Burns Baldwin GB-66 Hollow Body Electric Bass Guitar (1966)
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Burns Baldwin GB-66 Model Hollow Body Electric Bass Guitar (1966), made in Romford, England, serial # 11947, sunburst polyester finish, laminated maple body; maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
The GB66 Bass is one of the most conventional of Jim Burns' instruments, one of the latest of the original company's first run designs and one of the least well remembered. A September 1965 report on the 1965 British Musical Trade Fair (held the week of August 23) made special mention of the GB 66 line with the bass priced at 125 Gns. "Burns were extremely proud of their GB66 guitars" it noted. Within days of this announcement the company was bought by the American Baldwin company. Very few GB66's ever appeared under the Burns logo; even Baldwin examples are extremely rare. As the company logo was only on the (now missing) pickguard, this example could have been either originally but was most likely logo'd Baldwin.
This fully hollow bass is built on a slightly lopsided double cutaway thinline body made of laminated maple, finished in sunburst Polyester. The bolt-on maple neck is finished in natural with an unbound rosewood fingerboard and a conventional 2-sided headstock. The thin plywood body is built lighter than Burns' earlier semi-hollow TR-2/Vibraslim model, feeling more like the Italian-made Vox hollowbody instruments coming into the UK at the time. The tailpiece, bridge and headstock shape are all similar to the earlier GB65 guitar. The top and back are arched, the F-holes traditionally shaped and the controls mounted directly to the body.
The GB66 was the last instrument to use the original 1962-style Ultra-Sonic pickups, albeit in the re-wound high impedance version with adjustable polepieces. The controls are a bit eccentric (like most Burns designs) with a tone for each pickup on the lower body, as master volume on the lower cutaway and a 3-way switch on the upper. This is certainly a very playable and good sounding bass, if one with less of Burns' quirky character and innovation. As it was introduced in late summer 1965 and gone from the Baldwin line by the summer of '66, few exist of this short lived model and it has never been re-issued.
Overall length is 45 1/2 in. (115.6 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 30 in. (762 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This bass is a nice player's example of this Burns/Baldwin rarity, showing some general wear and discreet parts replacement but fully functional and cool sounding. There it typical heavy checking to the Polyester finish on the body, common to these instruments but it is not actually flaking off as some are. There is light general wear with small dings, dents and scuffs but the bass does not appear to have actually been played all that much. Something once leeched under the clear headstock logo plate leaving a visible stain.
The neck pickup, wiring rig, switch, knobs, strap buttons, bridge and tailpiece are original. The bridge pickup is an era-correct Burns part but not the original unit fitted to this bass; it is actually an earlier piece and lacks the adjustable poles. The metal mounting ring is also from another instrument and somewhat scuffed up, but everything looks good and works correctly. The original VanGent machines have been replaced by Schaller tuners with the old holes visible, and the pickguard is missing.
The original frets show only some light wear and the bass plays very well, quite light and handy for its size and offering a fairly versatile sound for a full hollowbody instrument. It lives in the original (huge) Baldwin case, a rare survivor of the last days of the original Burns company. Overall Very Good Condition.
The GB66 Bass is one of the most conventional of Jim Burns' instruments, one of the latest of the original company's first run designs and one of the least well remembered. A September 1965 report on the 1965 British Musical Trade Fair (held the week of August 23) made special mention of the GB 66 line with the bass priced at 125 Gns. "Burns were extremely proud of their GB66 guitars" it noted. Within days of this announcement the company was bought by the American Baldwin company. Very few GB66's ever appeared under the Burns logo; even Baldwin examples are extremely rare. As the company logo was only on the (now missing) pickguard, this example could have been either originally but was most likely logo'd Baldwin.
This fully hollow bass is built on a slightly lopsided double cutaway thinline body made of laminated maple, finished in sunburst Polyester. The bolt-on maple neck is finished in natural with an unbound rosewood fingerboard and a conventional 2-sided headstock. The thin plywood body is built lighter than Burns' earlier semi-hollow TR-2/Vibraslim model, feeling more like the Italian-made Vox hollowbody instruments coming into the UK at the time. The tailpiece, bridge and headstock shape are all similar to the earlier GB65 guitar. The top and back are arched, the F-holes traditionally shaped and the controls mounted directly to the body.
The GB66 was the last instrument to use the original 1962-style Ultra-Sonic pickups, albeit in the re-wound high impedance version with adjustable polepieces. The controls are a bit eccentric (like most Burns designs) with a tone for each pickup on the lower body, as master volume on the lower cutaway and a 3-way switch on the upper. This is certainly a very playable and good sounding bass, if one with less of Burns' quirky character and innovation. As it was introduced in late summer 1965 and gone from the Baldwin line by the summer of '66, few exist of this short lived model and it has never been re-issued.
Overall length is 45 1/2 in. (115.6 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 30 in. (762 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This bass is a nice player's example of this Burns/Baldwin rarity, showing some general wear and discreet parts replacement but fully functional and cool sounding. There it typical heavy checking to the Polyester finish on the body, common to these instruments but it is not actually flaking off as some are. There is light general wear with small dings, dents and scuffs but the bass does not appear to have actually been played all that much. Something once leeched under the clear headstock logo plate leaving a visible stain.
The neck pickup, wiring rig, switch, knobs, strap buttons, bridge and tailpiece are original. The bridge pickup is an era-correct Burns part but not the original unit fitted to this bass; it is actually an earlier piece and lacks the adjustable poles. The metal mounting ring is also from another instrument and somewhat scuffed up, but everything looks good and works correctly. The original VanGent machines have been replaced by Schaller tuners with the old holes visible, and the pickguard is missing.
The original frets show only some light wear and the bass plays very well, quite light and handy for its size and offering a fairly versatile sound for a full hollowbody instrument. It lives in the original (huge) Baldwin case, a rare survivor of the last days of the original Burns company. Overall Very Good Condition.