Does paint make difference in tone?

[killer]

I mean, Nitro let breathe your body right?
So the body is made of wood , and that wood year after year can seasoning better than a body with poly i guess..
So maybe that instrument can have a different tone ( better or worst ) because of the different vibration of the body ?

[HaMMerHeD]

Wood is not electromagnetic. Pickups are.

[uOpt]

Originally Posted by killer

I mean, Nitro let breathe your body right?

I don't buy it. If there's a difference it's more likely to be related to it being brittle.

If thin paint and breathing was all that matters nobody would put on any paint in the first place.

[killer]

For me you can bolt a neck on a trashcan if you like..
What means?
Your string create a sound and sure the sound it's related by your neck and body too.

[killer]

Originally Posted by uOpt

I don't buy it. If there's a difference it's more likely to be related to it being brittle.

If thin paint and breathing was all that matters nobody would put on any paint in the first place.

Right but it's for the appearance and beauty I guess..

[michael_atw]

Some of you are missing the point. You are confusing acoustic instruments with electric solid body ones. Acoustics - absolutely, the wood and finish has a more notable difference. The sound is received on account of the wood's resonance, the size of the space where it is resonating, etc. A solid body guitar does not have any significant resonance like that; additionally, 99% of that resonance is lost solely upon the fact that the solid body guitar is electric.

[JoeWPgh]

I have to disagree, Micheal. I'm not saying there is a massive difference, and indeed, as I mentioned above, the difference is more likely to show up with age. But to say that a solid body does not have any significant resonance strikes me as dogmatic, if not silly. If what you say is true, why don't instruments of the same construction sound identical? I can feel a bass vibrate against my body. Some more than others. And they all have a different timbre to their tone. Should we ignore possible contributing factors to this phenomenon and chalk it up to voodoo? But again, the differences are subtle. And the different finishes all have their advantages and disadvantages.

[SJan3]

Originally Posted by Beej

I'll rise and defend JC. It may, for some reason, be offensive to you when someone points out that a dead person was incorrect, misled or potentially deceptive, however Mr. Roman's writings were full of enough rhetoric to make any critical thinker's warning bells go off. In his writings he backtracked here and there from previous overstatements when better/clearer facts came to light - that to me is a pretty clear sign of a "confident speaker". His fairly obvious goal was that of sales, not of "enhancing the truth" about any concepts. I'm not one to "bash" a dead guy, but you need to realize that anyone can be right or wrong and our assessment of that, if knowledge is the goal, can't be impacted by the emotion connected to our sense of bereavement...

I understand your point but the swipe was totally unnecessary. No one asked the origin of the lore, if it is, and Ed was a friend.

[SJan3]

Originally Posted by Hopkins

First of all, the fact that someone is dead does not make them right when they were alive. The fact that they are dead, does not make them smart, honest, or a good person.

Secondly someone may be forthcoming with their beliefs, doesn't mean they are correct. Many people believed the world was going to end on the 21st of December.

I have Squier VM P bass with a thick poly finish made of agathis, which is a pretty soft light weight wood. I have two Jazz basses with nitro finishes that are made from northern ash and sapele, which are heavy dense woods. When played acoustically, the Squier resonates much more than the other two. Which proves that your argument of your nitro jazz vibrating more than your poly P holds no water.

Well bully for you. And a northern ash nitro Fender??
Hmmm...sorry

[SJan3]

Originally Posted by Musiclogic

Awesome, glad your Jazz vibrates better. The finish has little to nothing to do with it.

Ah, what do you know?? Just keep your speculations to yourself..

[Beej]

Sorry about your loss SJan3, he obviously meant a lot to you judging by the emotion in your posts.

Odd though that you would ask JC to keep his speculations to himself when that was not at all what Ed himself did...

[SJan3]

You're right. I simply would have preferred that he kept his opinion to himself. I know Ed had a checkered reputation but there was good in him. He did some very kind things for me and it does hurt to have someone slam him who probably never even knew the man. Sorry for my emotional response.

[killer]

Recently I watch some Gibson fabric documentary on YouTube and i saw the man in the quality control sector looking at the amount of paint on the body of the guitar with some instrument..

The guide said " to much paint = less resonant of the wood "

So I guess that mean something!

[Hopkins]

Originally Posted by SJan3

Well bully for you. And a northern ash nitro Fender??
Hmmm...sorry

Way to make yourself look smart buddy.

You realize that this is a luthier's form right.

That's a big pretty slab of northern ash, with a Behlens Nitrocellulose finish on it

[michael_atw]

Originally Posted by JoeWPgh

I have to disagree, Micheal. I'm not saying there is a massive difference, and indeed, as I mentioned above, the difference is more likely to show up with age. But to say that a solid body does not have any significant resonance strikes me as dogmatic, if not silly. If what you say is true, why don't instruments of the same construction sound identical? I can feel a bass vibrate against my body. Some more than others. And they all have a different timbre to their tone. Should we ignore possible contributing factors to this phenomenon and chalk it up to voodoo? But again, the differences are subtle. And the different finishes all have their advantages and disadvantages.

It's getting a bid redundant. Your subjectivity based on your inability to prove the exact whereabouts of the origin of the difference (there are dozens of parts and factors to consider) does not equal any factual evidence that the finish is the culprit. I'm not sure why people can come to that conclusion so easily.

[Ric5]

Originally Posted by Mr-Wunderful

Black is the best tone paint.

Yes

[killer]

Originally Posted by Ric5

Yes

Ot

Nice rick! You do it by yourself??

[garak7]

Interesting discussion. I can't help being reminded of an experiment that was done a while back.

SCRAP LUMBER BASS vs. ALDER BASS - Can You Tell The Difference??

[4OnTheFloor]

Originally Posted by Beej

- don't want to offend our engineers!

Thank you! This thread is PAINFUL to read.

[sikamikanico]

probably not audible difference, all other factors considered... however, especially neck finishes can be problematic for playability reasons (some necks are more "sticky" and some are smooth... from my experience, thicker finish = more sticky) and if there is any sound difference, it will probably be from the neck finish, not body finish... on the other hand, i've heard people say that old nitro finished basses start sounding better as the finish wears off, so quite possibly the best finish is no finish at all (excluding oils). However, unless you're getting something custom made, this would be the least of my worries (unless affecting playability)