Burst Finishes

[GAD]

Ah yes, the LavaBurst. I have another one with a similar finish and top but it's not quite as amazing as the original.

 

[chazmo]

LavaBurst. Too funny. Very, very beautiful, though!!!!!

 

[beecee]

LavaBurst. Too funny. Very, very beautiful, though!!!!!

Me want.........

 

[PreacherBob]

My 1991 JF65-12 “popsicle“ burst. It say SB on the label, but it’s certainly not the color of the other sunbursts I have. I need sunglasses, it’s very bright.
Reminds me of the Astro pops I ate as a kid.

 

[fronobulax]

@The Guilds of Grot

Cherry Burst



Blue Burst




These are why definitions are important.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

As far as I know, every guitar company has its own names for finishes, just like paint, car, and cosmetic companies make up their own color names.

Originally, there was just one sunburst: an almost-black brown edge blending into a natural center. Sometimes the natural center was almost all covered — a small porthole of natural surrounded by black.

The purpose was to hide inferior-looking spruce — just like gold-top Les Pauls were originally painted to hide inferior-looking maple.

And like gold-top Leses, sunbursts became a popular look, desirable in its own right.

Earl Gray tea is the same story: Bergamot oil was mixed into bad tea, and a star was born.

 

[fronobulax]

The purpose was to hide inferior-looking spruce — just like gold-top Les Pauls were originally painted to hide inferior-looking maple.

This is the internet, after all, where anybody can print anything and everybody else can agree, or not.

That said, there are anecdotes that have "sunburst" finishes on musical instruments at least as far back as WW I and possibly as early as 1906 on Gibson mandolins, so the burst predates the Les Paul. There are also anecdotes that what constituted "inferior" has varied over time and is a matter of opinion. Consider "bearclaw" on acoustic tops as an example of something that was once considered a flaw but is accepted or sought after now.

There were similar finishes on 19th century furniture at least in the sense that the center was deliberately lighter than the edges. That was done for decorative purposes.

So, like many ideas that cannot be attributed to a single source where the source documented the motivation, maybe the burst guitar finish originally had some other purpose than to hide "inferior" wood.

There is documentation that Gibson used bursts during WWII and the factory workers thought that was being done because of the wood available during WW II. (There is no truth to the rumor that Gibson had to compete with Howard "Spruce Goose" Hughes for spruce).

I believe the cover up story in various times and places but I am not going to claim that is why the 'burst was originated or first used.

And to flip this, a story which I believe to be true but cannot reveal my source, is that a factory attempted to spray some bursts on a production electric guitar. The bursts were so bad that the guitars were refinished in solid colors and then the marketing weasels sold those "custom colors" at a slight premium over the usual finishes.

 

[GAD]

And to flip this, a story which I believe to be true but cannot reveal my source, is that a factory attempted to spray some bursts on a production electric guitar. The bursts were so bad that the guitars were refinished in solid colors and then the marketing weasels sold those "custom colors" at a slight premium over the usual finished.

I'm firmly convinced that the Holoflake Bluesbird is such a model.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

This is the internet, after all, where anybody can print anything and everybody else can agree, or not.

That said, there are anecdotes that have "sunburst" finishes on musical instruments at least as far back as WW I and possibly as early as 1906 on Gibson mandolins, so the burst predates the Les Paul.

Well of course it did. I didn't say Les Pauls came first. I said they painted tops gold for the same reason: They didn't like the look of some of their maple cap wood.

There are also anecdotes that what constituted "inferior" has varied over time and is a matter of opinion. Consider "bearclaw" on acoustic tops as an example of something that was once considered a flaw but is accepted or sought after now.

Yes, bearclaw is popular now. It wasn't popular when I bought my first guitar. That's why they made sunbursts.

You're right, it can't be the only reason. They obviously liked the look, or they wouldn't have done it. But as I understand it, it was a reason.

There were similar finishes on 19th century furniture at least in the sense that the center was deliberately lighter than the edges. That was done for decorative purposes.

So, like many ideas that cannot be attributed to a single source where the source documented the motivation, maybe the burst guitar finish originally had some other purpose than to hide "inferior" wood.

There is documentation that Gibson used bursts during WWII and the factory workers thought that was being done because of the wood available during WW II.

Right. Which can explain why they would have flaws to cover.

(There is no truth to the rumor that Gibson had to compete with Howard "Spruce Goose" Hughes for spruce).

Who said there was? Did I miss something?

I believe the cover up story in various times and places but I am not going to claim that is why the 'burst was originated or first used.

And to flip this, a story which I believe to be true but cannot reveal my source,

Hey! Foul! You want us to prove what we're saying, but you're not going to? Hmpf.

is that a factory attempted to spray some bursts on a production electric guitar. The bursts were so bad that the guitars were refinished in solid colors and then the marketing weasels sold those "custom colors" at a slight premium over the usual finishes.

I'm shocked! Shocked!

Now where are my winnings? . . .

 

[dreadnut]

Really sweet!

My 1991 JF65-12 “popsicle“ burst. It say SB on the label, but it’s certainly not the color of the other sunbursts I have. I need sunglasses, it’s very bright.
Reminds me of the Astro pops I ate as a kid.

 

[Midnight Toker]

This is the internet, after all, where anybody can print anything and everybody else can agree, or not.

That said, there are anecdotes that have "sunburst" finishes on musical instruments at least as far back as WW I and possibly as early as 1906 on Gibson mandolins, so the burst predates the Les Paul. There are also anecdotes that what constituted "inferior" has varied over time and is a matter of opinion. Consider "bearclaw" on acoustic tops as an example of something that was once considered a flaw but is accepted or sought after now.

There were similar finishes on 19th century furniture at least in the sense that the center was deliberately lighter than the edges. That was done for decorative purposes.

So, like many ideas that cannot be attributed to a single source where the source documented the motivation, maybe the burst guitar finish originally had some other purpose than to hide "inferior" wood.

There is documentation that Gibson used bursts during WWII and the factory workers thought that was being done because of the wood available during WW II. (There is no truth to the rumor that Gibson had to compete with Howard "Spruce Goose" Hughes for spruce).

I believe the cover up story in various times and places but I am not going to claim that is why the 'burst was originated or first used.

And to flip this, a story which I believe to be true but cannot reveal my source, is that a factory attempted to spray some bursts on a production electric guitar. The bursts were so bad that the guitars were refinished in solid colors and then the marketing weasels sold those "custom colors" at a slight premium over the usual finishes.

True for American fretted instruments, but those early Gibson mandos w/ darker edges and lighter center were made to replicate the quality craftsmanship of European violins…which while not ever technically considered “bursts”, some absolutely visually are…and predate any guitar/mandolin bursts by HUNDREDS of years!! (Often accidentally, as when applying a natural stain to the instrument, being an arched body front and back, the stain would penetrate less in the center, and more along the edges where it would pocket. There are 300-400 yr old instruments one could visually consider a “burst” by today’s definition.

 

[mavuser]

amber burst

 

[GAD]

amber burst

Showoff.

 

[cupric]

amber burst

Do you live in a park? Very mice!

 

[Midnight Toker]

Those top 2 and 1/2 rows....finishes look just like a lot of violins to me.

Also shows there was no standard then...like expected today. When you hear Lemon, or ice tea, or tobacco, or cherry, .you know exactly what to expect. I guess back then, whoever was working that station on that particular day. (My favs of this group is definitely the top row!)

 

[richardp69]

I'm of the opinion that even today you have no clue what you're gonna get if you buy based on somebody's description.

 

[JohnW63]

I like some of Taylors " barely -burst" versions of sunburst. I don't know what they call them, but the burst in the middle is not very bright. Maybe it's a sunset burst. It looks like a glow but not at all country and western.

 

[GAD]

Those top 2 and 1/2 rows....finishes look just like a lot of violins to me.

Also shows there was no standard then...like expected today. When you hear Lemon, or ice tea, or tobacco, or cherry, .you know exactly what to expect. I guess back then, whoever was working that station on that particular day. (My favs of this group is definitely the top row!)

I think the variations seen in that poster have more to do with how the individual guitars aged than how they were finished.

A beautiful cherry burst that's been left in a store window for years is going to look more like the top ones than the bottom.

 

[Boneman]

I like how Guild did the burst thing in the late 70s early 80’s, like this D25’s style. Of course I’m partial to the two color, but I do like most all the different versions out there, with the caveat if done well.

 

[bobouz]

Fun fact: Historically, Gibson has often up-charged for natural finishes on many models (not all). Conversely, Martin has historically up-charged for sunburst finishes on many models.

I'm not typically a big fan of sunburst finishes, but this one really does it for me (1966 ES-125T):