Baldwin Baby Bison

What a treat to play. 2 pickup, variable pole, variable pitch, Rezo tube whammy that is rock solid. I've left this guitar in the band bus after gigs, in anything from -20 C to + 30 C ( Canada eh!) and have taken it out at the next gig IN TUNE! Original tuners. Double nut (brass over plastic). Super action, no buzzes, great neck, little wider than Strat, little fatter than Tele. Just fit. White with black accents, name in white. Clear plexi pickguard, set off the body on posts. Had to replace the original knobs, with antique style radio "position indicator" knobs as originals were corroded. The white finish is extremely thick, over a beautiful maple body and neck, and although everything is checked, I'll be leaving it alone. Gold writing "James O. Burns" starting to fade on pickup mounting plates. Had to relocate strap button to position it where it was comfortable. Little heavy, but suck it up muffin. I love playing this antique as my regular axe.

Pickups are a little weak, so play it through a Beringer to get range of effects. Pickups are a little noisy (60 cycle hum) and am looking into some noise reduction options.
You can make this guitar as country as you want, or as 60's in any pickup selection you need. Classic when you want it.

stuff just works, what more do you want...no hassle, dependable.

It's a treat to own and play. As mentioned, I chose to relocate the upper strap button, just so it would swing in closer. That's about it.
Totally reliable and dependable. No hesitation using the Rezo Tube whammy.

Bought it at least 3rd hand used, for $235 CDN. Wouldn't part with it now.

Been playing about 30 years. Also play keyboards. Country Rock mostly, bit of blues. Looks the part when we're playing the retro stuff.

It seems I've had a better Baby Bison experience than most. Mine is (I believe) a '67. Of course, the big feature is the unique body stryle: dual cutaway, with the "horns" bending slightly inwards toward the player. Overall, I think the guitar is similar in feel (and, somewhat, in appearance) to my old Gibson SG. The Baldwin is a bit heavier.
On my Baby Bison the Rezo-Tube vibrato works tolerably well, without very much detuning (for a non-locking tremolo system, anyway). When I got it, however, it was frozen tight. Fortunately, I live near a world-class repairman (plug for Steve Soest!)

The neck is very nice, thin, somewhat like a Mosrite, but goes up past the 24th fret(!!) Yes, two octaves on a vintage solid body. Mine has a slight twist to the neck, though, and the "B" string frets out at the very highest positions.
(Note: I had Steve Sost of Sost Guitars in Orange, CA, work on the neck and the vibrato. He did wonders for the rez-o-tube, and almost worked out all the kinks in the neck. May have something to do with the Burns trademark truss rod gearbox, which is adjusted with a key inserted perpendicular to the neck!)

Fat, low frets. Like worn down old Gibson frets. Very nice!

I really love the sound of the thing! Full, not bright, but not muddy. Two pickups/four knobs and 3-way switch, std. Gibson setup. I play it through a Mesa V-Twin, though, which helps anything sound rich and full!

Points off for the dead spot high up on the B string. But as noted, the neck feels really nice, thin, large radius. With the extra long, thin neck, I can forgive a bit of a twist . . ..

The body is nice, well-laminated, good finish.

It is surprisingly tough. I have often used it in a gig without a backup: I love this guitar! I love it more than my tele or strat, and almost as much as my big fat Gibson arch-top (which can't rock like the Baby Bison can!).

Old, used guitar, and somewhat quirky. Good luck finding someone to fix it.

Price was very right for a cool, unusual, and very playable guitar. I have bonded with this guitar -- as mentioned, I have several other guitars, including several vintage Gibsons and Fenders, and I chose the Baby Bison over most of them. Only points off for the twist in the neck, which gets annoying when playing way up around the second octave.

The Baby Bison was made by George Burns from the mid to late '60s when his company was taken over by Baldwin. My guitar is an early '66 gold-red-black sunburst model. The pick ups are a bit weak.
I had the guitar restored in 1990 and requested either replacement or rewound pickups. The guy in the shop told me that they were fine and that they 'just sounded a little thin' The pickups are Burns originals with his 'signature' in gold on each one, so I figured I'd let the amps & pedals do the work. I did get a set of Grover machine heads fitted and keep the originals in it's hard case.
It has a long neck - way past the 12 - and it is very slim but straight as a die. The headstock is the most obvious link to Burns guitars with the baby bison logo in clear plastic and the scrolled stock.
The Body is very distinctive. It is somewhere between SG & strat but less comfortable and contoured. The 'Horns' are trimmed with black scratchplate material bearing the model name in large white letters.
The scratchplate itself is made of clear hard plastic and sits clear of the body with the use of spacers through the mounting screws. It looks really cool but collects a lot of dust very quickly
The 'rezotube' bridge, incorporating it's own tremelo was a total joke when I bought it. So bad that I removed the arm. Thie thing went out of tune if I so much as looked at it. The guy who did the restoration job - Jimmy Egypt from Glasgow - Tried his best then just locked it up. The arm is now in place but for decoration only.
The control knobs are made of heavy knurled aluminium (and cost a fortune to replace!) The 3 way selector is best left in mid position and let the pedal board take care of the rest.
The paint finish is excellent. Mine has a couple if chips above the strap button and it shows how thick the paint & laquer is.
Speaking of Strap buttons, the neck - end strap button is located in the upper 'horn' and this causes it to be a little imbalanced when playing. The neck tends to slip downwards.
It is a heavy lump of wood to play. No amount of sheepskin on the strap will fend off back and shoulder ache if you were to gig with this for too long. I wouldn't part with it at any price. I have owned it since 1979 and along with my Baby Bison Bass, I think it must be one of the only pairs left out there.

My style is now beatin' up my 12-string acoustic so I can no longer properly judge it but put through a Fender Twin, Peavy Bandit or Calsbro Stingray, It could sound ok. It was only used for a couple of gigs and partly for a few more. It wasn't noisy, quite the opposite.
It never got to be a lead guitarists guitar, for I was never a lead guitarist. It was used in recording and it's 'naked' sound was quite warm, almost 'fat boy' like.

The Action is superb. It is effortless and hes no buzzing anywhere on the fretboard. The neck is also very slim and this provides opportunities for those with less than Hendrix sized hands.
The rosewood fretboard is a little worn and gouged out but it is a joy to play. Pity about the rezotube going out of tune

This guitar will withstand live playing. If I were still gigging, My Chiropractor would beg me to use it onstaqe as he could retire on my therapy fees. My guitar was bought from under a bed and has spent most of it's time since just being looked at by admirers and ('can I hold it?') picked up a little now and then. The hardware was checked out at restoration, and was found to be sound, although I still replaced the machine heads. Even though it has had a somewhat pampered existence since it became mine, it looks and feels as though it will long outlast me. I'm getting on a bit now but I'd have loved to have seen my guitar and bass share a stage together. If I was on stage with them, they would be on stands for most of the gig.

I tried to Talk to Burns Of London with a view to gettnig some of the missing trim replaced for both the Baby Bison Bass and Guitar. I asked them if they could give me a little of my instruments histories but they were only interested in making a sale.

I'm not a virtuosso. I've been lazily fooling around with guitars for 25 years. The Baldwin was my first electric. I've since had a '67 white/maple strat that was almost as hard to keep in tune. I had a cheap Hondo 'fat boy' semi that had a really stong, dirty sound when distorted(Great guitar),a Yamaha Pacifica, an Ovation acoustic as a shoolboy (couldn't play sitting down 'cause it kept slipping away)
Another schoolmate offered to swap his twin necked white gibson for the ovation and I declined. Not as bad as turning down the Beatles but still on the stupid side. I've currently got a mexican strat,one of those gold metal flake paint cheap Gretsches, a Yamaha acoustic and my 12-string is a Tanglewood.
If the Baldwin was stolen I'd be pretty down because of it's sentimental value more than it's abilities.
if there is anythnig I wish Icould have on my Baldwin, it would have to be a Rezotube bridge that works!
If I could submit a photo, I would.

this guitar was made between 1965 and 69 in england. It has a laminated top with a 3 way selector. Not very versatile. Not a great guitar, but stunning vintage look, which i will get to later, and the rezo tube bridge(quality bridge). distortion on this guitar is its best feature, but still average.

like I said before, distortion is alright but trying to play clean it has a very tinny sound that just pisses you off.

I got the guitar about 2 years ago. It was probably a thing of beauty in its early years, but after I got it I had to replace the tuning pegs and put new pickups in because one of the screws was making a rattling sound. these flaws are not because this guitar sucks, it just wasn't taken care of. Someone gave the guitar to me for free. It has great design and the red and black give it a throwback look.

I would never use this to gig. At one time it was probably alright to gig, but not now. I own a hendrix strat and a carvin DC400 and the baldwin can't compare with these. When I got it it was in a deplorable state and could not be trusted, now it is a little better.

never delt with Baldwin

I have been playing for nine years and this is the only Baldwin Baby Bison I have ever seen, so that's kind of cool. I mainly use the guitar around my dorm cause its not too loud. This would be a good beginer guitar.