What have I bought? A one off? A small run Burns?

[Pinball]

Any thoughts on this?

As a happy Burns lead guitar owner I have always fancied a Burns bass but "What no 5 string?". There are the 4 strings which include the short scale 32" Marquee, the even shorter scale Nu-Sonic, the "quirky" Bison or the more expensive Shadows bass. They are all good in their various ways but I discounted them all for various reasons. A shame but wait......I just took a punt on this!

It is a 34" scale Burns Marquee. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on it. My first thought was that it was cobbled together from a couple of basses but the seller claims to have bought it new as is and when comparing it to the 32 version there are differences.

The seller tells me he bought it a couple of years ago and was the first owner. That means it is probably from the Far East. The differences the standard Marquee bass are as follows:

1. It has logos/writing on it (Burns and 1964).
2. It is 34 rather than 32 inch scale
3. The neck profile at the back/near the body is a bit unrefined, which suggests it's a special or one off.
4. The bridge has moved to help lengthen the scale
5. The "big plastic" has a shorter horn to make way for the bridge
6, The back of the neck and head aren't painted like the production model
7. The neck wood is nicely grained
8. The Strap button has been moved from the back of the guitar to the end of the horn...probably to help balance the longer neck
9. The "bottom horn plastic" seems to have a finer shape.
10. It appears to have its own specially made Burns case.

They are not exactly groundbreaking changes but it all suggests more thought than something that is just thrown together from a bunch of parts.

I don't know if its me yet but I'm excited about getting it.

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Edited September 11, 2016 by Pinball

[Pinball]

Here's a standard Marque getting the treatment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yorHgYo1bSU

[Cosmo Valdemar]

A 34" Marquee bass... I want it!

[JapanAxe]

It's rare to see a 3-pickup bass. Godin brought one out a few years ago but I have never got my mitts on one.

[Count Bassy]

I've always fancied a Marquee, because it is 32", but I've since moved on to fivers so its lost the appeal.

[alyctes]

Looks nice - and white isn't my colour

[Pinball]

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1473627336' post='3131848']
It's rare to see a 3-pickup bass. Godin brought one out a few years ago but I have never got my mitts on one.
[/quote]
Yes, I like the look of those. The Burns Bisons have three as well and they sound great IMHO. This one shares the same pickups so I'm hoping for a similar sound. Of course it doesn't have a Wild Dog setting

Thanks for all the comments...no answers though.

I've pinged an email to Burns to see if they can tell me something about it. I thought that someone here may have seen it at a show or something.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Pinball

[synthaside]

I played one of those in a 34 ten or so years ago , it was defiantly full scale it played well but a little thin for my taste but back then i was wooden humbucker's with the tone on zero played with a pick or nothing.

Enjoy it ... I hope to see a full review .

[Beer of the Bass]

The big decals make me wonder if it was a trade show sample or similar.

[Pinball]

[quote name='synthaside' timestamp='1473675142' post='3132081']
I played one of those in a 34 ten or so years ago , it was defiantly full scale it played well but a little thin for my taste but back then i was wooden humbucker's with the tone on zero played with a pick or nothing.

Enjoy it ... I hope to see a full review .
[/quote]

Aha so they have been made before! I thought there would be some around somewhere...it would have been strange if they weren't on such as old guitar line.
A review is possible but I don't have much experience of "Jazzers". I'm more of a P man. I'll maybe enlist some independent help or a 2nd opinion.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1473676030' post='3132095']
The big decals make me wonder if it was a trade show sample or similar.
[/quote]

That was my first thought...made for a display of some kind. I thought someone may have seen it and if there was a small run of them I would think that someone on here would know.

[synthaside]

The one i used did not have such prominent decal's so that's either custom or like you say from a trade show or some such.

It was at a gig in Kingston , We were the warm up act for a considerably well above our station band they were touring and we were pretty much at our first gig placed by the rehearsal studio , to fill the bill.

We were all stuck in the venue 3 hours or so before hand, as this place liked to do a soundcheck before the pub part of the bar fills up. It belonged to a nice chap who had a very nice Warwick rack mount setup but was actually quite impressed by the sound coming out of my old Trace SMX and Epi tbird. We swapped gear for a muck around before the gig and ended up with them dragging us on stage for an loud shouty encore of ... Sabotage by the beastie boys , much to the chagrin of the middle act who hadnt turned up until just before the start of the gig a riot grrl act using what was at the time very new daisy rock gear >.<

Its funny the nights you remember clear as day , This bass thundered out the bass line to sabotage with a nice gritty bit of overdrive ....

[Pinball]

Hi, I have an update. It turns out that the previous owner had the decals especially made for the guitar so they were a false lead. I have removed them because I didn't want it damaging the finish in the long run. The bass itself is good so I have done a review as requested here: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/292454-burns-marquee-review/page__fromsearch__1

Thanks for all your interest and input