Wow! Didn't expect to start a war! HA HA HA As for me, I have no idea what chemical finish is on my guitars! That's the luthier's job and not mine. I just play the damn things! At the time I started this forum I only had the one Victory, an MVX. Well, since then I have acquired 2 more, another MVX and a MVII. The MVX has a Gibson tremolo system on it and I am now trying to see if that was the way the factory made it. Funny, I now have owned .2% of all Victorys ever made! HA HA HA HA Never did I think that would happen! Anyway, as for sound quality and such, I feel the Victorys have an extremely wide range of voices due to the coil tap and type of pick-ups used. As much as I love them though they have more of a treble tone than my Les Pauls do and I believe that is due to them being made from hardrock maple verses the Les Paul's mohagony and maple construction. As to which is better, DON'T ASK! It depends on the song being played as to which guitar I would use. Also on my mood! My personal favorite is my 2001 Les Paul Standard, but that is strictly my personal choice. I love all 8 of my gibsons along with all 6 of my Fenders. If I didn't love them I would not have bought them! Now, on to Victory guitars! I love the way they fit my body while playing and their weight gives them some pretty impressive sustain. I love the feel of the neck and the speed I am able to obtain when playing. I just got the MVX with the tremolo 2 weeks back so I really haven't got to know it as of yet. I have to put new strings on it, my choice that is..... Then I'll see what she can do! I'm hoping for some Van Halenish sounds! By the way, I plug straight into my Marshall Dual Super Lead and use no other effects. I want to play guitar not an effect machine.....