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Burns Steer Electric Guitar

 

Burns Steer Guitar reviewed by The Man in the Jar

I got the chance to review this guitar a couple of days before seeing Billy Bragg (well-known Steer wielder) live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank. 

Features of the Burns Steer

Tuners - Sealed Burns Mini-tuners. Good and accurate.

Headstock - Very compact "stag-beetle" headstock. The plastic nail-on name badge and the capstan string guides are trademark Burns features. 

Nut - Tidily cut black plastic nut. The string guides on the short headstock give excellent string tension over the nut.

Neck - Slim maple neck with a nice feeling of width across the fretboard. Traditional black dot markers.

Fretboard - Beautiful lacquered maple fretboard with white binding. Against the green finish of the neck this binding really looks classy. If you're not familiar with lacquered fretboards it's worth having a go on one. I was brought up with the lacquered board on my Shergold so I naturally like the lacquered feel of the Steer. Once you get used to the feeling of width this fretboard is a joy to play. The neck joins the body at the 17th fret.

Frets - Medium rounded, well polished.

Action - Nice and low. The flatter profile of the fretboard suggests that a lower action is available with ease.

Body - The semi-hollow body has the shape of an acoustic guitar but with a surprisingly chunky weight. A quick peer through the "soundhole" reveals it is actually a solid body guitar with routed chambers fitted with a solid top. 

Bridge - Standard six saddle bridge with full adjustment for height and intonation. Stringing is through the body.

Pickups - One single coil at the neck and one humbucker with coil-tap at the bridge. Both are unique Burns designs. 

Controls - Master volume with one tone control for each pickup. There's a microswitch to tap the humbucker and a three-way pickup selector. Tele style knobs complete the look. 

Pickguard - A distinctive three-parter with the unique silver or black rectangle holding both pickups and bearing the "soundhole". The 'Burns of London' logo is engraved in white. 

Strap-buttons -Medium size, perfectly adequate for the job.

Output Jack - On the front of the guitar in the scratchplate.

Finish - The green burst finish is beautiful (I'd love to have it on my Telecaster). The white binding on the front and back of the body adds a spoonful of class. Great quality finishing throughout.

 

Sound of the Burns Steer

This is a unique little guitar and it takes a while to get used to its different voices, but it is really worth the effort in the end. The bridge pick-up tapped to single coil has stacks and stacks of treble with an almost painful top-end that can be dialled in and out with the tone control. I imagine country rock chicken-pickers will cream over the twang and bite they'll find available here. Drop the tap and the humbucker voice retains all the brash treble basics but adds a layer of deeper tone.

Switch to the neck pickup alone and you're treated to a lovely vintage-style single coil sound. This is great for Jazz or Jazz-Blues. Putting the two pickups together gives a complex layered sound perfect for indie-rock with the coil-tap adding or removing some of the depth as needed.

I admit I did take the Steer for a ride into metal-overdrive-land where I have to say it wasn't immediately comfortable. But the semi-hollow body provided some astonishing controlled feedback sounds. So if you're brave enough to take on the gig, the Steer could make you into Ted Nugent's evil love child.   

 

Overall Impressions of the Burns Steer

The Steer is packed with distinctive character, it really is like no other guitar you're likely to try. The range of voice available from the pickups is likewise distinctive. Billy Bragg has used the Steer to its full treble, gritty harshness on many of his recordings, but that is not the only sonic choice on offer. If you play country rock or electric folk then the Steer should already be on your wish-list. If you play original music and want a different sound that cuts the mix from a guitar looks like no other, then the Steer should already be in your shopping basket.   

Buy the Burns Steer 

Visit the Burns Guitar Museum or give Billy Bragg a visit

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