Re: My latest obsession - Jackson Headstocks w/ Abalone
I like abalone. Its not fashionable to say so.
Abalone is no more gaudy than a bright red or yellow neon guitar. Yet there are people who absolutely love 80s guitars, yet claim abolone is "gaudy".
Abalone is no more "gaudy" than sleeve tattoos. I'm waiting to find someone with full sleeves who hates abalone. That person would be a living contradiction!
Abalone has a way of perking up the look of a dark guitar. Abalone is cool because its not white and its not black. If you have a light guitar, white binding doesnt work as well, and sometimes you don't want black. Its good that abalone is also an option.
Abalone was never that common, so when people see abalone binding, they don't think its "retro", they think its asian.
I think the real reason that abalone gets hate is because asian factories figured out how to trim mid-price guitars with it. Abalone is no longer exclusive, so its fashionable to hate on it. Doesnt mean its a bad look. If this was 30 years ago, an abalone bound guitar would have meant an exclusive instrument.