What do you think of sunbursts on traditional guitars?

[FormerFoodie]

Not all 'bursts are made equal.

I never liked sunburst until I saw a Collings. I no longer own this guitar, but the tobacco sunburst combined with the varnish finish was absolutely sublime. My knees still get weak looking at her...



And as good as those are, you should see the sunbursts from someone like Leo Posch or Kim Walker.

http://luthierscollection.com/images.php?id=walker41

So yes, the right burst would make me pretty darn happy!

[barefooter]

Obviously, some people like them and some do not. I like this one for not only the looks, but the sound as well. When I leave this world, it will be handed down to my daughter.

[Tony Burns]

They are traditional on Martins as well as Gibsons .
To my knowledge they have been an option -
as long as i remember - i use to like the clean look of an unburst top,
but when i bought my Mike Franks used , thats what it had -
and its grown on me -it is a very stunning look ( get alot of compliments ).
I did have a Fender Telecaster custom with sunburst when i was a kid
and wish i kept that ( the one that got away )
so all in all - Ive dropped the rules - i like them !

[44Runner]

I love bursts. Other than a single electric, I don't own one. Mainly because all my acoustics have been deals I've come across so the choice wasn't there. One of these days, and it will be a Taylor...

[Pippin]

I consider the Sunburst finish a bonus. The sound is of course the primary attraction

[Ruppster]

I've had sunburst electrics but never a sunburst acoustic. That changed yesterday when I ordered a Yairi WY1TS Joe Bonamassa. Looks, sounds and plays great so we'll see....

[Slothead56]

Just ordered a CEO 7 as my first acoustic sunburst.

[Mary]

One McKnight Guitar for the Memphis Guitar Festival is already completed. It is a sunburst.

You can see a hint of it on this page.

http://www.memphisguitarfest.com/Featured.html

[Marshall]

Originally Posted by FormerFoodie

. . . , I never liked sunburst until I saw a Collings. I no longer own this guitar, but the tobacco sunburst combined with the varnish finish was absolutely sublime. My knees still get weak looking at her...

If Collings were half the price, I'd own a half dozen. (Which doesn't make any sense. But there it is. )

[djg]

It's all in the details.

For acoustic guitars, I tend not to prefer sunburst finishes, and for something like a sunburst, I tend to prefer a shaded top (fade amber to brown rather than orange-ish tones). But the fact is, I've seen great examples of sunbursts on traditional guitars (no, not just Gibsons) and less great (and fair to bad). For more "natural" finishes (as if you'd find a quarter sawn gloss spruce board in nature), the two-tone runout thing doesn't look good to me (and I know that some very fine guitars have this noticeably; and I'm just talking personal preference here).

Sunburst: not my most general first call, but done right, it could be great.

[DenverSteve]

Not all people appreciate the same burst equally either. I've seen bursts that I think are butt-ugly when other's found them very attractive and visa-versa. Bursts are certainly in the eye of the beholder.

[Benybrady]

Martins sunbursts look bad. Gibsons look fantastic.

[Yggdrasil]

Originally Posted by Benybrady

Martins sunbursts look bad. Gibsons look fantastic.

That was always my opinion until, with great trepidation, I ordered my Martin M30 Jorma Signature in a 35 burst.

It's a great burst that holds its own with any burst I've owned save one - and I'm a burst guy.

The "save one" is my now gone Kopp NL which positively glowed from within.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by kydave

I don't like sunbursts on Martins.

I do like sunbursts on Gibsons.

I don't care one way or the other on the rest...

Perhaps it's my age, but I can't help seeing sunburst finishes on acoustics just like Dave does. I have a Gibson Advanced Jumbo with a very nice sunburst, and I've grown to really like it. All my other guitars are natural finish, no sunbursts.

I have a Les Paul with a vintage cherry sunburst over a heavily flamed maple top, and it looks pretty amazing -- almost too pretty, if there can be such a thing.

I must say, however, that after living with the sunburst on my Gibson AJ for the last 9 years, I am much more amenable to the idea of a sunburst on my acoustic guitars.

- Glenn

[Chedeng88]

I'm not really a fan of bursts, but this one really caught my eye.