How many of you have ReRanched?

[Quencho092]

Re: How many of you have ReRanched?

Why pay to get a great piece of wood, then spray a heavy, thick bowling ball finish on it? To each his own, I'm just one of the ones that believes that Leo pretty much got most of it right the first time.

My American Deluxe strat has a small chip on the top, revealing a remarkably thin shell of poly.

I'll admit that a nice glossy nitro finish does look pretty sweet, and it will wear out nicely over a long period of time, but let's say you had two identical alder strat bodies w/ the same pickups-you paint one with nitro, and the other with a thin layer of poly-(all wood issues aside about all pieces of wood are different etc.) do you really think that you could tell which one was which by just hearing them?

I don't think so. And if there is a difference in sound, it would be very minute. But if you're referring to a 'great piece of wood' as in a beautiful piece of wood, i'd choose a nitro sunburst finish for looks.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: How many of you have ReRanched?

The advantage of nitro is that the final resulting finish is much less thick than poly, which many people feel allows the wood to resonate better. Plus, as nitro is an evaporative finish, it contiues to get thinner over the years. This is what the early Fenders have, and why many believe they sound so good. If you ever get to see an authentic 50s Fender guitar, the finish is ultra thin. Polyurethane is heavy and dense, and while it won't dent or mar as easy as nitro, it doesn't allow as thin a finish. Why pay to get a great piece of wood, then spray a heavy, thick bowling ball finish on it? To each his own, I'm just one of the ones that believes that Leo pretty much got most of it right the first time.

Yeah, I understand the thickness difference between the two, but I honestly don't see how it could have a noticeable effect on a solid body guitar. There are plenty of reasons the pre-CBS Fenders sound as good as they do: the wood quality, the pickups, the craftsmanship, etc. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think the thickness of the finish could possibly make that much of a difference.

On an acoustic guitar, the tone comes from the vibrating top, which is typically a very thin, soft piece of wood. In this situation, you will definitely notice better resonance with a thin finish, because the thickness and density of the finish is quite large relative to the thickness and density of the wood. You might also notice this effect on a hollow-body electric, because again the wood is not very thick relative to the finish. That said, most hollow-bodies are made of maple and other very hard woods, and consequently the finish isn't that much denser than the wood it's protecting. Solid body electrics are made from a thick, dense piece of wood that is much, much thicker than any finish you could put on it. You'd have to put hundreds of coats of paint on a Strat body before it came close to being an issue.

I won't say that the thickness of the finish has absolutely no effect on resonance, but on a solid body the difference would be negligible.

 

[MikeRocker]

Re: How many of you have ReRanched?

It may not make a huge difference in sound, but I think that every little thing you can do to improve tone helps. That's cool, to each his own. I tend to be a retro-head.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: How many of you have ReRanched?

It may not make a huge difference in sound, but I think that every little thing you can do to improve tone helps. That's cool, to each his own. I tend to be a retro-head.

Fair enough. And I agree with Quencho that when it comes to showing off a nice piece of wood, a thin finish is a good idea. For my purposes (solid black on an alder body), poly is fine.

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: How many of you have ReRanched?

^ That link doesn't seem to be working for me here ... anyone else?

Sorry.....

Go to www.stewmac.com On the left hand side, scroll down to where it says "Free Information" & there are a ton of tips for everything you might wanna know.