Burns Nu-Sonic Solid Body Electric Guitar (1964)
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Burns Nu-Sonic Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1964), made in London, England, serial # 7934, cherry polyester finish, Agba wood body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
The Nu-Sonic guitar was Burns of London's student-level instrument after mid-1964, introduced to replace the original 1960 Sonic series. The model was offered in guitar and bass form in cherry or black finish at around half the price of a flashy Bison or Marvin guitar; it is roughly the UK equivalent of the Fender Mustang.
This guitar has a short 23 3/8" scale neck on a small sculpted double cutaway body finished in transparent cherry; like many it has now faded to a sort of medium orange. The pickguard carries two single-coil Nu-Sonic Pickups under engraved plastic covers, wired to a 3-way switch with individual volumes and master tone, making for a good-sounding and surprisingly versatile package. The trem system is simple but reasonably effective; the original arm is still intact on this one.
Despite its lower-budget intentions, the Nu-Sonic is a well-made guitar and was not particularly cheap by contemporary standards. Perhaps in light of this, it was one of the first models dropped by Baldwin after they bought the Burns company in September 1965. As the Nu-Sonics were discontinued by the fall of 1966, the total production run was very brief at only about two years. Original Burns-labeled examples like this are comparatively rare, especially in the US where they were only available under the Ampeg brand 9in 1964) and Baldwin ('65-'66).
The Nu-Sonic is a very light and handy guitar capable of quite a snarly tone when pushed. This is a cool original UK Burns rarity and neat little player's piece. UK Anti-Folk songster Richard Dawson is rarely seen without his identical Nu-Sonic, showing this obscure but delightful little solidbody has considerable range beyond its beat-group roots!
Overall length is 37 7/8 in. (96.2 cm.), 13 in. (33 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 23 3/8 in. (594 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This guitar shows general wear overall but remains in mostly original condition. There are dings, chips and scrapes to the finish overall and a decent amount of the typical Polyester crazing on the body. The color on the headstock has faded dramatically to a pale orange, the body also shows a decent amount of fade on the front, the back retaining a bit more of the original red.
The twin Nu-Sonic pickups are original, the pots, switch and components of the wiring rig are original as well but some mad boffin has been at the electronics; there are several added caps and resistors in various spots along the signal chain. We are not sure what the intent was but the guitar sounds great as it stands so we have left it alone!
All external hardware is complete and original; the guitar was fitted with Kluson tuners for a time but the original plastic-button VanGents have been re-installed leaving just a few small errant marks on the back of the headstock. Even the plastic-tipped vibrato arm (which has often gone missing) is still present and working. Most of the plating, particularly the vibrato base plate shows a decent amount of wear.
The original frets have been recrowned and show little subsequent wear; The nut is a replacement. The fingerboard shows some light divoting in the first position, but the guitar plays well. This one is just a bit scruffy-looking at first glance but overall remains a nice, very playable example of this short-lived Jim Burns creation; a superbly light and handy little guitar. It resides in a modern HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
The Nu-Sonic guitar was Burns of London's student-level instrument after mid-1964, introduced to replace the original 1960 Sonic series. The model was offered in guitar and bass form in cherry or black finish at around half the price of a flashy Bison or Marvin guitar; it is roughly the UK equivalent of the Fender Mustang.
This guitar has a short 23 3/8" scale neck on a small sculpted double cutaway body finished in transparent cherry; like many it has now faded to a sort of medium orange. The pickguard carries two single-coil Nu-Sonic Pickups under engraved plastic covers, wired to a 3-way switch with individual volumes and master tone, making for a good-sounding and surprisingly versatile package. The trem system is simple but reasonably effective; the original arm is still intact on this one.
Despite its lower-budget intentions, the Nu-Sonic is a well-made guitar and was not particularly cheap by contemporary standards. Perhaps in light of this, it was one of the first models dropped by Baldwin after they bought the Burns company in September 1965. As the Nu-Sonics were discontinued by the fall of 1966, the total production run was very brief at only about two years. Original Burns-labeled examples like this are comparatively rare, especially in the US where they were only available under the Ampeg brand 9in 1964) and Baldwin ('65-'66).
The Nu-Sonic is a very light and handy guitar capable of quite a snarly tone when pushed. This is a cool original UK Burns rarity and neat little player's piece. UK Anti-Folk songster Richard Dawson is rarely seen without his identical Nu-Sonic, showing this obscure but delightful little solidbody has considerable range beyond its beat-group roots!
Overall length is 37 7/8 in. (96.2 cm.), 13 in. (33 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 23 3/8 in. (594 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This guitar shows general wear overall but remains in mostly original condition. There are dings, chips and scrapes to the finish overall and a decent amount of the typical Polyester crazing on the body. The color on the headstock has faded dramatically to a pale orange, the body also shows a decent amount of fade on the front, the back retaining a bit more of the original red.
The twin Nu-Sonic pickups are original, the pots, switch and components of the wiring rig are original as well but some mad boffin has been at the electronics; there are several added caps and resistors in various spots along the signal chain. We are not sure what the intent was but the guitar sounds great as it stands so we have left it alone!
All external hardware is complete and original; the guitar was fitted with Kluson tuners for a time but the original plastic-button VanGents have been re-installed leaving just a few small errant marks on the back of the headstock. Even the plastic-tipped vibrato arm (which has often gone missing) is still present and working. Most of the plating, particularly the vibrato base plate shows a decent amount of wear.
The original frets have been recrowned and show little subsequent wear; The nut is a replacement. The fingerboard shows some light divoting in the first position, but the guitar plays well. This one is just a bit scruffy-looking at first glance but overall remains a nice, very playable example of this short-lived Jim Burns creation; a superbly light and handy little guitar. It resides in a modern HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.