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Burns London
Burns London was an English manufacturer of electric guitars and bass guitars. Originally established as Ormston Burns Ltd in 1959, it underwent several changes in ownership and branding over the following decades before its assets were acquired in 2020 by a new holding company that has yet to relaunch production.
Ormston Burns Ltd was founded in 1959 by luthier James Ormston (Jim) Burns and Alice Louise Farrell, who provided financial and operational leadership.
During this period, Burns developed a proprietary vibrato system, patented in the United States in late 1962 (US Des. 194,067, issued 13 November 1962). The system was later adopted by manufacturers including Gretsch.
The U.S. brand Ampeg imported British-made Burns guitar\. Apart from the pickguard badge ("Ampeg by Burns of London"), these models were otherwise identical to their UK counterparts.
Ormston Burns Ltd was acquired by the Baldwin Piano Company in October 1965 and rebranded as Baldwin‑Burns. (latterly Baldwin).
The company launched three amplifiers at the June 1965 NAMM Convention.
Some collectors have asserted that the Baldwin-era instruments were somehow inferior to those produced before the takeover, but with the exception of some newly-introduced models, the quality standards on models like the Marvin, Jazz Guitar and Shadows bass remained consistent, with only minor cosmetic differences and the Baldwin badge to distinguish them from the Burns-branded era of production.
For a short time, existing stock was rebadged (initially as 'Baldwin-Burns', then simply 'Baldwin') by the simple expedient of inserting a routed nameplate into the pickguard, from which the earlier Burns routing had been excised. This practice did not last long, and original Baldwin pickguards appeared shortly afterwards, identical to the Burns originals save for the Baldwin routing.
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Burns London
Burns London was an English manufacturer of electric guitars and bass guitars. Originally established as Ormston Burns Ltd in 1959, it underwent several changes in ownership and branding over the following decades before its assets were acquired in 2020 by a new holding company that has yet to relaunch production.
Ormston Burns Ltd was founded in 1959 by luthier James Ormston (Jim) Burns and Alice Louise Farrell, who provided financial and operational leadership.
During this period, Burns developed a proprietary vibrato system, patented in the United States in late 1962 (US Des. 194,067, issued 13 November 1962). The system was later adopted by manufacturers including Gretsch.
The U.S. brand Ampeg imported British-made Burns guitar\. Apart from the pickguard badge ("Ampeg by Burns of London"), these models were otherwise identical to their UK counterparts.
Ormston Burns Ltd was acquired by the Baldwin Piano Company in October 1965 and rebranded as Baldwin‑Burns. (latterly Baldwin).
The company launched three amplifiers at the June 1965 NAMM Convention.
Some collectors have asserted that the Baldwin-era instruments were somehow inferior to those produced before the takeover, but with the exception of some newly-introduced models, the quality standards on models like the Marvin, Jazz Guitar and Shadows bass remained consistent, with only minor cosmetic differences and the Baldwin badge to distinguish them from the Burns-branded era of production.
For a short time, existing stock was rebadged (initially as 'Baldwin-Burns', then simply 'Baldwin') by the simple expedient of inserting a routed nameplate into the pickguard, from which the earlier Burns routing had been excised. This practice did not last long, and original Baldwin pickguards appeared shortly afterwards, identical to the Burns originals save for the Baldwin routing.