I'm a poor man, Check out my Burny es-335!

[thesweetness]

Times have been a bit tough and replacing my beloved 80's Gibson 335 RI is proving difficult. So after some patient craigslist scouring I found this 1985 Burny es-335 at a pretty good price. I can't say for certain but I believe it's a 1985 RSA100 with VH-1 PAF humbuckers. The headstock had some minor repaired damage, and there is some general wear in the finish from 25 years of playing. It's a great compliment to my 77 japanese Greco Strat, and a wonderful addition to my poor man's vintage guitar collection.

Are there any Burny advocates out there that could share some love/opinions/stories about them?

Diggin' it.

 

[Kappy]

Looks very nice, congrats!

 

[ManliusGuitar]

Burny 335's are exceptional guitars! Congrats!

 

[newswede]

Man, looks like a dream guitar! Great find!

 

[theon]

Not a Burny owner or advocate.But i like it and it looks great to me.How does it compare to Reissue it replaced?

 

[infiniteposse]

Beautiful. Would you mind mentioning the price you got it for? I'd love to get one of these.

 

[thesweetness]

Compared to the Gibson its pretty good, the Gibson RI I had was a pretty magical one so there was little replacing it anyway. This is a great example of a 335 but it doesn't quite have the magic that my old Gibson did. The finish is allegedly Nitro on it, and it looks like it to me based on some blemishes, but its about the same age as the Gibson was and I could see the finish on that guitar sinking into the grain nicely in the right light after all these years, I can't see that going on on the Burny. I've owned several Epi Dots and its much more alive feeling than any of those, so it's a lot like the Gibson in that regard. It's also got a mahogany neck like the Gibson, unlike the maple necks on epi dots and sheratons. The craftsmanship is BETTER than the Gibson, the overall attention to detail all over the guitar is great, the nut is bone and the tuners are wonderful quality Kluson styles that stay in tune great and feel like pure quality when you turn them. The pickups are alive and open like the Gibsons too, though I think the Gibsons pickups were well suited for the guitar's wood, together they just worked. The Burny's pickups I get the feeling are doing a bit more of the legwork with the Burny's tone, which is a phenomenal through my 5e3 clone.

A brand new Burny is about $600 and hard to get in the states, and of much lesser quality because most of them aren't made in japan anymore. From my research before buying, the real Burny Gems were the early to mid 80's ones made in Japan with the VH-1 PAF clones, and this is an 85 and apparently rare, valued in the $900-1200 range while new and vintage edwards and tokai 335 clones are in the $1200-$1500 range. I price I got was on the lower part of that spectrum. So is it as good as the Gibson? No. Is it better than a new production Gibson or epi? In my experience, yes. The Jury is out with the Burny vs. Tokai, Edwards, or Heritage though, as I've never played those.

 

[Chappie]

Wow, that is a fantastic guitar......how does it play???

 

[enharmonic]

Looks better than a lot of 335's IMO. If it plays well, I'd say you did a heck of a job replacing your Gibson.

 

[big jilm]

Love it! I'm in the same boat - I love myTokai 335! Congrats on a great looking guitar!

 

[NWOBHM]

That was a great price for that! I've had over dozen Burny's and love em' I think it might be a later than 85' though, not much, maybe 87' at the ealiest. from the truss rod cover and crown logo. I like those shaw reissue pafs in the Gibson 335 and actually have a set in one of my Burnys. Sounds great! BTW, I own a fair share of Gibsons and like em both!

 

[Tuberoast]

A real beauty...