I really enjoy these discussions.
Another factor is that by the time period under review, the Shadows had established their own sound, which they did not want to depart too far from. They received some criticism for releasing Guitar Tango using acoustic guitars.
The criticism continues to this day - ie regarding Hank's sound on the final tour.
Hence the long period of experimentation, with the objective of producing a guitar which still had many strat features, but was more reliable and was capable of producing a sound very close to a strat. Thanks to the skill of Jim Burns, imho the objective was achieved, but the resulting Burns Marvin turned out to have its own unique sound.
Kindest regards
Christopher


