How much does the color/ finish of a guitar matter to you?

[vurt]

sadly that's often the case

[Forgotten]

[Uncle E]

[cptgone]

As concerns the apparent dislike for painted acoustic guitars, I do like my blueburst electro-acoustic guitar (a Stagg). See pic of a stock model.

I like wood flames/quilt/whatnot.
I'm also fond of colour. Although I once saw a pic of a smashing (faded? weathered? something) black Ibanez bass.
The Fender car paint look doesn't appeal to me, at all.

My guitars come in 3 categories:
1) natural finish: I love wood!
- my first guitar is an Asama, lovely wood protected by thick transparent lacquer. Vandalised, I plan to get her fixed.
- I've ordered a Revelation SG-type. Might have gone for a red one instead, had I known the guitar wasn't in stock anyway.
- my b-stock Epiphone Les Paul studio is less pretty than I bargained for, but I was compensated for that. Not really a natural finish: it's wine red, with the wood's lines showing true - the faded cherry with black fretboard version looks much prettier to me, though.

2) retro look: pretty, not my style though
- my 2nd is a tobacco-burst Ibanez Artstar 335-clone. (Fake?) mother of pearl inlays, gold hardware.
The tobacco burst obscures much of the wood's grain, sadly.
I would have much preferred a red finish, but couldn't justify the cost.
- I have a line6 Flextone II amp with similar esthetics (but I've been going amp-less, as of late)
It even has a slightly glittery grill cloth.
- my Revelation semi-acoustic jazzblaster is greenburst with red what's-it-called shiny pick shield.
All glossy and lacquered, shiny inlays.

3) modern and colourful
I own 2 Chapman guitars, both lovely. A red-ish "modern" strat, a blue "trad" tele.
Esthetically, these are my faves.
I picked 'em over the newer Chapman line, despite the improvements those offer.
For once I opted to cater for my eyes, too.

[Uncle E]

One thing you have to watch out for is laminated tops. That blue guitar is laminated and that is certainly hurting the tone. It matters less with electrics BUT that laminated top might be hiding plywood beneath, so that’s its own kind of risk. With lower priced electrics, an unspectacular top pretty much always means it’s solid.

[cptgone]

Good to know, thanks Uncle.

[kelldammit]

i usually go for either black or a nice woodgrain burst (the quilt-top prs's look sooo nice). Acoustics are usually just woodgrain. I tend to like gloss urethane finishes on electrics for whatever reason.
When i built my new one, i was really suprised how much i hemmed and hawed over the finish, but the one i chose looks sort of black/esspresso in lower light, and brighter light brings out the super dark metallic red (it's a metallic black cherry finish), though in photos, it looks much lighter. So it's sort of like having a few different finishes all in one!
Overall, though, i suppose i'd be okay with most colors or finishes...my real peeve on strats is white mother of toilet seat pickguards. I always replace them with flat 3 ply white.

[cryophonik]

Depends on how much I’m paying. The cheaper it is, the less I care about the finish and the more I care about playability and tone. But if I’m buying a boutique bass, the finish matters a lot, probably as much as playability and tone.

[vurt]

that gold strat made me feel ill.

[vurt]

20200116_181331.jpg

[vurt]

strats are ugly enough without doing that to them.

[kelldammit]

20200116_181331.jpg

yeah, can't say i'd go for that one.

[Meffy]

My two acoustic guitars have glossy finishes — a Takamine classical and a Yamaha dreadnought, both mid-line models with solid tops but I'd have preferred open-pore to the gloss. I've got a Cordoba solid-top tenor ukulele that does have open-pore finish. They all sound great to me but I can't help thinking the guitars would sound just a little better without the heavy gloss layers.

Vurt, what I want to know is how someone shrank an 1800s stamped-metal hotel lobby ceiling so they could stick it on there. "Now, where are those knobs hiding?" (On the guitar, not whoever did the customization.)

[vurt]

20200116_181331.jpg

yeah, can't say i'd go for that one.

i think we all know the one man on the planet who lacks enough taste for this to fit right in to his gold apartment...

[khanyz]

For me it depends on the quality/price. My first guitar was an SG style Kay Bass, so basically a lacquered block of wood. I needed one quickly and it was cheap used so it picked me. When I had a choice, my subsequent guitars were all red, but I tended towards painted basses and stained guitars.

These days, as I’ve spent more, I’ve tended towards natural finishes to show off the wood, my last being a Korina Gordon Smith. My only exception would be P90 guitars have to be TV yellow, it’s the law .

So yes, it matters quite a lot to me, but won’t stop me buying a good instrument at a bargain price. I have a surf green Lag electric (for 24 fret fun) as testament to that.

BTW my Stagg Electro-Acoustic SW206 is a vintage sunburst stain. Great guitar for the price it’s spec’d as handmade Spruce top, Catalpa back, sides & neck. Not sure on Catalpa but sounds good enough for me (I have a 1960s Gibson B45-12, natural finish, for comparison). I’m upgrading the preamp though, not by much just to a Belcat so I still have an XLR out but add a Coil Pickup.