Do You Dig A Furniture Or Hot Rod Finish On Electric Guitar?

LLL

LLL

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Talking about a guitar's finish.

Thought of a quick way to name what is essentially two styles:


Furniture - LP Bursts, sandwich layers, dyes, natural, transparent

Hot Rod - solid, candy, metallic, metalflake


1000% hot rod here. If it looks like a muscle car or speed boat finish, i'm in.

Wood grain does nothing for me on an electric guitar.
 
Yes! I dig a finish on a guitar. Good finish is good finish. Depends on the axe, the finish, and the phase of the moon.
 
I like most finishes. I have a couple that are natural, a few traditional solid and a couple more fancy (sunburst or graphics). The big metalflakes I don't care for really. Some are really really out there. I tend to gravitate towards the more classic finishes though.
 
Most of mine are classic finishes.

I'm more into presenting the music than the presenting the visuals -so I tend not have flashy bedazzled guitars.. Nothing wrong with the other way around -I do enjoy a great stage show.
 
I love bright, bold solid finishes...splatters, sparkles, goldtops, those weird holoflash and pseudo-spraypaint finishes from the '80s...

But I also like transparent figured tops in vibrant jewel-tones (turquoise, greens, purples, oranges, yellows), tobacco-bursts, honeybursts, and satin finishes on a range of natural looking woods.
 
I want to see the wood grain. Solid colors hide the flawed woods, according to multiple manufacturers I've spoken with.
 
Depends on the guitar.

I have a translucent red Epi dot that looks great to me. It's hanging on the wall next to a neon pink Jazzmaster - which also looks great to me. :P
 
For electric guitars? Hot Rod, though that really means paint hues from 60's era (metallic or pastel Fender colors) and bass boat sparkle. The only trans(lucent) finish I really like on an electric is white blonde, which is to say when it is really subtle.

For acoustics? The opposite, though I generally only like sunburst and natural stains on acoustics.
 
Depends on the guitar; I've got a lot of both.

Right now one of my top guitars is a Schecter Shaun Morgan that has been refinished in metallic purple with white Viper-style racing stripes. Another of my favourites, at least for playing live, is an Epiphone Les Paul Chameleon which runs from metallic blue to green to pink depending on what angle you look at it and how the lights are hitting it. One of my most recent builds is a Telecaster Deluxe fashioned after my favourite comic book character, Power Girl: pearl white, blue and gold. On the slate to finish next are an LP DC Special in a metallic pale lavender and a Tele in metallic pewter. I also have my eye on an SG Goddess in Sky Burst, which is basically a bright white-to-blue fade with matching pickups that have clear bobbins and blue-dyed coil wire.

On the other hand, I've got a carved-top Tele in cherry burst, a couple of LPs in Iced Tea burst, a couple of LPs in the white&gold 'Custom' style, an LP Jr in vintage burst, an LP DC Special in faded TV Yellow, a LP Vixen also in faded TV Yellow, a simply clear coated rosewood-body Tele, a '69 Thinline in slightly-yellowed (not quite butterscotch) blonde, a worn vintage burst 335, an all-maple Kramer just clear coated, and a sort of Jazzmaster in a heavily worn surf green so it looks like a beach hut that's been worn by decades of salt air and sand.

... Then I've got guitars that don't fit into either camp. Tiger stripes aren't common on either cars or furniture, but I've got an LP with 'em. Is plain white & chrome a 'car' finish or a 'furniture' finish? How many chairs or tables have you seen finished in a yellow-red-black sunburst, really?

Gimmie bare wood, gimmie neon pink with blue flake sparkles, gimmie an all-black goth machine. As long as the looks tie in with the feel and sound of the instrument, it's all good to me. Don't give me a 60s Strat with a dripping blood decal and don't give me an Ibanez JEM in a faded Ford Fiesta red, but swap the two over and sure, both are fine.
 
For me, it depends on the guitar.

I generally prefer "furniture" finishes though.
Right now, I only have 3 guitars with solid color finishes (all of them WIP), the rest are dyed or natural-stained.

This being said, I don't like gloss finishes on acoustic guitars in general lol. I nearly always prefer satin.
 
Both. I own quilted, flame, candy, solid colors, see thru stained grain, metal flake/sparkle. I'm not prejudice. :)
 
i like it all. i have a bunch of solid bodies and i have a bunch of trans finished guitars so you can see the wood. i do have one with a "fancy" paint job. years ago, i had my old sportster painted and had my hamer chaparral pointed to match it. im not someone who is overly concerned with the looks of something but i still like what i like
 
No rules for me...it either catches my eye or not. I tend to like natural woods, like koa or dyed maple rather than bursts, though. As far as colors, I like flashy color shifting or metallic ones over, say, a goldtop or basic black.
 
I think of it as tree or car, not furniture or hot rod.

More car than tree for me, in terms of looks. But I do have a few bursts and blondes that I love, and a stunning trans red G&L, as well as a stunning trans orange G&L.

My least favorite finish is plain clear, with translucent brown ("walnut") in close second.
 
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I'm another vote for digging each of them, if they're on the right guitar. For me, sometimes it's a vibe thing, sometimes it fits the music and sometimes it's a nostalgic thing.

It was a struggle earlier this year when I got my Player Series Lead III. The Metallic Purple screamed '80s, but the Sienna Sunburst had the vibe of my '82 Lead II. I went with Sienna Sunburst based on vibe.

There are some I​​​​​ own(ed) that I didn't truly dig the look, but they are great players and have great tones. 2 Gold Tops, a Trans Amber and a Studio Vintage Mahogany LP's.
 
To me it depends on the guitar.

Something classic looking like a Strat or Tele , SG or Les Paul then Furniture. Something more modern looking like a BC Rich Warlock or 1980's/90s Jackson Flying V, then Hot Rod for sure.

That's my preference anyway.
 
As long as the coating is good, I'm happy.

Check out James Hetfield's "Garage" guitar...

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I mean, that's "redneck trash" as all hell, but that's beautiful.
 
Depends on the guitar and the wood. My 8 string has a beautiful dark purple finish on the body and headstock, and plain swamp ash back and the flamiest roasted maple neck. Looks awesome together.
 
"furniture" all the way.

I prefer to see the wood grain.
Of 6 guitars, I have one with a solid finish and when I bought it I didn't even know what guitar bodies were made of - not that I could have afforded anything else at the time in any case.

I have no problem with plain finishes, but prefer to see the beauty of the grain.

I can also appreciate a really good painted finish, but rarely see anything inspiring.
 
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