gaz66

You're correct about the sticker BlueMoon, although many don't have them as well. Burns are quite random with serial numbers and stickers but it's definitely a mid '64 as the Bison was changed in late '64 and looks quite different. The controls are a four position selector, an A&B selector, volume and tone. A BlueMoon says "Wild Dog" is one selection and probably the least useful! Very thin and out of phase.

That's in a sad state, but yes that's a 1964 Burns Bison. I have one and the serial number is also in the 5000"s. The tuners aren't original, they should be the black Van Ghent ones and it's missing the headstock badge, bridge cover and mute assembly. The polyester finish did crack and come off a lot on these so I guess it made sense at the time to strip it back. It would certainly be a project and spares are very rare. The electronics on these are complicated, I can let you know what each setting is supposed to do. Does it work? I'd be interested to see some more detailed photos.

Graham bought my Arion Flanger. Nice prompt payment and an easy transaction. Recommended. Gary

Hi, I bought that case but there's an identical one on Reverb https://reverb.com/uk/item/50329953-burns-bass-case These cases are for the re-issue Burns Bison. If you have an original it'll fit with some tweaking. Cheers G

Here's my 1973 Fender Jazz. My first proper instrument bought in 1983 and it was mint. It's done every gig I've ever played. The finish cracked badly after I left it in a tour bus overnight in Finland at minus 20. It's been re-fretted 3 times and had to have new pickups after the originals died. They are now Lollars. Apart from that it's all original! I still have the chrome covers but lost the pick guard and case somewhere along the way.

1963 Burns Black Bison. In the words of Nigel Tufnel, "How much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."

I wouldn't get too hung up on trying to do a minute or more of 16's at 95 or 105 bpm. It's great practice but realistically you probably only need 30 seconds of constant 16's before there'll be an 8th note or rest to give you a breather. I'd agree with just playing the actual line at a tempo you're comfortable with and then gradually increase the bpm. It's a better way to get the feel for it. There's a program called Transcribe that enables you to slow down tracks by whatever amount you like and you can then play along and over time work your speed up by small increments.

Ha Ha , I was thinking exactly that myself as I was writing it. dmccombe7 - The pickups are now Lollars. The original Fender Jazz ones died one after the other but were covered in some resin and beyond repair. I think the Lollars are better than the originals.

I think it's totally possible to get by with just one bass if it's a good one. Every gig I have ever done has been on the same bass and after over 35 years and more than 2000 gigs it's still going. It's been re-fretted 3 times, had a new nut, new pick ups and occasionally new strings. This may seem odd for a professional player but I don't think I even had a back up bass for about 6 years of solid touring. Looking back on it I probably should have had a spare but at the time it didn't bother me. Some of the gigs were pretty big but luckily nothing ever went wrong with the bass. Amps have failed but there's always a DI. I did get a second bass eventually and in the past few years picked up a few others so I now have 7 but I only gig with the same one.

I think it is a P bass and I know what you mean about the light entertainment stuff ! But I imagine for a forty something session musician in the 1980's the Ronnie Hazlehurst gig was a nice steady earner. A gig for life or at least until the death of the bandleader! Shame they didn't do The Two Ronnies theme, that's properly funky.

Yes, "Melody Nelson" is definitely Dave Richmond. There was a transcription of the track "Cargo Culte" in a bass mag a few years back and Herbie Flowers [ who was usually credited for it ] is quoted saying "I have a well worn copy of the original recording...I can tell his sound and style a mile away. It's him all the way on this masterpiece. " Dave is also on some great Scott Walker solo LP's. The track "The old man's back again" is particularly brilliant. As is his playing on the Labi Siffre recording "It must be love." Nothing sounds like that Burns Bison with a Pick! I think he is one of the greatest UK bass players and not rated enough these days.

Don't forget the great Dave Richmond and his Burns Bison. His tracks Heavy lead and Nightwatch in particular. He's on loads of KPM and Bruton library stuff as a composer and player and the bass always sounds amazing.