...and I don't know of any people who use the 6 second sustain a plastic-coated Crapocaster has, never mind the whole 25 second sustain a Gibson Les Paul offers.
Hehe, I'm glad someone finally brought up this unspoken little paradox: the people screaming loudest about needing the most sustain (neck-thru, bolt-on, set-in) are the same ones always in search of more speed in their playing!
Another term that gets me smiling is "Sweet, violin-like sustain" as used in advertising. Anyone who's ever plucked a violin will tell you the things don't have ANY sustain whatever -- the bow being the thing that creates the long drawn out notes. But even that isn't technically 'sustain,' as in the old ADSR (Attack Decay Sustain Release, I think.)
Funny stuff. :)
I know - as a rule of thumb, if a guitar's main selling point is it's sustain, I tend to avoid it, as I think sustain is a duff point considering the music I play and if that's all it has to boast about then the things I'm looking for (good pickups, tuning stability, decent neck, decent tuners... you know, things you actually use) have obviously taken a backseat. It's true as well, people who boast about sustain use it the least.
My Telecaster has thick-ass paint on it - the chunky body offers some nice sustain, but for me it's a moot issue as I never bloody use it. I'm more focused on the tone of my notes, which, granted, is affected by the body wood, but is more controllable by external forces (pickups, pedals, amps... oh, yes, and me).
If you are going to paint your guitar be sure of what you are doing because it will most definitely be permanent.
In order to get good adhesion of the new paint you will have to sand the finish that is currently on the guitar. Paint won't stick well to a smooth surface, you will need to ‘cut grooves' in the current surface, and that means sanding.
As for paint I would use enamel, with a clear coat topcoat. As mentioned automobile paint would be good and give you a wide range of premixed colors. Airbrushing would give you the best, smoothest, most professional result. But it takes a long time to master, depending on if you want to paint an actual picture or just single toned geometric shapes.
Nail polish would work ( as someone else mentioned) but I would think you would need to thin it to make it flow smoothly and keep it from drying too fast. Lots of nail polishes are advertised as quick drying, this will work against you.
Whatever you use check it on the underside of the guitar first. The chemical that keeps the paint from drying in the can / jar / tube can also eat away at the finish that is already on the guitar. Even polyurethane is not completely immune to this.
Best of luck, and post some pictures of the finished piece.
Michael
Playing an instrument is good for your soul
I can only recall one guitar of the many I have that has ever had anything done to the paint. I've bought guitars that have had other folks artistic talent all over them, a 12 string Yamaha acoustic of mine once was decorated upon by a well known artist I meet through my journey of life.
Mostly I just play'em and play'em and play'em.
joe
THnks all! This is helping. What is "THe Fool" though?
If you are going to paint your guitar be sure of what you are doing because it will most definitely be permanent.
No more than the current finish.
The Fool, is the gorgeous Gibson SG, made popular by Eric Clapton when he was with cream. Psychedilically colored... I believe it was first owned by one of the Beatles.
You know, a little bit of triva: a friend of mine once bought what he thought was an SG; same SG type body, flat, same everything pretty much. It was a used one, '61 or so, but it had this really bad neck problem. It was really weak right where it joins the body and he had it repaired several times. One of the repairmen told him it really wasn't an SG but was actually a Les Paul SG. But the model didn't last long because of the neck joint problem. I'm wondering if this was actually one of those, since Rundgren seems to have had the same sort of problem.
Anyhow, hope the pic comes out. It, to me, seems to be its own little spokesperson of the '60s, silent though it may be now. :)
Heheh, I forgot that Jack had a bass like that too!
