Finish affects guitar tone?

[Murmel]

So I've seen posts here like; "Damn that glossy finish it doesn't make the guitar sing as it should.."

There seems that people like the satin finish better. Is there are reason other than the astetics? (spelling) I know that gloss finish can often be very thick on cheaper guitars and I can see how that can make the wood resonate worse or something along those lines. And that it can, if done badly make the guitar look like plastic.

I know that on acoustic guitars, the finish has a huge part in the guitar sound, but those are a whole different story.

 

[Deadseen]

I don't think you're going to notice much difference in a live situation.

 

[Murmel]

I don't think you're going to notice much difference in a live situation.

Well, I mainly want to know for recording etc not just live because I'm not in a band

 

[Mop]

Yes finish affects the tone, whether it's "better" or "worse" is open to interpretation. I went for a nice thin open grained satin laquer on my new guitar because I think thinner is better and because it was cheaper, win/win for me.

 

[Banana Wedgie]

Unanped, the JH200 in black and digital camo...

The digital camo one has a really thick finish. It sounds dampened, more absorbing the sound. Which is why I went with it. Because it looks great!

 

[Dehumanize]

I wouldn't know if it sounds better, but I always want thin, transparent finishes because I want to see the woods of the guitar.

 

[Andii]

I think the finish affects the tone more than the wood type, even above bridge type. People are always talking about tonal characteristics and I don't think most of it makes much difference, but finish is right after the pickups in the tonal difference made.

I sanded off one of my guitars and it made a world of difference that could be heard unplugged and through the amp. High or low gain the instrument opened up a lot.

Here is the strat I sanded down:

 

[Mop]

I think the finish affects the tone more than the wood type, even above bridge type. People are always talking about tonal characteristics and I don't think most of it makes much difference, but finish is right after the pickups in the tonal difference made.

I sanded off one of my guitars and it made a world of difference that could be heard unplugged and through the amp. High or low gain the instrument opened up a lot.

Don't be silly, wood has way more tonal influence than the finish. Cheap strats do have a horrible thick plasticy finish though, good on you for taking it off

 

[Andii]

Don't be silly, wood has way more tonal influence than the finish. Cheap strats do have a horrible thick plasticy finish though, good on you for taking it off

If good wood is covered in a thick plastic feeling finish then it won't matter what it is made of in my experience. Alder basswood and mahogany all sound really close when they have enough clear coat to laminate the wall of china caked on them.

Also that strat is an American Standard series.

 

[Werwolf999]

There was a post made recently by a fellow who refinished a Schecter of his. He noticed that the tone did in fact change once he stripped it.

 

[mark105]

It dosn't make alot of difference to my ears. This argument has gone on for ages: Nitro Laquer vs poly vs oil finish etc. I never could hear much difference , even less so with a lot of gain and/or active pick ups. But if you can hear it you should follow your own ears.

 

[cow 7 sig]

in my experience bare wood makes a world of difference to tone.it opens up the guitars tone alot more than a paint job.

 

[Leuchty]

It dosn't make alot of difference to my ears. This argument has gone on for ages: Nitro Laquer vs poly vs oil finish etc. I never could hear much difference , even less so with a lot of gain and/or active pick ups. But if you can hear it you should follow your own ears.

Totally agree.

 

[Mop]

If good wood is covered in a thick plastic feeling finish then it won't matter what it is made of in my experience. Alder basswood and mahogany all sound really close when they have enough clear coat to laminate the wall of china caked on them.

Also that strat is an American Standard series.

We will agree to disagree on this one Wood to me is if not the most important then one of the most important parts of how a guitar sounds. Finish is way down the list. Sure, ripping the paint of your gat makes a difference, but nowhere near as much change as bolting a decent mahogany body to that strat would.

 

[shogunate]

We need some luthiers on this one...

I like natural wood finishes, oiled or satin for pure aesthetics, but I do personally feel that heavily painted guitars do sound... a little more compressed, choked, but only when in comparison with the same exact guitar unfinished. There are certainly heavily painted guitars that will sound miles ahead of other natural ones.

I also have read and heard multiple times that the neck joint is a critical point of sound transfer, so that's why some companies try to leave minimal finish at that point on the guitar, particularly neck throughs. Not sure how that would work with a bolt-on

Go to a local shop and just try out different styles, unplugged and amped, clean and under gain, come to your own conclusions and jump into the fray

 

[MetalGravy]

Scientific Fact: Purple guitars sound better.


I know it sounds weird, but who am I to question science?

 

[synrgy]

My Dad (not a guitar guy, but has a PHD in musicology and definitely understands a lot more about EVERYTHING than I could ever hope to) has been making this argument to me for years.

I don't think it holds much weight. I understand the principle in terms of physics, but I have yet to hear an instance where the difference is truly noticeable.

It's virtually impossible to get a true test to prove this kind of theory, anyway, save doing legitimate before/after testing of THE SAME GUITAR with and without the finish. IE, not the same model, but the exact same individual instrument.

 

[YellowMustard]

Yes is most certainly does, in certain situations its alot more noticable.

Take a modern guitar, like an Ibanez RG with a thick ass poly paint job, strip off the paint down to bare wood, then try and tell me you dont notice a big difference in the tone acoustically. Paint, especially polyurethane based paints hinder the body woods ability to resonate as well as it could. Think about it, how can a body wood resonate as well as it should with it basically having a giant hard plastic covering over the entire body?

When were talking about a live situation, and when you have tons of gain thrown into your sound, you wont notice is much at all, but play that guitar unplugged or through a super clean channel of an amp like say a classic fender or a Roland Jazz Chorus and you'll notice a big difference.

I've been hot rodding guitars for years and have stripped many a guitar bodies, and every single time i notice a difference in the tone. The guitar usually ends up having a more "woody"/ warm/ open tone to it than it did beforehand.

The dude that builds Blackmachines knows what he's talking about. His theories are spot fucking on.

If you ask me...Paint doesnt belong on guitars.

 

[7 Strings of Hate]

Scientific Fact: Purple guitars sound better.


I know it sounds weird, but who am I to question science?

Good point

 

[synrgy]

Okay, 'acoustically' is one thing, but when we're talking about ELECTRIC guitars, what difference does that make? When I buy an electric guitar and put whatever pickups in it to capture a specific sound, I couldn't possibly care less what it sounds like unplugged, because that's not how I use it.

What about *practical* difference? Seems the consensus here thus far is "When you're plugged in and using gain (translation: when you're playing your guitar the way you normally play it) it doesn't make a difference"?