Baldwin Double Six 12-String Electric

Just to be different, mine is a plain black.
All the other stuff you can find in other reviews below.

Over the years the thick clear finish on the neck has cracked across the headstock, disconcerting but no sign of any problem with the wood underneath - probably due to a period when it was in a high-humidity environment. It had loads of dings when I bought it second-hand in 1976. The chrome on the tuners is slightly oxidised, the aluminium on the knobs likewise. The knob on the pickup selector has been broken and glued back together.

Baldwin took over the Burns guitar company when it went bust. The resurrected Burns Of London now do a Double Six with tremolo; check the Burns reviews if you want a similar sound without paying a "collectible" price.

Gorgeous. The Burns Tri-sonic pickups give it a lush all sound that producer/engineer Martin Rex (The Fixx, The Shamen, Linton Kwezi Johnson) always said he wanted to sample, but we never got around to it.

The nut needs to be replaced as one of the separators between the pairs of strings has cracked and no longer holds those two strings apart well enough. The cut of the nut is not a factor as it only acts as a spacer; the strings run over a "fret zero". I keep the action fairly low and it seems to work well.

Very solid, heavy as a bass. If it got broken in some unlikely pre-gig accident I'd have to fake it with a Strat and a chorus pedal. One thing - in an unlikely accident it fell over and the button on one of the tuning pegs came off when it hit a shelf. It's a press fit back on but disconcerting.

Company long gone, I don't know whether Burns spares would fit...

Also own; 1973 Strat, 2000 Flying V, Fender Swinger.
I wish I had a case for it to avoid further damage. If I lost it I might try to find another but the prices look silly, so maybe I'd go for the Korean-made Burns version. The sound is just great. I play it through an HH VS Musician solid-state amp and an Altec 15" speaker in an open-back cab. I used to sing my daughter to sleep with it (unplugged).

My one was made in England in 1967. It has a solid maple body with a bolt-on rock maple neck. The neck has 21-frets and a rosewood fretboard. There is 1 volume knob, 2 tone knobs, and a 3-way selector switch to control the 3 single coil Burns Tri-Sonic pickups with passive electronics. It has the more sought after red sunburst finish (I hate the green). The bridge and tailpiece are separate. The tailpiece has a telecaster 'ashtray' type chromed metal cover plate. The non-locking tuners are of unknown make, but they seem very solid and keep tune for weeks (very useful for a 12 string).
Mine came with the original case. But it was in shabby condition. I rate this section a 9 because this guitar is very very versatile for a 12 string (dark, crunchy, chimey and of course bright) they're all there even if you don't want to use them.

The guitar sounds outstanding. I play mostly indie/ alternative rock, blues, classic rock and country (in that order). I use a Vox valvetronix 60 amp and the sounds I can get are all excellent. These pickups are not noisy at all and it has a very rich sound. Sort of like a chorus pedal without actually using one. I origionally bought this guitar for recording rythym (and fill a wall space). But have since found that it has a few tricks up it' sleeve. With a few adjustments to the 2 tone controls and the right pickup selection you can get a big airy punchy / reverby sound like nothing I've ever heard that rocks. Playing rythym and lead at the same time with this punchy sound is amazing (I play fingerstyle). If I play well enough it sounds like 3 guitars at once! (not my ability I hasten to add).
I rate this section a 9 because this guitar is very very versatile for a 12 string (dark, crunchy, chimey and of course bright) they're all there even if you don't want to use them.

I bought this from ebay and the setup was perfect. Although I always do adjustments myself. The finish was almost perfect for a guitar of this age (1967). The only thing was a tiny bucklerash patch under the neckplateand a tiny ding on the body's edge. I've heard that these guitars bodies were covered in a very thick clear laquor after the paint job was done. That would explain a few things. It dosn't look like the kind of guitar that will break or scratch ever, period!!

Who has a backup 12 string, tell me! As I said before, this guitar will outlast you. It is pretty heavy though my guess is about 17lb. So if your planning on any very long gigs you had better goto the gym beforhand.

Never dealt with them. But I don't think they're in business anymore anyway.

I've been playing now for 12 years off and on with a 5 year gap. It's only been in the past 18 months that I've started to take it seriously. As well as this Baldwin I have a Liberty copperhead resonater acoustic (sounds like a dream but plays like a bitch), a Dearmond starfire that I'm in the process of customising, a Burns Brian May (wicked, wicked, wicked axe), and a Jim Reed les paul in tobacco sunburst that I've customised. I fitted nickle gibson classic 57 reissue pickups and wired it with a coil split for each pickup through push / pull volume pots and an out of phase sound in the middle. This is now my favorite and is definitley a keeper. I play them all through a vox valvetronix 60 amp.
If te balwin were lost of stolen I would find the bastard and cut his balls off with a big knife (see my website at www.knifeman.co.uk). I probaly wouldn't be able to get another at this price. I love this axe.

Made in England in 1966. It has a solid maple body with a bolt-on maple neck. The neck is standard scale and has 21-frets and a rosewood fretboard. There is 1 volume knob, 2 tone knobs, and a 3-way selector switch to control the 3 single coil Burns Tri-Sonic pickups with passive electronics. It has a lovely and unusual green sunburst finish. The bridge and tailpiece are separate units and I'm really not sure of what to call the style. The tailpiece has a P-Bass-like chromed metal cover plate. The non-locking tuners are of unknown make, but they seem very solid.
Includes original case

I love the rich dark sounds of which the guitar is capable, although the sound can vary a great deal depending on pickup/tone selection. It's a great guitar for rhythmic chordal playing. As yet, I have no amp for it, though I love the way it sounds through my step-father's '65 Fender Twin Reverb! It produces no extraneous noise on any settings. There's nothing I dislike about the guitar's sound.

I was given the guitar by my step-father, its original owner, and, during a much needed cleaning, discovered that one of the screws holding down the tailpiece had broken off inside the body of the guitar. To my and my step-father's knowledge, the tailpiece had never been removed, so it likely was either broken at the factory or just snapped over the last 36 years. I had to have it drilled out and re-threaded. Other than that, the setup, action, and pickup height are great. The only other flaw is a post-factory abrasion the size of a quarter on the bottom of the lower arm, which is pretty good for such an old guitar.

This is a solid guitar in every respect: the hardware is simple and sturdily made, the finish is thick, the top is almost too well covered by plastic pick guards, and the strap buttons are very solid. I think that this is a durable instrument that will last for many many more years. The only downside to being built like a tank its tank-like weight.

If ever there was a warranty on this guitar, it must have expired by now. I can barely even find any information on it online.

I've been playing bass on and off for about 10 years and guitar for about 5. I also own a Rainsong WS-1000 acoustic/electric guitar and a Carvin 6-string bass. I would cry if this guitar were stolen or lost because it's almost irreplaceable and has great sentimental value. I love everything about it, except its weight, though, if I had to choose, I'd say my favorite features are the dark 12-string tone and funky green sunburst finish.

In 1981 I bought an extremely used Baldwin/Burns Double Six electric 12-string double-cutaway solid-body from a local pawn shop. It had 21 frets, three single-coil Burns Tri-Sonic pickups, a three way switch, one volume and two tone knobs, cheap un-named tuners, and this horrific green sunburst finish over flame-cut maple. The neck was bolted on, but very solid. It was very heavy. It says that it was made in England in 1966. I got it because I wanted to be able to do Stairway to Heaven and Rush's Xanadu with style. None of the other kids I knew had an electric 12-string!

The guitar sounds beautiful. Put it through a chorus and it really gets rich. The center and the bridge pickup were the only ones I ever used. The neck pickup wasn't really necessary in my opinion. A 12-string never needs to sound that dark, you want them bright.

The guitar played very well. I knew nothing of its history at the time, I thought I was buying junk, so how well it played surprised me. It was very solid and very heavy... felt more like a bass on your shoulder than a guitar. The top was flame-cut maple. I was a stupid kid and didn't notice. I couldn't get past that awful green sunburst and I ended up stripping the guitar and painting it white. I regret it now, of course. Reminds me of Chris Squire getting the fourth Rickenbacker 4000 series bass in England and the first thing he did with it was put paisley wall paper on it, which later had to be shaved off.

For a 35 year-old instrument this thing is doing really well. I played it live for years and loved it. The knobs and switches still work well. One pickup has died. I have no idea where to find a replacement Burns Tri-Sonic pickup so it sits with only two working. Again, the thing is built like a rock.

I've never contacted the company.

I've come to learn that this guitar was extrememly popular in England in the 60's, used by bands like The Shadows, and The Troggs. It turns out that it was even one of Elvis Presley's favorite guitars to play. I could shoot myself for stripping the original finish off and spray-painting it white. One of these days I'll have to get it re-finished and made beautiful again. I may start using it live again in the near future. It's got a beautiful sound. I would never want to sell it. This is the closest thing to a classic that I own. I own several old guitars and other instruments. You can see the Baldwin and my others in the "Matt's Instrumets" album at http://www.PictureTrail.com/elfdude if you're interested. If you want an electric 12-string and you're on a tight budget, if you stumble across one of these I highly recommend it.