Don't "flame" me, but...
Discussion
Why bookmatch a guitar top? (hope I have the right term?)
In an ideal world, you split the wood, leaving two pieces that are mirror images of each other, sand, lacquer and polish, looks amazing!
In practice, even on expensive guitars, it doesn't match. I think I'd rather use just one slab of patterned wood, sand, lacquer and polish without the mismatch up the middle...
Is it because these stripey woods come from trees that once cut up aren't big enough to make a guitar? Or is it economics, getting more out of the tree?
Not to dig at other people's PAJs, just wanted to ask
In an ideal world, you split the wood, leaving two pieces that are mirror images of each other, sand, lacquer and polish, looks amazing!
In practice, even on expensive guitars, it doesn't match. I think I'd rather use just one slab of patterned wood, sand, lacquer and polish without the mismatch up the middle...
Is it because these stripey woods come from trees that once cut up aren't big enough to make a guitar? Or is it economics, getting more out of the tree?
Not to dig at other people's PAJs, just wanted to ask
The grain pattern changes as you cut down into a piece of wood. You can have a slab of maple that after being flatsawn is perfectly bookmatched, but as you carve into the wood to get the curvature of a carved top guitar such as a Les Paul ,the grain may not always run straight the whole way through giving some bookmatched guitars an unmatched look,It's natural in any wood species that has any visible figuring, you will rarely find any deeply carved top guitar with a perfect symmetry as you might find on a flat top.
I've cut a solid block of wood down the middle, flipped it open, glued it down the middle and as soon as I started carving/sanding the two halves, they started to look like they were from different trees!, The heavier the figure, the more pronounced the variation between the halves were, I think it gives a little natural character to the top and makes it a little bit unique in appearance, a guitar top is made for a primary purpose of sounding good, and its secondary purpose is looks. So it needs to be solid and if it's carved, the grain is going to change the deeper the carve, and thats entirely how nature made it, and if you dont like it you just steer clear of it.
I've cut a solid block of wood down the middle, flipped it open, glued it down the middle and as soon as I started carving/sanding the two halves, they started to look like they were from different trees!, The heavier the figure, the more pronounced the variation between the halves were, I think it gives a little natural character to the top and makes it a little bit unique in appearance, a guitar top is made for a primary purpose of sounding good, and its secondary purpose is looks. So it needs to be solid and if it's carved, the grain is going to change the deeper the carve, and thats entirely how nature made it, and if you dont like it you just steer clear of it.
You are right. It's a cost-related thing. Early (goldtop) Les Pauls often had 3-piece tops, and with an off-centre seam.
With the arrival of the sunburst Les Paul, Gibson decided to go to a centre-joined maple cap. Many of those were rather plain, with no matched figure at all (and ironically, some of the early goldtops had lovely flamey figuring under the gold paint). Then came the super-flamey tops, sometimes with near-perfect matching, often not. Everybody else just copied Gibson.
I've got a custom-made LP-alike with a one-piece top. It's actually not very figured, but I just wanted the seamless aesthetic. FWIW, it took the guitar maker quite a long time to find the maple.
With the arrival of the sunburst Les Paul, Gibson decided to go to a centre-joined maple cap. Many of those were rather plain, with no matched figure at all (and ironically, some of the early goldtops had lovely flamey figuring under the gold paint). Then came the super-flamey tops, sometimes with near-perfect matching, often not. Everybody else just copied Gibson.
I've got a custom-made LP-alike with a one-piece top. It's actually not very figured, but I just wanted the seamless aesthetic. FWIW, it took the guitar maker quite a long time to find the maple.
Escapegoat said:
You are right. It's a cost-related thing. Early (goldtop) Les Pauls often had 3-piece tops, and with an off-centre seam.
With the arrival of the sunburst Les Paul, Gibson decided to go to a centre-joined maple cap. Many of those were rather plain, with no matched figure at all (and ironically, some of the early goldtops had lovely flamey figuring under the gold paint). Then came the super-flamey tops, sometimes with near-perfect matching, often not. Everybody else just copied Gibson.
I've got a custom-made LP-alike with a one-piece top. It's actually not very figured, but I just wanted the seamless aesthetic. FWIW, it took the guitar maker quite a long time to find the maple.
That really is quite something.With the arrival of the sunburst Les Paul, Gibson decided to go to a centre-joined maple cap. Many of those were rather plain, with no matched figure at all (and ironically, some of the early goldtops had lovely flamey figuring under the gold paint). Then came the super-flamey tops, sometimes with near-perfect matching, often not. Everybody else just copied Gibson.
I've got a custom-made LP-alike with a one-piece top. It's actually not very figured, but I just wanted the seamless aesthetic. FWIW, it took the guitar maker quite a long time to find the maple.
It's a bit like dogs, even if you don't like them you can't deny a Golden Retriever is a beautiful thing, same with a tiger I suppose. Even if you have no interest in music and electric guitars especially, you would have to be a complete Philistine to deny the beauty of that guitar. You must be very proud.
I don't think I've played this for 2 or 3 years as I prefer playing Strats but it's too nice looking to sell
Les Paul by oddball13131313, on Flickr
Les Paul by oddball13131313, on FlickrIt is of course no coincidence that such guitar tops are sometimes referred to as 'fiddleback' because the backs of violins also consist of flamed maple, and can also be either one-piece or two-piece bookmatched.
I think i'm right in saying, however, that structurally a two-piece back is better because it's less prone to warping. If the two pieces try to warp they will do so in opposite directions, which will help to keep the whole thing straight.
Personally, although I love a nice Les Paul maple top, I never like them to be too flamed. I also can't stand the way the old ones fade to a sort of greeny-yellowy-brown. I don't want to play a guitar that's the colour of wee, regardless of how nice the grain is.
I think i'm right in saying, however, that structurally a two-piece back is better because it's less prone to warping. If the two pieces try to warp they will do so in opposite directions, which will help to keep the whole thing straight.
Personally, although I love a nice Les Paul maple top, I never like them to be too flamed. I also can't stand the way the old ones fade to a sort of greeny-yellowy-brown. I don't want to play a guitar that's the colour of wee, regardless of how nice the grain is.
Evangelion said:
I also can't stand the way the old ones fade to a sort of greeny-yellowy-brown. I don't want to play a guitar that's the colour of wee, regardless of how nice the grain is.
That is the finish deteriorating, not the wood.In particular, the nitro cellulose clearcoat, which yellows with age!
Evangelion said:
I think i'm right in saying, however, that structurally a [b]two-piece back[\b] is better because it's less prone to warping. If the two pieces try to warp they will do so in opposite directions, which will help to keep the whole thing straight.
Properly engineered wood products with different grain directions can be much more stable - see Scandi wooden windows. But for solid-body guitars and the lives they lead , it's not significant. Maybe an ES-335 in the Everglades might suffer?The backs (mahogany) of old LPs is one-piece. And the tops are glued to the backs anyway - they're going nowhere. I think that Player Grade Vintage (see IG) has restored a couple of vintage LPs where the centre seam has opened up slightly through shrinkage. But I've never seen a LP with a warped top/body.
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