One for the Dr

Started by Barklessdog, February 05, 2009, 01:00:03 PM

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Dave W

#1
February 05, 2009, 01:21:16 PM
Don't tempt the Dr with expensive basses. He has tools to buy.

I played one in a store about 7-8 years ago. It was strung with tapewounds. It had that thwonky sixties short scale hollowbody with tapewounds sound. Once upon a time I liked that sound. It was a nice bass, just not what I was looking for.

Barklessdog

#2
February 05, 2009, 01:46:38 PM
All the Burns basses are intriguing to me. I love the scroll headstocks.

There is one person here who owns a Burns.

Chris P.

#3
February 06, 2009, 01:37:24 AM
There's a similar bass for sale in Holland.

If you like Burns basses, go and see the outrageous collection of Burns guitars and basses of my friend Alfons:

http://www.burns-guitars.nl/collection.htm

I own three Burns basses. Well, actually two:

I have this '64 Burns Vista Sonic Bass. The same one as Andy Bell of Oasis sometimes use. It has low impedance pick ups like the Les Paul Signature and Triumph and it's medium scale 32"
I really love this bass. It's just totally different sounding than any other bass and Basvarken and Bart! loved it too. It's just smooth and very fat, even on the high positions of the D and G strings. I'm technically a bad bass player, but if I use this baby with a valve amp, bass players always come and ask me after gigs how I get THAT sound:) Nice with my '64 AC50 Vox.
Only problem is that the neck reacts a bit on temperature changes. Sometimes I think about getting a replacement neck made....









My second Burns is a new Limited Edition UK Shadows Bass reissue. This one has a body made and finished in China, but all parts are UK made, it's assembled in the UK, so it's a high quality bass, which is priced and comparable to a USA Fender. This one has a maple (*) body and it's like a Jazz with an extra neck pick up. Because of a push/pull you can use EVERY pick up configuration. Seven in total. I mostly use the neck and middle pick up combined for a nice warm sixties sound. And it just looks great! I compared it to an old Shadows Burns, and they did a great job. You can order a Custom Shop completely UK built Burns, but you pay more than double the amount of this Ltd. Ed.
The first Burns or Baldwin Shadow basses had bodies with wood which was more like mahogany. Later ones had maple bodies. Because of this maple body and normal pick ups, it's much more Fender than Burns. But that's no problem.
I didn't like the bass with flats, but when I put on roundwounds it came to life! Now I use it a lot! Very versatile and nice sounding. This one's 34"





My third is a cheap Marquee Bass which is just like a Squier with third pick up and also seven pick up configurations. Nice, 32", but I never use it and at the moment I'm changing hardware from gold to chrome.

Burns is a very interesting brand. In the early sixties they had low impedance pick ups, stacked humbuckers with coil taps, active electronics. Years before other brands rediscovered it.

Barklessdog

#4
February 07, 2009, 05:18:05 AM
I love that limited reissue "Marvin" bass?

They made some cool basses that much like Gibson, do things differently.
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