Epiphone burst finish

[Black Dog]

So I have read a few times that Epiphones have a "sticker" applied to the top for the finish, even for the "burst" finishes. When looking at these guitars, they all appear to have different wood grain and color variations. Doesn't seem like a sticker to me.

[sparquelito]

jhein,

 

You lost me there.

 

I have never heard that expression before with regard to guitar finishes.

(Sticker I mean.)

 

Is there a link to a specific article or discussion maybe?

 

(Just looking for context, I guess.)

 

[kidblast]

I think he's referring (maybe..) to what was done some years back, where a picture of wood grain was applied to the tops before the final finishing and clear coat was applied. Japan started the process back in the 80s when they introduced "foto-flame" finishes on some of the MIJ fenders. I'm pretty sure Epiphone les pauls back in the late 90s/2000s used this process but I don't think that's still going on today. (but anything is possible!)

[Pinch]

Epiphone.com says maple veneer. I'd be surprised if by that they mean "maple veneer with a photo on top of it", but you never know.

 

Sure, tone above all else, but that would not sit well with me.

[rct]

In a long standing tradition of cheapskatedness passed down by their founder, Fender discontinued the FotoFlame stuff quickly because it was more expensive to do than actual nice looking wood with a clear paint job on top.

 

rct

[Cougar]

In a long standing tradition of cheapskatedness passed down by their founder, Fender discontinued the FotoFlame stuff quickly because it was more expensive to do than actual nice looking wood with a clear paint job on top.

 

Haha, yeah, I've never heard of such a thing with Epi's.

[Red 333]

Epiphone never used a photo flame to my knowledge. They do of course use a figured wood veneer over plainer solid wood on some models, but they don't disguise that fact.

 

Red 333

[Black Dog]

Thanks for the replies. I have read this in some customer reviews and other unfavorable critiques of Epiphones. Didn't think it was correct, at least not with their current products.

[SG player]

That' s ridht, finish on Epiphone guitars is pfhotoflame .

 

Epi use photoflame on all their copies .

[mirrorboy]

Erm, can we just stick to the facts please?

[kidblast]

Erm, can we just stick to the facts please?

 

 

if you say so..

 

This guy shows a few.. one from Fender, one from Epiphone.

http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/forum/guitar/acapella-41/1248007-

 

I worked in a music store part time, in the mid / late 90s and worked with the repair guy quite often, I can tell you I saw them with my own two eyes when they were brought in for cosmetic repairs for damage done to the tops, what was under neath the finish, looked like, and felt mysteriously just like... paper

 

Ibanez and Washburn had these as well, then again many in those days came from the same factories in S. Korea

 

just -- IMX anyway, can't really find anything 100% factual to back it up except previous owners like the link shows.

 

Maybe Epi and the like wants this to remain "top secret!"

 

either way, not a big deal, and I don't believe this has been done for some years now.

[Parabar]

I have two Dillions with photoflame (actually photoquilt) finishes, but they play and sound wonderful, and look good enough that I don't care.

 

And while Epiphone may have used photoflame finishes on some (low-end) models in the past. I have never seen one. All of the Epi Les Pauls, SG's, flying V's, etc. I've ever come across have used veneers rather than photoflame. The "Epiphone use photoflame on all their copies" comment is so ignorant that all further comments by that poster should be discounted as unreliable at best.

[kidblast]

I have two Dillions with photoflame (actually photoquilt) finishes, but they play and sound wonderful, and look good enough that I don't care.

 

And while Epiphone may have used photoflame finishes on some (low-end) models in the past. I have never seen one. All of the Epi Les Pauls, SG's, flying V's, etc. I've ever come across have used veneers rather than photoflame. The "Epiphone use photoflame on all their copies" comment is so ignorant that all further comments by that poster should be discounted as unreliable at best.

 

These would have only been used on guitars that were showing some sort of figuring under the clear coat, the Les Paul's back from the 90s to mid 90s that had the flamed tops would likely be the ones to consider.

 

regardless of how Epi chose to build them, they were solid guitars for the money in those days, they just needed a few key updates to make em right. machine heads, pickups, pots/switches... in other words the stuff we always say was sub par for those build years.

 

I had a sherry and a joe pass from that era, and for what I paid for them, they were definitely worthy players.

 

btw.. A very good friend of mine has had and still does several Dillons, he got them for pretty easy money, quite nice with the duncan design pups and all. All proof that if you really don't want to.. you don't have to drop 3k to get a pretty decent axe.. 250/300 bucks on ebay and some knowledge is all it takes. which is kind of what really matters at the end of the day..

[StRanger7032]

I had a '96 Epi LP Translucent Amber Burst. The top was real. I got into a big argument here with someone that claimed it was photoflame without ever having seen the guitar. I looked up the catalog from that year and it said "maple cap". Plus, I could see that it was a real wood cap, just not as thick as a Gibson would have.