2004 Anniversary Marvin compared to an original

[gardinga]

I was one of the first in line when the 2004 Marvin's were announced, and received one of the first guitars delivered (mid may 2004, about a week after the very first were reported delivered, just in time for my Birthday, and about a week before the Shad's Brighton date..... was I in giddy heaven !!).... my first Burns.... (serial 0037)..... anyway, I remember post's at the time mentioning problems with the supplier of pickguard material.... and that the first few guitars went out with the original material, UK guards that would otherwise have gone on to Legend's.
Mine was one of those....(warping nicely now). I also notice that the 5-way switch is the same type as for a legend... rather than the type currently used..

I just wondered if someone had the "facts" as to the production changes to these guitars, and where all the bits came from, how many with the first guards, when the neck joint changed etc. I am sure this has been discussed before.... but I have been a bit out of touch the last few years..... and it would be nice to have the facts.

Anyway... needless to say I reach for a Marvin in preference to a Strat these days, and one has grown to four ( a 2005 "Shadows" edition was next.... well why not)... then more recently a wonderful Legend, and finally the holy grail... a real 1964 Marvin.
It really is a tribute to Barry Gibson's hard work that there really is very little to choose between all of these guitars..... if anything, the 2004 may be the best of the lot..... ( I notice that the headstock has a more sculpted shape than the flatter heads of my legend and real Marvin... any comment ??... ) Sorry for all the questions.... but i know the answers are out there !!

Many thanks

Gardinga

[dave robinson]

I have a 2004 Marvin (number 40) as well as the later 2005 Shadows model. Although I don't like the fiesta red livery and maple fingerboard of the 2005 model, it is the best of the two from a playing point of view, although since I acquired the 'right' pickups for the white one, I now use it quite a lot on my solo gigs - and it creates a lot of interest with the audience.
From a comfort point of view I prefer my Strats' to play, but I wouldn't part with either of the Burns.
I played a real 'Marvin' back in 1967 and it wasn't as good as the 2004 model by any means, I thought it was aweful at the time, though they look great.

[flingelbunt]

dave
I'm interested in your comment re. the 'right' pickups for the 2004 Marvin. As I own one of these superb guitars, what 'right' pickups did you get for it. I also have a 'Legend' with the Jim Cairnes pickups fitted as standard. Are these the missing ingredient? I'd be grateful for your 'input' on this!

Maurice

[dave robinson]

Hi Maurice,

When I saw Barry Gibson at Shadowmania 2005, I mentioned to hm that I preferred the pickups on the new red Shadows Burns that I had recently acquired, to the ones fitted on my 2004 'Marvin'. He said that he would sort it for me and sure enough in 2006 when we were playing Shadowmania with Warren, he handed me a package at the breakfast table containing a set of pickups. They look like the Jim Cairns ones to me, but I could be mistaken, but they sound great - much fuller in tone than the original 'ceramic' types that I removed. My two Burns guitars sound equally good since the changeover.I think the upgrade cost something between £60/£90 - I can't quite remember, but worth the while

[flingelbunt]

Thanks for that Dave- I'll speak to Barry. He sorted my Double Six (Korean) pickups for me a while back- top man!!

Maurice

[Bill Bowley]

I'm having a quiet smile reading this thread, as I remember that the original 'Marvin' came with the same 'off the shelf' pickups that were fitted to VOX guitars of the time with the baseplate filed to a different shape to make them look different............still sounded great IMHO (and still do!)

[cockroach]

Bill,

Speaking of Burns pickups, were the original Burns Bison pickups low impedance? (I am referring to the original 4 pickup model) And if so, was there a transformer in the wiring circuit?

[Bill Bowley]

'Roach,

I don't believe they were low impedance. The pickups were Burns 'Ultra-Sonic', and the circuitry was 'split sound' - 1 Volume, 1 2 way selector and 1 4 way selector, otherwise the circuitry was the same as the later 3 pickup 'Bison', I don't believe any transformers were in the set up. 'Ultra Sonics were used in all the Bison's until 1964 (then Rezomatics) and in the 'Vibraslim', GB66.The Burns TR2 guitar, which used the same pickups did have active circuitry though.

[gardinga]

Come to think of it, you may be right....
when I said the 2004 Marvin was the best of the lot, I was probably thinking of overall quality and playability..... it may just be that i have got mine set up "just right". Thinking purely from the pickup point of view.... the original, and the Legend are both very similar and definitely have the edge..... while the red 2005 edition is again better, but slightly different ......

Didn't realize that the 2004 Marvin had "ceramic" pickups...... are you sure ?? It was not what Barry said to me at the time !!

What i really wanted to know was info about the pickguards and early neck joints on the re-issues....... how many and what when were the changes......?? I am sure this will have been covered in the past, on the old site..... but if someone can re-cap it will be appreciated.

G

[dave robinson]

I could be mistaken by my saying that the pickups were ceramic - mine just sounded like they were, unlike the better quality ones on the 2005 'Shadows' model. That said, I have heard quite a few of the 2004 models in the hands of friends who own them and the common complaint is that the bridge pickup in particular is 'glassy' in tone. I no longer have the problem since my complaint to Barry. I also feel that certain early models of the 2004 batch were made with better quality pickups, which would explain why some feel satisfied with their instrument - but not mine.