Baldwin is a company with a colorful history beginning in 1862 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Baldwin began as a piano store and became a respected piano manufacturer in the late 1800s, but over the years it took a number of detours into other areas, including electronic home organs and electric basses and guitars. Currently owned by Gibson, Baldwin had a series of convoluted relationships with various other companies during its history, including Gretsch, Wurlitzer, and in this case, Burns of London.

In 1965, Baldwin bought Burns, which came to prominence in the fledgling U.K. scene on the early ’60s making signature basses and guitars for Hank Marvin & the Shadows. Burns had a huge impact in Britain with its distinctive instruments, including the Bison and Damp-a-Matic basses. In 1967, Burns and Baldwin teamed with an unknown Italian company to create the semi-hollow 700 series of basses and guitars. The neck plate has a long list of British and U.S. patents as well as a made in italy marking, establishing its international pedigree. Burns made the neck in England, while most of the other parts came from Italy. Everything was assembled in Baldwin’s Arkansas manufacturing plant.

The 700 line was designed to be economical; the 704 is a no-frills, two-pickup bass with straightforward electronics and appointments. It has a rosewood neck and two adjustable humbucking pickups with adjustable polepieces. Its most unusual features are the “trapeze” tailpiece with its “B” logo, and the wacky modified-violin-scroll headstock, which looks like a huge lizard tongue. The semi-hollow body makes it slightly prone to feedback at seriously high volume, which is balanced out by the lively, resonant tone at “normal” volume levels (and running direct). Black nylon strings help to give the Baldwin a nice, round plunk with a sweet, mellow top end. The tone knobs are smooth and useful all the way down to “0.” 

I compared the Baldwin with my Gibson EB-2DC [March ’05]; the EB-2DC and the Guild Starfire are arguably the classic examples of this bass style. The Gibson is quite a bit heavier and the Baldwin’s arched back is much more pronounced, but their necks feel similar. The EB-2’s infamous “boom button” circuit, which I usually leave on, provides an earth-shaking bottom blast that you can’t simulate on the Baldwin—but with that turned off, it’s an interesting comparison, and the 704 holds up well. The Baldwin’s plugged-in sound is both clearer and punchier than the Gibson’s clean tone, which has more of a honk. The front-pickup setting is close in sound to the EB-2’s; with both pickups on, the 704 is more subtle and easier to dial-in than the Gibson, which has more options but is very delicate and easy to get out of whack. 

Overall, this is yet another cool variation on a well-worn theme that manages to do its own thing. Until next time, keep on groovin’ and keep your eyes and ears peeled for forgotten gems like this one.

Dave Pomeroy has released nine solo and band projects on Earwave Records. His latest CD is Three Ring Circle, an instrumental trio with Rob Ickes on dobro and Andy Leftwich on mandolin. It’s available at www.davepomeroy.com.