GMP 'DC' Custom Guitar arrived

[Cosmiceddie]

After 16 months my Custom 'DC' guitar has finally arrived.

Mahogany body
Koa top
Mahogany set-neck
Seymour Duncan SH-4 hum
Bound ebony fretboard

The workmanship of the guitar is immaculate. However, the finish turns out to be very dark. When there's no sunlight you can hardly notice the grain of the Koa. I was asking for a natural oil finish (body, neck and headstock) but I got a glossy clear coat finish with a dark brownish stain.

Would I order from GMP again? I don't think so.

[toejam]

Looks gorgeous! Did you contact them to find out why it's gloss instead of oiled, and can they strip it and do it right?

[Dog Boy]

Wow, I'm a big GMP fanboy but that is an inexcusable f-up. Let us know how the situation pans out for you. Great looking guitar though!

[xenophobe]

Wow... 16 months. Nice, simple guitar, but damn, that's a long time to wait for something so simple.

At this point, the only places I'd consider ordering from are Carvin or Amfisound.

[Hellbat]

Shame about the finish issues, otherwise it seems killer. I love oil finishes too.

[shreddermon]

Gorgeous guitar. Sorry it's not quite what you ordered, but it is quite a nice piece regardless.

[veemagic]

That guitar is beautiful! It's a bummer that you didn't get the sheen you were looking for, however are you sure they put a stain on it? I have many koa guitars and the color can vary widely with just a clear. Doesn't matter if it's a satin or gloss. It can be violin type brown to clearer red-orange-ish. I'm not saying that's what happened, but if you wouldn't have said it was stained, I would say it looks perfectly normal, and awesome! Hope you can figure something out with it.

[toejam]

however are you sure they put a stain on it? I have many koa guitars and the color can vary widely with just a clear. Doesn't matter if it's a satin or gloss. It can be violin type brown to clearer red-orange-ish. I'm not saying that's what happened, but if you wouldn't have said it was stained, I would say it looks perfectly normal, and awesome!

I was thinking the same thing. Looks perfectly normal for koa whether it's gloss or oiled.

[Grandturk]

It may or may not have been stained, but there's a huge difference between oiled and cleared. I'd send it back for full refund.

[Cosmiceddie]

Here's a picture of the back of the guitar. As you can see the Mahogany is just as dark brown. It really looks like stained, doesn't it? This can't be a natural finish.

[toejam]

Looks like the back of my old Hamer Special. Mahogany varies from orange, reddish and brownish colors. Hard to tell if it's really stained.

[Frfurter]

I've worked with wood for over 30 years and yeah wood from the same species varies greatly in color.

Why not fire off an email to GMP and ask them if it's stained?

Nice looking guitar.

[shreddermon]

As others have said, every piece of wood is different. Colors can vary quite a bit, so that very well could be the natural color with just a clearcoat. If it does have a stain, though, it's a pretty light shade.

[Cosmiceddie]

Here are two pictures of the unfinished guitar:

[veemagic]

Again, that doesn't look like it was stained at all. Looks like it was cleared to me. Perhaps not to the sheen you were expecting, but nonetheless just cleared. Just send Dan a message, he will be upfront with you.
Good luck.