the Burns book by Paul Day

in 1979 Paul Day wrote the Burns Book. some of us Burns lovers was lucky to find a copy, most of us did´nt. So here it is.

Worn

During me life Ive always been extremly  careful with me instruments and gadgets. With that telling that all me guitars seam to look as brand new, or at least not worn in any way. During a period in the 70´s as a Carmecanic I came to offer repainting of scratchd, worn ole electric guitars. Makin em look almost like brand new. Today I realise that this was´nt that smart, but who  would ever think that this ole Strat with cuttings and blisters all over would be worth a load of money. 

Out there somewhere is today a Babyblue 1963 Stratocaster, possibly looking great in its new colour. Beeing just one out of many guitars that was repainted.

But what about todays market. Brand NEW guitars beeing scratch´d and worn already from the factory!! A thing I cant understand. You walk into a shop and buy your self a guitar that looks like its been on the road for year, and its manufactored only a few month earlier. 

To buy a guitar that consist a true history of its past life, may be understandeble. For instans the famous "TRIGGER" still used and play´d by its owner Willie Nelson is such document of the history, and natuarly other guitars used by all those famous guitarplayers.

But why the hell should we buy NEW guitars that do look old and worn. I for sure cant understand this.

Compressor problems

Those who search may find!  

Sound and how it´s made is almost like magic. With a guitar and a bit of singingskill, theres a possibility for you to perform a tune with fair result. How did it sound? 
You then start all over again, this time using a Recording device of some kind. Years ago that recording device was a TEAC 4-channel reel to reel taperecorder. You then was forced to plan your recording. With only 4 channels there was natuarly some problems, but in the end it did sound if not great so call it fair!

Suddenly the taperecorders was stoneage, I started to us a computer and found a couple of FREE studioprograms that I started to work with. Ending up with something called AudaCity.

As most guitar players I tried a lot of different gadgets-effects. The latest Digital units, but very soon I realised they was SHIT! Well they may be great if youré a modern electronic wizard. To me they was just to f-ing complicated to use. Never managed to set up the sound the way I wanted.

Beeing a fanatic collector of things I started to use a mix of oldtime Analog units linked to my computer. At this moment theres at least three Mixers from the 60-70´s and today all digital electronic devises are to the sold or meant for the dustbin.





You´ll need to use a Compressor on top of your recordings! So I connected an expensive Digital compressor. The actual sound of the tune did sound much better, but there was also at least 10db of noice produced by the unit. (natuarly I read the instructions and also talked to a lot of people with know-how)
The rackmounted Digital multieffect gave similar result and both of them was extremly hard to adjust, set up for use.

At the end the only effects that DID work was me trusty VOX AD60 and its buildt in effect. (Digital-Analog I dont know) and me homemade Fuzz clone from Burns.



Natuarly I never read the entire instructions for the AudaCity studioprogram. But there I was trying to understand that program. Up until now I used it in similar manner as a reel to reel recorder. Exept that I was able to erase noice in silent parts. Now I started to use the inbuildt compressor and WHOW it did the trick.

It seams very easy to cheat your ears, You listen to a sound in so many ways. Whats the best? One of my biggest problems has been finding good Monitorspeakers. On my behalf I took the biggest and on paper best units I could afford. Just to exchange em for something that I thought was better. Unfortinutly they wasnt. My eyes told me one thing, that went in to my brain so for a while I did believe that this was it!



Remeber that 95% of my musicgadgets, amps, mixers aso is at least second hand. Many of them is found at the scrapyard! And set up for use after a proper service and repair.

Then after at least 5 years of search I foudn a pair of small odd looking speakers made in DDR! It took me less then an hour to realise that those two was way on top of all different speakers I used so far. JBL, Fostex, Technics, Sony, Sonab, Bose, all of them was disconnected and place in the those new old speakers. Now mounted on the studio control rooms walls.



A couple of week´s ago a pair of the same speakers appered at the scrapyard. So once again 4 huge expensive speakers was taken to the closet and the new once moiunted at the wall. Today I have to admit that I´m satisfied with my monitors. All of them at the cost of 0,oo £.

In search for music gadgets at the extreme low price leads me to loads of equipment. Some musicians seam to do well and buy new amps, gadgets all the time. And for me finding an old amp a mixer or what ever is like christmas. 



Latest findings include a SONY TV377 reel to reel taperecorder that was found filled with sawdust inside. An 8-channel Traynor mixer-amp (50 watts), an 8-channel Yamaha stereo mixer-amp with 2 x 100 watts. Two Dynacord amplifiers, one of em the Eminent 2 tube amp.





With some proper service and reapir those will be back in buisness again after say 20 years of sleep. The Yamaha mixer will be used in place of a huge-heave 24 channel mixer and a 2 x 400 watt poweramp. With a really small studiospace this mean one less unit.



The new secondhand Yamaha mixer-amp  will hopefully do the same job with only 2 x 100 watts. Got it a few days ago and was natuarly curios if it would work. So I plugged it in with a pair of speakers.

At first a AC hum was heard, checked each channel and whoow it seam´d to be working if not perfect ! A few minutes later the AC hum dissapered! Now this felt great for a few minutes. Suddenly the sound in the lefthand speakers was gone. After a check out I realised that the fuses for the left channel was brooken. So now I have the opportunit to repair the unit, and hopefully it will not be to difficult.



Some amps, speakers and guitars from my so called collection has been sold or is to be sold. The Chinise extrem lowprice W&T ES335 copy that was bought for a freind of mine ended up at my place. He didnt like it. What about it? It do look great, after an hour of adjustment it was a really good player, if not great. The latest addition, is a Bigsby tremolo and suddenly the guitar was so much better. Remember its a 100,oo £ guitar! looking like a1500,oo £ original  exept for the logo.



When me freind Johan who use to play drums told he was in need of an old washingboard search started once again, with the result of an at least 50 year old washingboard.



One of me guitars was advertised and an interessted buyer show´d up. All ending in a cool deal where He give me a 1970´s Hagström Echo as part exchange. As soon as it arrives you will read more about it. 



That´s all for today.

"Why cant I make it.."

Hopefully I´m not the only one who ask the question, why cant I make my recordings sound like a record? What´s the secret behind recordings made in the 60´s on a 4-track taperecorder? The best recording regarding to sound was made by my band in the early 90´s!

An garage was used as the bands rehersal room, All the gear stuff´d in, some carpets on the floor, a sofa. Then a simple Stereo casette taperecorder and two cheap microphones was used. The product was in fact quite good, withnot a perfect but a rather good soundbalance.

So there We are today. All equipment and gadgets is far better. The computer program is great, making it possible to reduce noice, to take a way parts that was´nt good enough. In the controlroom there was 4 different Hi-Fi speaker systems to alter, and to compare the sound in hope to get the best possible.

All instrument´s was line´d into a mixer, including micrphon´s. All done with the intention to reduce distortion and other forms of unwanted noice. Still it did´nt sound the way I wanted.

A couple of month ago I tried to record the sound from my bass. somehow listening to it while playing was real good, but when I heard it recorded the sound was´nt what I wanted. So I arranged a couple of microphones instead of using the line. It took me a while to find the Right microphones for this job but finally at least the bass sound was good.

With this in mind, I started to upgrade or downgrade my studio. A load of microphones was used in front of every amp, and suddenly it was possible to hear the actual sound from the different amplifier´s speaker system´s. Mainly cause there was an extremly small diffence between the sound of totaly different amp´s-speaker´s! 

In the controlroom two pair´s of speakers was disconnected. The sweet Hi-Fi sound from a pair of B&O Celestion speakers, the sound from a huge pair of JBL´s. Left was a pair of old speakers once upon a time made in Eastern Germany, RTF K13! Listening to recorded sound thrue those speaker´s made it easier to hear different instruments.

It´s now time to Re-record app 200 different songs, maybe with a bit of luck and a load ful of hard work. I still record each track from start to end like it was done with taperecorder´s. No cutting is done. So the song recorded in say 10 channel´s will use at least 50 minutes of recording, plus all the time used when it was´nt done properly.

amps and gadget´s

So a freind of mine brought me this old Dynacord Eminent 2, tubeamp. On the outside it did look as almost new. Those Dynacord amps was during the 60´s used by almost every band in Scandinavia. this one beeing stored for at least 20 years, was it working?

I just have to try it, and suddenly after switching it on I heard a sound in the speakers. Turning the volume up it was still working for almost 10 seconds. then suddenly it blow a fuse!

A new fuse was installed and the same thing happened everytime. For the moment I gave up, so  at this moment the amp is waiting for some mayor repair.

On the other hand Work om me Burns Orbit Three no:747 was a bit easier. The whole unit was dismanled. Every little part of it was checked out, then finally put together again, now wit a couple of new condensors. 

This amp may share the same name as me other Orbit Three with the huge diffence that this unit contains the three Goodman-Burns Orbital 10" speaker´s instead of the Double 12" Fane-Burns that is used in me other amp.

me stack of Burns amp´s.

Orbit Three, Orbit Two & Orbit Three Double 12.

Two hour´s later this amp was mowed into the studio to meet it´s sisters-brothers. Giving me the opportunity to compare the sound of those three amps much better standing side by side.

the Orbit Three with a Baldwin Wirginian

When You wish upon.....

Do dream´s realy come true. Well that may happen, especially if you dont want the moon and keep your dream´s in reality.

Gibson Barney Kessel 1964-72

Was telling the story earlier (at least I think so) about my Gibson Barney Kessel that I bought in 1968, and less then half a year later it was stolen. 

Ephiphone Barney Kessel


Ever since that time I hope´d to find this kind of guitar. Already in an early Dream-stage I did realise that it would be impossible for me to buy the original Gibson BK, so I turn´d me eye´s and dreams to  those copies that once was made in Japan in the early 70´s.

I soon realised that there was several different copies made out of the Barney Kessel Gibson. 

the Shaftesbury, Ventura, Greco, Ibanez and more.  so I went out searching for this guitar. Natuarly i didnt find any, and even when I found a guitar it was much to expensive for me small budget. Years passes by and the dream is kept alive, when suddenly a call from a guitar freind tells about an Ibanez Barney Kessel for sale at a fair price.

Guitar-Organ Barney Kessel




Shaftesbury Barney Kessel


Ventura Barney Kessel


Greco Barney Kessel

After contact with its owner, a sollution was found that might suit us both. To swap guitars, on the other hand we did agree on a couple of week´s trial. If he didnt like the guitar I presented to him, we was to find another sollution.

Ibanez Barney Kessel

The Ibanez Barney Kessel guitar is still in my possesion, and is a realy great guitar to play on. And its styling is even more then great.

Ibanez

It also turned out from internet freinds that all the Japanese copies was made by the same company and then sold with different name´s.

Collector´s item´s !! ??

pictures coming soon

The world of electric guitar´s and My own fashination for these musictoy´s started already in the early 60´s. As many other youngster´s I wanted to become a pop-rock star!! Unfortinutly it did never come true but I still carry that dream in my mind, even if I know it will never come true.

I wrote about this earlier, but shit happens and ....  anyway in the 70´s I started collecting guitar´s, on my behalf I wanted a wall full of Burns guitar´s! With price´s next to nothing the wall was soon covered with nice Burns guitar´s. The collection of 16 different guitar´s was later sold and very much missed. Still I didnt loose any money on me collection.

But the only reason for collecting em was to use them as much as possible. Not to save them in hope they would raise in value and give me a fortune. Today prices of those guitar´s have raised a lot. To buy the same guitars once again, to start a new collection is-was for me impossible.

During the same time two of my freinds did also collect guitars, Burns guitar among em. One of them a guitarpalyer in a band, the other one just a collector och Rock´n Roll.  Mr X collection was really stunning, at least 5 Marvins, a Bison 4-pu and various other Burns models, all in mint condtion. He kept his guitars locked in a room. Only a few time´s I was aloud to try one of em.

Mr Y had a huge collection of nice guitar, with at least 30 Burns guitars. As He didnt play em, I was offered to help him adjust his guitars, and during that time I got the possibility to use, play and learn about Burns guitars. He waas a bit of a trader, swapping guitars almost every week, never there was any big money involved. Today He is trying to sell part´s of his huge collection, mainly caused by age. We who was young in the 60´s keep growing older day by day. 

Sometime´s I wonder why we start collecting things. I was and may still call me self a car-collector with to many Jaguar´s and other cars stored. What will happen the day when we sit there with a huge collection that natuarly people may envy, but also. To what use? I had a toycar collection with more then 3000 1-43 cars, they was stolen after I stop´d collecting. Iwasnt interessted in buying a toycar for a fortune. A couple of Swede´s (twinbrothers) just open a Guitar Museum in Umeå in a way to show their huge collection a electric guitar´s. So is it time to open a Burns museum. No  i dont think so, who would ever pay to look at someones collection of 50-200 Burns guitar´s, some of em looking exactly the same as the other´s.

Can it be that those of us that collect as an exampel Guitars could see the future. Today  they have a hig value, but when our kid´s one day take´s over. Will they keeep the collection or maybe they want to sell it. How do you sell a huge collection of guitars, of classic cars?? and get the money that they really is worth? 

Some 15 years ago a carcollector and freind of mind said good bye to this world suddenly. His wife and kid was to take care of his collection, worth at least a fortune-maybe two.  There was among all things app 10-15 ton´s of rare vintage car parts. 10000 kg. Furter investigations show´d 130 cars from the 1920´s to 60´s. An ad was placed where the askingprice started at 100000,oo£ bids was accepted. It all ended in a tradgedi, they was forced to pay lots of money to clear out the cars and all the parts. His life collecting was worth absolutly NOTHING!!

At least that tell´s me that the high value of my collection´s may one day be worth nothing. As time´s change´s so in 20 years if we are unlucky there will be no interesst at all in 50-60´s electric guitars. The thing then may well be cellphones, laptop´s och videogames. It all depends on the generation coming after us. The average age of carcollectors today is 55, youngsters dont get any knowhow in restoring cars. Collecting stamps- coins is today something from the past and it´s value is near nothing.

A couple of years ago, I realised that there still was a minor chanse for me to have a Burns guitar. Not one of the oldies, but a brand new one! So with the help from the woman in my life I bought a brand new Burns Marquee.  Some of you may call it some kind of Strat-copy, but to me it still is Burns all over. Burns styling and it even sounds like the old Burns guitars. One thing that stunned me was the weight of the guitar that was far less then the original guitars.

A great guitar at a fair price that was so much a player´s guitar. Mainly cause my intention alwys is to use my guitars. As a number 1 they are instruments that I want to  use every day.

Next was a second hand Albino Bison-62, reissue. Looking like one of those 60´s Bison with a few exeption´s. Once again a guitar made to be used, and played with a load of different sound settings buildt in the body, very much similar to the intentions of the late Jim Burns!

During the year´s I have also buildt me own guitar´s, most of em as some kind of Burns clone´s as I really love the design of Burns guitar´s. A collection, no i cant call it that butit may be is my Burns amplifiers. At this moment 3 combos and a bass-amp. all of em from the 60´s. Still they are used almoste very day and they sound just as good today as they did in the 60´s.

To me it doesnt matter if you collect those old Burns guitars or the new one´s. They are still Burns as well as we still call a 2013 Fender Stratocaster a genuine Strat. Fender was sold to CBS, Burns sold to Baldwin. Maybe we should say that the Baldwin guitars isnt good enough to be collected? And Strats after CBS takeover is not Strats?

I dont bother, I do love my new and my old Burns guitars and find it great to use them as often as I can. If they are worth something the day I die, thats okey with me. But to tell the truth I dont bother as long as they are nice instruments that I love to play.

Well thinking of it once again, a Museum filled with Burns would be GREAT, a museum where people pay a small amount of money not only to watch those great guitars but also get´s the opportunity to try em, to play on all guitars shown. A living Burns museum!!

Why? Well Burns did massproduce "one-offs", they are not to be compared with Mona Lisa who only exists in One original painting.

Back home!

Finally We was back home, home where everything seam to be normal by a Swede. There in UK people seams to live in a different way. Even if we do  share the same culture? anyway it´s home is always home.

In the luggage was as You may already know a brand new Burns guitar! Already since I first saw the Burns Bison-64 reissue I was wishing that I some day could try one out. And natuarly I wanted one in my small guitar collection. Anyway counting each pound in our budget it was clear that if I found a nice guitar, I could buy it.

Me freind Markku had already sent me money in hope that I could find the possibility to buy a Burns Cobra on his behalf. We went to Bristol and a couple of blocks from the shopping centre was RICAXXE music shop situated. An authoriside Burns dealer. 

At arrival to Ricaxxe I realised that he did have several Burns guitars in stock. But not the Bison guitar. I asked him and He told that a black Bison-64 was arriving on monday!

Natuarly we stay´d the weekend in the nice town of Bristol and first thing monday morning I was back at Ricaxxe. There it was, and the deal was done.

How come Barry Gibson uses cheap looking Fender knobs on the Marquee line and Bison-64´s? On my behalf I cant understand this. Mainly cause it make Burns guitars looks partly as some kind of Fender copies, even if they not are!

Once at home with me new guitar it was set up and adjusted to make it if possible even better then it was at delivery. A set of knobs taken from a 60´s Burns amplifier was used, and suddenly the guitar ws much more of a Burns. 

A mail was sent to Barry Gibson in hope that I could buy a complete set of proper knobs for me new guitar. Unfortinutly for me and maybe for Barry the cost of em was 68,oo pound!! 

If I wanted Fender, Gibson even Gretsch knobs it would have cost me less then 20,oo. this for an item that in my oppinion should have been fitted from factory.

Yesterday three orginal Marvin-Bison knobs was fitted and after grinding the switchknobs the guitar looked exactly the same as the original 1964-65 Burns Bison.

The result on my behalf is stunning!!

MORE BURNS NEW´S!

Three new Burns modeles was show at the music messe in Germany. 

the Burns Marquee  R2 with twin humbucker pickups that seam to have been constructed by mounting 2 RezOTube pickups together.

the Burns Marquee R3

2 x RezOTube humbuckers and one singelcoil.

and the entirely new Burns Dual Sonic.

with one humbucker and one singelcoil. the guitar as such seams to be a Tele design.