himself from what I am told.

Ed sent the CR8 to us for a Historic Makeovers® "Package B" with a Top Carve and Cellulose Nitrate Inlays a few weeks ago.
We need to keep Ed in our thoughts. He is currently waiting for a heart transplant.

[RAG7890]

Originally Posted by j45

I took this pic of my old burst 9 0636 with the original tag where it would have been from Gibson. You can kinda see how it happend to Ed's

Hey J45 that Burst is awesome. Thanks heaps for that reply............especially since I am a major vintage novice, so I am grateful for the information.

[RAG7890]

Originally Posted by Kim

Ed sent the CR8 to us for a Historic Makeovers® "Package B" with a Top Carve and Cellulose Nitrate Inlays a few weeks ago.
We need to keep Ed in our thoughts. He is currently waiting for a heart transplant.

Thanks for this Kim. Some great information here, glad to see my friend & Gibson were not pulling my leg back in 2007.

More importantly though I hope everything turns out OK for Ed re his medical condition & heart transplant. This is obviously a serious situation that many people around the world are faced with & the wait for a transplant cannot be easy for all concerned. I truly hope it all goes well for him.

[nicolasrivera]

Originally Posted by Kim

Ed sent the CR8 to us for a Historic Makeovers® "Package B" with a Top Carve and Cellulose Nitrate Inlays a few weeks ago.
We need to keep Ed in our thoughts. He is currently waiting for a heart transplant.

WOW Kim, his death was all over the place, thank God his alive!