Burns GB66 guitar

[marcomadeira]

its been many sleepless nights searching the web for pictures clues to see if i can find a away to find out what model guitar i have in my hands i have striped the guitar see if there was a model number or serial of some sort but no luck .....i know its a burns gb66 but thats about it .......why is it different from the other models on the net!!! why does it have different front plate!!! ....why is there no wholes at top pick up for plate to fit in like other burns gbs i dont know still non the wiser!!!! ......if any one out there needs more pictures or has any more info please get in touch ......or if anyone has any spares for this guitar ...let me know .......i cant thank you all enough for your research to and all your feedback .....i have opened a can of worms lol and it seems to be no end to the mysterious gb 66 that i own .......i am now more confused from when i started for clues .........may the search continue ............. just got an email from a bloke on a guitar site that all about burns and he told me bin it cause its a peace of crap all his own words ......

[JimN]

just got an email from a bloke on a guitar site that all about burns and he told me bin it cause its a peace of crap all his own words ......

DON'T do that!

[marcomadeira]

I won't this guitar got so much sentimental value to me hence why I would like to restore it I will put new strings on or this week then will get parts sorted for it ..... But still would love to find out more about it

[JimN]

I won't this guitar got so much sentimental value to me hence why I would like to restore it I will put new strings on or this week then will get parts sorted for it ..... But still would love to find out more about it

You could definitely get a new centre plate made for it, using the correct material. The same goes for the neck plate (which is only decorative anyway).

Whereabout are you?

[marcomadeira]

i am in essex southend ......i managed to get a back plate with serial its for a burns bass from 65 so thats some bit of news just need middle plate that goes around both pickups ....and the scratch plate .....i know last one is wishful thinking

[JimN]

i am in essex southend ......i managed to get a back plate with serial its for a burns bass from 65 so thats some bit of news just need middle plate that goes around both pickups ....and the scratch plate .....i know last one is wishful thinking

Easily made... you might even be able to get one in tortoiseshell finish material.

[marcomadeira]

where from ?????? there is a baldwin scratch plate on ebay but holes are in wrong place /....do you know anyone that fabricates them ?

[JimN]

You can buy traffolyte sheets relatively cheaply.

See: http://www.ukengravingservices.co.uk/latest-news/test-post-11, for instance.

Any good luthier can cut, shape and fit the plates you need.

Engraving "Handcrafted by Burns London" is another matter, but even Timpsons should be able to do that once the parts have been cut and shaped.

[ErikMAMS]

The main problem I’ve found with modern traffolyte – as linked by Jim, and what I believe is a similar material I have sourced over here – is the thickness. The original Burns material is less than 3 mm (2.6 mm IIRC). The difference doesn’t sound like much, but with the slanted edges required it stands out quite a bit, making the overall visual appearance a bit “fat” (making the slant-angle a bit steeper might help). I’ve have made a couple of repro plates myself (incl. a big one for a Double Six project) and for a DIY’re the material is somewhat tricky to works with (brittle and EXTREMELY hard), but it can be done. Proff’s with the right tools can do it easily I’m sure.

I found that most vendors have a minimum quantity limit (seems also to be an issue in the link above), and I ended up buying suitable sheet sizes (cut offs) from a small engravers shops.

Finally the modern traffolyte (or at least the material I’ve been able to find), although close doesn’t have the exact surface/finish as the original Burns material – which would be noticeable in a side by side situation, but by itself I believe it would pass as original to most (not counting the thickness issue mentioned).

I did find a source that offered to do 100% correct repro plates (finish, thickness etc) complete with engravings etc, but for the projects in question the costs was out of my budgets at the time.

Just my 2 cents.

Erik

[mgeek]

With all due respect, I think it'd be CRAZY to stick a new 'central plate' on there, to make it just like all the other ones that are online.

It's got some parts missing, sure, but I don't see why anyone would assume the current parts not to be original, on what is quite possibly a totally unique, beyond rare variation of this guitar

Replace what is missing- a tortoishell pickup rim for the neck (and glue it on with some non corrosive glue,) and find someone to cut a 'likely' looking scratchplate with the right engraving that will share screw holes with the central plate. That's all

String up, play, enjoy!