Burny VH-1 ピックアップ セット ビンテージ paf... - ヤフオク!
I see similar ered outline paper labels on Gotoh MKII pickups on Tokais circa 2002-2004.
I see similar ered outline paper labels on Gotoh MKII pickups on Tokais circa 2002-2004.
You can say that again!Oh well, nothing's ever easy with Burnys. Either.
That's very interesting! I've never seen a verifiable, genuine set of braided wire VH-1s and I had doubts on this unspecified RLG - but it's a Dyna-made RLG allegedly equipped with these VH1s:when my 1987 RLG-90 arrived.[...] also with braided wire, that came installed in higher tier guitars (like my RLG-90)
That's my perception as well. One indication that the big sticker may coincide with changes in the pickups is - again - the duct hole position.IIRC the pickup frame stickers turn up around 1990-91 or so and the back stickers later than that. If the introduction of the stickers coincides with any changes in the actual pickups I've no idea, though.
The latest guitar I've had was a 1994 RLC-70 [...] That wasn't a typical guitar though, being part of a smaller batch built by Fujigen, not Dyna, and basically an Orville with a Burny logo.
That's very interesting! I've never seen a verifiable, genuine set of braided wire VH-1s and I had doubts on this unspecified RLG - but it's a Dyna-made RLG allegedly equipped with these VH1s:
Yeah I've seen a few of those, alas none of them with pics of the control cavity but they have a characteristic long tenon and an assumed mid-ish 90s production year in common.
Here's my 1987 RLG-90 '59 CH (ain't she pretty?)
So, basically the same as the later plastic-insulation VH-1s, only with braided wires.
Hi Void,Visible pot codes are June and July 1991.
From this thread:Using the pot date I can generally say that all Burny LPs with diagonal wire drilling (wire comes out on the left hand corner of the neck pup cavity) are built from 1982 to around 1985.
That's a good explanation/speculation. I seems that (unlike US pot makers) this was the norm for Japanese pots, at least the ones we find in guitars. The only Japanese (guitar) pots I've seen from that era with some kind of production code so far are the ones with the 2-digit +'K' date code (unknown manufacturer), sometimes in conjunction with the "504042" and "504047" codes (apparently just an internal production code, one is volume, the other tone pots) and quite recently a high-end Tokai with Matsushita pots with a 3-digit number that may or may not be a date code.I guess you could do the same with with potentiometers?
And... I'm off into the speculation rabbit hole. Seeya!
Quite likely, and one of them could have used a narrower stamp bundle than the other... well, speculation land. The point is, the only safe thing we have is the 2-digit +'K' date code, which was a lucky find (by Jacco!).Sure, the covers may have come from subcontractors to the subcontractors, but if so, my guess it that there were several of them.
If you look at the pic of the black RLC with the long tenon I posted above you'll notice that it has the wires entering the neck PU cavity at the other (treble) side, so likely a straight routed channel. The PU cavity routing style and the tenon look like Fujigen too, that's why I would've loved to see a pic of the control cavity. That's just the way this funny game is - every time you think you figured something out, next year you find a pic of an outlier shaking your house of cards.As for the position of the pup cable channels, I haven't really studied that feature, tbh. But I think it's good to remember that this particular guitar is a bit of an outlier,
Hi J.E.M, I've seen this guitar before here. The pot date is December '83, that indeed makes a 1984 production year likely. However, in the 1984 catalog the RLG-90 PUs are spec'd "VH-2N" and "VH-2B", the 1983 catalog has "L8001N" for both pickups.Here's the first gen VH1's from my mid 80's RLG90 (with pots that date 1984)
Hi Homer...that's my post at MLP, they are single wire pickups, I think the thing about pot dates is it's dependant to a degree on inventory levels etc, so it make it difficult to date a guitar with precision... I'll dig it out and measure the pole pieces and get back to you, JimHi J.E.M, I've seen this guitar before here. The pot date is December '83, that indeed makes a 1984 production year likely. However, in the 1984 catalog the RLG-90 PUs are spec'd "VH-2N" and "VH-2B", the 1983 catalog has "L8001N" for both pickups.
Obviously*, the VH-2 would have different pole piece spacing while the L8001 would have ("historically correct") the same spacing if you want to double-check which ones you have. The cable duct hole positions indicate that they are "N" and "B" versions and should have different spacing and then we'd have an example picture (maybe the first!) of VH-2 pickups.
Another way to tell VH-1/L800n and the other PUs apart is probably the number of wires - VH-1 and L8000/8001 would be single-wire, all other PUs have 2 or more "hot" wires (IOW they can be splitted).
The "Kasuga factory" idea has been puzzling me for a while now but that's material for another thread.
* If 'N' and 'B' does not only refer to the DC-resistance. But the Burny PU names and specs should probably be taken with a grain of salt as well, e.g. they list "VH-4" for the 1986 and 1987 RLC-60 (which would be a very hot and very different different pickup from what they usually aim at, maybe they did, maybe it's just a typo, who knows).
Hi J.E.M, I've seen this guitar before here. The pot date is December '83, that indeed makes a 1984 production year likely. However, in the 1984 catalog the RLG-90 PUs are spec'd "VH-2N" and "VH-2B", the 1983 catalog has "L8001N" for both pickups.
Obviously*, the VH-2 would have different pole piece spacing while the L8001 would have ("historically correct") the same spacing if you want to double-check which ones you have. The cable duct hole positions indicate that they are "N" and "B" versions and should have different spacing and then we'd have an example picture (maybe the first!) of VH-2 pickups.
Another way to tell VH-1/L800n and the other PUs apart is probably the number of wires - VH-1 and L8000/8001 would be single-wire, all other PUs have 2 or more "hot" wires (IOW they can be splitted).
The "Kasuga factory" idea has been puzzling me for a while now but that's material for another thread.
* If 'N' and 'B' does not only refer to the DC-resistance. But the Burny PU names and specs should probably be taken with a grain of salt as well, e.g. they list "VH-4" for the 1986 and 1987 RLC-60 (which would be a very hot and very different different pickup from what they usually aim at, maybe they did, maybe it's just a typo, who knows).
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