Anybody else bought a guitar for what it looks like?

[Old Music Guy]

Totally forgot, but I just got a Harley Benton Nashville. Really nice thinline nylon with a smallish nut. Nice fit for my hands. It's Chinese by way of Germany.
Aside, a friend of mine bought a HB Resonator a while ago. Also Chinese. He loves it.

 

[Old Music Guy]

My PRS. SE Custom 24 Semihollow with a piezo saddle pup. Indonesian. Lovely guitar. That's a stock photo, but a photo of mine.

 

[60's guy]

I bought this one for the top but it IS a fucking great guitarView attachment 149786

Whoever it was that built that guitar top had a keen eye for matching two pieces of wood that are nearly perfecf mirror images of each other.
I would've bought it for that reason alone.

 

[Old Music Guy]

I would've bought it for that reason alone.

I did
I wanted a PRS and fell in love with the looks.

 

[Slouching Raymond]

Whoever it was that built that guitar top had a keen eye for matching two pieces of wood that are nearly perfecf mirror images of each other.

Of course it matches. It is the same piece of wood.
Is it solid wood, or just veneer on the surface?
I'll put my money on veneer.

 

[60's guy]

Of course it matches. It is the same piece of wood.
Is it solid wood, or just veneer on the surface?
I'll put my money on veneer.

I'll leave it to @Track Rat to tell us if it's a single piece of wood or two perfectly matched pieces of wood.

 

[Old Music Guy]

I'll put my money on veneer.

Of course it's veneer. It's pretty obvious that it's 2 pieces. Same with my Epi LP. It's a cherry 'burst maple veneer split down the center.

 

[RFR]

Less expensive overseas models often have an actual maple cap but the top that you see is a figured maple veneer.

They can pitch it a a figured maple top, because it ‘is’ a maple top, but it’s cheaper than an actual solid figured maple top that US made models have.

 

[Farview]

It's possible that looks have something to do with it for me...

 

[60's guy]

Less expensive overseas models often have an actual maple cap but the top that you see is a figured maple veneer.

They can pitch it a a figured maple top, because it ‘is’ a maple top, but it’s cheaper than an actual solid figured maple top that US made models have.

How thick are the typical veneer tops on those overseas manufactured guitars?

 

[RFR]

How thick are the typical veneer tops on those overseas manufactured guitars?

You mean how ‘thin’ ?

Average about 1/32 inch . Hey, at least it’s wood.

I had a late 80s Japanese strat. Great guitar in every way,,,,except one.
Flame maple neck but finished in poly. Yuk
And the flame, although it looked nice, it didn’t dance. You know, it didn’t move and look different from different angles.

I said WTF and got out a razor blade. Stripped it down to bare wood.

Made some phone calls and discovered they had started using “photo flame” which was simply a flame maple decal.

The irony is after I stripped and oiled the neck it turned out to have actual real flame in it. : LoL

 

[60's guy]

You mean how ‘thin’ ?

Or somewhere between thick or thin I should have said, but never did I imagine reading...

Average about 1/32 inch . Hey, at least it’s wood.

1/32" (.030") thick veneer guitar top? Holy crap! Even within the furniture industry of yesteryears, everyone knows that veneer is crap wood that can easily become distorted and unglued due to variations of humidity and temperature fluctuations.

Correct me if I'm wrong in my thinking that guitars sporting veneer tops will eventually suffer the same fate as furniture, lest they be kept in a controlled environment.

I had a late 80s Japanese strat. Great guitar in every way,,,,except one.
Flame maple neck but finished in poly. Yuk
And the flame, although it looked nice, it didn’t dance. You know, it didn’t move and look different from different angles.

I said WTF and got out a razor blade. Stripped it down to bare wood.

Made some phone calls and discovered they had started using “photo flame” which was simply a flame maple decal.

The irony is after I stripped and oiled the neck it turned out to have actual real flame in it. : LoL

You never know, do you?

 

[RFR]

Or somewhere between thick or thin I should have said, but never did I imagine reading...


Correct me if I'm wrong in my thinking that guitars sporting veneer tops will eventually suffer the same fate as furniture, lest they be kept in a controlled environment.

You never know, do you?

Or somewhere between thick or thin I should have said, but never did I imagine reading...

1/32" (.030") thick veneer guitar top? Holy crap! Even within the furniture industry of yesteryears, everyone knows that veneer is crap wood that can easily become distorted and unglued due to variations of humidity and temperature fluctuations.

Correct me if I'm wrong in my thinking that guitars sporting veneer tops will eventually suffer the same fate as furniture, lest they be kept in a controlled environment.

You never know, do you?

With modern glues, vacuum ‘clamping’ and poly finishes that veneer ain’t going nowhere.

 

[RFR]

Going back to the original topic, I’d say there’s a hell of a lot of people buying a guitar solely on looks.

So many are buying from Sweetwater and other online sites. Instead of the days of going into a shop and trying out guitars, you just look at the pics, often times just on a phone. You click the purchase button, pay your money and wait for it to arrive.

If you don’t like it you send it back.

 

[Dave Matthews]

Or somewhere between thick or thin I should have said, but never did I imagine reading...

1/32" (.030") thick veneer guitar top? Holy crap! Even within the furniture industry of yesteryears, everyone knows that veneer is crap wood that can easily become distorted and unglued due to variations of humidity and temperature fluctuations.

Correct me if I'm wrong in my thinking that guitars sporting veneer tops will eventually suffer the same fate as furniture, lest they be kept in a controlled environment.

You never know, do you?

Most all Indonesian PRS SE have a proper maple cap, but with a very thin veneer on top for looks. Haven't seen any trainwreck tops yet.

 

[RFR]

Most all Indonesian PRS SE have a proper maple cap, but with a very thin veneer on top for looks. Haven't seen any trainwreck tops yet.

That’s what I said

 

[60's guy]

With modern glues, vacuum ‘clamping’ and poly finishes that veneer ain’t going nowhere.

That's reassuring!

 

[Dave Matthews]

That’s what I said

True dat!

 

[TalismanRich]

Made some phone calls and discovered they had started using “photo flame” which was simply a flame maple decal.

The irony is after I stripped and oiled the neck it turned out to have actual real flame in it. : LoL

Yeah, that's very common on some Oriental guitars. My Peavey BXP 4 bass has the printed flame on it. If you use a 10x loupe, you can see how the image is made. You wouldn't believe how many things are "printed" these days. The tile that I used for my bathroom is a marble look... all printed and then glazed! I come from the printing industry and saw how that segment grew over 40 years.

 

[RFR]

Yeah, that's very common on some Oriental guitars. My Peavey BXP 4 bass has the printed flame on it. If you use a 10x loupe, you can see how the image is made. You wouldn't believe how many things are "printed" these days. The tile that I used for my bathroom is a marble look... all printed and then glazed! I come from the printing industry and saw how that segment grew over 40 years.

Yes all true. But the first time I saw it it shocked me. Kind of like the shock you feel when you’ve been deceived.

Should have seen it coming though.
In the 70s as a kid I had a summer construction job. It baffled me doing moldings.

They used vinyl fake wood (like contact paper) over actual wood. Kind of cracked me up.