You’ll sometimes see Jim Burns referred to as Britain’s Leo Fender, though the moniker itself tells you who history has favored more. Both were inventive guitar designers. Both used burgeoning tech and techniques to create bold instruments in the early rock ’n’ roll boom. Each worked with musicians to meet the needs of evolving playing styles and made some idiosyncratic choices along the way.
What’s funny is that, due to Leo’s enormous business success, his idiosyncrasies became the template for much of what followed in the guitar industry. Burns’ did not.
Take the Stratocaster’s original control layout: one volume, tone 1 (neck pickup), and tone 2 (middle pickup only upon release, only later adding the bridge pickup). That is, objectively, pretty bizarre. Time and familiarity have made it less so. By comparison, look at this 1964 Burns Vibra Slim, the featured pick for this edition of Vintage Vault. Its idiosyncrasies were strange from the start, and time has only made them more so.
See those control wheels peeking out from under the raised pickguard, closer to what you might encounter on early electrified archtops? Here, they’re fairly hard to reach, given the width of the guard. And the controls themselves are not in a traditional layout. When looking from a player’s position, left-to-right reads tone A, presence B, tone B, volume. Huh?
“If this had caught on, maybe we’d be calling Leo Fender the American Jim Burns.”
It’s best to think of this tone circuit in combination with the Ultra Sonic pickups. The Vibra Slim originally featured two, with the one at the neck being a kind of stacked humbucker, and at the bridge, a straightforward single-coil. So, you set the 3-way switch to the neck (left), bridge (right), or both (center) positions, then set tone A to taste. Presence control blends in extra body from the stacked humbucker’s second coil. And tone B fine-tunes the mix. If this had caught on, maybe we’d be calling Leo Fender the American Jim Burns. But, as you know, it did not. The Vibra Slim was actually one of the last of the original designs Jim Burns made for his namesake company, before Baldwin bought it and started implementing changes.
The Vibra Slim was first available in September 1964, and would be gone by ’68 (a shorter run than LBJ’s). Between the guitar’s birth and demise, Baldwin would even strip away some of what made it unique and lovable. Back upon release in ’64, it was advertised for £140.70 (what would be £3,700 today, adjusting for U.K. inflation today). That’s nearing $5,000 for Americans, with current exchange rates. It was a premium handcrafted guitar, near the top of Burns’ prices.
Similar to its TR-2 predecessor, though lighter thanks to laminated plywood construction, it had a 15 3/4"-wide semi-hollow body (rather than a carved top). And it had a very nicely offset waist that predated the Fender Starcaster by about a dozen years.
Sadly, soon after Baldwin’s purchase in 1965, branding shifts began. Ultra Sonic pickups changed to Bar-O-Matiks. Then, a major overhaul: The original set neck became a bolt-on. The pickguard and control layout changed completely, and steps toward standardization were made. Thumbwheels became standard knobs on the body, and the still-angular horns of the Burns years were softened a little. By 1968, the Vibra Slim was out of Baldwin’s catalogs altogether.
Because players and collectors alike are less familiar with Burns in general and Vibra Slims in particular, you can find these wonderful, handcrafted instruments for very reasonable vintage prices today. While asking prices can vary greatly, the final sold prices are more along the lines of what folks now pay for off-era Fenders or Gibsons, and lawsuit-era MIJ copies of the classics.
This particular Vibra Slim, for sale now through Reverb seller Oscar Guitars, based in Stockholm, Sweden, has an asking price of €1,771 ($2,147). In truly excellent condition, we’ve seen these go for around as high as $3,000 on Reverb, and as low as $1,000 with some heavier wear-and-tear or mods.
It’s interesting that, while one side of the vintage market is pushing up prices for lesser-ran Fender and Gibson models, or even off-brand copies, there’s so little interest in these premium guitars that were built with plenty of their own flair. If you dare to be different, keep your eye out for a Burns Vibra Slim like this.
Sources: Tony Bacon’s “A Brief History of Burns,” Vintage Guitars’ “Baldwin Guitars and Amplifiers” and “Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 7"; Reverb listings and sales data.
From long-lasting strings engineered for clarity and punch to a retro modulation mini and a 3.9-pound amp that hits 200 watts, this month's radar is stacked with gear that punches above its size.
Cleartone Strings
Power Series Electric Guitar Strings
These strings are engineered for players seeking a bigger, clearer, more responsive tone straight from the guitar. A refined nickel-iron blend delivers a natural clean boost with tighter lows, added presence, and improved articulation—making single-coils punchier and humbuckers more responsive. They’re finished with Cleartone’s patented No-Feel coating for long life.
This compact powerhouse is packed with lush modulation effects and epic sounds. It delivers a kaleidoscope of tones with a wide stereo spread. From the pulsating tremolo of the swinging ’60s to the funky phaser and U-Vibe grooves of the ’70s, MOD-mini takes you into a sonic time warp.
It fits in your backpack, weighs 3.9 pounds, and combines Sunn’s legendary Beta Lead and Beta Bass circuits while delivering 200 watts of pure MOSFET tone. This amp features two independent channels, each with its own set of controls—run them both clean or dirty, or mix and blend them for hybrid tones.
MusicPro ’26, a conference collecting music industry sponsors and over 50 speakers, begins this Friday at Musicians Institute in Hollywood and continues through the weekend, providing artists and those who support them with information, interaction and inspiration. And, after posting 30+ conference sessions, receptions and special events to musicpro26.com, an array of special events-within-the-event have been announced, including:
The MusicPro Networking Reception
BMI’s “Speed Dating for Songwriters”
The MusicPro Insurance Showcase and Pandora AMP After-Party
The Music Matters Challenges
The event has previously announced sessions with Neil Giraldo (Giraldo-Benatar), RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier, former Jonas Entertainment CEO Phil Guerini, American Idol’s Peter Cohen, The Voice’s Dory Lobel, Gregg Bissonette, and many others.
Hosted by Give A Note Foundation – the 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to nurturing, growing, and strengthening music education opportunities – and with premier sponsors MusicPro Insurance and Pandora AMP, MusicPro ‘26 features panels, workshops, live interviews, keynotes and more about achieving success in today’s music industry. The conference will also give artists the opportunity to network with fellow musicians and industry leaders. The full list of sessions, speakers, and sponsors can be found here. To register for MusicPro ’26, go to musicpro26.com. MusicPro ‘26 is produced by Westchester Media.
Cory Wong sits down with the legendary bassist Oteil Burbridge (Allman Brothers Band, Dead & Company, Tedeschi Trucks Band) for a deep dive into musical philosophy, Col. Bruce, and more.
Burbridge has been driven by a simple, radical lesson he learned from Col. Bruce Hampton: Intention comes first, the instrument is last. He tells Cory how he learned to channel his entire life—including the “mirror of embarrassment”—into his playing to develop a singular voice—scat singing and all.
Burbridge also breaks down how he maintains deep groove while adding melodic freedom, and the power a bassist has to drive a soloist to “40,000 feet.” Plus, you’ll hear behind-the-scenes stories from the Allman Brothers Band, advice on dealing with creative pushback, and details on his upcoming album recorded in Iceland.
Genzler® Amplification has introduced the next generation of the company’s 800-watt professional, tour-class bass guitar amplifier: the new Magellan® 800+.
Carrying forward the legacy of night-after-night reliability, the new Magellan® 800+ delivers higher performance and several new features – including improved preamp circuitry, an expanded EQ network, and same rugged chassis and stringent design for which Genzler is well known.
The Magellan® 800+ delivers the most powerful, feature-laden, compact bass amplifier available in its class. This new model offers improved dynamic response and feel; along with superior low-noise thresholds and increased dynamic headroom.
The MG-800+® is a solid-state, all analog design and provides a simple, musical interface, and the tonal palette needed to cover all of the bassist’s amplifier requirements; from natural, pristine, transparent reproduction of the bass instrument to classic, vintage harmonic textures with “weighted feel to the notes”. This is packaged within the classic Magellan styling and all-aluminum chassis, weighing only 6.25 lbs.
The Magellan® 800+ is equipped with an expanded list of features:
Updated input circuitry for increased dynamics
All-new foot switchable Drive circuitry delivering a wide range of tube-like harmonics
New HPF (High Pass Filter) multi-slope, frequency dependent and adjustable between 25-120Hz
Genzler’s unique Dual Contour Circuit – now foot switchable and separately adjustable
New 4 Band Active EQ with two Sweepable midrange frequencies
New high-grade op-amps for lower noise threshold and higher dynamic headroom, throughout the preamp
Optional dual function footswitch for Drive and Contour functions
Light weight @ 6.25 Lbs
The Magellan® 800+ design is a dramatic departure from Genzler® Amplification’s current lineup of popular bass heads, the Kinetix® 800 and Magellan® 350. All Genzler bass heads are an ideal match to their line of speaker enclosures, like the Bass Array® Series 2, Nu Classic® and new Magellan® ULV series of bass cabinets.
The Magellan® 800+ amp carries a street price of $1,199.99. For more information visit www.genzleramplification.com.
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