22. Burns apps
This authumn we are going to release a couple of Burns apps. It will be parts of the old book with
larger pictures in combination with new facts, intervjues and pictures. Something to look forward to.
larger pictures in combination with new facts, intervjues and pictures. Something to look forward to.
For people interested in guitars
I. Burns – an introduction
· What is so special about Burns guitars, innovatons
· The Jim Burns Story - a little more information about Jim
· The most well-known guitars - an introduction
For people interested in Burns guitars
II. Burns fifties and sixties
- Supersound
- Burns-Weill
- Burns London
- Intervjues with the old owners of Burns London Ltd
- The guitars and basses
- Oddballs
- The players
III. Burns seventies
- Hayman
- Burns UK
- Intervjue with the son of the owner of Burns UK.
- The guitars and basses
- Oddballs
- The players
IV. Burns eighties
- Jim Burns Ltd
- The guitars and basses
- Oddballs
- The players
V. Burns nineties -2012
- Burns London Ltd
- Burns USA Ltd
- The guitars and basses
- Oddballs
- The players
Deeper information about Burns
VI. Burns Innovations
- innovations
- pick-ups
- circuity
- dating of Burns gitars
- Burns amps and effects
If you have anything to contribute, please don´t hesitate to contact me.
([email protected] or +46708134600)
21. Burns pick-ups
Any interest in any old Burns Tri-Sonic bass pickups. Take a look at this pictures.
Please contact jens persson <[email protected]>if you are interested.
Please contact jens persson <[email protected]>if you are interested.
20. More about the Shadows
I need to get in touch with someone who can write a chapter about The Shadows and Burns.
Please send me an e-mail to: [email protected]
Below a picture that I have got from Bjørn Arnesen from Norway. It is an Burns Marvin from the
80-s which i signed by the Shadows. A little bit funna as I have only seen one video with the
Hank Marvin playing an 80-s Burns Marvin. Burns even had to take away the Marvin sign on
the guitars, probably as the quality of these guitar was really very poor compared to the very
nice 60:s Marvin guitars. Notice that the quality differs also very much betwen different 80:s Marvins.
Some are really discasters and others are quite ok to play. The quality of the different parts of the
guitar also differ very much Some people are trying to get a lot of
money for them, but take care. Remember that they are cheap guitars and have nothing to do with Hank Marvin.
Nice for a collector but no player.
Please send me an e-mail to: [email protected]
Below a picture that I have got from Bjørn Arnesen from Norway. It is an Burns Marvin from the
80-s which i signed by the Shadows. A little bit funna as I have only seen one video with the
Hank Marvin playing an 80-s Burns Marvin. Burns even had to take away the Marvin sign on
the guitars, probably as the quality of these guitar was really very poor compared to the very
nice 60:s Marvin guitars. Notice that the quality differs also very much betwen different 80:s Marvins.
Some are really discasters and others are quite ok to play. The quality of the different parts of the
guitar also differ very much Some people are trying to get a lot of
money for them, but take care. Remember that they are cheap guitars and have nothing to do with Hank Marvin.
Nice for a collector but no player.
19. The Shadows
Please take a look at these clips on YouTube and the Baldwin guitars The Shadows are playing on in 1967. I
got info from John Pokorny. Thank you.
It is not the "S-type" Marvin guitars they are playing. These are different. If you know anything about them
please advise.
//www.youtube.com/user/CliffShads "In the Mood".
http://www.youtube.com/user/CliffShads "The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt" (the one from Australian Bandstand, 1967).
got info from John Pokorny. Thank you.
It is not the "S-type" Marvin guitars they are playing. These are different. If you know anything about them
please advise.
//www.youtube.com/user/CliffShads "In the Mood".
http://www.youtube.com/user/CliffShads "The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt" (the one from Australian Bandstand, 1967).
18. New Burns guitars
Of cours I will present all guitars produced after 2002. Both from Burns USA and Burns London.
Many really nice guitars. Here is a picture from a player in Norway who has bought a Dream guitar 2011
in cherry burst (to the left) and a Legend Dream 2001 in black cherry burst. He was very satisfied with
the guitars and really enjoyed the Dream 2011, which he prefered. There are many more
both guitars and basses from the 90:s company. The new burns company has survived much longer than the Burns London company back in the 60:s. I will try to get comments on each guitar from Barry Gibson.
17. Missing guitars
There were some serial produced Burns guitars I unfortunately did not had any pictures of in "Pearls and
Crazy Diamonds". I have collected a lot of pictures during the last years and now I hope
I will show pictures of these guitars in my coming book. I appreciate that different players
and collectors send pictures to me. Today I got a picture of a Nu-Sonic Bass from Steve Rockwood. (Thank you Steve!) In my book I just had a picture of George Harrison (the Beatles) playing one Nu-Sonic Bass,but no colour photo. The Beatles used a Nu-Sonic Bass on on song but the Beatles fans have different opinions on which song it is. Do you have any suggestions. Today Burns London have started producing this bass again.
Crazy Diamonds". I have collected a lot of pictures during the last years and now I hope
I will show pictures of these guitars in my coming book. I appreciate that different players
and collectors send pictures to me. Today I got a picture of a Nu-Sonic Bass from Steve Rockwood. (Thank you Steve!) In my book I just had a picture of George Harrison (the Beatles) playing one Nu-Sonic Bass,but no colour photo. The Beatles used a Nu-Sonic Bass on on song but the Beatles fans have different opinions on which song it is. Do you have any suggestions. Today Burns London have started producing this bass again.
I really appreciate if you could send me phots of any rare Burns guitar.
16 Burns picks
Did you know that a lot of Burns picks were made in Sweden?
. 
Here is an add for Burns picks and one special pick made for Hank Marvin. I will write more
about them in the book
. 15.Readers wishes
Please write me some lines what more you want me to write about in the book.
Which guitars do you think are the most interesting. Anything else.
If you have any story about Burns I would be happy to put it into the book.
I am also looking for more information about the Burns company in the 80:s.
I have talked to some people working with Jim Burns at that time but the picture
is not clear.
Maybee someting about Aristone guitars? Here is a pick of the head of one an Aristone guitar made by Burns
........
14. Strange Baldwin prototype
Now I have started working on my book again.
)
I have got this picture of the Shadows playing a strange Baldwin prototype in 1967 (from a film)
)I have tried to find some facts about this guitar but not succeded. If anyone knows
anything about it, please contact me ([email protected]) asap.
13. Scratchplates and drawings
Edward Cross and Son was an important supplier to Burns over the years. I have got
a lot of interesting drawings for scratchplates and panels from Eddie Cross. One important
part of the book will be a number of drawings (among them some for the Shadows).
I have also got some letters from Jim to Edward Cross which you also will see copies of.
A piece of guitar history.
Among other things you will see an ashtray made by Jim Burns in the shape of a Flyte. This was made for
Mr and Mrs G Wright (the owners of Burns UK) by Jim Burns in the early 70:s.
And much much 
more......
more......New Marvin T-shirts
We now have cool Marvin T-shirts in black. A Marvin 64 on the front and a Burns logo.
Very high quality. Packed in a plastic bag. Sizes: L to XXXL
Price: 11.99 GBP + shipping 3 GBP
We don´t have som many so please hurry.
Buy a Burns Flexi-cap
We have some black Burns Flexi-caps left. Really nice and with a wowen logo on the front. One size.
The price is only 7.99 GBP + Shipping 3 GBP. Please send me an e-mail if you are interested.
([email protected]). We only have a few so please hurry.
12. Lap-steels and other kind of guitars
Burns did not produce only electric guitars and basses. Back in the 60-s you will also find lap-steels, a guitar-organ (never released) and some other more or less strange instruments. We will show some really nice Crazy Diamonds.
Burns is 
10. Fakes
Guitars are entertainment. Compared to other well-known brands, there are not so many Burns fakes
out there. Anyway some fakes are worth taking a closer look at. Here is a picture of a double neck Flyte
yte
guitar/bass. According to Jim Burns the only Burns double-neck ever made was the Super-18.
This double neck must have been made by someone from a Burns Flyte bass and a Burns Flyte.
Good work but unfortunately a fake.
Below you will also see a very special Jazz Split Sound made from Burns parts by Jens Persson from Sweden. A really nice guitar and he told me that this guitar was for sale in a shop in Stockholm as a very rare Burns.
Rare - absolutely but not an original Burns. Jim never made the "hot cat" sound - but Jens did. Anyway I like
this guitar.
Watch out when you find a really rare bird.
yte9. Rare birds
I have tried to find pictures of some very rare Burns, Baldwin and Hayman guitars which I did not
had any pictures of in my book. My target is to cover all Burns serial produced guitars with good
photos. Here comes a photo of the rare Burns-Weill Fenton Bass.
8. Oddballs
In the book we will show a lot of strange oddballs in the Burns family. Guitars you have never seen.
Many of them are really "Crazy Diamonds". Here you can enjoy a picture of the Marval. A guitar built by
Brian Eastwood as a tribute to the Shadows. The hardware was supplied by Burns London Ltd. Two
guitars and one bass were made. The guitars caused a sensation at the "1998 Mad About Guitar Show in
Birmingham. One of them was played by Jet Harris.
7. Supersound
The story about the very first serialproduced Jim Burns guitars. Supersound Electronic Products
was formed by Alan John Wootton and Annie Mary Patricia Wootton In 1952 from very humble
circumatances. Alan was repairing, building and designing tape recorders arid sound equipment.
Later they made among other things amps in their own namn and for Vox.
Jim Burns joined the company in 1958. The first guitar to appear was a two pick-up, singel solid
cutaway guitar, rather similar to a Les Paul, called the Ike Isaacs Short Scale´ model. About 20
guitars were made. Jim also designed a few more guitars and basses and also made strings.
Unfortunately I am unable to verify if these guitars in fact ever appeared on the market.
The relationship ended on a somewhat sour note as Jim started making strings to rival companies.
Jim left the company in 1959 and joined forces with Henry Weill under the Burns-Weill banner.
In the book we will go deaper in the Supersound part of the Jim Burns story, hopefully with a
contribution from Trevor Migley, who knows the story best.
The guitar below is a Supersound prototype made by Jim Burns.
6 Burns strings
This chapter will be a contribution from Ceex Bakker and Alfons Lahaye who helped me a lot with "Pearls
and Crazy Diamonds.
"Jim Burns was a master in marketing and he used the Burns name to full extend to sell a full range of guitar related accessories like amplifiers, speaker cabinets, strings, guitar effect units, amplifier stands, microphones and even a portable power point.
From the Alfons Lahaye collection come these pictures of various string types.
All these strings were made by James Howe Industries of Kent, England, now a days the leading European manufacturer of roundwound strings. But these didn’t exist in the sixties; it was all flatwounds and compared to today with rather heavy gauges."
You will learn more about the different Burns strings in the book.
5. Early Burns pick-ups
The different Burns pick-ups are a very important part of the guitars. The sound of these guitars is
very special and worth a chapter in my coming book. To my help I have Adrian Turner who has written
a contributionabout the early Burns pick-ups.
Adrian: - " 60’s Tri-Sonic has become a revered and highly sought after pickup, noted for it’s rich, smooth, powerful tone and pleasing good looks. Original, unmolested examples now command ever increasing high prices and one good single unit, can often exceed the original price of the instrument it was once affixed to. Although Jim Burns can not be held solely responsible for the design of these classic units, it is fair to say that without his stylisation and adaptation of the original theme – the classic sound we have come to know and love would never have happened."
The chapter contains much more then the story behind the Tri-Sonic.
This contribution will give you the whole story. Thank you Adrian.
Below a picture of a 1959 Burns-Weill pickup
Comments
If you have some thoughts about my Burns-blog, please click on "kommentarer"
- write your name and e-mailaddress and write someting to me. I would really
appreciate it.
