Burns Tri-Sonic
| Burns Tri-Sonic | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Manufacturer | Burns of London |
| Period | 1961- |
| Type | Passive single-coil |
| Magnet type | Ceramic |
| Output specifications | |
| Impedance, kΩ | 7.0KΩ |
The Burns Tri-Sonic is a single-coil electric guitar pickup, with ceramic magnets and a chrome cover. The advantage of the Tri-Sonic pickup is that it produces a richer harmonic sound than pickups would in the traditional manner. Tri-Sonics are wider than the more popular single-coiled pickups, such as used by Fender. Many guitarists have guitar pickups replaced with Tri-sonics to change the sound of the guitar. When replacing traditional single-coils with Tri-Sonics more involved amendments to the guitar may be required, such as routing the body or altering the mounting mechanism. The Mini TRi-Sonic requires no amendments, routing or additional wiring and will fit directly into Fender style Pick-guards.
Construction[edit]
The construction of a Tri-Sonic pickup is unique. The coil is not held in a rigid shape on a bobbin, as in most guitar pickups, but engineered into an oval shape and fitted around the magnets, joined end-to-end by their magnetic attraction, and placed onto the flat metal specially engineered magnetic base. A cover is attached which fits over magnetic flanges running either side of the base. There are six holes in the pickup cover, through which can be seen a piece of black plastic which is glued to the inside. These are simply for appearance, not being any kind of pole piece.
As a result of the random but careful hand wiring the Tri-Sonic produces a richer harmonic content than any pickup wound in a more standard manner. The TRi-Sonic gets its name from the three points where the sounds is picked up from. Unique in guitar pickup design.
History[edit]
Originally produced by and still by British guitar company Burns of London in 1960, the pickups were used in many Burns guitars in the early 1960s. A bass guitar version was also produced.[1]
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Comparison of the size between a Burns Tri-Sonic Brian May pickup, and a standard Stratocaster style pickup
Queen guitarist Brian May bought a set of three when he made his own guitar, the Red Special. They play a significant role in making the tone of May's guitar distinctive. A reissue edition of Tri-Sonics and Mini Tri-sonic and Brian May signature Tri-Sonic are currently produced by Burns London in the UK.
References[edit]
- ↑ Day, Paul (1979). The Burns Book. pp Publishing. pp. 11–15.