THE GUITARS OF JAMES ORMSTON BURNS

REFERENCE & RESOURCE PAGES:

 

SUPERSOUND (1958) - BURNS-WEILL (1959) - FENTON WEILL (1960-65)

ORMSTON BURNS (1960-1965) - AMPEG (1963-64) - BALDWIN (1965-69)

SHERGOLD WOODCRAFTS (1967-69) - ORMSTON (1968) - HAYMAN (1970-75)

BURNS UK (1973-77) - BURNS ACTUALIZERS (1979-82) - SHERGOLD (1975-92)

 

BURNS LONDON

TIMELINE - PUBLICITY - FACTORY

ARTIST - SONIC - VIBRA-ARTIST-DELUXE - BLACK BISON - VISTA-SONIC

BLACK BISON III - JAZZ - TR-2 - NU-SONIC - MARVIN - DOUBLE 6

BISON - VIBRASLIM - GB65 - GB66 - VIRGINIAN - BABY BISON

AMPLIFIERS - ACCESSORIES - PROTOTYPES

 

 

BISON RANGE (1960-68)

1961-62: THE BLACK BISON (4-PICK-UP) GUITAR

 

 

 

 

1961 Black Bison Bass Prototype

Comments from Paul Day:

The Artist Deluxe bass is partnered by a pic of the prototype Bison four-string. This earliest example followed in the footsteps of the four-pickup Bison guitar, employing similar styling and the same construction, complete with a heel-less, glued-in neck/body joint. Note other shared features, such as the 'cigar-tube' tuner cover and Ultra-Sonic pickups, although the electrics were more akin to those on the Artist Deluxe. The bridge/tailpiece was also as per the latter, but unusual touches included the white-button Van Gent machine heads, wooden thumb-rest up near the neck, a body-mounted mute device clamped on the strings at the bridge, what looks to be a truss-rod cover aft of the nut and a 23-fret ebony fingerboard. The end result was very unlike the eventual Bison bass design, and also differed to the next prototype that appeared alongside the four-pick Bison guitar in the 1962 Rose-Morris catalogue, although this second version incorporated aspects of its predecessor and the eventual production model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1961 Black Bison 4-Pickup:

Serial No. 71 - with replaced knobs

 

 

 

1961 Black Bison 4-Pickup:

Serial No. 72 - with ivory plastic tuner buttons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1961 Black Bison 4-Pickup:

Serial No. 74 - Nickel chromed fittings

 

 

 

 

1961 Black Bison 4-Pickup:

Serial No. 89?

Pearloid Buttons on Gold-plated Tuners

Quite new-looking pickup covers, and heavier fingerboard binding than usual

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1961 Black Bison 4-Pickup:

Serial No. 90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1961 Black Bison 4-Pick-up

Serial No. 91 - believed to have been restored and refinished by Jack Golder c.1980s/90s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1962 Black Bison 4-Pickup:

Serial No. 95

Metal-buttoned tuners, Rosewood fingerboard, Nickel Plating

 

 

 

1961 Black Bison 4-Pickup:

Serial No. 102 - Rosewood fingerboard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec. 1961 Sunburst "Black" Bison 4-Pickup:

Serial No.111

Pearl Buttoned gold-plated tuners. Rosewood fingerboard

 

 

 

 

 

Dec. 1961 Sunburst "Black" Bison 4-Pickup:

Serial No.114

Pearl Buttoned gold-plated tuners

 

 

Another sunburst example:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is Michael Vodi (bassist)'s band with both black and sunburst 4-pickup Bisons, and matching bass!

 

 

 

1962 Black Bison 4-Pickup

Serial No. 156

Pearloid Buttons on Gold-plated Tuners, Rosewood fingerboard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1962 Black Bison 4-Pickup:

Serial No. 158 - non-original flat engraved pickup covers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1962 Black Bison 4-Pickup:

Serial No. 174 - Rosewood fingerboard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1961/62 Black Bison 4-Pickups:

Various Unknown Serial Nos.