-
Was yours the first with the spruce top laminate? What pickup did you use?
Originally Posted by coolvinny
AKA
-
11-13-2022 06:20 PM
-
Congratulations AKA! I love the shading! That guitar sounds great simply sitting still. Enjoy the heck out of it!
-
I took delivery of this Jazz Special a year or so ago. Over time I’ve noticed a light colored “stripe” has appeared on the top longitudinally from neck to the tailpiece. (See the photos below). I keep the instrument in the case when I’m not playing it, so there should be no occasion of direct sunlight focused along that area. There is no apparent surface level disturbance to the finish.
I’ve spoken with Trenier and he seems as perplexed as I am. I’ll have a local luthier take a look. In the interim let me know if you’ve ever seen anything like this.
AKA
-
Racing stripe? Playing too fast?!?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
That’s strange. I could speculate but there’s little point in that. It’s good to have it looked at.
-
All along the center seam? Maybe a "glue ghost"?
-
To me the picture is not quite clear or good enough to really see much. The way light reflects off the finish throws me.
-
Just a guess but I think it could be a kind of mineral streak that showed over a period of time, maybe accelerated by the wood being bookmatch cut and exposed to air when the guitar was being built.
I've seen them before on old archtops, a couple Epiphones, D'Angelicos, sometimes they're darker as opposed to this example thar got lighter in color.
-
Spruce is very soft and porous. Looks to me like it sucked up the color. Looks like a skunk stripe. Name the guitar Pepe La Pew.
Still a gorgeous guitar.
-
Thanks guys. I’ll let you know what I find out after having a luthier take a look at it.
AKA
-
Wild guess? Before spraying some glue remained on the wood ...or moisture? Layman's shot at it. Beautiful guitar
-
I've barely done any work with spruce, but I've had things like this with fir, which is closely related. In the area where heartwood transitions to sap wood. When the wood is fresh you can't see it. With age the heartwood darkens and the sapwood doesn't.
And if it's right at the edge of the veneer leaf then you double it when you book match. I can't tell for sure from the photos but it looks like the face joint might be right in the centre of the stripe. As it would be with a perfect book matching. The kind a guy like Brent is going to make.
If it is that, it should be somewhat less visible under the bridge. Not being exposed to light and air will slow down aging.
When you have a defect in finish from a glue smear you'll see it as soon as you apply some. Even a misting of water will show it right away. It's a way to check if you've removed all the glue residue.
I'm almost 40 years a woodworker, so I'm always interested in these kinds of mysteries. I look forward to hearing a diagnosis from someone who has it in their hands. It's a shame if it's a built in thing and can't be helped, but I'm positive it won't affect sound, playability or lifespan. Actually... who knows? That little tripe may give it a personal voice. It does give it a unique look. It's used to great effect with walnut for EG.
I'll add what everyone else has said: truly a spectacular specimen!
-
Yes, the phenomenon could show sort of a slow reaction within the outer spruce layer of that veneer, probably at the transition zone between heart- and sapwood.
In finer woodworking, the use of sapwood is not well-liked for some reason; at least, the proportion of (usable) sapwood is much smaller than that of the heartwood. If that small spruce proportion around the center seam consists of sapwood, it would be expected to have the stain (ground, filler, coloring agent) absorbed more readily than the heartwood, i.e. show a higher penetration, getting darker, not resulting in that "flat", pale appearance.
The latter aspect makes me think that it could well be a reaction between the wood and the coating that sealed the wood. A number of chemicals are known to give color changes between heartwood and sapwood. And some producers of wood veneer laminations underline that they don't use PVA and contact glues for adhesion of veneers, and that only certain types of glue and coloring stains should be used on surfaces where glue or stain ghosts may possibly form.
The topic is complex and not yet fully understood. In this case, it's more or less an academic question since the guitar isn't harmed in any way, and I agree that it adds character to this beautiful and handmade guitar. Nevertheless, my guess is that Bryant will do some brain storming. Does he make these plate laminations himself? Probably not, this would be an economical mess. Fortunately, luthiers like him tend to care about all things guitars, about what they think could be improved in any way, most trivial details invisible to the players.
-
Congratulations to acquiring this gorgeous instrument! Originally Posted by AKA
Kent Armstrong once mentioned that the output of a PU is much dependent on the size of the magnet, because of that the mini humbuckers are of less output. Your Biltoft PU does look full size, but what about it's thickness - i guess it's still flatter than a regular humbucker? How thick is it and - does it have an output comparable to a regular humbucker?
TIA
-
See the attached photos. Originally Posted by JazzNote
-
My understanding is that he makes the laminates. Originally Posted by Ol' Fret
AKA
-
Yes. It’s difficult to photograph given the reflections. Originally Posted by deacon Mark
AKA
-
That sure looks like color suck to me. Even blonde’s can get skunk stripes.
-
I think it's too well demarcated to be from surface contamination. Originally Posted by WahmBomAh
-
If the outside of the finish has no damage and otherwise good this is of no issue to me, I would just play the guitar. It is not like it looks bad.
Reply With Quote
Any Levin Deluxe Owners Here?
Today, 09:26 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos