Official Luthiers Forum!

    I would just like to say hi. I'm new to luthiery an I need all the help I can get. I am 42 and been a carpenter and a musician for the better part of my life and just recently decieded to take the next obvious step.....Luthiery. Your forum regulars seem to be a great bunch of folks and I could probably learn loads here. Since this is a forum, how 'bout this. I'm goin to start to build some of my original designs and for the most part they are going to be solid colours. Now since I decided this I got to thinking about buying a AAAA or master grade top with beautiful grain and depth and just covering it up with solid colour. Am I sacrificing sound quality by buying a AA or AAA top and not feelling so guilty about covering up a not so attractive grain structure? Or is grain structure purely cosmetic. I haven't been building guitars long enough to answer this. Any help would be cool. Again, hello everyone!!!

Venom         & nbsp;         & nbsp;        

welcome venom, you will like it here, it the friendliest forum on the net, if you haven't already noticed that. The guys and gals will help with any problem you encounter, often not even related to guitars. Plus the photos will inspire you everyday. Its a great family to have joined.
Now as far as your question,, i have to tell you i am a true novice, but i bet the general feeling will be save your money, its not the grade of wood that makes the sound, but the quality of construction and knowing how to build properly.. You might hear a few who question why youd want to cover up even the plainest of woods, like me for instance, but hey they're your guitars.
Again, welcome to OLF,
Mike

welcome aboard!

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Hi Venom, welcome to the OLF!

For your question, if you want to build a steel string, i'd follow Hesh's advice and keep your top under a clear finish.

Enjoy the greatest forum on the planet my friend!

Serge

Hi there Venom! (fan of the band?) I am!!! Boy, those were the days... Black Metal!!!!

Anyhow, to answer your question. I don't think the quality of the sound will be affected by the quality of the wood. If the set is nice and quartered it should be plenty stiff (for acoustic guitars). The grading A, AA and such is mostly estetic in nature.

Welcome aboard! Looking forward to seeing your work...

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

    Thanx for the warm welcome guys. (LOL)Yes, I get the same, some times horrific, response from most people about colour. Maybe I'll try AA grade and a AAAA grade of the same design and let ya know. My designs are a little untraditional to say the least. I'll start to post some pics as I begin and you'll see what I mean(heh heh).

Venom..........He who tries, wins

By the way Hesh....your Peace guitar has a beauty top. What is that?

Hesh's peace guitar has a curly redwood top, Venom... Very nice stuff from one of our sponsors, the one and only 'Zootman' (a.k.a. RC tonewoods)...

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Welcome to the OLF!

Mike
White Oak, Texas

if you are just starting out you might find it beneficial to build a few to established plans, get a good sound and a feel for how you achieved it before branching out into your own designs.

as was mentioned above, the letter grading of top wood, and backs and sides too, is primarily related to aestheticss. with top wood, it is primarily the straightness of the grain and the grain lines per inch which are seeming the primary criteria, with other objective qualitative factors such as stiffness and runout often taking a backse

a aa top which is stiff can produce better tone than a higher rated aaaaa which lacks this essential quality.

but in the end it is your money and you need to be happy with what you do with it, don't you.

Welcome to the forum! About covering up beautiful wood.....Nah,wouldn't do it. But,I do like some of the colored transparent finishes!Good Luck with your build.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Hi Venom!

Welcome to OLF

I look forward to hearing more from you as you progess along. I am also new and am planning my build to start this Fall.

You have found the most talented and helpful forum anywhere

Welcome to the OLF, V.! As folks have mentioned, many suppliers grade their tops by appearance, not structure. Not all of them do, however. Some will start including tops with runout and less stiffness even in their AAA grade. I think you can confidently deal with any of the OLF sponsors, though, and get superior wood that's just not as pretty, which would be perfect for solid-color finishes. Just ask 'em. They'll come through!

I bet that after you've hung around here for a while, though, you'll start to reconsider those solid finishes!

Welcome to the OLF Venom - you've come to the right place!

-Mark

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Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

trippguitars.com
OR
Find me on Facebook

Welcome Venom

I'm not saying anything about solid colour finishes

Hi V, welcome to the OLF!

I think if i were you, i would certainly start with a few tried and true plans, and use lesser grade woods.
At least for your first. Do buy the good stuff, just save it for #2 or further on down the line

By the way, I know you got a real name

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

What Lance said. Welcome aboard.

Al

Welcome Venom. Take the coments to heart. These guys may have lots of differing thoughts at times, they are all solid. You may definately be in a minority here though 'cause nobody here likes a painted guitar!

Your still very welcome here though!

Donovan

[QUOTE=D Stewart] nobody here likes a painted guitar! [/QUOTE]
I do, sometimes. I've seen photos of an all-black Collings, and it looks great! Besides, it's a perfect way to use wood that may be master grade structurally, but only "A" grade in its cosmetics.

[QUOTE=D Stewart] 'cause nobody here likes a painted guitar! [/QUOTE]

I disagree with that comment. though I know where you are coming from.


It was pretty hard to cover an absolutely incredible curly maple back with black paint.

Welcome V !

You'll learn something daily here, I know I do.

Paul

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Paul Bordeaux
http://www.bordeauxinlay.com

I know there are exceptions about painted guitars, it was more of a tongue-in-cheek comment.

Donovan