Only one natural finish guitar in a 2 page spread

[Rudy4]

There is always going to be a certain percentage of the market that find guitars that have a different visual appeal beyond a "traditional" finish appealing.

I think that Gibson is featuring a lot more of the bursts currently because (1) they have a long history of marketing acoustic guitars with bursts, and (2) they are trying to catch whatever share of the market they can due to their semi-precarious market position. Anything that sells another guitar is a plus for Gibson.

[Silly Moustache]

"mmmm, Interesting, but dumb" (it isn't at all dumb, but I couldn't resist the old Rowan& Martin reference).

I have both "natural" and bursts of different types.

Interestingly, of my entire collection, I have an equal number of each, although these include my archtops (one Gibson and two "copies" - Harmony and Eastman (all bursted) .

Of my flat tops all but one of those modeled after Martin designs are "nach'ls" and all but one - my F5 mandolin -
which are modeled after Gibson designs are "bursts"

My National (Estralita and Dobro (27 deluxe) both have
bursts.

When one mentally pictures a Gibson, does one picture a J45 or a J50?

When one thinks of a Gibson mandolin or archtop guitar do you think of a natural top? (I bet not).

I've just googled images of Gibson mandos, archtops and flat tops - which included instruments from all eras and the incidents of natural tops was very small.

Then, I googled images for "Martin guitars" Very few bursts - mostly naturals and a surprising number of Hog tops.

So, probably not surprising.

[Bob Womack]

Guys, as a recording engineer I began seeing this trend several years ago with the Americana movement. There was a bunch of image signaling coming from the artists trying make everything seem aged. The clothing and the instruments became instantly aged, and the sunburst came back into vogue.

I think you are just seeing this play out with the manufacturers as they attempt to supply the fashion.

Bob

[Mark Stone]

Y'all need to come over to the dark side lol -- Taylor. The Taylor website (https://www.taylorguitars.com/guitar...eries/overview) has 32 natural finish, 7 sunbursts and one black guitar. My pair of Taylors (110e and 814ce) are natural and purty.

[TBman]

I like bursts (I have two), but I'm not a fan of colored tops, (blue, black, etc).

I think we look at the tops more when shopping for a guitar than any other time.

[Mycroft]

So you are saying that shade-top guitars have become "trendy?"

[cary]

Funny, for the last 30 years I've preferred a good burst to a blonde, but my two current favorite guitars are both natural.

Of course, if I were a guitar company, I'd build whatever was selling.

[brad4d8]

Originally Posted by jayhawk

I wonder how many of the shaded tops are done to hide low grade top appearances?

Jack

Occurred to me, too. Used to be a fairly common perception, whether true or not.

[donlyn]

Originally Posted by donlyn

Only one natural finish guitar in a 2 page spread

Most of mine are natural finish including a mahogany top Taylor 512 (dark top but natural finish), a walnut top Jumbo (dark natural), and a sunburst Epiphone IBG J-200. And that sunburst J-200 is a strikingly good looking guitar.

Of course, this may help prove your point since the sunburst is a 2021 model and all the rest are between 5 and 36 years old.

Don
.

After some contemplation, here are a couple of new thoughts (re-thoughts?) to add.

At one point I thought that I would only buy natural finish guitars. About 10 years ago, I passed on a particular Taylor 816 Grand Symphony solely because it was finished with a burgundy-colored top. Sounded great, but somehow couldn't pull the trigger. There was something to the thought that there might be a defect in the wood, but I couldn't find one. If it weren't for passing on many others, I might consider this one to have been the proverbial one that got away.

Well, I'm not adverse to different looks now, as evidenced by my new Epiphone IBG J-200, which has a sunburst top. Looks great and sounds great.

And I kept one of my electrics, a cherry sunburst Gibson Les Paul standard, with a book-ended flame maple top. And a great sound too. Somehow I thought being electric was different from being acoustic and that the sunburst looked better on electric rather than on an acoustic. I've become open to all finishes now, but 'natural' is still a great finish. The wood grain on my 512 mahogany is simply amazing.

Don
.

[Skarsaune]

I have both, in nearly equal numbers.

The last several acquisitions have been bursts, although it wasn’t planned, it just happened that way.

Don’t really like colors but I have owned a solid black guitar.

[Mark Stone]

Originally Posted by brad4d8

Occurred to me, too. Used to be a fairly common perception, whether true or not.

It was true for awhile, but probably isn't now. John Thomas (Kalamazoo Gals) tells us that during WWII Gibson tops were sometimes given sunbursts to hide cosmetic flaws in their tops. But I don't think that is done today, although I may be mistaken. I also may be mistaken about JT1 being the source for that info -- but I seem to remember that's where I got it.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Mark Stone

It was true for awhile, but probably isn't now. John Thomas (Kalamazoo Gals) tells us that during WWII Gibson tops were sometimes given sunbursts to hide cosmetic flaws in their tops. But I don't think that is done today, although I may be mistaken. I also may be mistaken about JT1 being the source for that info -- but I seem to remember that's where I got it.

I own a Banner Gibson which based on the FON started off as a J50 but was given a burst to cover up the fact one of the top pieces had accidentally been flip flopped. Figure that makes it a J47.5.

[gmel555]

Overall I like bursts probably equally as well as natural tops, although some bursts seem so well done artfully that they grab my attention (and some bursts I find unattractive). That's reflected in my herd of 8, which are 4 naturals, 3 bursts and 1 black lacquer (Martin 000-ECHF). My last two purchases: one natural and one Ambertone. I guess if I had only one -and everything else was equal- I'd be happy with either, but boy I do love that Ambertone. I am not drawn to solid colored tops much, and the one black 000-ECHF is enough for me in that direction.

I'm wondering if what you're seeing is indicative of marketing to multi-guitar owners who are looking for some variety in the look of their guitars (pure guess on my part). I just took a look at the latest 100 guitars shipped on Bourgeois' "Recently Shipped". I only chose them because they're listed on pages of 24 as quick pics of the tops and easily counted. Of the last 100 shipped, only 14 were bursts or black, with the majority of the rest being natural spruces, along with a few hardwood tops. I thought it was going to be more bursts, and of course, the Bourgeois data is a limited view of one small market segment.

[BrunoBlack]

Some bursts are things of beauty and others, well not so much. It depends on personal taste I guess. I own a couple, but most of mine are natural.

[TwangGang]

I have always liked the look of a natural top and have been able to find guitars I liked (for tone and playability) that had them. But ultimately I buy guitars for the way they sound and have owned a dark burst J200 and recently bought one of the Viper Blue Hummingbirds from Sweetwater. I didn't buy it because of the color, I bought it because it was a maple body and maple body dreads with short scale are pretty hard to find.

I often thought Gibson painted some guitars because the top wood wasn't that attractive - not sure that is true. The grain on the blue bird is pretty nice, but very hard to see due to the color. But the sound is exactly what I was looking for, so I would have bought it no matter what color it was.