Identify this bass guitar - it won't be easy

[ac100X]

I think this is as far as we can take unless some one actually nails it. For the historic record this is the video with the Burns Jazz bass in action, it's pretty wild.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Close, the end of the pig head looks a little rounder and I don't see the slanted string tree but it could be it.

 

[Matt O]

The plot thickens...
View attachment 4346399 View attachment 4346400

According to article below, the band had multiple line-ups. Those are two different bass players in the photos, and I think the dude in the video is possibly a third bass player. They were only around for a few years mid 60s, and seemed to have a revolving band behind the singer.

Invalid Link Removed

Edit: Jimmy page did session work for them.

 

[Stranger Danger]

 

[Wood and Wire]

Paging @JIO

 

[JIO]

Better shot of the bass in question.

It's a Burns Jazz

View attachment 4346100

The one in that pic is a Burns of London Vista Sonic - precursor of the BoL Jazz.

 

[JIO]

Paging @JIO

Got me on this one - definitely BoL Bison inspired but even more radical. Never seen anything like it. I'll post it on the Burns fb page (frequented by many Brits) and see what I can come up with.

 

[JIO]

I'm not at all convinced that's the bass in the video...

and you would be correct

 

[BobKos]

To be clear, what you're seeing is the pickup covers which looked like diagonal rails. There are actually three pickups in that bass and they are black which is why it looks like a one-pickup bass.

Here is a slightly different version with the 2+2 headstock. You can pretty clearly see the gnarly pickups that were installed in this bass. They would be basically invisible on black and white TV.

View attachment 4346218

Sorry but I disagree. The bass in the photo clearly has one slanted pickup. It isn't tubular tri-rails masquerading as a pickup. It's a single pickup

 

[DJ Bebop]

...

 

[kodiakblair]

As previously stated - not the same bass. Bass in video has white multiple-piece PG and one pickup.

See my post #23

 

[Jeff Scott]

According to article below, the band had multiple line-ups. Those are two different bass players in the photos, and I think the dude in the video is possibly a third bass player.

Same band, eh? Just like my grandpappies old axe that I have. It's on its third head and fifth handle, but it's the very same one that he bought new 100 years ago.

Custom modified (or built) bass with a headstock that is not like the Höfner's, and has far more aggressive horns that any Burns made, etc. Something that I am probably the only one to have noticed is what looks like the lower horn (can't see if it's the same with the upper one) is thinner front to back than the body, or, at least, the body/main part of the PG on the body is thicker than the PG on the horn as the body PG is casting a moderately deep shadow below it onto the horn's PG.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Same band, eh? Just like my grandpappies old axe that I have. It's on its third head and fifth handle, but it's the very same one that he bought new 100 years ago.

Same file though?

 

[jamro217]

Sorry but I disagree. The bass in the photo clearly has one slanted pickup. It isn't tubular tri-rails masquerading as a pickup. It's a single pickup

I thought that, too, but closer inspection reveals a chrome cover over the middle and/or bridge pickup. It is not a single, although the neck pickup is slanted at an angle.

 

[NOVAX]

 

[KohanMike]

As far as I can see, no one is right yet.

 

[2F/2F]

To me, it is, pretty obviously, a user modified Burns. Looks like crap was added to the body to change its shape, its pickguard, etc. – or a new body fabricated – and the headstock was trimmed down. The general shape, and the distinctive Burns-like tuners – yet the obvious lack of anywhere near an exact match from Burns proper – would suggest this.

 

[OllyW]

Well that went down like a Lead Zeppelin at a Deep Purple fan convention. Tough crowd.

It works better if you imagine Ozzy Osbourne saying it with his Brumie accent.

 

[TrustRod]

View attachment 4346262

Robert Trujillo?

 

[sxaxsx]

I mean Sir Paul refinished his Ric and it greatly reshaped the bass and thinned the horns. Could it have just been a Burns bass that this guy refinished/reshaped and it ended up looking wonky with oversized horns? Whatever it is, it looks terrible in my opinion.