Can you help to identify/date a Burny LP JR DC?

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blake375

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I hope you good folks can help me identify and date this Burny LP jr. I have read loads of forums about dating Burnys and couldn't find an answer. The guy who sold it to me was sure it was Japanese and thought it was 80s. I think it looks a bit younger than that and I'm not 100% sure it's Japanese (though I won't mind if it isn't - it wasn't expensive and I've been waiting a hell of a long time to score a decent DC JR for not much money). Whatever model it is, it certainly isn't top-end.



Headstock front
  • Being a junior model, you might expect the Burny logo to be a decal or be printed on, but it is a real mother of pearl inlay
    No script logo
    Two-screw trussrod cover, but unusual shape
?


Headstock back
  • Kluson-style tuners, not marked, plastic buttons rather than metal as I have seen on some Burnys
    Seven-digit serial number ? couldn?t find any info on Burny serials that matched this, but it would be correct for a 2003 Tokai
    The serial isn't printed in white, it is stamped - at some point white paint (or something) has gotten in the indentations
    Note little ?wings? of extra mahogany added to make up width ? not a sign of good quality
    One-piece neck (in the sense that it is not scarf-jointed)
?


Fretboard
  • Not the best rosewood, but quite nice and certainly a lot better than what you find on most new guitars today
    Frets nicely finished
    Markers are perloid rather than real mother of pearl, side dots are white ? same combination as on 80s/90s Tokai strat copies
?


Neck joint
  • I?m no expert but I think it is very nicely done ? no gaps, flush with body and smoothly finished: I?ve seen plenty of photos of messier joins
    It is smooth and neat on the back too



?
Body
  • Three-piece, not very well matched
    Wood looks smooth and is lacking in pore-patterns, to the extent that I can?t be 100% sure it is mahogany (I?m sure about the neck though)
?


Pickguard
  • Tort style, but not genuine tort ? tort pattern is printed on back of smokey grey transparent plastic
?
Pickup + cavity
  • Pickup is stamped ?Gotoh pickups Japan?, model number (TV) on paper label ? this is one of the main things that makes me think the guitar is not that old: the pickup has a proper Gotoh logo rather than just being stamped in plain type like they were in the 80s
    The cavity is painted with shielding paint ? again this makes me think the guitar is not that old, also I?ve read that shielding paint in pickup cavities is a characteristic of guitars made by Cor-Tek in Korea
?


Bridge
  • Lightning-bar type, cast rather than milled, old-style design compensated for wound G string
    ?MADE IN JAPAN? on back
?


Control cavity
  • Shielding paint here too
    Full-size pots, inked ?MADE IN JAPAN?
    Plastic-covered wire, small green cap
?


Jack socket
  • Mounted on four-screw 2-ply plastic plate
?


I have looked carefully, and other than the serial number there are no other markings on the guitar to denote model number of factory of origin. But there are plenty of clues here. Are hope someone with experience will be able to tell me something about this little axe.

Thanks in advance for any wisdom offered!
?

?
 
Pretty sure that is a 2003 Tokai-made Burny. You can tell from the serial number style. There are a few out there along with some LPs made in the same period.

It should be a decent guitar for the price. Not sure about the Gotoh P-90 pickups, how does it sound to you?
 
Sounds awesome cranked. Loses quite a lot of dynamics when the guitar volume is rolled off though. Acoustically it is quite loud, but sounds full rather than shrill.

Don't suppose you can point me towards any decent info on 2003 Tokai-made Burnys?
 
MIJ Burnys of the 2000's are made by Tokai. There is no doubt to have because of details of the lutherie (long tenon, serial number, 2 screws TRC, one piece neck, mahogany body and neck).

I hope, this guitar is the same as the Tokai TJ78 model.
 

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