Paint makes a defference, yes or no?

[El Chiguete]

Does it matter what type of paint I use to paint a guitar or any will do? I just wan't to know if I should take something in consideration for the sound.

[GodOfRhythm]

Yes, but it is so minimal that the moment you plug it into an amp it'll all disappear, just like that. Hell I'm sure I wouldn't even hear the difference acoustically.

I say go for esthetics over "tone" in the paint department.

[El Chiguete]

Great... I´m not thinking on painting one of my guitars for now, but it was just something that I´ve allways had in my head to know.

[Jeff Albertson]

Thick poly smothers tone.

[straycat]

Nitro cellulose lacquer breaths and moves with the wood and lets the sound out polyurethane does kind of hamper tone but plugged in its all in the amp.

[Model1VH2]

Nitro cellulose lacquer breaths and moves with the wood and lets the sound out polyurethane does kind of hamper tone but plugged in its all in the amp.

I agree nitro is better than poly, but I don't agree that once plugged in, it's "all in the amp" ...

I agree you can maybe "compensate" through your amp for loss of tone, but the type of paint and the number of coats do make a difference IMO.

[Cleveland Metal]

I feel that a lot of coats will make a guitar dead sounding IMO. I'm sure there are also differences in types of paint as well, maybe not os obvious.

[GodWentPUNK]

I feel that a lot of coats will make a guitar dead sounding IMO. I'm sure there are also differences in types of paint as well, maybe not os obvious.

I have heard the same that a lot of coats of paint can deaden the sound. My 1988 Telecaster has a minimal amount of paint and was ordered that way by the original owner for that reason. Personally, I don't have two of the same to tell but when you're playing in band, there is so much 'other' stuff going on that has a bigger impact.

joe...

[charvel750]

There is absolutely no difference in a painted guitar versus one that is stripped to the bare wood. I have had many damaged guitars without paint that were stripped to the bare wood (white single hum Rhoads in the Gallery for ex.) and played and sounded wonderfully stripped down. Had them repaired and refinished and there was no difference. I've even had a painted guitar painted over again with new paint without removing the original underneath (or the clear!) and again, absolutely no difference. I suppose if you gobbed on layer after layer in a ridiculous amount you might notice, but within normal limits you will not experience a difference, and I am a slave to tone, trust me...

[Model1VH2]

The answer is subject to personal opinion.
I think we can all agree on that.

[YetAnotherOne]

I feel that a lot of coats will make a guitar dead sounding IMO. I'm sure there are also differences in types of paint as well, maybe not os obvious.

I'd always heard and believed that as well but then I acquired all of those metal flake GMPs with massively thick poly and they're some of the most live sounding axes I've ever played. They might be even better with thin finishes but I tend to think the wood, design and quality of components and build have a lot more to do with the tone than the type or thickness of the finish.

[mm2002]

In reality, even a "thick" flake job ends up at only around 7 to 8 mils thick including the primer. (a mil is 1/1000th of an inch). I think it would take a coating a lot thicker than that to really start screwing with the tone.

[Rockinloud]

I spray bombed my Model 2 a few years ago and noticed no difference in tone. I did notice though that I am not a painter!

[Model1VH2]

I spray bombed my Model 2 a few years ago and noticed no difference in tone. I did notice though that I am not a painter!

[GodWentPUNK]