Marquee vibrato - tremolo

For any discussion specifically about Burns guitars

Moderators: David Martin, dave robinson, Iain Purdon, George Geddes

Re: Marquee vibrato - tremolo

Postby David Martin » Mon Nov 22, 2010 9:01 am

Second question first... no... not without a good deal of expertise and expense...

Look for later Marquees with the Burns branded trem as opposed to the original Point trem - unless it's been fettled with either new pivots or the originals epoxied in place...

But why not go for a new Cobra? very well reviewed...http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/82464
David M
User avatar
David Martin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 1865
Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2009 4:48 pm
Location: Lincoln
Full Real Name: David Martin

Re: Marquee vibrato - tremolo

Postby Dance with Shadows » Mon Nov 22, 2010 11:00 am

Gibson 175 has a neck close to 43 mm wide. Don't know about the other Gibson guitars. But the sound will be far from the shadows sound. And the prices are out of this world. It's not a bad tone. I really like it. But it's not like a strat. Check out You Tube for the sound of a Gibson. Or listen to any of Pat Metheny's early stuff before he moved over to Ibanez.

Michael
Dance with Shadows
 
Posts: 107
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:04 am
Full Real Name: Michael Brooks

Re: Marquee vibrato - tremolo

Postby JimN » Mon Nov 22, 2010 1:08 pm

I've been thinking of getting a luthier to fill some of the the recess on the face of my (early) greenburst Marquee to reduce it to Strat size. After that, fit a normal Stratocaster bridge, probably the genuine Fender article. Perhaps an ebony off-cut would be suitable for filling the recess.

JN
User avatar
JimN
 
Posts: 4780
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:39 pm
Full Real Name: Jim Nugent

Re: Marquee vibrato - tremolo

Postby Bill Bowley » Fri Dec 10, 2010 7:45 am

Here's the excellent (IMHO) article on Burns Marquee's from the pen of Maurice Woodcroft a few years back - I found it of value when I had a Marquee for a short time,
May not be appropriate for someone about to 'modify' a Marquee, but still worth a look I think. Incidentally, I found a vast difference between the 'Point Trem' fitted by Burns to the units and those supplied direct by Point Tech, so I would question the value of dismissing the 'real thing' from the US Firm out of hand based on the reputation of the Burns offering. ;)
Attachments
Marquee Setup.doc
(41.5 KiB) Downloaded 1395 times
Bill Bowley
 

Re: Marquee vibrato - tremolo

Postby Bluesnote » Fri Dec 10, 2010 10:50 pm

Oh I dont know about the bum notes Darryl we all hit em from time to time(its an every day occurrence with me). Its what makes us human and not robots :D
Hope you enjoy the new guitar and maybe we'll get some of your stuff on here 8-)
That Cobra that David suggested looked pretty cool I thought.
Bluesnote
 

Re: Marquee vibrato - tremolo

Postby Mikey » Sun Dec 12, 2010 9:31 pm

Darryl

My Vox Ac15 CCI is up for grabs if you're interested and for less than the ones I've seen on Ebay. It has the Vox speaker and is in immaculate condition.
As you probably know, they weigh a ton so pick up rather than postage would be preferable if possible.
PM me if you're interested.
Mikey
 

Re: Marquee vibrato - tremolo

Postby Bill Bowley » Tue Dec 14, 2010 11:16 pm

Darryl,

Re the Marquee pickups, from my experience it would appear that there were different pickups hiding under those 'Rez-O-Matic' covers depending on when and for where the guitar was produced. I am told that proper 'current' issue Rez-O-Matics were fitted new to Marquees in UK (and probably USA) but definately not to my brand new Australian export, that Marquee had a set of what looked like 'Squire' six pole pickups complete with a bar magnet and sounded very thin. I did consider fitting a set of original BURNS Marvin pickups that I have spare but they were the wrong size (pole spacing) and instead fitted a set of Lace 'Gold' Sensors which worked well before refitting the originals when I sold the guitar 'on'. Oh, and I did buy and fit the 'original' Point Tech trem unit which IMHO also was a positive step and also replaced those original gold 'painted' BURNS tuners with a set of gold plated Sperzel locking tuners. Nearly forgot, replaced all the pots (incl push-pull) and 5 way switch with CTS units to replace the 'mini' pots and flimsy switch.

IMHO, the(original) Marquee is a good 'base unit' to make an excellent guitar of, but they are not a 'Marvin' replacement. ;)
Bill Bowley
 

Re: Marquee vibrato - tremolo

Postby Bill Bowley » Sat Dec 18, 2010 12:54 pm

Darryl,

I don't know if your Marquee has the 'Point Classic' trem unit, since you bought it recently I imagine it has the later BURNS unit. However , here is part of an ongoing conversation I have had over the last few days with Charles Fisher in USA, the man who designed and owns the patent for the Point Classic which may be interest to anyone who does have a Marquee with that particular trem unit:

Quote:
Hi Bill,

The Korean model made by WooSung Chorus Industries IS the original. WSC has been licensed since 1999 to build the Point Classic Trem to my exact specs. They are the ONLY company on earth licensed to manufacture the Point Classic Tremolo. BUT the points are still manufactured only by me in the USA. Could you give me the web site of the Belgian company you mentioned in you last e-mail? Thanks in advance.

The problem with the Korean model was not the trem block itself. but the Point Retention Bar. When I sent the print to WSC, I said to make the piece out of 5150 steel and finish it in zinc. They mis-read the instructions and started casting the PRB in zinc instead of steel, and sending them to Burns. Of course they began to fail immediately, and it took months before I finally found out, having been informed by a customer at the NAMM show that they were "alloy" instead of steel. I investigated and immediately corrected the fault with the company. They have since cast the bar out of steel. The Burns ad on the web site was for a replacement bar for the defective one. I have sent hundreds to customers who responded that once it was installed, the trem worked just fine.

Sincerely,

Charles/TPT
Unquote.

Regrads ;)
Bill Bowley
 

Re: Marquee vibrato - tremolo

Postby Bill Bowley » Sun Dec 19, 2010 12:13 am

Darryl,

There is a lot more information that I have from Charles Fisher, however I would not be fair in posting it here as it relates to patent right violations, etc, however if you like I will pass your wish on to Charles and if he is happy to talk with you on the subject give you his email address etc. Will that be acceptable at this stage?

Regards


PS I will be away in Queensland from tonight till early new year, so you may not get a quick reply to email after tonight.
Last edited by Bill Bowley on Thu Dec 30, 2010 12:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
Bill Bowley
 

Re: Marquee vibrato - tremolo

Postby flingelbunt » Tue Dec 21, 2010 12:51 am

Hi guys! Been away for quite a while, but this thread on the Marquee and Bill's mention of my advice on upgrades to the Marquee inspired me to comment.
The Marquee certainly was an excellent guitar as a basis for upgrading. I had 2- a red and a greenburst. The remarkable thing about both these guitars was that once I upgraded them, they both had a combination of the classic Burns 'honk' with a touch of Strat brightness. In a way, they fell between 2 stools- hardly surprising really as the Strat style trem with the tension springs resonating away in the body were bound to give it a Strat type sound. The Burns sound which I found there as well I've always felt was imparted by the 3-a-side headstock, the zero fret and possibly the neck. In the end, I sold both guitars- the greenburst was a real wrench, as it did have a unique sound and had served me well during several live gigs- but it was sitting unplayed in its case which was such a waste, so it had to go.
I haven't yet tried these later incarnations- trouble is, I could get hooked again and yet another Burns added to my collection!!
Happy Xmas everyone!!

Maurice
(Lord Flingel of Buntshire) ;)
flingelbunt
 

Next

Return to Burns

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests

Ads by Google
These advertisements are selected and placed by Google to assist with the cost of site maintenance.
ShadowMusic is not responsible for the content of external advertisements.