Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sawbones on June 24, 2014 at 4:41am

Its all up to you buddy.Thats the beauty of these things!

The finish will absolutely effect the sound.

I love a totally raw,no finish solid body electric.The wood is just so open and sounds great to me.

That being said,I would go w/ as thin layer as you can get away w/.I never finish my boxes,I have a few I haven't built yet that came w/ a laquer finish from the company,but those are future projects.

My latest is an Arturo box,paper over wood,no finish,1 1/2" drain strainer soundhole and it sounds awesome(I need to work on my playing!)really good acoustic tone.Its the first one I've done w/ a soundhole and it definetly affects the sound and projection of the instrument.

Good luck,it looks like you got a pretty solid setup in mind and parts!lol

Post her up when she's done

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 24, 2014 at 4:51am

It will affect the sound. It won't affect the sound. It might affect the sound. It might not affect the sound.

You might be able to hear the difference. You might not.

A good player can make a bad guitar sound decent. A bad player can make a good guitar sound terrible.

It's in the fingers and DNA.

But...

Thinner is preferable...and wait on cutting the soundhole. Play it for awhile first.

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Permalink Reply by Sawbones on June 24, 2014 at 9:01am

Yes,thats what I always do.

You can always cut a hole in it,you cant remove a hole.

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Permalink Reply by Skeesix on June 24, 2014 at 5:30am

I use shellac exclusively. I either make up my own "20 lb cut" from shellac flakes or use Zinnser Sealcoat. Shellac is quite thin and I doubt if you'll be able to hear any difference with a couple of coats.

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Permalink Reply by TN Twang on June 24, 2014 at 5:30am

Shellac is wonderful stuff. (They put it in M&Ms to make 'em shiny!)

Consider mixing your store-bought, premixed shellac 50-50 with denatured alcohol and rubbing it on with a cloth. Most of it will sink in instead of glopping on the surface. A couple of coats of this diluted "wash" should harden up your wood without really putting much of a surface coat on it. Rub it down with 000 steel wool until it feels like it's really loved. If anything, hardening up the wood's surface should brighten up your sound.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Lindsay on June 25, 2014 at 11:18am

Back in my cabinetry days, we called that 50-50 mix a spit coat. We used it a lot too - especially on end grains, before staining. The shellac filled the pores in the end grain and kept the stained finish more even. We used it the same way you use it - wipe, brush, or spray it on, let it dry, then use 000 or 0000 steel wool or 220 grit sandpaper (on woods that might react to the steel wool, like oak) to smooth it out, then stain and finish as usual. I've also used a spit coat of orange or amber shellac on woods both before and after staining, before applying a top coat, to give it that amber glow.

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Permalink Reply by Alan Garrett on June 25, 2014 at 1:02pm

Thanks! I will try it.

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Permalink Reply by Sawbones on June 24, 2014 at 9:09am

Yeah that's the technique I use w/ tung oil.Obviously I don't mix it.

I just use an old tshirt and work it into the wood.I kinda let the wood dictate how many coats.I have a V that probably has 20 coats on it.The firebird I built has 3.

And they both sound good in their own way.

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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on June 25, 2014 at 9:21pm

well the story goes John Lennon and George Harrison stripped the finish off their casino guitars because they said they sounded better....i'm not going to argue with that, but  you're talking about piezos here,,,the only thing that will affect them is if they're encased in something gloopy , nothing to do with finishes.

saying that I never really detected any type of finish affecting the sound of a good build unless soft and over 1/4 inch thick  (-;

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on June 25, 2014 at 10:12pm

ha yep you definitely need nitrocellulose, poly will KILL THE TONE on that vintage chessboard.  lol

just make the bastard, then play it, then repeat mate.  don't sweat the little things.

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Permalink Reply by Sawbones on June 27, 2014 at 12:26pm

Yeah its like everything is poly finish these days.I thought polyester was for leisure suits in the 70's,not guitar finishes.

I'm going to sand the clear coat off my epi jumbo next time I restring it.And probably fully sand the back off the neck raw.

"just make the bastard, then play it, then repeat mate.  don't sweat the little things."thats my philosophy too Phry.My reso I'm overthinking,next time I F w/ it,its getting finished.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas "Duck" Petry on June 27, 2014 at 6:58pm

I've built bare wood and paper boxes, finished some wood boxes with a rubbed in beeswax finish and done a few with rattle can lacquer, some lightly sealed and some high gloss, many coats of lacquer. They all sound good and they all sound different from each other. Every build has it's own voice. That's half the fun of these things.

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