Burman 502 Head

I first heard one of these amps when I saw a pro covers band (which apparently included ex-members of Nazareth!) play in a local pub. As soon as I walked in I was taken aback by the guitarists tone, huge and powerful yet smooth and clear. A sound which enveloped the room in it's warmth rather than blasted into your ears. He was using a Burman 502 through a tiny Mesa/Boogie 1X12. Information on these amps was scarce apart from these few reviews but it was obvious that Greg Burman made quality amplifiers.

I couldn't believe my luck when over a year later, I walked into my local music shop and found a 502 collecting dust in the corner. My beloved old amp did not stand a chance...

The 502 is an all-valve point to point wired 50W amp with two non foot-switchable channels. It was built in the late 70s/early 80s and so unfortunately has no effects loop. Although officially rated at 50W, it was originally designed to use two KT77 output valves, rated at 35W each. When I bought my 502, it was fitted with Harma E34Ls (not EL34!) which I believe are the only current production KT77 equivalents available in the UK.

The controls:

Channel 1:
gain
bass
treble

Channel 2:
gain 1
gain 2
gain 3 (Master Vol for both channels)
bass
middle
treble
presence (both channels)
reverb (Ch2 only)

I use a Reverend Drivetrain and a Crowther Audio Hotcake for my drive and so only need to use channel two which I chose as it has more EQ control and the option of reverb.

What makes this amp so versatile is the huge power of it's EQ and dual-gain preamp. A lot of amps (like Marshalls) have one "sound" which can be fine tuned with EQ. Not this amp. It's tone controls feel more like those on a mixing desk. This can lead to some pretty horrible sounds but I discovered that there are many different sweet spots if you root around a bit.

It's certainly versatile enough for me but others may miss the effects loop and channel switching, therefore...

My guitar is a 1980s G&L ASAT and so there is a constant threat of thinness and harshness to the sound but the Burman does all the work for me. I set the amp for a big, warm, clean tone. It is capable of sounding huge in the low end without being boomy. There's not much scope for extreme midrange removal but that's not my scene anyway (the guitar's a midrange instrument!). Carefully balancing the treble and presence controls can give sounds which are bright and biting but without harshness and on the other end of the scale sounds which are mellow yet crystalline.

Experimenting with the gain controls can give some pretty extreme results. Turning up both full gives a crazy bottom-heavy fuzz but more considered usage in conjunction with the EQ can give some pretty classy results. I find high treble, low presence settings a good recipie for smoothness.

My overall impression of the sound is authority in the low end, combined with warmth and punch in the midrange and a sweet (but not vox or fender-like) high end. In short: it ROCKS. It doesn't have the distinct upper mid of most British amps, maybe fitting EL34s will change this. It sounds more like a Mesa Boogie which has this similar size of sound though, to my ears, is more clinical. My ASAT and the Burman will love each other forever.

My only disappointment is with the reverb, a full length accutronics unit. Turning it up only seems to increase the decay length to crazy extremes without making the effect much louder. Moral of the story: If you want Fender Twin style reverb get a Twin!

Herein lies the rub. My band lost some valuable studio time when the 502 went down during a session. The repairman said a wire had come undone (?) and the problem had been solved. Later, I lent it to a friends band and watched in horror as it died during their set. Both times it sounded like it was being played through a ring modulator (no shit!) before intermittently dying. It's in the shop now, under the knife. Being an old amp, I reckon it needs some decent servicing (maybe some filter caps replaced and a re-valve). Hopefully, when we are re-united, this time it will be forever...

The amp itself is built to military grade standards (and weight). The transformers are HUGE. I will wait in hope and in the meantime, will blame the previous owner for not looking after it. Maybe I'm fooling myself.

Perhaps I should've stuck with my Tech 21 amp. It didn't sound so spectacular, but it made sound all the time. It's gone now. Bugger.

Unfortunately, Greg Burman went bust in the 80's. I guess PCB amps would've been more cost efficient...

We've had a stormy relationship but I can't deny that I've fallen for the Burman. When it gets back, I'll see if we can work it out...

This amp head is made approx 1977 Newcastle England & is all valve 70watt two channel (but not switching) with reverb.
I use an external A/B switch box to allow me to use both channels live this is a minor irritation as you need two leads from the amp.
The Gain channel has three gain controls, both channels have independant tone sections with a master presents & reverb.

I am using a custom guitar which has three single coil size Hbuckers & five way switching. I also use a GT5 for processing & run the Burman through a Marshall 2x12 cab (& direct into the desk when live).
The sound is nothing short of amazing. I have been playing guitar for about twenty years & had a host of amps, this is the most awsome sound I have ever had.
The amp has its original valves in & has not been used much from new (until now!). The clean channel gives a massive clear tone through to crunch when you wind up the volume (volume two & a half is loud enough to compete with drums! this is a loud amp) the full tonal range is impressive with a deep bass response controllable mid & clear treble, I cant overstate how good this amp is.
The gain channel has three gain stages giving a huge range of tone possibilities - this amp sings - set the powerstage on anything above vol 3 & when you fret a note without picking you get lush controlled feedback from that note - drool.

This amp was top banana in its day - the are NO production circuit boards inside, everything is point to point hand wired. construction seems excellent throughout. No failures so far.

No hope - I cant find a damn thing on the net. Burman went out of business in the early 80's. I really would like to know more - If anyone knows anything about these amps mail me - Phil_Carnell@Yahoo.com

If anything happens to this amp I would (try) & replace it with a like model - they are very rare to come accross, I dont even know if they were available anywhere other than UK (but there is a voltage selector on the back - you might be in luck).
If I see another I will probably buy it just so I have a spare. I cant believe they have kept such a low profile - I dont know anyone who has even heard of them before, but then again that is part of the attraction.
For the money nothing come even remotely close you would need to be spending #2000 on a Mesa before you got close.
If you see one - buy it.