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
SHORT-SCALE JAZZ GUITAR RANGE (1962-68)
JAZZ GUITAR & JAZZ BASS
The earliest Jazz Guitars from mid 1962 feature a short pickguard bass-horn, with a body treble-horn that curves in. I have not yet seen a split sound variant of this early type.
First advertised in December 1962, with a subtly-revised body shape with reversed waist and extended pickguard bass-horn, although this advert pictured a Jazz-derived Six-String Bass prototype.
2-pickup Jazz featured plastic-buttoned Van Gents, the upmarket Split Sound version utilised Metal-buttoned Van Gents
Series 2 Vibrato system introduced from December 1963.
The matching 'Jazz Bass' was finally added to the line in 1964, when the Vista models were retired.
The Jazz range was also the basis for the first prototype Marvin models.
Production continued under the Baldwin name until the end, with bound fingerboards coming in around 1966 with a change to flattened-scroll headstocks by 1967
1962 Short-Scale Jazz Guitar Mk 1: with vibrato unit
Serial No. 424
1962 Short-Scale Jazz Guitar Mk 1: hardtail
Serial No. 679
1962 Short-Scale Jazz Guitar Mk 1
Serial No. 769
Crescendo December 1962
B&M Trade Catalogue, early 1963
Melody Maker 5th Jan 1963
1962 Short-Scale Jazz Guitar (Mk 2, early, all Mahogony)
Serial No. 474
1963 Albino Jazz Split Sound
1963 Jazz Split Sound
Serial No. 3396
New Musical Express 3rd April 1964
1964 White Jazz Short Scale
1964 Albino Short Scale Jazz Guitar
1964 BURNS Jazz Guitar Split Sound
Serial No. 7033
1964 Split Sound Jazz Guitar
Serial No. 7051
28th Sept 1964 Burns Jazz Split Sound
Serial No. 8350
Burns Catalogue Sept 1964
New Musical Express circa Oct 1964
Feb 1965 Burns Catalogue
c.1966 Baldwin Jazz Split Sonic
21st March 1967 Jazz Split Sonic
Serial No. 19590