Tone, resonance, and clear coat.

[MrDowntown]

I've got a Charvel HH, which I really love. But the thing came with, what I'm calling, a ton of clear coat. It makes the guitar body shine and look nice but how much does this finish affect tone, resonance etc?

Is it worth trying to take parts of it off?

I see lots of beaters that sound awesome, ideally because the wood can sing freely.

Thoughts?

 

[Guitarnobody]

That is polyurethane. Basically it has a plastic shell that is pretty tough. It's not worth it to remove...you're better off just buying another guitar (or body) if it bothers you. I have 4 custom shop Charvels and one USA pro mod and all but one have polyurethane finishes. The other one is nitro.

 

[paulyc]

I think unfinished bodies sound WAY better... I have a poplar Jackson body I stripped the paint off of and it sounds better to me, and I have an oiled Koa body Splawn guitar that sounds really good...

 

[messenger]

Would be neat to hear a before and after clip

 

[BigBellyRocker]

I used to believe in the thinner paint and hand rub oil on the body will give you the best resonance guitar but I don't know if this is 100% true anymore. I had one of my guitar repainted in Nitro and I added a big brass block to it and this guitar has less sustain than all of my guitar. I think it's a combination of good body/neck wood and pickups that will provide you the best resonance guitar. Surely the thinner paint and big Floyd Rose block can help but not always.

 

[Fuego]

I used to believe in the thinner paint and hand rub oil on the body will give you the best resonance guitar but I don't know if this is 100% true anymore. I had one of my guitar repainted in Nitro and I added a big brass block to it and this guitar has less sustain than all of my guitar. I think it's a combination of good body/neck wood and pickups that will provide you the best resonance guitar. Surely the thinner paint and big Floyd Rose block can help but not always.

I agree with this and used to think the same thing. My best sounding guitar is completely painted.

 

[splawner]

Ya