Burns Weill RP2G Super Streamline bass guitar from 1959

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Here's an intriguing and supposedly quite rare bass guitar from Jim Burns and Henry Weill, the Burns Weill RP2G Super Streamline Bass. I suppose that back in 1959 it looked futuristic and space-age. Today it looks ... I don't know what. It's an ugly bass for sure but probably not as hideous looking as those ghastly singlecut jobbies with the bass-side bout extending half way up the neck which seem to be unfathomably popular these days in bass playing circles. It's quite recognisably a design from the Burns stable, displaying future echoes of the Burns Flyte on the treble side of the body.

Here is what the eBay seller has to say about it:

Burns Weill RP2G bass

This is a very rare bass made in 1959 by Jim Burns and Henry Weill. The body, neck etc., were designed and made by Jim Burns and all the electrics and pickups within the scratchplate were designed and made by Henry Weill.

This particular bass came from the collection of Mark Griffiths - bass player for The Shadows.  It was sold in auction some time ago along with many other guitars and basses owned by Mark Griffiths. I did not manage to buy it then but a while ago I contacted the buyer and managed to purchase it.

It is totally original apart from the fact that it had been refinished in the past - possibly when Mark owned it.

It is a very rare bass regardless of previous owners and its actually the only one I have come across. It has two pickups with volume, tone and blend controls plus a pickup selector switch and two-way switch - all working well, and it is a very nice playing bass with a lovely neck, quite narrow but very playable with twenty-two frets with red dot markers and a scale of thirty inches.

Currently listed on eBay UK with a Buy It Now price of £950.

G L Wilson

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Stunning Rare 1983 Burns Bandit Guitar

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Sorry that I've not been here lately. Life has been busy, and that's good, but it leaves me little time to find cool guitars to share here.

This Burns Bandit needed to be showcased.

We've looked at the bandit a long time ago here but I had forgotten that the pickups were controlled with push-button selectors. I only remember this concept on late 1980s Ibanez guitars.

This Bandit is in great shape and it's the perfect shade of green.

The only thing keeping this rare beauty out of my hands is the listed price of over $5000 Canadian

R.W. Haller

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Great looking Hayman 3030 appears to be all original.

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The internet is killing me today.

Look at this Hayman 3030. This beauty is in great shape and to my eye appears to be all original too. I have a 3030 that i picked up last year, but wouldn't it be nice to have 2?

This auction is ending in 10hrs as I write this so you have only that long (or as long as my resolve to not click on bid can last) to get in on one of these for a very reasonable price in my opinion.

R.W. Haller (backing away slowly from the internet for the rest of the day)

© 2016, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Rare Burns Steer from the early 2000s. Possible prototype.

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Thanks to Bill Lovegrove on the facebook Burns Guitars and Amplifiers page for posting this Burns Steer. 

This rare and possible prototype guitar looks like the love child of a regular Steer and a Brian May signature Red Special. Burns was producing both models at the time so the intermingling was quite likely. 

Though the body, neck,  and headstock are those of a cutaway Steer, the floating tremolo, Burns Trisonic pickups, and switching are very much Brian May. I wonder if the pickups are wired in series as on the Brian May model.

Currently listed in South Africa. 

I wonder if the seller will ship to Canada.

R.W. Haller

© 2016, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

1977 Burns "Jubilee" Flyte with faded UK Union Flag finish

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As I have mentioned many times in the past on this blog, I am a big fan of the Burns Flyte guitar, even though the only time I have actually seen one up close and personal was last year when my band was playing a psychedelic festival and Nick Saloman of The Bevis Frond, who were also playing, let me have a look at his.

However, I'm not so sure about the patriotic finish on this "Jubilee" example from 1977. (1977 was the year of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee, i.e. she'd been monarch for 25 years). Even though this is the original factory finish, the Union Flag - popularly known as the Union Jack but technically speaking it shouldn't be referred to as such unless flown from a ship - has been poorly rendered with very thin crosses and not enough of a pinwheel effect on the diagonals. It's made to look all the more bizarre by the process of ageing which has turned the blue background to green and the white to yellow - in fact when I first saw this I was trying to decide if it was supposed to be the Union Flag or not. If you didn't know it was supposed to represent the flag of the United Kingdom, then perhaps it'd be easier to think of it as an abstract design. Still don't think I'd like it.

Like it or not, it's still a very interesting piece. This particular example was being sold by Denmark Street Guitars in London but is marked "Out Of Stock" which implies that it has either been sold or else withdrawn from sale. Unfortunately this means I cannot give you a price or value. However, three years ago, a Burns Flyte with "supposedly" original rare red finish was being offered for sale in Germany with a price of €1444. My feeling is that this Jubilee edition would be more valuable. Burns experts please feel free to correct me!

G L Wilson

© 2016, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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1973 Hayman 3030. The Happy Birthday to R.W. edition

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Firstly, my apologies for a minimal amount of posts recently. Life has been pretty busy and though the actual posting of cool guitar pictures doesn't take long, the scouring of the web to find said guitars takes a while.
I do miss it. Both the posting and the scouring.

That said, not all is sad and busy in my world. I finally got a guitar I've been coveting for years. A Hayman 3030. I sold a bass and some smaller gear and got myself this awesome birthday gift.

The good:
1) This thing is in impeccable shape for something nearly my age. So very clean with just enough wear to show it's been properly used.
2) Almost everything is original and even has the oft-lost headstock disk.
3) It's super quiet. I've not had a chance to test it in a band environment, but at studio levels there is no noise at all.
4) I love the neck on this thing. It feels like home.
5) About 1/3 the cost of the last few 3030s I've seen for sale.

The Bad:
1)It's not all original.
2) The trademark pickguard with appliance style control plate is gone. The replacement is well made and in my opinion it looks pretty great.
3) The Re-An pickups are gone too. The replacements look similar to the humbucker on my Burns Steer, but more research leads me to believe that they could be late 1970 Dimarzio Super 2s. I'm not sure how to feel about this as I've never had Dimarzio pickups in any of my guitars. Time will tell.
4) The tuners have been replaced with Sperzel locking tuners. I know this may not be a bad thing but I'm the guy that wraps as much string on the post as he can. I've been that way for 30 years, going to take a lot to get past that.

The good very much outweighs the bad here. It's going to be a very happy birthday for this fella!

R.W. Haller

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

When a Burns isn't a Burns. Japanese made violin-bodied 12 string Burns "copy".

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I found this Japan made Burns guitar while doing one of my regular "Burns Guitar" searches the other day. I'm hesitant to call this a copy as I'm not aware of any Burns guitar that is similar to this model. Has anyone seen one before?

It sold for $127 and I kind of wish it were I who bought it. I'm sure though that it would require quite a bit of work to get playable, so I probably did myself a favour not adding to my list of projects. But I'd sure love to have a 12 string with a tremolo. Imagine the possibilities, the constant tuning would be paramount to heavy lifting finger exercises.

R.W. Haller

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Burns Custom Elite Series Sonic Deluxe. NAMM prototype. Perhaps the only one of its kind.

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This Burns Sonic Deluxe may be the only one to have come with three tri-sonic pickups, and it has a serial number 0001. Another first? The only one?

All in all this is a great take on the tele design, has the Rez-O-Tube bridge, and though I'd normally loathe a 3 + 3 headstock on a tele design this one gets a pass since its equipped with a Burns scroll headstock. Very sweet.

R.W. Haller

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

1977 Burns Artist. The very first one made.

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My heart is aflutter. Look at this wonderful Burns Artist from 1977. It has the serial number A1, which apparently means that it was the first one made for sale.

Apparently Jim Burns thought the Artist had a "more conventional style". I agree with the seller that he could not have been more incorrect, or perhaps modest. This stunner screams originality. Awesome curves, carves, and simple elegance makes this one for the top my covet list.

Currently listed at $7995.

R.W. Haller

© 2015, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.