I recently acquired a luthier build cedar top/hog dread with a sound sent down for Heaven. The finish is natural wood and is actually a bit dull for my taste. I tracked down the luthier and learned he uses 'violin varnish" to finish his guitars and mandos. Just enough thin coats to have an overall even appearance. I started a thread about whether or not refinishing this guitar with a modern type gloss finish would possibly compromise its to die for tone qualities. Based on the responses I got, I'm learning to ascribe the dull patches of finish as being mojo and wouldn't dream of disturbing whatever it is that is working so fine with this guitar.
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