fender vs burns

[hansaustria]

I've 4 Burns Marvin's a 65 a 80 and 2x 04.
When I compare the "other 3" with the original... sound wise ,the 04 British build greenburst Marvin sounds like the original only louder...
The one from 80/82 sounds slightly different , but the one who takes the biscuit of sounding different is the 04 40th anniversary Marvin....that's the one that sounds the most as a strat....
Cheers Rob

It`s the same with my Marvins. The orig. 64 ( vintage ) and my very early Legend ( # 0075 ) sounds nearly the same. I like the Legend
because it has slightly more bite, but it sounds like a Burns and has the typical growl on the neck pu. You can hear my different youtube videos.
I have a second Legend ( 1996 ) in greenburst, which has a slightly larger body and a fatter neck ( to Hanks specs .... I was told by the seller ) !
This guitar sounds superb and sounds ... like a Burns.

My 40 Anniversary sounds more like a Strat, thats very interesting. I miss the growl of a Burns Marvin. Does anybody have an idea, why ?

Regards
Hans

[Uncle Fiesta]

I actually sold my 2004 because it sounded too much like a Strat to my ears, and I already had too many of those.

(Still do!!)

[David Martin]

Interestingly, after I acquired it, I used a 2004 exclusively with Legend...

No lesser ears than those belonging to Colin Pryce-Jones reckoned it sounded just like the original 60s Burns... and so did I.

(However, I believe the key to this is the combination of the inherent qualities of the Burns combined with the Vox Top Boost circuit)

[Iain Purdon]

And the way you play it? I remember you demonstrating picking technique on a Fender. Does it also help towards the Burns snarl?

[bor64]

David, your sample of the 40th anniversary isn't a run of the mill sample if I remembered correctly....
Was it not that your one of the first who got one from the first pre-batch ones?
I remember a thread back in the day on the old site about this, the fact your sample sounded better/different...
Didn't you had a spare set original rez-o-matics , back then too?
Please tell me if it isn't.

Cheers Rob

[David Martin]

The difference between mine and other, later, examples is that mine, in common with Hank's and Bruce's and all the very early serial numbers had scratchplates made from the original material as the replacement stuff was considerably delayed...

I do a have a set of 60s Resomatics, but they languish in a drawer here at Martin Towers and have never been fitted to my 2004...

[hansaustria]

The difference between mine and other, later, examples is that mine, in common with Hank's and Bruce's and all the very early serial numbers had scratchplates made from the original material as the replacement stuff was considerably delayed...

I do a have a set of 60s Resomatics, but they languish in a drawer here at Martin Towers and have never been fitted to my 2004...

Did you do a direct comparison from Marvin ( vintage / Legend / 2004 ) guitars side by side ? I did it with one vintage ( 1964 ) a 2004 and two very early Legends ( 1993 / 96 ) !
There are great differences in sound.

Hans

PS: my Legend has an excellent sounding neck pu, the bridge and middle pu are very good !

[Iain Purdon]

Would it be fair to assume that a Rez-o-matic of today is the same beast as one from the 60s and should therefore behave the same way?

As you may be able to tell - I do not take pickups apart

[fenderplucker]

When I did a comparison between two 2004 Marvins and a Shadows Custom Signature I noticed that the magnets in the 2004 pickups seemed to be a lot stronger than the Custom and the pickups had to be set lower to avoid Wolf notes. They also sounded different and lacked the slightly "nasal" sound of the Custom that I take to be the Burns signature sound. As commented above the 2004's sounded more like a Strat.

Paul.

[hansaustria]

When I did a comparison between two 2004 Marvins and a Shadows Custom Signature I noticed that the magnets in the 2004 pickups seemed to be a lot stronger than the Custom and the pickups had to be set lower to avoid Wolf notes. They also sounded different and lacked the slightly "nasal" sound of the Custom that I take to be the Burns signature sound. As commented above the 2004's sounded more like a Strat.

Paul.

Yes of course, I made the same experiences in the A / B comparison with four Marvins ( one from 1964 ) - the 2004 didn`t ( doesn`t ) sound "nasal" like the other 3.

Hans