Burns Super 18 Twin Neck

[Billyboygretsch]

I have been trying to find out more on this instrument. I initially thought it may have been a copy but have since found out it came from the Farrell collection. I spoke with Eddie Cross who tells me he still has the template for the Scratchplate. Does anyone have further info looking at the detail of the guitar it would have been a nightmare to tune the lower strings on the 12.

[RayL]

Bill,

The Super 18 is pictured in Pearls, of course.

In 2002, shortly after the book launch of Pearls, Per issued a couple of Burns Museum News.

#2 included a para on 'The Super 18'
Another guitar we could not resist. We have bought it from Peter Farrell, ex Sales Manager in the Ormston Burns Company. It is a prototype from 1964 built by Jum Burns and Phil Sweet. The nexks are from two Double Six guitars. One with six strings and the other with 12. The 12-string had baritone strings. Two Tri-sonic pickups are mounted on each guitar. It also contains a switch between the two guitars and volume and tone controls. Both guitars sound very good.

For stage use, most double-necks (Shergold, Gibson, Gretsch, for example) are very heavy. Jim and Phil's minimum body shape must help to make the 'Super 18' perhaps the least heavy double-neck (and a few more ounces could have been shaved off if the 6-string neck from, say, a Vista-Sonic, had been used).

Per may still have the guitar.
Ray

[Billyboygretsch]

Peter Farrell still has some Burns guitars and the famous violin !

[Billyboygretsch]

Here it is

[cockroach]

I've seen photos and video clips from the mid 1930's, when a few firms got really into electrifying every stringed instrument they could find by fitting the then new fangled magnetic pickups (often the Rickenbacher/Vega horseshoe magnet type)

You could get a regular 6 string archtop guitar, 4 string tenor guitar, banjo, mandolin, violin, and lap steel/Hawaiian guitar - all fitted with such pickups, plus there were a number of amps available- often sold with the instrument and lead etc as a set...

There were also a few double neck acoustic guitars around back then too!

The Burns prototype double neck shown on this thread is interesting, but would have needed a bit more development in the practicality of the design if they had decided to produce it as a regular model.

I had a nice doubleneck a year or two ago, it had nice necks, and with some work , I got a very nice playing action on both necks, and both guitars sounded good, but the sheer physical size, weight and balance issues meant that I eventually sold it on...18 quality machine heads weigh a LOT!