Can anyone explain this?

[Cieran]

I decided to (foolishly?) strip the paint of my Gretsch electromatic short scale as I wanted to add some contours and then stain the bare agathis.

When I got down to the wood I noticed what looked like 7 seperate bits of wood attached together with a thin bit of wood covering the whole top & bottom surfaces. Seeing as my camera is broken I have mocked up a picture below to explain what I mean (please excuse my crude drawing skills!). This is not the actual shape of the Gretsch but is something I pinched of the internet to illustrate what I mean:

http://img231.imageshack.us/i/outlineguitar.jpg/


The red part shows the thin bit of wood which covers virtually all of the top & bottom surfaces - this gives it the appearance through the stock sunburst effect that it is a single solid piece of wood. The blue lines show how the 7 seperate bits of wood join together throughout the whole thickness of the body.

What I would like to know is - is this normal? And are my suspicions correct that this is a shoddy cheap bit of wood that isn't worth bothering with?

Many thanks

 

[RedemptionBass]

It's a fairly common building technique for lower-end basses. They glue up multiple pieces and cap it to cover the glue lines.

 

[mikeyswood]

1) "this" is a pronoun. Pronouns are often used in place of a proper noun; or when an amateur noun plays in the Big Show.

2) "

" are how to post images.

3) ^ what he said.

 

[Cieran]

Thanks for the info guys. In your opinion would it be worth proceeding with the stain? I was intending on using midnight black to cover the joins/ mismatched grains.

Also how would the sound differ with with this type of build compared to a solid slab - bearing in mind it is not acoustic? The reason I ask is that I have read various posts stating that the type of wood used is not amazingly important when it comes to electronic models as opposed to acoustic.

Finally would it be possible to sand back the top & bottom caps or would this weaken the glued bits of wood underneath? I would like to do this as it has started to chip around the edges where it has been sanded. The more I try to smooth it over the more it chips away.

 

[tjmdetroit]

1) "this" is a pronoun. Pronouns are often used in place of a proper noun; or when an amateur noun plays in the Big Show.

2) "

" are how to post images.

3) ^ what he said.

How long you gonna be here, mikeyswood? (Not that you could use this but....sometimes the use of strategically placed rimshots are used by comedians to enhance the effect of a joke....ie Henny Youngman; "take my wife.....please...(rimshot).) Also could you tell me....is the veal any good here?
tjm

 

[mikeyswood]

Try the veal!

Do I have reservations? Only about the fish!

 

[Beej]

Cieran, you probably won't have problems if you just sand it the way you want and go from there. A burst finish will hide the edges nicely, or if you just want to stain it one color, expect some variation from the veneers to the sides where you can see the individual boards. Tone won't be affected at all in this process. Posting pics of the bass from various angles will enhance the quality and accuracy of our posts...

 

[Cieran]

Cieran, you probably won't have problems if you just sand it the way you want and go from there. A burst finish will hide the edges nicely, or if you just want to stain it one color, expect some variation from the veneers to the sides where you can see the individual boards. Tone won't be affected at all in this process. Posting pics of the bass from various angles will enhance the quality and accuracy of our posts...

Thanks for the advice Beej. I will see how I get on with midnight black stain and then take it from there. Unfortunately I can't post any pics at the mo as my camera has broken.

The reason I stripped it in the first place is because I made the custom contours (arm & belly) and then tried to cover the exposed wood with black nitro paint. I followed all the standard advice for respraying and then left it 30 days. However when I started to polish & buff, the newly sprayed paint rubbed off within seconds (even using 800 grit paper to begin with). The only conclusion I can come up with is that it needed a lot longer to dry (the damp British weather probably doesn't help). I was pretty fed up by this point and have since decided to leave respraying for the pros - hence my proposed use of wood stain!