Drop-dead tone. You know the type. Tone that gives you goose flesh. The raw vintage tone that Robbie McIntosh squeezes from his Burnstone McIntosh Custom; The breathy jazz tone that Adam Levy delivers from his Burnstone People Mover (more affectionately known as "Martha"). Robbie and Adam are currently touring with Norah Jones. The endless palette of tones that you'll hear Jackson Russell play from his Burnstone JR-7 and Blues Master Custom, or the thunder pumping from his Shockwave bass. The tribe known as the TONE-HEADS, to which we all belong, seems to be on an unending quest to find the ultimate tone. We're like the children of Israel wandering around in a toneless desert, praying for tone from Heaven. We know that the Promised Tone is out there. We hear it on rare ocassion, but it always seems to be just out of reach. We've spent our hard earned cash on pickups and stomp boxes, only to find that we have once again been deceived. Oh, when shall we be delivered from our tonelessness? During my years as a guitar tech, I've installed a countless number of pickups that promised to give that perfect vintage tone. Many of those pickups were wound to "original specs", yet still lack the color and tone of the vintage instruments. So, what's the difference? I am convinced that the electronics in an electric guitar only effects about half of the tone that you get from that guitar. What about the rest of the guitar? Have we come to believe that we can possibly get that great vintage tone from a guitar just because it has a vintage looking finish? The sad truth is, that in order to save time and money, big guitar manufacturers have stolen our tone from us. Poly finishes, enamels, and other types of finishes now replace the old nitrocellulose lacquer finishes.The modern finishes cure faster, require less time to apply, and are less expensive. Lower priced woods, such as poplar and basswood, are now replacing our highly favored swamp ash and alder. Here's the deal.....A guitar body made of poplar, with a poly finish, just won't resonate the same as a swamp ash body with a nitro finish. You not only have the difference in tones from the two different woods, you also have the difference in finish properties. The poly finish is more flexible, almost rubbery, therefore, more forgiving to bangs and bumps. While the softer finish is extremely capable of absorbing trauma, it is equally capable of absorbing your TONE. On the other hand, the nitro finish will not be as forgiving to bangups and cold weather, but will resonate like no other finish available; and remember, resonation is a big factor in the tone formula. Combine the nitro finish with a truly fine tone wood body, and you have the ultimate tone generating engine. The idea behind Burnstone Custom Guitars is to capture that great tone that comes from using a combination of the best materials. Ash, alder, and comparable bodies. Nitrocellulose lacquer finishes. The best pickups, pots, switches, jacks, and circuit wire. Bone nuts. All the stuff that makes the difference between a good guitar, and a GREAT guitar. If owning a Burnstone interests you, please feel free to request a quote. Be as specific as possible about what you're interested in, so that I may better serve you. Keep Pickin', Daniel Burns Burnstone Custom Guitars Randleman, NC USA |
Burnstone Custom Guitars |
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This page was last updated on: April 27, 2005
visitors since 11/15/02 |
