Forums

How will the finish affect the sound?

Posted by Alan Garrett on June 24, 2014 at 11:12am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

I am using amber shellac on the box.  How will the thickness of the shellac affect the sound?  I am assuming a thin layer is best.  the plan is to use a piezo rod bridge pickup with a preamp.  Should I cut a sound hole for acoustic play?

You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!

Join Cigar Box Nation

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • Mark Bliss June 29, 2014 at 11:42pm

    I believe the very best possible sound will come from rubbing it with your hands a lot while playing.

  • Thomas "Duck" Petry June 29, 2014 at 12:32am

    Yeah, plus my experience seems to show that the older the box the better the sound. Love the sounds that come out of the old wood boxes. Mucho Mojo!

    • Ron "Oily" Sprague > Thomas "Duck" Petry June 30, 2014 at 10:12am
      Hmm. This leads me to think that taking as much moisture as possible out of the box might be good. Set the oven on low, bake for 1 hour...
      • Thomas "Duck" Petry > Ron "Oily" Sprague June 30, 2014 at 10:35am

        Just leave them in a closed car on a hot day...

  • Thomas "Duck" Petry June 28, 2014 at 1:58am

    I've built bare wood and paper boxes, finished some wood boxes with a rubbed in beeswax finish and done a few with rattle can lacquer, some lightly sealed and some high gloss, many coats of lacquer. They all sound good and they all sound different from each other. Every build has it's own voice. That's half the fun of these things.

    • Sawbones > Thomas "Duck" Petry June 28, 2014 at 6:46pm

      That's the best way I've heard of saying it Duck!

      "every build has its own voice".

      Very true.

  • The Phrygian Kid June 26, 2014 at 5:12am

    ha yep you definitely need nitrocellulose, poly will KILL THE TONE on that vintage chessboard.  lol

    just make the bastard, then play it, then repeat mate.  don't sweat the little things.

    • Sawbones > The Phrygian Kid June 27, 2014 at 7:26pm

      Yeah its like everything is poly finish these days.I thought polyester was for leisure suits in the 70's,not guitar finishes.

      I'm going to sand the clear coat off my epi jumbo next time I restring it.And probably fully sand the back off the neck raw.

      "just make the bastard, then play it, then repeat mate.  don't sweat the little things."thats my philosophy too Phry.My reso I'm overthinking,next time I F w/ it,its getting finished.

  • Slowpaw Steve T June 26, 2014 at 4:21am

    well the story goes John Lennon and George Harrison stripped the finish off their casino guitars because they said they sounded better....i'm not going to argue with that, but  you're talking about piezos here,,,the only thing that will affect them is if they're encased in something gloopy , nothing to do with finishes.

    saying that I never really detected any type of finish affecting the sound of a good build unless soft and over 1/4 inch thick  (-;

This reply was deleted.