Baldwin - Burns Double Six 12 String Solid Body Electric Guitar (1966)
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Item # 10620
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Baldwin - Burns Double Six Model 12 String Solid Body Electric Guitar (1966), made in London, England, serial # 15915, green sunburst finish, sycamore body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
The Burns Double Six is one of our very favorite electric 12-strings and a true -- if offbeat -- 1960s classic. With its wide comfortable neck and three powerful Tri-Sonic pickups this British-made 12-string is a versatile and great-sounding instrument for many applications. It is also a supremely striking looking machine, a large guitar with a really eye-popping green "Martian" sunburst finish on the sycamore body with a natural neck.
The Double Six is equipped with three single-coil Burns Tri-Sonic pickups giving it a clear and very powerful sound, controlled by a straight-from-the-Strat single switch and three knob wiring rig. The big wide neck is a treat for players who feel constrained by the typical narrow Rickenbacker-style 12 string fingerboard, and the long 25 1/2" scale offers a lot of room to get around. The long headstock mounts 12 individual covered VanGent tuners, and sort of resembles the snout of some primordial crocodile!
This particular guitar was likely assembled in mid-late 1966, around a year after the American Baldwin company took over London-based Burns operation in September 1965. The wiring assembly is marked as inspected on 14 July 1966 on a sticker under the pickguard. There are no major differences on this guitar from the original Burns-logo'd version, just small detail changes. The dot-inlaid rosewood fretboard has binding added, and the finish on the neck no longer matches the body which at least made assembly easier. The lower pickguard section has "Baldwin" engraved on it; the Burns logo is still seen on the pickup covers.
The Double Six remains one of the very best Burns-designed instruments and a mucho cool guitar, one of the company's genuine successes. It was popular in the 1960's when electric 12-strings had their shining moment, favored by bands since 1964 including the Searchers, The Zombies, The Troggs, and even Elvis! We feel this is still one of the best instruments of its type ever designed and are always pleased to have a fine original example.
Overall length is 42 1/4 in. (107.3 cm.), 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 7/8 in. (48 mm.).
This is a very nice original example with no notable damage, repair or alteration except a nicely done professional refret and a new nut. The fret wire is slightly larger than the original, but still in character with the instrument and the period. Other than this the guitar shows only some minor wear and remains original and completed. Even the oft-missing chrome tailpiece cover and securing bolts are still intact. The hardware has some light wear and minor corrosion here and there.
The finish on the body has retained excellent color in the green/black sunburst with virtually no fade. It shows some typical linear checking, still rather less than is often encountered with 1960s Baldwin finishes. There is no chipping or flaking of the finish as sometimes seen with these. The body and neck have just small dings and dents; considering it is now 55+ years old this is a very well-preserved guitar, an excellent player with a low, comfortable action and one of the nicer of these we have had in a while! The original (huge, bass sized) Baldwin logo'd OHSC is included. Overall Excellent Condition.
The Burns Double Six is one of our very favorite electric 12-strings and a true -- if offbeat -- 1960s classic. With its wide comfortable neck and three powerful Tri-Sonic pickups this British-made 12-string is a versatile and great-sounding instrument for many applications. It is also a supremely striking looking machine, a large guitar with a really eye-popping green "Martian" sunburst finish on the sycamore body with a natural neck.
The Double Six is equipped with three single-coil Burns Tri-Sonic pickups giving it a clear and very powerful sound, controlled by a straight-from-the-Strat single switch and three knob wiring rig. The big wide neck is a treat for players who feel constrained by the typical narrow Rickenbacker-style 12 string fingerboard, and the long 25 1/2" scale offers a lot of room to get around. The long headstock mounts 12 individual covered VanGent tuners, and sort of resembles the snout of some primordial crocodile!
This particular guitar was likely assembled in mid-late 1966, around a year after the American Baldwin company took over London-based Burns operation in September 1965. The wiring assembly is marked as inspected on 14 July 1966 on a sticker under the pickguard. There are no major differences on this guitar from the original Burns-logo'd version, just small detail changes. The dot-inlaid rosewood fretboard has binding added, and the finish on the neck no longer matches the body which at least made assembly easier. The lower pickguard section has "Baldwin" engraved on it; the Burns logo is still seen on the pickup covers.
The Double Six remains one of the very best Burns-designed instruments and a mucho cool guitar, one of the company's genuine successes. It was popular in the 1960's when electric 12-strings had their shining moment, favored by bands since 1964 including the Searchers, The Zombies, The Troggs, and even Elvis! We feel this is still one of the best instruments of its type ever designed and are always pleased to have a fine original example.
Overall length is 42 1/4 in. (107.3 cm.), 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 7/8 in. (48 mm.).
This is a very nice original example with no notable damage, repair or alteration except a nicely done professional refret and a new nut. The fret wire is slightly larger than the original, but still in character with the instrument and the period. Other than this the guitar shows only some minor wear and remains original and completed. Even the oft-missing chrome tailpiece cover and securing bolts are still intact. The hardware has some light wear and minor corrosion here and there.
The finish on the body has retained excellent color in the green/black sunburst with virtually no fade. It shows some typical linear checking, still rather less than is often encountered with 1960s Baldwin finishes. There is no chipping or flaking of the finish as sometimes seen with these. The body and neck have just small dings and dents; considering it is now 55+ years old this is a very well-preserved guitar, an excellent player with a low, comfortable action and one of the nicer of these we have had in a while! The original (huge, bass sized) Baldwin logo'd OHSC is included. Overall Excellent Condition.