Happines is Music

A couple of day´s has passed since I first fired up the Baldwin-Burns BB-100 bass amp for the first time. Today it has been used every day since then and proved to be a GREAT bass amp. A new cabinet will be made to match the amp in styling (Natuarly I will try to copy the original Burns styling as much as possible) with 2 or maybe even 3 15" speakers.

the Baldwin-Burns BB-100 as advertised on ebay.

Up until that day I continue using it connected to two cabs with the total of 3 x 15". long before I crank´d it up to 1/4 of its power the roof on me small house (so called studio) was making attemt´s top fly away. So there is power enough in the 45´years old amplifier thats for sure.

6 hour´s of work, some component´s and paint it was back in buisness,

Such a petty that almost none of those Burns amps was sold in Sweden. That include´s both the BB and the Orbital line of amps and cabs. In fact this BB-100 is the first of those amps that I ever seen, touch´d and play´d!

Baldwin-Burns BB-100 with 1 x 15" Bass cabinet.

It´s for sure way to Great to be forgotten!!! and mine will be in use from now on that for sure!

Bass Corner!!

Baldwin-Burns BB100 amp, 2x15" cab + 1x15" cab.

Galson "law suit" Jazzbass 1972, Pasadena Höfner copy 2013 (extreme value for money)

and me DARE-Burns clone DIY 4-pickup bass.

"who the f ?????"

As the title tells, with more then 17000 wisitors to my "music-world" I often wonder´s WHO YOU ARE? During a couple of year´s with this blog None what so ever have made a comment!!

Guitar Junk-yard in BURNS fashion

Anyway Me thought´s about music is always present, doesnt matter what kind of music you´re into. Listen to the people around you, you freinds and they will all tell about their big interesst in music. 

the great Willie Nelson

- I do really listen and enjoy all kind of music!!

- Ohh, how nice, what do You think about this C&W singer from US.

- No for heavens sake i dont listen to C&W.

- So what about...... that Tecno group  from Germany or this ballad singer from Sweden, a Wagner opera, Heavy Metal, Jazz ? 

Billy Idol, where is he now?

After a while I realise that me freinds music taste is extremly narrow minded. Well yes its possible to take different kind of music genres and split them into sub-genres wich has been done. 


Genitortures

Already in the late 50´s I discovered something called Rhytm & Blue´s. This was by then a genre in Jazz music! In the 60´s the same R & B was play´d by gret guitarplayers on the Rock scene, and today R & B seam to be a genre in Tecno-Rap music??? !!! 

So what did Mr Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin think about R & B??

Internet is an amazing thing for sure, you just write a simple word and suddenly the hole world is at you screen. Here you could find pictures, novels, even music. So today i started to search for music at possibly Swedens largest record store online. Ginza. As among all kinds of music that I enjoy there also is included Opera. 


Gitta Maria Sjöberg, one of a few Opera super stars
here perfroming Tosca

As a youngster one of me best freinds did have a little sister. A girl in a cute dress tht groved to become one of a few Opera stars!! This artist that lately celebrated 25 years in the world of opera was impossible to find on a record!!!!!???? She who have performed at scenes all over the world!! 

Mirella Piskanen, fantastic violinplayer and artist living in Neatherlands.

Maybe that is the world of music. Music that seam to be hidden somewhere, music you cant buy and play at home on your music-system. It´s funny isnt it. The world we do live in does have Thousands of ever so good and popular artist that can be bought and heard on records all over the world, still there a artist in its genre that most people never even hear of, or could hear caused by the lack of recordings.

Are we all living in a small pond? Where artist´s that make people pay hundreds of pound to listen to on stage, never reach out from their own pond´s. 


Orianhi, Australian guitarplayer-singer here with Alice Cooper.

When a freind of mine at his Facebooks site seam´d to have listened to a female Rockstar from down under, I natuarly took the opportunity to listen. She was in fact great and also an artist that i never heard of, in my pond!

Marilyn Martin, 
gave up  the scene where she performed with Phil Collins, 
today working at a daycare center for kids.

At this moment NAMM seam to be the place to be. Some of my freinds will be there at this Guitar exhibition. 



While I sit inside a warm house looking at the white shit outside, and sense the cold. In fact the perfect conditions for playing music, writing music and building guitars. Me other huge interessts like cars and yacht´s have to wait for spring, caused by the cold weather.

the "dare-Burns Vibraslim" lowbudget clone.

So there we are with a guitarproject that seam to be near finished. After wiring it up and painting the body in Brittish Racing Green (Jaguar colour) it was clear to me that the finish of the guitar was´nt perect, so that part of the job have to be done all over.

the "dare-Burns Marvin Bass" clone with 4 pickups!

The 4´th pickup or me bass project arrived and with that I could finally connect everything and test it. Next step will be to dismantle the bass, paint in and make it shine like a star on bass heaven.



You might ask why I build guitars that´s at least partly copies of some really nice originals? But then again, you could go out and buy different Fender / Gibson guitars both as originals and as copies made all over the world. You could even buy those guitars as DIY kits. Some of em is really shitty things, but some may even be as good as or better then the original. 

On my behalf I do love the design of Burns Guitars, and as me pocket seams constantly empty I cant afford to buy the real thing. Well the real thing might be an old collectors item with a pricetag the same as a good second hand car. so the part of my dream guitars is way out of reach for me in this life time. Forced to build me own copies. 



Still they have their place on top at me wishing list to Santa every year.

"Dear Santa,  
I have been a really nice boy-man ever since last Christmas this is my wishing list to you."

 1: a Burns Marquee Bass

2: a Burns Bison Bass

3: a Burns Bison-64 with the proper tremolo

4: the Burns Barracuda Barriton guitar

5: not to forget the Gretsch 6122
the same as the one you gave George Harrison.

So now I lost me urge to continue writing todays blog, but if you dear reader reached this far it would be ever so nice to get a comment or two.

"back to the 60-ies"

For sure it was in the 60-ies that everything happened. 

Even in a small suburb country like Sweden, the pop-scene bacame a force of importance with mainly Swedish bands compiting with each others. It was a bit hard for swedish arrangers to get UK & US bands. 

 "the Beatles"

"the Hep Stars"

"the Spotnicks" became one of Swedens first worldwide known bands, 

touring even Japan.

Foreign pop-rock bands was´nt that common even if the Beatles was her performing at a couple of times. So We had to find local bands. Still the Beatles was possibly responsible for the swedish pop/rock explosion that took place, where thousands of groups beeing formed. In almost every garage a popband was rehearsing for  fame and fortune, and especially for the Girls!  Swedish bands that soon compited with the US and English bands and often was found on the "top-ten" list.

Searching the internet I natuarly found one of me freinds  P-O Alm, 1960-is  band. The Sleepstones, where he played the drums (he still do) and the world famous Janne Shaffer handled the leadguitar. Unfortinutly this band did´nt play various Burns guitars, so me internet search went on searching for bands with Burns. 

"the Shakemakers 1963" Burns Double 6 & Marvin (some kind of F Jazzbass)

The Burns guitars was during the 60-ies very popular in Sweden and could be found in many pop-rock bands. A picture found of "the Shakemakers" showed a nice Burns Marvin guitar and a Double 6, 

"the Limericks" also used Burns on stage. The net will tell a lot about those old bands, and suddenly i came across pictures that only was a couple of years old.

"the Limeriks 1963-4 Burns Jazz & Split Sonic Bass & a Strat.

What about the Limericks? Well there it was a possibly 1963-4 Burns Jazz Splitsound in the hands of  Mr Kaj "Kajan" Jarbrant, the same guitar as he used in the 60-ies, still in use as this band still exist´s in some way.

"the Limericks 2005" still with the Burns Jazz splitsound. 

Even if Sweden was the birth of the o called sexual revolution, there was a pop-band coming from over there that shocked the establishment and made it shake. 

An American all girl band called "the Ladybirds" tour´d Europe as a nude girlband. they was also somehow called the Danelctro Nude band!!

I would say that the did possibly shock even Swedes. Some pics here is from a performance in Bergen-Norway 1968.

Was it a stripshow or could this nude girlband actually play and perform? 

The top picture seam to be a bit censored!!

Possibly they dropped their tops later at night.

They did appere in adverts for the Danelectro Guitars, 

and was sometimes called "the Danelectro Topless Girlband"

Was their look´s enough for a male audience??

"guitar-project" & Concert!

Slowly, way to slowly the guitar DIY projects are reaching "the final countdown". After all problems with it´s electronic circuit the whole guitar was once again dismantled. This time to get a nice spraypaint. 

What colour should I use? The answer to this question was solve in an easy way by just opening the colour cabinet door where a couple of spray cannisters was stored.

White - NO, Red metallic - hmm, No. How about painting the guitar in BRG? Brittish Racing Green, a nice Jaguar colour that because of the three spraycans gave the answer to me dilemma. Two slightly different BRG cans was tested and  finally I started off, by using the lighter colour to start with, the backside and the outer facia of the guitar will then be painted with the darker colour.

Hopefully this will make me  satisfied with the guitar. As soon as this green-ish paintjob is dry the guitarbody  will be painted  with a couple of coats with Clearpaint in hope to make it shine.

With a bit och luck and some hard work I will have the possibility to show the guitar in it´s finished stage with in a couple of days.

"SARAH MACDOUGALL CONCERT"

Finally S MD arrived to Sweden and on the 14th of january she and her f reinds will be performing in Malmö. dont miss this rare opportunity to listen to a truly great Swedish / Canadian artist. 

the 17th of january you can see - hear her perform in Gothenburg

I think that We, all of her fans are waiting for yet another album from her. Her albums "across the atlantic" and "the greatest one alive" was both truly exellent. 

Natuarly there was nothing that could stop me. so as soon as the last clearcoat of paiant was dry, all the parts of the guitar came together. Still remaining is to solder all cables and contacts, but at this moment I have to admit that I do like this "dare-Burns Vibraslim Clone" that i was able to build. I think it looks great!

drying in the kitchen!!

 At last all parts set up, the guitar almost ready for action

 not to bad?

In the cllection of guitar.

Burns Bison-62, Burns Marquee, dare-Burns Bison Clone,

Pasadena 12-string, dare-Burns Vibraslim-5 clone.

"on the road again"

Time to sit down and reflect over yesterdays session/rehersal. As what will become usual in a while I carried the VOX amp and 2 guitars with me in the car. Are you going to move out, our nabour asked politly. But no, not at all, it just takes a lot of gadgets to make music. 

Anyway there was a first stop at me Jaguar freind Allans house at Ekerö (he does have a magnificient veiw. 

Then further on to the ferry taking me back to the mainland in the south of Stockholm. 

Havnt yet figured out the best, shortest road yet. But arrived at Haninge en the "Yellow Villa" to meet with "Builder Bob" the bands drummer who was waiting. 

Have to admit i was a bit nervous in regards of this our first meeting with instruments and music. Anyway after carrying all me gadgets down to the basement we did our first attemt to make something  called music together. 

Just a huge set of drums and a guitar. Alright there was ahuge stack of loudspeakers and amplifiers that could help me lonley guitar to create db enough to if not "out-loud" so at least make the guitar heard a little.

A couple of different songs was tested and the noise was enormous. My head started to ring like a firealarm, but we did keep on playing. 

"Builder Bob" asked every now and then if this or that was what I wanted and somehow we did find a way to produce something that was at least one step ovr the noice that was heard during the first hour of rehersal.

App 2 n half hour later me gadgets was restored back to the car, our first session was Done and i have to admit, I loved every minute of it, exept for that bloody noice in my head that kept on ringing the rest of the day. Next time for sure Im gonna get some earplugs to help me out.