Burns Pick Ups into A Strat ?

[dave robinson]

I gave you an answer, I am a Burns player- I have three of them. Which part of my answer don't you understand?

[OLDEREK]

Derek, the Burns pickups are virtually Strat copies. Obviously there will be differences in impedience which can affect the sound as different set's vary - but that's what they are. I once tried a set of Kinmans on my Marquee back in 1999 and it was an improvement, as were the Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro IIs on the same instrument.
What particular sound is it that you like from the Burns?

Dave the only part I read was `virtually Strat Copies` but for me I would like to know if they screw straight in without any problems......... You must allow for us thick Southerners !

[dave robinson]

Sorry Derek I thought you would have known this, the fittings for the Burns pickups are the same as Fender ones, they also sound the same. It's the amp that makes the tone that you like.

[peter roest]

Putting Burns PU's on a strat is simply possible; it sounds like an Burns pu.

Peter

[Iain Purdon]

Why not try it and see?

[dave robinson]

I've got three of them for sale that I took from my Marvin Reissue.

[Bill Bowley]

Interesting thread!

According to BURNS guru 'Dusty Frets' in his review of the BURNS 'Marvin' in Guitarist mag, the original pickups were thus:
'each of the black plastic covers carried the Burns Rez-O-Matic legend, and initially the innards were identical to those found on VOX guitars, but with the lower re-shaped by hand to provide a different appearance.'

I have on at least once used a spare set of Rez-O-Matics in a Strat, with no real change to the sound of the Strat. I dare say that an early set of the early 'Rez-O-Matics' installed in a VOX solid body would revert to sounding like a VOX in the same way. I wonder whether Hank was trying out pickups like that in a Strat before he used the Marvin for recording? Now there's another answer for the 'Atlantis' mystery!

As for changes to a Marquee, I had had both Lace Gold and KinmanCVS-HMS Marvins in that before I sold it on, both of which IMHO did sound better than the 'bar magnet' pickups that the Marquee originally came with. I didn't get to fit original Rez-O-Matics to the Marquee as I had originally intended because the pole spacing was incorrect. My BALDWIN Marvin runs a set of Kinman CVS-HMS Marvin pickups (the BURNS Marvins are as original) and I am very happy with those on that guitar. I do have a couple of sets of pickups spare here. like Lace Calfornia, Fender Tex-Mex and Tonerider Surfari's (not to metion the odd humbucker or two), but I don't have a an immediate use for them at the moment.

However, the best six pole pickups I have (in my opinion) would be the Lace 'Holy Grail's, which I have in the '62 Strat.

Hope that helps

[David Martin]

Derek, the sound you like is the effect of the Vox Top Boost adjusted with Bass full up, and Treble at about 2/3 up... the result of this setting is that midrange is effectively reduced...

But all tone controls don't work in exactly the same way and at the same frequency, so it's not always possible to get a non-Vox to make this sound...however...

Try lots of bass, no middle, no echo, and slowly increase the treble until, on the neck pickup, you get the sound of the intro to It's Been A Blue Day... that's as close as you'll get without adding a little compression if you're playing quietly in a small room. In a venue, the power amp of a valve machine will give you natural compression when played loud. (If you have a presence control you may need to turn treble down and presence up to get closer...)

[ernie1958]

I've got three of them for sale that I took from my Marvin Reissue.

Sent you a pm Dave...

[geoff1711]

Derek

I've had several Burns guitars the 2004 Marvins and a couple of Marquees, for my money whilst pickups colour the tone of any guitar, certain designs of guitar have their own acoustic tone.

Strats and Marquees sound similar unplugged, but a Burns has a different ring to it and I think that is to do with the different design of trem, a lot is said about the Rezo Tubes but I think it's more to do with the large sheet of duralamin to me it is a slightly wider tonal range, bit more bass and treble.

Having said that I have a 3 pickup Tele with a Bigsby trem 2 kinman vintage pickups neck and middle plus a Kent Armstrong Tele cool rail at the bridge and it sounds pretty much like a Strat.

Side by side I do think the Burns sounds different to a Strat, not dramatically so, but a bit different and for me that's down to the trem plus I don't think the Burns pickups drive the amps as hard as strat pickups so you hear the wider fequency range

Geoff M