Post by Tony Ravenscroft on Oct 26, 2022 16:48:07 GMT -6
I am not a believer in the superiority of "nitro" finishes. Much as with "true bypass!" in stompboxes, nitrocellulose paint is a great way to shake more cash out of guitar owners, a class that has so steadily proven itself to be willing prey for an endless parade of scams and fads.
On the one hand, I have played solid-body electric guitars with gloppy thick plasticky poly finishes that sounded wonderful, and guitars with ultra-thin nitro, or oiled wood, or microscopic lacquer that were "meh" at my most charitable.
I have three Washburn XB Bantam basses. The two with the colored transparent finishes are great instruments, but I gravitate to the XB-400 with the super-thin transparent uncolored finish for one reason: it pleases me esthetically. Whether at home or onstage, I like the feel of the wood grain when I rest my hand on it.
Now, with all that said, I often wonder why companies put so much effort into spreading thick paint on their guitars, especially the lower-end models. Wouldn't it make much more sense to simply put on one layer of clear poly with enough pigment to hide the blemishes and glue joints? (Better still, stop using high-gloss paints that scratch a tiny bit more every time you wipe a little dust off!)
Here is a 2004 Affinity (China) I spotted recently online.
A decent HSS in otherwise great condition, I considered buying it for closer study, but the market is oversaturated AGAIN with "flipper" idiots and it will sell for at least $50.
Notice the thick undercoat, then what appears to be primer/paint/primer/paint and I'm guessing a clear topcoat.
Okay: granted that the Affinity is now filling a niche I one filed the Fender Standard (MIM) models in, selling new at every Bg Name source for $259.99. But that remains a whole lot of finish layers for a "beginner" axe.
(A thought for another day: For years I have been bothered at how people spend so much on an axe with ZERO setup, yet on Reverb there are plenty of MIM Strats in the under-$500 range that I could probably unbox onstage at the beginning of a gig and find no complaints. I remain dismayed that so many well-intentioned parents and grandparents hand their kid a shiny new toy that will likely discourage joy at every turn.)
On the one hand, I have played solid-body electric guitars with gloppy thick plasticky poly finishes that sounded wonderful, and guitars with ultra-thin nitro, or oiled wood, or microscopic lacquer that were "meh" at my most charitable.
I have three Washburn XB Bantam basses. The two with the colored transparent finishes are great instruments, but I gravitate to the XB-400 with the super-thin transparent uncolored finish for one reason: it pleases me esthetically. Whether at home or onstage, I like the feel of the wood grain when I rest my hand on it.
Now, with all that said, I often wonder why companies put so much effort into spreading thick paint on their guitars, especially the lower-end models. Wouldn't it make much more sense to simply put on one layer of clear poly with enough pigment to hide the blemishes and glue joints? (Better still, stop using high-gloss paints that scratch a tiny bit more every time you wipe a little dust off!)
Here is a 2004 Affinity (China) I spotted recently online.
A decent HSS in otherwise great condition, I considered buying it for closer study, but the market is oversaturated AGAIN with "flipper" idiots and it will sell for at least $50.
Notice the thick undercoat, then what appears to be primer/paint/primer/paint and I'm guessing a clear topcoat.
Okay: granted that the Affinity is now filling a niche I one filed the Fender Standard (MIM) models in, selling new at every Bg Name source for $259.99. But that remains a whole lot of finish layers for a "beginner" axe.
(A thought for another day: For years I have been bothered at how people spend so much on an axe with ZERO setup, yet on Reverb there are plenty of MIM Strats in the under-$500 range that I could probably unbox onstage at the beginning of a gig and find no complaints. I remain dismayed that so many well-intentioned parents and grandparents hand their kid a shiny new toy that will likely discourage joy at every turn.)