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Old 01-17-2020, 02:49 PM
vindibona1 vindibona1 is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Chicago- North Burbs, via Mexico City
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While I can't fault those that like satin, in comparison IMO it looks cheap. It's definitely a cheaper finish in terms of man-hours required for finishing. Satin can hide imperfections and fingerprints. But here's the rub (pun intended)... When you rub a satin finish it gets glossier, and to get it back to a uniform satin look is almost impossible.

Gloss will almost always bring more visual depth to grain and color. This is not in dispute. It will however produce more glare and hot spots (visually) under direct lighting... and reveal imperfections of fingerprints and dings. But still, given a choice for me it's gloss and satin can be a deal breaker. As for the neck? I don't mind a gloss neck if it has little "stiction". I find that some gloss lacquers allow the hands to move freely while other lacquers just make things more difficult. My Taylor 614 has a gloss neck while my Taylor 814 has a satin neck and I have no preference for either.

As an illustration, some time ago I photographed two very similar Koa guitars side-by-side; one satin and the other gloss. The difference in the "wow" factor is undeniable (at least IMO). I would have really liked to have seen the one on the left with gloss. The graining is really rich looking. Now as I study the one on the right, it doesn't appear that Taylor book-matched the wood top. Am I wrong?
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