Can guitar paint affect your tone?

chazmo

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I'm glad they didn't try to say anything by way of a conclusion on the color stuff... What they did say matches essentially common sense, mostly regarding thickness and elasticity.

I wonder if anyone actually has tried the experiment of finishing a guitar in NCL and then stripping it and finishing it in (roughly equivalent thickness) of poly that was suggested in the article... Furthermore, the article (or one of the Fender luthiers) argued that it didn't really matter about the material, but I'm not convinced. The interesting points about NCL (to me) were how it's constantly aging and changing over time. I've never personally experienced a guitar opening up over time that I couldn't explain with string changes, etc... But, I think it's perfectly reasonable to believe it's a real phenomenon on an NCL guitar. Poly... not so much.
 

Quantum Strummer

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My personal experience is that a thinner finish, whatever it's made of, is acoustically preferable to a thicker one. Poly finishes are less susceptible to the elements than lacquer-based ones, but they're not impervious to 'em. My Tele Thinline, from '78, has the most checked & cracked finish of any guitar I've ever owned and it's poly. It's a real ringer acoustically too.

I've never played a guitar that's had both NCL and poly finishes, though I've played one (also a Tele) before & after its thick NCL finish was replaced with a much thinner one. With the thinner nitro it seemed louder and more open acoustically to me, though plugged in I can't say I could tell any difference. I've experienced a similar thing with Strats before & after removing the rear plastic vibrato cover plate: without the plate the guitar opens up a bit unplugged but this difference doesn't seem to make it to the output jack.

For some folks this stuff is religion territory so I tend to avoid it. ;)

-Dave-
 

Nuuska

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. . .For some folks this stuff is religion territory so I tend to avoid it. ;)-Dave-


I just love that last sentence - I like to think that I have rational approach to these things - but have to admit there are feelings lurking also.

Better next year to everyone - one more hour to go here.
 

dreadnut

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Tone is such a subjective thing...a local music store owner that is also a friend of mine asked me to compare two guitars in his shop some years ago; he is a Taylor dealer and he had a few Guilds too. He asked me to compare a Guild JF-30 (black) to a high-end Taylor, and I thought the Guild sounded much better. He was absolutely incredulous that I didn't like the Taylor as much, but I thought the Guild had much more presence overall. So who was "right?"
 

walrus

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Tom, wouldn't a blue guitar sound better?! :witless:

walrus
 
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