Baldwin - Burns Baby Bison Solid Body Electric Guitar (1966)
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Item # 11897
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Baldwin - Burns Baby Bison Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1966), made in London, England, serial # 13315, black polyester finish, sycamore body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This is a worn in but still good playing example of the Baby Bison, Jim Burns' last design for the company that originally bore his name. Initially intended as a less expensive "export" solidbody Bison model for the American market, the Baby Bison was one of the first Baldwin-logo'd guitars to be seen on these shores. When the Burns company was sold to Baldwin in September 1965, this guitar was just about to enter production so "Burns" labeled examples are almost non-existent. This guitar is the second generation Baldwin model with "flattened scroll" headstock, short "Rezo-Tube" tailpiece and 4 pickguard segments with clear center section. All these features were added by the summer of 1966 when the guitar underwent a slight re-design from the original model.
The Baby Bison is generally a straightforward design...for Jim Burns, anyway. The most advanced feature is the same simple-looking but deceptively elaborate two-pickup circuit shared with the Burns Virginian and Baldwin Vibra-Slim. The pickups look identical from the outside, but the neck pickup is a stacked double coil unit with the second coil blended in via the middle "presence" control knob. The tone control and presence control only work on this forward pickup, while the bridge unit is wired straight out, like a Stratocaster. This makes for an initially somewhat confusing layout, but one that works well in practice, though the "presence" effect is pretty subtle.
This guitar was offered in both transparent cherry and solid black Polyester finish; this striking black model is by far the rarer of the two. The Baby Bison is one of the more familiar Baldwin guitars to US players, as much of the production run was sent here as affordable flag bearers for the Baldwin/Burns line. This is a trim and versatile guitar, once known as a favorite of Doobie Brother and studio ace Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. The "Bar-O-Matic" pickups are quite powerful without losing clarity, and the sound ranges from crisp to raunchy easily. This is a fairly well-worn example but still a very cool and underrated 1960's guitar!
Overall length is 39 1/4 in. (99.7 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This is a pretty well-used but still fine playing original example, still sharp looking in the more "badass" black livery. The heavy Poly finish is pretty well dinged up overall with dents, scratches and some heavy chipping with some finish missing along the bottom edge of the body. On the plus side there is little of the common Polyester checking or flaking, mostly just a wear from use. The neck finish shows mostly small chips and dings, with wear along the edges.
The hardware is original except the nearly always missing original vibrato arm is gone, as is the socket to mount it in, so the vibrato option is now moot. The decorative plastic piece is missing from the back end of the Rezo-Tube unit, and there are a few small screw holes added around it. The tuners are original VanGents but missing their back covers, and the logo plate in the headstock has been cracked and somewhat sloppily glued back in place. The neck has been neatly refretted and the guitar plays quite well, a veteran of some heavy gigging but still a solid and fine-sounding player. It includes the original HSC, still functional but with some wear overall. Very Good Condition.
This is a worn in but still good playing example of the Baby Bison, Jim Burns' last design for the company that originally bore his name. Initially intended as a less expensive "export" solidbody Bison model for the American market, the Baby Bison was one of the first Baldwin-logo'd guitars to be seen on these shores. When the Burns company was sold to Baldwin in September 1965, this guitar was just about to enter production so "Burns" labeled examples are almost non-existent. This guitar is the second generation Baldwin model with "flattened scroll" headstock, short "Rezo-Tube" tailpiece and 4 pickguard segments with clear center section. All these features were added by the summer of 1966 when the guitar underwent a slight re-design from the original model.
The Baby Bison is generally a straightforward design...for Jim Burns, anyway. The most advanced feature is the same simple-looking but deceptively elaborate two-pickup circuit shared with the Burns Virginian and Baldwin Vibra-Slim. The pickups look identical from the outside, but the neck pickup is a stacked double coil unit with the second coil blended in via the middle "presence" control knob. The tone control and presence control only work on this forward pickup, while the bridge unit is wired straight out, like a Stratocaster. This makes for an initially somewhat confusing layout, but one that works well in practice, though the "presence" effect is pretty subtle.
This guitar was offered in both transparent cherry and solid black Polyester finish; this striking black model is by far the rarer of the two. The Baby Bison is one of the more familiar Baldwin guitars to US players, as much of the production run was sent here as affordable flag bearers for the Baldwin/Burns line. This is a trim and versatile guitar, once known as a favorite of Doobie Brother and studio ace Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. The "Bar-O-Matic" pickups are quite powerful without losing clarity, and the sound ranges from crisp to raunchy easily. This is a fairly well-worn example but still a very cool and underrated 1960's guitar!
Overall length is 39 1/4 in. (99.7 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This is a pretty well-used but still fine playing original example, still sharp looking in the more "badass" black livery. The heavy Poly finish is pretty well dinged up overall with dents, scratches and some heavy chipping with some finish missing along the bottom edge of the body. On the plus side there is little of the common Polyester checking or flaking, mostly just a wear from use. The neck finish shows mostly small chips and dings, with wear along the edges.
The hardware is original except the nearly always missing original vibrato arm is gone, as is the socket to mount it in, so the vibrato option is now moot. The decorative plastic piece is missing from the back end of the Rezo-Tube unit, and there are a few small screw holes added around it. The tuners are original VanGents but missing their back covers, and the logo plate in the headstock has been cracked and somewhat sloppily glued back in place. The neck has been neatly refretted and the guitar plays quite well, a veteran of some heavy gigging but still a solid and fine-sounding player. It includes the original HSC, still functional but with some wear overall. Very Good Condition.