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What gives with Heritage Cherry on SG's?


Lungimsam

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No problem. My fault. Different woods would definitely appear different.

 

I wonder if Gibson changes the color formula for some reason, or if it's the number of passes the painter makes with the airgun? Do they do different runs of differing Heritage Cherry colors on purpose for some reason? Just wundrin'?

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Not all mahogany woods are as absorbent, and the grains are looser, or tighter. That can have an affect on the shades, or hues. Lighting is going to show lighter, or darker also.

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You've got to take into account that the 60s SGs have had 40+ years to age. However, if you go back and look at the 61-65 SGs, they were a brighter red than the 67-70 SGs. My SG Standard can go from a brownish darker red to a blood red, depending what light it's in.

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You've got to take into account that the 60s SGs have had 40+ years to age. However, if you go back and look at the 61-65 SGs, they were a brighter red than the 67-70 SGs. My SG Standard can go from a brownish darker red to a blood red, depending what light it's in.

 

If you have time post some pics. Would love to see the hue.

Here's my '61 RI (2001 model). Very light color. But the grain shows great!

61sgreissuebody.jpg

 

Here's a '61 EB3:

61EB3_91.jpg

 

And a '69. Look how much darker it is. I like darker better:

1969-EB3-21.jpg

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Here she is, pics can't hardly do it justice.

IMG_0336.jpg

 

Yeah, see, yours looks darker, while others look totally different. They must be mixing the stain differently each batch or something. It looks like it is not just the brightness, but the red color tone differs. I wonder if it is random, or timed (like, dark during the fall production, lighter in summer production). And if there is any way the consumer can more easily get what they want.

 

I wish they had someone from Gibson who could explain how its done. Very curious about this.

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Mixing paint can be a daunting task if you are trying to 'match' something else. Even paint which is purchased at the store at the same time, in multiple containers will vary from one container to another. Good painters will mix all the containers together to make sure they get nice homogeneous color from start to finish on big jobs.

 

It's not that they intentionally change the hues from one paint batch to another, it just happens. It can also change from the first use of the container to the last, if the paint is not initially mixed well, or if it isn't constantly stirred through the last use of that container.

 

The hand that applies the finish can have an effect on the finished product as well. Humidity and temperature can affect drying time and therefore the perceived hue, more so on metal flake finishes.

 

Age and environment can change the hue of a finish job from one guitar to another.

 

Also, lighting can change the color your eye perceives. Those God awful fluorescent lights make anything look a little greener. The sodium vapor lights, common in most big box stores, are even worse. They make everything skew blue. But this is intentional. Whites look whiter and colors seem to 'pop' when lit up in blue. Incandescent adds a nice warm yellow glow to everything. Clear, incandescent bulbs make used cars sparkle. Sun light is about the only thing that is a constant.

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Here's my 2009 Heritage Cherry SG Classic side by side with my wine red 2005 LP Studio. The flash seems to have made them both look a little redder than they really appear, but given the current weather here in Chicago no telling how long it would be until I could get a pic of them with natural light. Anyway, it gives some relative idea of how close the finishes on the two of them are.

 

 

LPStudioandSGClassic.jpg

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