Jackson Soloist Custom Shop Polyurethane Finish

[glip22]

Played one and it's probably the best of quite a few I have owned or played in tone. It's just fatter sounding and more vibrant.
I know Jackson mostly uses Polyester finishes on the Soloists. It is much easier to apply whereas the polyurethane must be applied in thinner coats and takes longer. I think the urethane was done on the older Soloists but I am not sure. It's tough to believe the difference when directly compared to at least three other new Custom Shop Soloists but the Polyurethane one sounded best hands down. Plugged in it's fat and chunky whereas the others were thinner with varying degrees of bright to brittle. I know there are some aficionados on here than can explain why.

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmm... my understanding is that you wouldn't hear any difference in tone between two guitars because of a polyurethane vs polyester finish. The polyurethane will wear somewhat more like nitrocellulose lacquer, whereas the polyester won't, but both polyurethanes and polyesters they use on guitars today cure fast and are very hard. The urethanes they use on guitars aren't like what you find at the local hardware store - they are super fast curing and can be shot like polyesters...

Are you sure it wasn't a nitrocellulose finish? They shoot them so much thinner, people say they hear a tonal difference...

I wouldn't think the differences you heard were from the paint if it was really just polyester vs. polyurethane, just better wood, or other factors...

Steve

 

[cardinal]

Different guitars just sound different. I had a few 2016 LP Standards at the house, and it was remarkable how different they sounded despite being the exact same model of guitar.

 

[glip22]

Hmmm... my understanding is that you wouldn't hear any difference in tone between two guitars because of a polyurethane vs polyester finish. The polyurethane will wear somewhat more like nitrocellulose lacquer, whereas the polyester won't, but both polyurethanes and polyesters they use on guitars today cure fast and are very hard. The urethanes they use on guitars aren't like what you find at the local hardware store - they are super fast curing and can be shot like polyesters...

Are you sure it wasn't a nitrocellulose finish? They shoot them so much thinner, people say they hear a tonal difference...

I wouldn't think the differences you heard were from the paint if it was really just polyester vs. polyurethane, just better wood, or other factors...

Steve

Thats what I thought Steve. The only difference on the guitars was this one had the Polyurethane. I'm wondering why it sounds better. Is there a difference between the Polyurethane and just plain Urethane? I though Urethane was not a quick dry? I was told there's an upcharge on the Soloist with the PU because it is more time consuming to apply.

 

[glip22]

Different guitars just sound different. I had a few 2016 LP Standards at the house, and it was remarkable how different they sounded despite being the exact same model of guitar.

I know for sure. All different sounding, in the same models

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmm... my understanding is that you wouldn't hear any difference in tone between two guitars because of a polyurethane vs polyester finish. The polyurethane will wear somewhat more like nitrocellulose lacquer, whereas the polyester won't, but both polyurethanes and polyesters they use on guitars today cure fast and are very hard. The urethanes they use on guitars aren't like what you find at the local hardware store - they are super fast curing and can be shot like polyesters...

Are you sure it wasn't a nitrocellulose finish? They shoot them so much thinner, people say they hear a tonal difference...

I wouldn't think the differences you heard were from the paint if it was really just polyester vs. polyurethane, just better wood, or other factors...

Steve

Thats what I thought Steve. The only difference on the guitars was this one had the Polyurethane. I'm wondering why it sounds better. Is there a difference between the Polyurethane and just plain Urethane? I though Urethane was not a quick dry? I was told there's an upcharge on the Soloist with the PU because it is more time consuming to apply.

The polyurethanes that are used on guitars now are very quick to cure and dry very hard. The urethanes you might grab at the local hardware store are longer curing and more elastic. I think it is a load of crap that they would charge more for polyurethane vs. polyester, personally.

You say the only difference was the paint, but that is hardly the case. Every piece of wood that went into those Jackson guitars you played is going to be different and the resulting guitars are going to sound different, sometimes radically so - that is why you build two Musikraft guitars from their bodies and necks and one sounds like crap and another sounds great. I'm a big believer that the wood makes a big difference and the paint not so much... even nitro...

I think the best sounding wood of the bunch just happened to be on the polyurethane painted guitar...

Steve

 

[glip22]

Hmmm... my understanding is that you wouldn't hear any difference in tone between two guitars because of a polyurethane vs polyester finish. The polyurethane will wear somewhat more like nitrocellulose lacquer, whereas the polyester won't, but both polyurethanes and polyesters they use on guitars today cure fast and are very hard. The urethanes they use on guitars aren't like what you find at the local hardware store - they are super fast curing and can be shot like polyesters...

Are you sure it wasn't a nitrocellulose finish? They shoot them so much thinner, people say they hear a tonal difference...

I wouldn't think the differences you heard were from the paint if it was really just polyester vs. polyurethane, just better wood, or other factors...

Steve

Thats what I thought Steve. The only difference on the guitars was this one had the Polyurethane. I'm wondering why it sounds better. Is there a difference between the Polyurethane and just plain Urethane? I though Urethane was not a quick dry? I was told there's an upcharge on the Soloist with the PU because it is more time consuming to apply.

The polyurethanes that are used on guitars now are very quick to cure and dry very hard. The urethanes you might grab at the local hardware store are longer curing and more elastic. I think it is a load of crap that they would charge more for polyurethane vs. polyester, personally.

You say the only difference was the paint, but that is hardly the case. Every piece of wood that went into those Jackson guitars you played is going to be different and the resulting guitars are going to sound different, sometimes radically so - that is why you build two Musikraft guitars from their bodies and necks and one sounds like crap and another sounds great. I'm a big believer that the wood makes a big difference and the paint not so much... even nitro...

I think the best sounding wood of the bunch just happened to be on the polyurethane painted guitar...

Steve

 

[neilli]

Not sure of any tonal impact, but I know they use urethane to keep the whites white, whereas polys tend to yellow over time..

 

[Anonymous]

Not sure of any tonal impact, but I know they use urethane to keep the whites white, whereas polys tend to yellow over time..

That isn't correct as far as Polyester and Polyurethanes used to paint guitars. White Polyesters and modern, water-based Polyurethanes will almost never yellow. White Oil-based Polyurethanes, which are still used sometimes, will yellow, but at a slower rate than nitrocellulose.

Steve

 

[mchn13]

Different guitars just sound different. I had a few 2016 LP Standards at the house, and it was remarkable how different they sounded despite being the exact same model of guitar.

I know for sure. All different sounding, in the same models

Unfortunately you never know. I kept my 90's studio lite over 3 other les Paul's last year, including a custom, and an explorer pro I just had for a few days lol. Just a lucky piece of wood. I am getting better at recognizing how well one resonates acoustically, but most of my buys are online which makes it a crapshoot sometimes.

 

[halford]

hey guys, been meaning to ask this for a while and while you guys are talking about it you guys might be able to help with some questions. esspesh sah5150 im sure

i dont know much about "finishing" on guitars. but i want to get my charvel (one of the new series) repainted. is there any speacial finish (the clear cost) that needs to be done? i have had guitars done before (from panel and paint car garages), but this thread reminds me to ask the experts. what i have got done before is great. however just wanted to ask if there is any speacial finish that i should used?

hope that makes sense

 

[mooncobra]

Played one and it's probably the best of quite a few I have owned or played in tone. It's just fatter sounding and more vibrant.
I know Jackson mostly uses Polyester finishes on the Soloists. It is much easier to apply whereas the polyurethane must be applied in thinner coats and takes longer. I think the urethane was done on the older Soloists but I am not sure. It's tough to believe the difference when directly compared to at least three other new Custom Shop Soloists but the Polyurethane one sounded best hands down. Plugged in it's fat and chunky whereas the others were thinner with varying degrees of bright to brittle. I know there are some aficionados on here than can explain why.

Is this a new thing they are doing. I love my soloist and it is pretty chunky, but I am still thinking about swapping out the pickups (JB/59), and getting something more mid output. Mine is a few years old I think, and it has the raw slick neck. What is this finish?

 

[halford]

wow thats looks amazing !

 

[neilli]

That isn't correct as far as Polyester and Polyurethanes used to paint guitars. White Polyesters and modern, water-based Polyurethanes will almost never yellow. White Oil-based Polyurethanes, which are still used sometimes, will yellow, but at a slower rate than nitrocellulose.

Interesting - Maybe Jackson use oil based urethanes then because whites are the only colours which state urethane in the custom select spec sheet?

 

[glip22]

Played one and it's probably the best of quite a few I have owned or played in tone. It's just fatter sounding and more vibrant.
I know Jackson mostly uses Polyester finishes on the Soloists. It is much easier to apply whereas the polyurethane must be applied in thinner coats and takes longer. I think the urethane was done on the older Soloists but I am not sure. It's tough to believe the difference when directly compared to at least three other new Custom Shop Soloists but the Polyurethane one sounded best hands down. Plugged in it's fat and chunky whereas the others were thinner with varying degrees of bright to brittle. I know there are some aficionados on here than can explain why.

Is this a new thing they are doing. I love my soloist and it is pretty chunky, but I am still thinking about swapping out the pickups (JB/59), and getting something more mid output. Mine is a few years old I think, and it has the raw slick neck. What is this finish?

Not sure Mike. I was told with the Vanilla Shake finish they use the Polyurethane because their polyester causes it to yellow. Maybe yours is the same.
This came from Scotty at Rainbow guitars. I really don't know for certain. They did raise prices by 300 he said.

 

[mooncobra]

[*]

Played one and it's probably the best of quite a few I have owned or played in tone. It's just fatter sounding and more vibrant.
I know Jackson mostly uses Polyester finishes on the Soloists. It is much easier to apply whereas the polyurethane must be applied in thinner coats and takes longer. I think the urethane was done on the older Soloists but I am not sure. It's tough to believe the difference when directly compared to at least three other new Custom Shop Soloists but the Polyurethane one sounded best hands down. Plugged in it's fat and chunky whereas the others were thinner with varying degrees of bright to brittle. I know there are some aficionados on here than can explain why.

Is this a new thing they are doing. I love my soloist and it is pretty chunky, but I am still thinking about swapping out the pickups (JB/59), and getting something more mid output. Mine is a few years old I think, and it has the raw slick neck. What is this finish?

Not sure Mike. I was told with the Vanilla Shake finish they use the Polyurethane because their polyester causes it to yellow. Maybe yours is the same.
This came from Scotty at Rainbow guitars. I really don't know for certain. They did raise prices by 300 he said.

Thanks for the response Gary!

 

[cardinal]

hey guys, been meaning to ask this for a while and while you guys are talking about it you guys might be able to help with some questions. esspesh sah5150 im sure

i dont know much about "finishing" on guitars. but i want to get my charvel (one of the new series) repainted. is there any speacial finish (the clear cost) that needs to be done? i have had guitars done before (from panel and paint car garages), but this thread reminds me to ask the experts. what i have got done before is great. however just wanted to ask if there is any speacial finish that i should used?

hope that makes sense

Typical automotive paint is fine as far as I know. I've used House of Kolor stuff. Reranch sells nitrocellulose paint if you want that.

 

[Anonymous]

That isn't correct as far as Polyester and Polyurethanes used to paint guitars. White Polyesters and modern, water-based Polyurethanes will almost never yellow. White Oil-based Polyurethanes, which are still used sometimes, will yellow, but at a slower rate than nitrocellulose.

Interesting - Maybe Jackson use oil based urethanes then because whites are the only colours which state urethane in the custom select spec sheet?

Why would they do that? Oil-based polyurethane is gonna yellow. If they don't want it to yellow, Polyester or water-based Polyurethane is the way to go...

Steve

 

[Chester Nimitz]

Everybody knows the Tone is in the hard shell case ...

 

[Anonymous]

hey guys, been meaning to ask this for a while and while you guys are talking about it you guys might be able to help with some questions. esspesh sah5150 im sure

i dont know much about "finishing" on guitars. but i want to get my charvel (one of the new series) repainted. is there any speacial finish (the clear cost) that needs to be done? i have had guitars done before (from panel and paint car garages), but this thread reminds me to ask the experts. what i have got done before is great. however just wanted to ask if there is any speacial finish that i should used?

hope that makes sense

For a home job, basically, you have to decide between an automotive urethane or Nitrocelulose Lacquer. Nitro takes longer to dry and is not as hard. Over time the finish ages, changes and checks. Some people think guitars sound better with a thin nitro finish. The automotive urethanes dry fast, are hard as hell and won't change much with age.

If you want to use nitrocellulose lacquer for the base color, ReRanch makes a great Nitro clear (as mentioned above) in addition to everything else you need for a nitro finish.

If you want to use an automotive urethane for the color, I like SprayMax 2K urethane clear. It is a two part catalyzed clear that cures fast and hard as hell.

If you are using any of this stuff, you need a respirator.

Steve