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Posts: 231
| One would think that these wouldn't get out the door, but I've seen this on high dollar Martin's, as well. So, it's hard to say what the stained tops might look like underneath.
Mike |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Alot of the left/right tonal differences can be attribited to light be refracted/reflected thru the finish off of tha grain(s) in different directions (due the grain being a "mirror image").
The effect is often accentuated in flash/digital photographs. |
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August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | Originally posted by cliff:
Alot of the left/right tonal differences can be attribited to light be refracted/reflected thru the finish off of tha grain(s) in different directions (due the grain being a "mirror image").
The effect is often accentuated in flash/digital photographs. Case in point, here is a photo of my Viper. It has a beautiful book matched top and looks perfectly normal under normal conditions. But when the light hits it just right:
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Posts: 713
Location: Alberta, Canada | Bingo...perfect call, guys. Wood is an amazing material. I sometimes marvel at how different the book matched backs can look from one side to the other with such a small amount of material removed from between to two pieces. You may have to really look to determine that it is indeed book matched. |
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Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | BlackOps is pretty accurate. Think of all he said as a big scale where everything is relative to each other. That relation doesn't change but in the overall they can slide left or right as needed for production and what is available. I also suspect that this happened more in "the old days" because retail prices were lower. Today's customer is more demanding and as prices rise above $2000 and $5000 (well, not Ovations) or over $10,000 he has every right to be very picky.
Think of it as grading tests on a curve, remember that from school? |
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June 2004
Posts: 375
Location: Rocky River, Ohio | On a somewhat related subject....
What's the proper term (or buzz word) for the way the wood reflects in certain light. tough to explain, but my 1980 Legend has this beautiful sheen when the light hits it at certain angles. It's as if the top lights up with different patterns, like diamonds. this effect is not present in my 2000 legend.
both are natural tops. Not sure if aging brings this out more, or if it's locked in when the clearcoat is applied.
Thought someone called a top like that as having a lot of "silk" ???
Any ideas? |
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November 2003
Posts: 231
| It's called silking. If a top is perfectly quarter-sawn, these rays, or stripes, run perpendicular to the grain. This is very desirable in a guitar top, and looks much better than bearclaw, in my opinion. Of course, this is a totally different subject. One has nothing to do with the other. |
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August 2006
Posts: 2804
Location: ranson,wva | my(now noel's) 1981 1624-4 has a perfect matched top untill you look at it from the side with the light sheen hitting it right,then it looks like the trebel side of the top set is about 3 shadeds darker more like a aged ceader than stika spruce....jason |
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November 2003
Posts: 231
| I would call that a definite case of run-out. |
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November 2003
Posts: 231
| Every guitar top that I have seen with severe run-out will not show any signs of silking, an indication that the top was not properly quartersawn. One side of the top will look much darker than the other when viewing it at different angles. |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | FD14- #39...
Has 14 rings per inch measured from widest-lower-bout center "bookmatch" line...
Rings get tighter going out...
39 rings per inch measured from the widest part of the lower bout from inside edge of purfling.
No wonder. |
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Ovation Top Grading
