Elmer Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I am no big Nitro lover. Because if you look at it too intense it peels off. But now I read that Nitro is not the newest invention, it was used on old guitars too (exist a long time already) and it ages beautifull I read. It is good for the sound because it is only a very thin layer...but I also read the following: Function Guitar makers, called luthiers, all agree that the best guitar finish for sound quality is no finish at all. But bare wood is susceptible to moisture, oils and dirt, and must be protected. Finishing wood also enhances beauty, and can have sonic benefits when used with certain types of inexpensive porous wood. Oil Finishes Oil finishes don't seal and block wood pores like other finishes, providing free vibration, and adding aesthetic enhancements to wood grain. While oil finishes are attractive, and used on many high-priced guitars, they do not last as long as other common guitar finishes, nor offer the high gloss that some players prefer. French Polish French polish is a high-end finish, where numerous thin coats of shellac are applied and hand polished between coats. High gloss, "deep" finishes are hallmarks of French polishing, but the labor intensive process can add greatly to the guitar's cost. Nitrocellulose Lacquer Nitrocellulose lacquer is another high quality finish paint. It's also applied in many thin coats, but does not require the same labor-intensive hand work as French polishing. Many valuable "vintage" instruments and newer high-end instruments are finished in lacquer. Polyester Resin Polyester resin is inexpensive and durable. Although not considered an ideal guitar finish by purists, it does provide protection and good looks. Most inexpensive and mid-priced guitars are finished with polyester resin. Just wonderiong what your thoughts are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 The stuff of much ongoing debate !! Many people would agree that Nitro is a class finish with a beautiful ageing potential Poly is more durable and 'hard shiny'...usually much thicker too Shellac graces the surface of many orchestral strings...so there must be something in it... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKoor Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Oil finish sounds very intriguing TBH... the way I use guitar it would probably last very long. But I don't see many common (relatively speaking) guitars finished in oil. Fender has some AVRI (?) Teles finished in oil, not sure about Gibson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstMeasure Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I couldn't tell Nitro from Rust-Oleum by listening. I know owning a nitro finish would keep me pretty nervous. For looks, I tend to like shiny guitars, but I've always wanted a nice oiled Koa or Walnut superstrat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyT Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I like both. My new SG has the nitro, and my new PRS SE Santana has the acrylic polyurethane. PRS for 2012 came out with a new finish for their US built guitars called V12. http://prsguitars.com/custom24/ Finish should enhance the look, sound, and feel of a guitar by accentuating the wood’s inherent beauty and feel without hindering its natural resonance. And PRS Guitars’ new “V12” finish does just that. Introduced at Experience PRS 2010, “V12” is a very thin, hard, and clear finish that will not crack or react with thinners. After roughly 12 years in development, it is halfway between acrylic and nitro but with a classic feel all its own. “PRS models with this new finish feel like old instruments,” said Paul Reed Smith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Nitro is best for sound but worse than polyester/polyurethane/acrylic for protection. As for looks, NC gloss is low relative to catalyzed or UV cured lacquers. I believe there may be some merit to the idea of sound stifling qualities of some catalyzed or UV lacquers, but I also believe that the film thickness of the coating has a lot to do with that, and whether the guitar is a solid or hollow/semi-hollow body, and the distance of pickups from strings. I tend to believe that lacquers are more critical to sound on acoustic guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 The finish on a solid body guitar has no effect on its sound at all. For look and feel I prefer oil finishes but thin nitro is nice too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmer Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share Posted August 20, 2012 I started the poll because I was really flabbergast when I heared that Nitro is so sensitive, hang on the wall, touch it with bug spray hands, put in your standard, sweath against it, use the wrong strap and the nitro gets damaged. I don't find it cool looking, it is too shiny. I thought it was something brand new (I never heared of nitro before I bought my ES175 half a year ago). But Nitro is used for many years now, I wonder why no one invents something better. Something that not comes off when you put it in the standard, something that can be applied just as thin and easy and something that you can choose blin blin or wood look. I would go for the wood look, just like an old violin looks, that is nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I think it looks OK. I think most other finished look better last longer and are less toxic and touchy. But nitro is traditional crap so that what people want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinh Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I'm with Searcy and First Measure. I think there should have been an option for "I don't believe the finish has any noticable effect on the tone of a solid body guitar." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinner 13 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I'm with Searcy and First Measure. I think there should have been an option for "I don't believe the finish has any noticable effect on the tone of a solid body guitar." I also agree Finish method is personal preference, with miniscule influence on tone, with the exclusion of poly. I dislike poly, it seals the wood instead of riding on top of it, and because it is applied so thick that the wood under never gets to "breath" or age properly, this is one reason that these vintage guitars we all lust after sound the way they do. you can go buy an R series CS LP, but until it has had fifty or so years to breath and dry it will never quite sound like it's vintage counterpart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rabs Vista Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I agree that nitro on a solid guitar makes no difference to tone. I also agree that it is a fragile finish and that there are better things out there. I've heard and read about nitro allowing wood to breathe and I believe it does allow the wood to stabilize moisture content with the surroundings but I am yet to hear a convincing argument for why that is good. It is all about appealing to your market and Gibson's market like nitro finished guitars for various reasons. Some believe it's better, some like the traditinal-ness of it, some like the feel (I must admit, I fall into that category) and I guess some just blindly think "Gibson use it so it must be the best". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmer Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share Posted August 20, 2012 That is why I added other... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyMoon Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I changed the knobs on my Sg and I got that clapton tone I was looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 My thoughts are, as others have said, the finish applied makes no discernible difference to the tone of an electric but I accept I might well be wrong. Looks-wise I'm not fussed although I quite like the way one of my LPs has started to weather-check. Nitro does this. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGBENDS Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I really prefer the nitro on my guitars for the look/wear factors, but I can't always afford a nitro finished guitar. The smell and feel of a nitro guitar are addicting. However, my Epi LP Custom and my PRS SE Soapbar (both Poly finishes) make me smile when I play them also. Great tones and feel from both finishes. I can't speak for the French or Oil, but I'm sure I'd find something interesting if I did play each of those types. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I prefer how nitro finishes feel on my hands, not a fan of Poly simply because most instruments have ridiculous amount of finish on them. While nitro is less convenient it is also repairable so that offsets things a bit in my view. One time bumped my Stratocaster hard against my Peavey amp and the amp had a sizable dent, the guitar is just fine. I wonder why Polyester is not used more, my Guild acoustic has a real thin Polyester finish that looks great and it's easy to clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I don't like to say that Nitro makes a guitar sound better than a Poly finished guitar anymore. But poly makes any guitar sound crappier than the same guitar with a Nitro finish. See what I did there? But in all honesty, I like the way nitro feels under my hand compared to poly, the way it wears, and the way wood grain looks under it. So the tonal difference is irrelevant to me. The feel and look of the instrument is improved from my perspective, so I'm sticking with Nitro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 With basses I've had over the years, they were Gibson Nitro, and Fender Poly. The both sounded good. I don't know that the finish had as much to do with the sound, as much as the other parts. Pups, strings, and woods of the board, neck, and body. I do like how the Nitro brings out the grain in the SG Std. Bass, with the Heritage Cherry finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinh Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I changed the knobs on my Sg and I got that clapton tone I was looking for. I've been looking for that tone for years - WHICH KNOBS DID YOU USE ??? WHICH ONES??? YOU MUST LET US KNOW!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoreyT Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I want the knobs for that Angus/Malcom hybrid sound for my SG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeygrad Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 The nitro is peeling off the neck in places on my LP. Not sure why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I've been looking for that tone for years - WHICH KNOBS DID YOU USE ??? WHICH ONES??? YOU MUST LET US KNOW!!!!!! The ones that say - TONE - duh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 For the Nigel Tufnel tone, we all know which knobs you need... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 For the Nigel Tufnel tone, we all know which knobs you need... The ones that go to 11, duh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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