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Why the premium for natural finishes?


martinh

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I'm curious if anyone knows why Gibson often charges a premium for natural finishes? I ve heard several explainations, including that the natural finish requires a flawless piece of wood, or that it is harder to put binding against a natural finish, but none of them seem to quite ring true. Anyone have an answer?

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If you have an ugly, but other wise stable, hunk of wood you can paint it a solid color. But if you want to keep the guitar natural you have to use good looking wood. Good looking wood ain't as easy to find as ugly wood. Not every maple tree is full of flames and quilts.

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Also, nowadays wood is cultivated/harvested/managed.

 

I just don't think that the grain patterns are the same as old growth wood, when a tree happens to yield a nice grain it is a good opportunity to charge a premium for it.

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I would have to go with the theory about the need a good looking piece of wood... If you'r going to paint it a solid color, it doesn't matter so much, but for anything that needs the wood grain visible they would have to take appearance of the grain into consideration.

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Higher grades of wood with obvious good grain get saved for natural finishes the lesser wood get's dark bursts and wood that has mismatched grain or multiple pieces in a top get painted especially now with wood getting harder to find in good grain. As for your comment Fuzzy Fred a faded finish is see through so it has a good quality of wood just nothing noted as really special but you can get lucky even with painted guitars I've refinished painted guitars and been thrilled with the wood underneath it's just rare. and if you get real lucky or your really picky when your looking you can get a great piece of wood remember even a broken watch is right twice a day anything can happen.

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Interesting and correct point from Retro.............

 

However, semi-hollow guitars like 335s, 339s, 175s, etc etc, ALL are made with laminated wood.....As such, only the top

 

layer of wood on these guitars with flame or quilted tops are flamed or quilted.....And since the top layers is only a veneer,

 

I find it dubious that a super premium would be charged for any guitar with a flame or quilt laminated top.......................

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I find it dubious that a super premium would be charged for any guitar with a flame or quilt laminated top.......................

 

Figured maple is more expensive that plain mnaple even if it's being made into a laminat. Also it's harder to spray a burst or translucent finish than a solid one.

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In order to have a piece made with a natural finish you have to use a piece of clear blemish free wood or else it would look terrible.If you've ever gone into an exotic wood lumberyard you'd see that clear and even grained wood can cost up to 4 times or more than just plain wood from the same species of board.So there is truth in the wood grain story-for premium grain wood you have to pay a premium as it all comes down to availability.

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Better living through chemistry.

 

If natural was better and cheaper they all would be 'natural'.... whatever that means.

 

It is part of the human condition to find a better/cheaper substitute.

 

Therefore I suspect that either the natural finish materials are more expensive or more labor intensive to apply or they are using the current marketing 'buzz' word. Compare spraying on polyurethane to a hand applied french polish.

 

In some cases the word 'natural' or 'organic' can command a 10% to 50% premium, just because people will pay a premium because it's 'natural' or 'organic'.

 

In the food industry, take a gander at what is being hawked to you as containing 'natural sugar'. Consumers tend to believe this means the sugar within is not high fructose corn syrup, which by definition IS a natural sugar and has gotten an undeserved bad rap from the media. In the marketing world, it's called a glittering generality.

 

So, why is a 'natural' finish (whatever that is) more expensive? Either because it's more expensive to apply, or... just because 'natural' is a buzz word in the food industry that has been co-opted by other industries.

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