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Old 05-13-2010, 12:23 PM
tyru007 tyru007 is offline
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Default Does color effect the sound of a guitar?

I spent an afternoon in GC searching for a new accoustic guitar. Looking for something in the $500 to $1K range and narrowed down to a Seagull S6 coastline slim CW, Breedlove atlas AD25/SR and a Taylor C414ce, which was out of my price range. I also tried a Breedlove AD25/EM "black magic", which was also a very nice guitar and very similar to the AD25/SR, except its painted gloss black and was considerably less expensive than the other breedloves. Does the finish painting effect the tone of the guitar and will the guitar age properly? I'm finding it hard to pass up that savings.
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Old 05-13-2010, 12:59 PM
Lacks Focus Lacks Focus is offline
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I may be wrong, but I doubt it's actually paint, which would be a film coating on the wood. More likely it's an opaque or possibly even a transparent, but highly pigmented, stain. As far as I know it shouldn't have any effect. I've never heard anyone with a burst talk about a difference in tone, and I don't know how this would be different.

The "black magic" models are nice, but black just doesn't do it for me. A few months ago I got a steal of a deal on a Studio C model, and the dealer offered similar discounts on the corresponding Stage version, but all he had available were the black ones. As nice as they were, I just couldn't see myself playing one. But hey - that's just me.
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Old 05-13-2010, 01:02 PM
walternewton walternewton is offline
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The black finish shouldn't affect the tone...though it may be used on woods that have imperfections (strictly cosmetic) that would make them unsuitable for a natural finish.

You seem to be talking about 2 different model numbers, though - I'm not familiar with the Breedlove line, but I'd be sure to look into what other differences might account for the higher/lower cost to be sure you're not comparing apples to oranges (does M=mahogany, R=rosewood??).
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Old 05-13-2010, 01:04 PM
Guitarnoob89 Guitarnoob89 is offline
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I think it more has to do with inconsistencies in mass produced guitars. A friend of mine picked up a yamaha FG720 in burst and it sounded like poop,and picked up the same guitar same model in natural and it sounded great. Thats why its important to play guitars before you buy them because no wood is the exact same.
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Old 05-13-2010, 01:05 PM
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Yes, SR is their standard (sitka?) spruce/rosewood and EM is Engelmann spruce with, I think, mahogany in this case.
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Old 05-13-2010, 01:10 PM
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Hi tyru…

Hello and welcome to the forum! We are glad you joined.

Yes, the Red ones sound 'hot' the Blue ones sound 'cool' and the black ones are 'smokin'.

Kidding - no correlation to color I know of. It's more likely that solid sounds better than laminate.

If you found a black one you like, then get it...it's for you not us!


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Old 05-13-2010, 01:11 PM
brian a. brian a. is offline
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I don't believe color affects sound/tone quality. But finish and the thickness of that finish does affect sound/tone quality. Solid paint can also be used to hide laminations visible around the edge of the soundhole.

As an aside: Gibson, Fender and some others used the cleanest tops on their natural finished guitars and used sunburst and other finishes to cover up imperfections in the wood for their guitars in the 40's and 50's and later. These imperfections were things like irregular grain, swirls, bearclaw and knots that were purely cosmetic and not sonic.
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Old 05-13-2010, 01:31 PM
NoPicks NoPicks is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tyru007 View Post
Does the finish painting effect the tone of the guitar and will the guitar age properly?
As far as I've noticed, the finish color alone has no real effect on tone. IMHO there is far more variation attributable to the individual pieces of wood used, than any other single factor

Black and other opaque finishes are a useful way for mass-producers to use up stocks of otherwise sound (no pun intended) wood that have minor cosmetic irregularities. Gibsons especially, have been well known for this, but the general principle holds across the board IME

A natural-finish top, for example, needs to be pretty much cosmetically perfect otherwise it's going to be tough to sell the completed instrument. Aesthetic standards have changed a bit over the years, and there seems to be more tolerance for bearclaw figure in tops these days, but otherwise buyers want to see straight grain and minimal color variations in soundboards

The same could be said of back/side sets. While a small builder can probably "sell" the idea that visible sapwood or other oddities are a Very Cool aesthetic decision, it would be difficult for one of the majors to get away with this. For better or worse, many buyers "listen with their eyes" just as much as with their ears, and are extremely wary of cosmetic flaws. A good example would be an otherwise beautiful new Gibson J-185 that I tried out a few years ago, that had brown heartwood streaks marring the nice curly maple back. The guitar sounded fine, but I simply couldn't wrap my head around those brown streaks. I passed on it solely for that reason, and apparently so did quite a few other people - it hung on that dealer's wall for well over a year before they finally sold it

Had that same guitar been finished all-black and marketed as a J-180 (Everly Brothers type) no one would've ever noticed......
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Old 05-13-2010, 01:55 PM
tyru007 tyru007 is offline
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The AD25/SR is Atlas-Dreadnought with solid spruce top, solid rosewood bottom and rosewood laminate side

The AD25/EM is the same with engleman spruce top, solid mahogany bottom and mahogany laminate sides.

I do realize the the different woods will cause them to sound different along with a number of other factors, both of the ones I tried sounded great and playing a black or natural guitar does not bother me.

Any issues with the guitar "opening up" or humidity with an opaque finish vs natural?

Last edited by tyru007; 05-13-2010 at 02:02 PM.
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Old 05-13-2010, 03:42 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tyru007 View Post
...Any issues with the guitar "opening up" or humidity with an opaque finish vs natural?
Hi tyru…
Not unless it's so thick it was applied with a sheet rock mud trowel.

They are all likely sprayed similar thicknesses with the outer layer being color...

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Old 05-13-2010, 03:51 PM
Jeff M Jeff M is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tyru007 View Post
.... Does the finish painting effect the tone of the guitar?.......
Color? No.
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Old 05-13-2010, 03:54 PM
Kabalan Kabalan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ljguitar View Post
Hi tyru…

Hello and welcome to the forum! We are glad you joined.

Yes, the Red ones sound 'hot' the Blue ones sound 'cool' and the black ones are 'smokin'.

Kidding - no correlation to color I know of. It's more likely that solid sounds better than laminate.

If you found a black one you like, then get it...it's for you not us!


welcome!!
and the white ones sound cold
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