What makes a sunburst good?

[joe2758]

I have seen so much about this or that sunburst is so great, or this or that company does great sunburst. is there anything objective in how well it is done? Is it all subjective when someone says "the sunburst is so amazing" etc? Are there some where someone could fairly say "that is a bad sunburst?"

[mr. beaumont]

I like a smooth gradient from light to dark. I like the shape of the burst to naturally follow the contours of the guitar, no squared off edges and such (though an exception would be the bursts on some early L5's which are kind of sudden, but beautiful)

I also like there to be wood grain visible even in the darkest spots.

I also like my yellows not too yellow and my reds not too red.

Beautiful:


Fugly:


This is all subjective, of course, but when I say "Wow, that's a beautiful sunburst" that's what I mean.

[Tal_175]

Some of the Epiphone sunbursts with very yellowey middle and thin frame look cheap and unappealing to me:
https://pawnandjewelry.com/wp-conten...4261330318.jpg

[joe2758]

well I can certainly agree with the examples!

[omphalopsychos]

They'll never top the original.

[mr. beaumont]

They'll never top the original.

A 20's L-5 is the best looking guitar ever made.

And I'm mistaken calling the burst "sudden," it's really not, it's just a much smaller light area than most.

[Mark Fowler]

Good question that I was just grappling with yesterday when looking at something I was considering buying. I couldn't quite nail down why I did not like the one I was looking at. So....

To paraphrase United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart: I shall not today attempt further to define what makes a good sunburst.... But I know it when I see it

[Tal_175]

My favorite is the sunburst of the 175CC models. They only ran this model for a couple of years:

[joe2758]

I feel like you guys wouldn't like the burst on my new guitar lol I like it though. It's very big and yellow in the middle.

[Gitterbug]

An acquired taste. The sun never made any stringed instrument look like "sunburst" as we know it. To me, the less contrast, the better. Also, I dislike the drop-shaped bright areas on the bottom side (where the sun never shone.)

[ThatRhythmMan]

I love the bursts Bryant Trenier does.

[Woody Sound]

My favorite is the sunburst of the 175CC models. They only ran this model for a couple of years:

Yes, that's a lot like the 20's L5's.

[Woody Sound]

Gibson went wild here and there with greenbursts. No thanks.

[mr. beaumont]

Always like an excuse to share my 575

[supersoul]

Gibson went wild here and there with greenbursts. No thanks.

That looks like someone played with the color curves in Photoshop. It's more like seaweed burst.

[Jim Soloway]

They'll never top the original.

My favorites are on the Lloyd Loar mandolins and the real prize was not on the spruce tops but on the maple backs that no one ever saw.

[joe2758]

trend on here definitely seems to be dark

[2bornot2bop]

Trenier has been doing great bursts for years. But the old Heritage did fabulous bursts for several decades. I should know, for I purchased enough of them.

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[DawgBone]

I like a smooth gradient from light to dark. I like the shape of the burst to naturally follow the contours of the guitar, no squared off edges and such (though an exception would be the bursts on some early L5's which are kind of sudden, but beautiful)

I also like there to be wood grain visible even in the darkest spots.

I also like my yellows not too yellow and my reds not too red.

Beautiful:


Fugly:


This is all subjective, of course, but when I say "Wow, that's a beautiful sunburst" that's what I mean.

I actually dig both. The clown bursts with abrupt transitions are cool looking but a nice smooth 3 color transition is also a thing of beauty.

[DawgBone]

Gibson went wild here and there with greenbursts. No thanks.

I really dig that upper guitar. The ES looks like frog vomit.

[dconeill]

I have seen so much about this or that sunburst is so great, or this or that company does great sunburst. is there anything objective in how well it is done? Is it all subjective when someone says "the sunburst is so amazing" etc? Are there some where someone could fairly say "that is a bad sunburst?"

It seems to me that it's a matter of personal taste. If you like it, it's good; if not, it's not.

It's subjective. There is not "anything objective in how well it is done", beyond, I suppose, the mechanical skill in applying the finish chemicals, a completely separate issue from the colors, transparencies, and shapes of the sunburst pattern.

Which is a good painter, Winslow Homer or Johannes Vermeer?

[DawgBone]

I

Which is a good painter, Winslow Homer or Johannes Vermeer?

I like Frank Tenney Johnson and Frederic Remington nocturnes myself.

[dconeill]

... The sun never made any stringed instrument look like "sunburst" as we know it. ...

I always considered that a sunburst finish on a guitar was an attempt to mimic what a violin looks with rosin over the top after it's been played awhile. I suppose "sunburst finish" is a more alluring name than "dirty violin top finish".

[garybaldy]

Gibson went wild here and there with greenbursts. No thanks.

And this

[Sleeko]

I’ve enjoyed the burst on my Guild Savoy X-150 and Epiphone Emperor Regent.
The sunburst in the original Epiphone Emperor advertisement really caught my eye and got me interested in this model.