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Up much of the night (in the UK) with my 3 month baby, I have found myself wondering - out of idle curiosity - if people prefer blonde/natural or sunbursts on their jazz boxes
Blonde/Natural seems to command a premium in new and used markets. And I see lots of posts where people seem to talk about them with particular reverence
Is it just rarity or is there something else going on here?
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02-07-2021 03:38 AM
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when Gibson introduced blonde finishes on archtops circa '37-'38 [previously thought to be '39] there was an upcharge of $10-25 depending on the model. for these they used their best figured woods w/minimal flaws, and workmanship had to be even more precise as there wasn't a darker sunburst to hide defects or less than perfect glue joints etc.
Natural finish vintage archtop guitars in particular are rarer and command a premium, not so much w/modern builders [but certainly not all, there are still plenty of sunburst guitars being made these days] but many high end custom made instruments are blonde to showcase the workmanship and figured woods.
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I much prefer a natural (blonde) finish on ES models - just for aesthetics. Just love the look (although I can appreciate a beautiful sunburst).
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in a vacuum, burst. usually. but in reality, they are both so ubiquitous that they get boring, ultimate expressions of the artform though they may be. that's all people want, so that's all people make and the cycle continues. do wish we got more wine red or other interesting options, but people are so beholden to tradition you just have to deal with what's available.
but do find myself taking it into consideration when guitar shopping; i'll sometimes seek out anything different since i already have a pile of blondes and brunettes. part of why i started gravitating toward gretsches.
i will admit the opposite happens pretty often, wherein someone goes for a blue or green or whatever finish and it just sucks because they don't know how to do interesting things and i think, "gee, you should have just did a burst". spruce tops don't always look as good as other woods with certain colors, and i suspect that might have something to do with the blonde/brunette supremacy. it works and it sells, so here we are.
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Natural 175s sure are hard to come by and not cheap!
It does seem to be pretty popular now. Not more expensive to make with modern laminates. Kids today don’t seem to appreciate the “old-fashioned” look of the burst as much, unless they’re going for that retro hipster thing.
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I truly love a blonde guitar. The one thing I've noticed at least in my experience, the sunburst guitars always seem to be better sounding. If I found the same guitar in blonde and sunburst, the sunburst always wins in terms of sound. I keep trying to find the steller blonde sound wise, just really hasn't happened yet.
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I do like the vintage style 50s burst on es and archtops, though a sweet ages blonde is my favorite. I do not care for the true natural wood finishes, but that golden aged amber blonde is amazing.
(image source: 1937 Gibson L-5 "Blonde" | Rumble Seat Music | Reverb)
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I have 5 Blondes and 5 Bursts among my 16 guitars, so I guess my answer would have to be both! That said, I prefer the Blondes.
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Among my archtops I have but one natural/blonde, my '04 ES-175. The rest are all sunbursts. This is not from preference, but simply the state of the market - these were the instruments that were available when I was prepared to buy. Though I think I might have a sentimental preference for bursts. As long as a guitar is set up to play in tune, I'm good.
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Burst AND Blonde. It's allowed with guitars.
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Ginger or Mary Ann?
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I prefer blondes.
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I prefer bursts to blondes, however all of my guitars are blondes except for one Strat that's painted black (I am including a butterscotch Tele as a blonde, as well as my dreadnought).
So there you go. Obviously I don't dislike blonde guitars, but I think there is something about a sunburst that looks like a nice suit and tie. Just a little more formal, somehow. But I also have to say there are a lot of sunbursts I think of as being quite ugly. If the light section is too small or too large, for example, or if the dark shading is too dark or too abrupt in its transition. There was a stretch of time where Gibson did these very triangular bursts with a fairly hard sharp edge to the dark rim, and I've never liked those. Heritage tends to do beautiful sunbursts.
And there are a lot of beautiful blonde guitars. I concur with the appreciation of the aged, golden ambered nitro look. Too light or too yellow doesn't attract me.
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regardless of color I'll buy the one that sounds better to my ear, as long as I can afford it.
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For the most part I am a burst guy, but I sure can drool over naturals too. My PRS (sold a while ago.)
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Depends on the wood and the actual Sunburst finish for me. I'm more concerned how it sound's and feels first and foremost. But we now are in an age of visual and buying on line.
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Jads, you raise a good point there. Since the purchase of most archtop guitars is probably done online these days, except for those of us who happen to live within reasonable distance of a shop that specializes in selling these instruments, the visual aspect of the guitar is probably more emphasized than it used to be in terms of sales.
Woody, I really like those matching blonde wood knobs on your guitar. I've never seen that before. It really reduces the visual distraction. I also like the recesses in the top that cup the knobs.
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Blondie
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Unquestionably Burst for me:
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Gentlemen prefer blondes but marry brunettes... To be honest, I've never understood why sunburst has to be so exaggerated. It is supposedly patterned after old German violin finishes, but while those may be slightly darker on the edges, the contrast is milder, and there aren't two or three colors used, just some stain or strongly amber-colored varnish. Eastman, for example, offers such closer-to-the-original violin finishes. Applying the stain properly, especially straight on the wood, may be more demanding than spraying color on an already primed surface. I invite luthiers to chime in and correct me. My uncle was a noted Mittenwald-trained violin and cello maker, but he's long gone so I can't tap his knowledge.
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While you basically know you're getting an L-5C etc. You may get a beautiful looking one that may not sound as good as a plain wood version.
Some of the best Archtops I've played have been quite plain in appearance.
But as much as I appreciate a good looking Blonde,LOL ! Better to find an instrument you love playing. Much like your life partner!
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On one hand:
On the other:
I like 'em both, but have owned more bursts than blondes overall.
Danny W.
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OMG!
Originally Posted by Danny W.
On one hand:
On the other:
I like 'em both, but have owned more bursts than blondes overall.
Danny W.
You need something with a single Florentine cutaway—blonde 175–to go complement them!
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I don't have any of the big blondes anymore, so I'd need more than that. Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
Danny W.
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Looks like my vote is 3-2 'Burst, with one abstention.
Kidding aside, I find the type of burst or blonde to be far more important.
Given that so much of my psyche is a reaction to the neo-swing era where anything from the 20's to the 60's was anachronistically juxtaposed, so I'm predisposed to eschew anything 50's-60's unintelligently offered as though it were from the 30's or 40's. As a result I CAN'T STAND 60's reddish bursts. I'm sometimes look sideways at authentic 40's Gibson sunbursts where the red hasn't faded, because I associate red with the 60's.
And along those lines, I can't abide a finish that is anachronistic to a vintage guitar - i.e. one that wouldn't have been available when the guitar was made. I'm sure lots of people, including their original owners who refinished them, wouldn't mind a blonde "Snakehead" D'A or 16" L-5, but it just bothers me. Similarly, the "size" of the burst is often a very period-specific attribute, and when I see a guitar refin'd with an obviously anachronistic burst pattern, it just bums me out.
So, I really say I like blondes over bursts - or even what kind of burst I like best. I love the very small circle burst of my 1932 L-5, but it wouldn't look right on my 1937 ES-150. And I don't mind the wider late-30's Gibson bursts. But like, if I were to order a custom guitar from someone like Bryant Trenier or Jackson Cunningham, I don't know what I'd pick. Frankly, I don't even know exactly what size/specs I would pick, but I suspect if I ever figure that out, the color would correspond to what was available on the inspiration.
But that's just me....
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