Everything you ever wanted to know about nitro guitar finishes

Mon 2016 Sep 19

It's time to talk about this. At length.

This is a subject I've been avoiding because you can't talk about nitrocellulose lacquer finish without talking about "relic'ing", so I'm going to cover both those topics.

An example of modern relic'ing is the "Heavy Relic" Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster, should you need a reference.

Nitro vs. Polyurethane vs. Polyester

The toughest, most durable finish on modern mass-produced electric guitars is polyester, as that finish can basically handle almost anything you can throw at it. The Fender Standard Stratocaster does use a polyester finish on the guitar body.

Polyurethane (often stated as just urethane) is what originally replaced nitro. The best advantage of it is that is requires fewer coats than nitro to seal properly and is more glossy in look. You can truly get an amazing mirror-like shine out of polyurethane. This finish is what's used on the Fender American Standard Stratocaster body. Also bear in mind there is satin urethane, which I'll talk about in a moment.

Nitrocellulose lacquer is the oldest finish of the three and also the worst. It wears out the quickest, feels the worst when touched and it's difficult to clean. But it does have a few special things about it that some consider very desirable, and I'll get to that in a minute.

You mostly see satin urethane used as a neck coating. In that application, it feels the best but looks the worst. And by worst, I mean plain and boring. In the hand, you can play a satin urethane coated neck for hours easily and feel little to no skin irritation, but the drawback is the "milky" appearance of the finish. You're just not going to get a super-glossy look out of satin urethane no matter what. Even if the neck is painted, you're always going to have that milky/dulled look and that's just the way it is.

Satin urethane coatings when used as a body finish (Fender/Squier doesn't do this but Gibson/Epiphone does on lower-cost models) has the same result as when applied to a neck. You get a look that is duller than gloss urethane. If I were to pick one word to accurately describe the sheen of a satin urethane finished body, it would be diffused.

A real-world example where you can easily see the difference in satin urethane vs. gloss urethane is to look at any new Fender Standard or Fender American Standard Stratocaster back of the neck, then examine the back of the Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster neck. The Squier will be much different because it has gloss and a color tint for a "butterscotchy" or slightly-orange-like look.

What you will notice is that the Fender neck feels better, but the Squier neck looks better. Why? The color tint with the clear gloss finish will always look better than the diffused look of satin urethane.

Interestingly enough, a gloss urethane coated neck with color tint is the closest you can get to a nitro look without the guitar being actually nitro coated. And it just so happens that a Squier Vintage Modified or Squier Classic Vibe series guitar is the cheapest way to get it.

Now let's talk about nitro and what's so special about it.

Nitro on the body

Given the fact that nitro is the worst possible finish you could put on a guitar as it can be so temperamental during the curing process (which does take a long time compared to other finishing methods), why are there so many players that specifically want it as a body finish?

There are two main reasons.

First, when new, nitro just has a certain look to it that polyurethane and polyester just can't match.

The problem with polyurethane and polyester finishes from an appearance point of view is that they both look too much like plastic. Nitro doesn't have that problem, and there is no other finish that brings out such rich, vibrant, almost liquid-like color. When you want color that really pops, nitro is amazing for that sort of thing.

Second, when old, nitro unquestionably looks best - if the guitar was played often.

Nitro does a thing called finish checking where little cracks in the finish start appearing. As for where they'll appear on the body first, you never know for sure. All you do know is that it will happen. And as for when the checking will start, that all depends how often you play the guitar. The more the guitar is played, the sooner the finish checking starts.

Nitro on the neck

Looks great, feels terrible (at first).

If you are the type that wants "all-nitro" where both the body and the neck are nitro coated, it's going to take some time before the neck starts feeling right from regular play. How long the break-in period lasts depends on how often you play, of course.

These are some of the models Fender makes that are all-nitro (both body and neck):

For you bargain hunters out there that want the most bang for the buck, the Mexico made Classic Series '60s Stratocaster Lacquer is your best option. It has a sunburst finish that really pops and is already wired with the 5-way Strat switch instead of the traditional-but-annoying 3-way switch. Also bear in mind the purchase does come with a tweed case.

As for which of the American Vintage series is the best deal, that would be the '52 or the '58 Tele.

The best deals for both the Jag and the Jazz are the Mexico-made '60s models. The American Vintage models have nicer options, but cost more than double that of the Mexico versions.

Now as for the allure of "relic'd" guitars, part of the reason they sell well is because they have nitro coated necks where a significant amount of the nitro has been worn off by the builder.

The worn-off lighter colored areas of neck nearer to the nut (usually from frets 1 to 5) is not just for appearance. That is nitro coating which has been strategically rubbed away by the luthier who built the guitar in an attempt to get that well-used feel to it. Lighter color areas are a simulation of where a player's fret hand would have been the most when using the instrument.

Why does new nitro feel terrible on the neck at first?

A brand new coat of nitro on a neck feels similar to gloss urethane and also slightly sticky. Yes, the coating is dry and cured, but to your fingers it will have a bit of a stick to it and may also cause mild skin irritation.

What ends the stickiness and skin irritation? Playing the guitar regularly. You've just got to play the thing and wear in that neck. Trust me, the neck will start feeling better eventually. It will happen.

And no, spraying the neck with Fingerease won't help with fret hand irritation because that's for strings, but I can tell you something that will help. Dove soap and/or moisturizer. Dry hands on a nitro coated neck is a bad combo. If you wash your hands with regular hand sanitizer before playing on a nitro neck, oh yeah, you're going to feel skin irritation. Why? Because most hand sanitizer contains alcohol which dries the skin, and that's exactly what you don't want.

Wash your hands before play with plain water and Dove soap instead, as Dove has moisturizer in it. Using additional moisturizer may also help. I suggest Aveeno. True, it's not manly stuff at all, but it will make your fret hand feel better while breaking in your nitro coated neck.

Until your nitro neck breaks in, I suggest keeping a second guitar that has a satin urethane neck finish nearby for when your fret hand starts feeling irritated. Again, guitars which have satin urethane coating on the neck are the Mexico made Fender Standard Stratocaster and the Fender American Standard Stratocaster. It doesn't matter whether you get a one-piece maple neck or maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. The back of the neck is always maple and it will have a satin urethane coating on it for maximum comfort and absolutely zero sticky feel.

Is there a Gibson model with a satin urethane finished neck?

There is the Les Paul Studio Faded T, a very nicely priced USA model I just talked about. It is stated to have a satin finish which should include the neck. The SG Faded T and SG Special T (also USA models) are 2 more options, also nicely priced, and serve very well as comfortable satin-finished guitars that are very easy on the hands.

Is nitro worth getting at all?

For appearance both when new and when old, yes, nitro is worth it.

For neck feel specifically, no it's not worth it being that satin urethane feels so much better.

Will a nitro coated neck ever feel right? Yes. A well-used guitar with the nitro almost rubbed all the way off is a very desirable feel that many guitar players chase after. To get that feel the correct way, you have to buy the guitar new and play the hell out of it. For how long? That depends on you. Maybe it will take a few months. Maybe a few years. Maybe a few decades.

If you are the type of player who does not have that kind of patience, is nitro still worth getting? Yes, as long as you realize your guitar can only be played in short bursts before fret hand irritation sets in.

The best advice I can give before buying a guitar where both the body and neck are nitro coated is this: Also own a non-nitro guitar. Whether it's a guitar with a gloss or satin urethane finish on the neck, it doesn't matter as long as it's comfortable.

If you're wondering if a guitar exists that has a nitro coated body and a urethane coated neck, the answer is yes. Fender Road Worn. All 5 models have nitro coated bodies and urethane coated necks...

...and now you know why some sing such high praises about these guitars. The worn down nitro coated body will check properly as time goes on, and the neck will always feel right.

I do have a suggestion as to which Road Worn to get, but first, the these are the 5 models:

The best of the lot here is the '60s Strat and I'll tell you exactly why.

Since the neck is urethane coated, it will get slightly darker in color over time but will not check. That being true, on the '50s all-maple neck Strat, the body and neck will become mismatched over time and there's no way around that. The '60s Strat however has a rosewood fingerboard which will look proper when the body starts to check more as time goes on.

If you're a regular reader of my site, you know I'm a Jazzmaster guy, so why am I recommending the Strat over the Jag or the Jazz? Price. The Strat is $100 less.

And why do I recommend the Strat over the Tele? The Tele has an all-maple neck meaning body and neck appearance mismatching will occur later on similar to the all-maple neck Strat.

Concentrate on rosewood fretboards only with Road Worn models, and yes you will get a great nitro coated guitar out of it. Yes, the fact it's artificially aged is a bit on the cheesy side and I don't deny that, but consider that it absolutely is the "safest" way to get a nitro coated guitar. Both the body and the neck will feel right.

Working through the pain is a stupid idea

Fri 2016 Sep 16

This is a diet update for September 2016.

I was doing my morning exercise routine and something happened. My left calf developed a sharp pain during a jumping jack set.

I stopped exercising, waited a minute, tried another jumping jack and nope... not happening. That pain was not going away. What happened to me is commonly known as calf strain; a tear in the muscle fibres.

There are 3 grades of calf strain with 1 being minor and 3 being pain so bad you can't walk. Mine was a solid 2. No bruising, but still painful.

The cure for this strain? Let the tear heal naturally, don't exercise and don't walk too much. And yes, walking is painful when you have calf strain.

I stopped exercising for a whole week, kept my walking to a minimum and at the time I write this I'm almost back to 100% and have started exercising again.

The reason I talking about this is because there are some idiots out there who subscribe to the "no pain, no gain" way of doing things, and wow what a stupid statement that is.

When my body says STOP, I stop to let the healing process begin, because if I don't stop and "work through the pain", that only causes more pain and possibly permanent injury.

This is not the first time I've had injury due to exercise. The last time it happened, it was right after my treadmill busted and I was doing the running-in-place thing as a replacement exercise. At first I was fine, but my right leg started complaining, so I stopped, let it heal, then switched over to a different set of exercises.

Why did my left calf get a strain? It was because I switched to doing jumping jacks in bare feet. This is something my calf wasn't used to, so I stopped doing that and went back to how I was doing them before.

What I did not know before but know now is that you can't just suddenly go barefoot when it comes to exercise. Whether it's jumping jacks, jogging, walking or running, you have to slowly transition yourself into it, else you get injured. My feet are used to shoes and not being bare, so if I decide to try exercising in bare feet again, I have to be a lot more gentle about it. Lesson learned.

Weight update

On my last weigh-in, the scale said 152.4 pounds, so I'm still doing okay with a BMI of 22.51.

I've kept the weight off and that's what matters. And during the week I didn't exercise, I cut the calories down to compensate.

Yes, I still count calories because it does work and keeps my weight in check.

Guitar of the week #75 - Gibson USA Les Paul Studio Faded T

Wed 2016 Sep 14

A common complaint is that Gibson USA Les Paul guitars are too expensive. This one is actually priced very nicely.

I've been complaining for years that Gibson Les Paul guitars are too expensive. The Studio Faded T series model however has a price point that is - and I can't believe I'm saying this - reasonable.

The 2016 Studio Faded T series is the best bang-for-your-buck USA Les Paul model you can buy at the time I write this in September 2016.

Here are the quick specs:

Tuners: Older style with plastic buttons.
Neck profile: Les Paul '59 (as in not a SlimTaper)
Body: Carved maple top over mahogany, weight-relieved
Pickups: BurstBucker Pro
Fingerboard: Rosewood

Where are the costs cut? There's no binding and the finish is "worn satin", which basically means a dulled finish. No mirror-like reflections here.

Is the '59 neck profile right for you?

If you have no idea what a '59 neck shape feels like, here's a quick rundown on Gibson Les Paul neck shapes.

While there are several Gibson neck shapes, the 3 that matter to most players are the early '50s, '59 and '60 profiles.

Early '50s feels like a tree trunk. Very chunky and thick. The '59 is less thick but still has good chunk to it. The '60 is the thinnest SlimTaper style. SlimTaper was originally marketed by Gibson as a "fast" neck.

If you've played any modern SG guitar, you are most likely already familiar with the SlimTaper feel as most SGs have a SlimTaper neck profile.

My experience with a Gibson neck profile of '59 spec is that at first, it feels weird holding more neck wood in your hand, but you do quickly get used to it. I consider it the same as when you switch from a modern Fender Strat with a "Modern C" neck to a Fender Classic Series '70s Stratocaster neck that has the U-shape. Feels odd at first because it's larger, but after a few minutes of play you warm right up to it.

Many players who prefer the Les Paul as their main guitar say the '59 neck profile is the one that feels best and can be played the longest.

Could you buy this Gibson even without ever having tried one and feel confident that the neck would agree with your fret hand? Yes. The '59 profile is well-liked among Gibson players, so you can buy with confidence even without having tried the guitar first.

Is there anything bad about this guitar?

The only thing that could stick out as a potential problem area are the tuners. They work fine but it's obvious the cheaper ones were used to keep the price of the guitar down.

If you do encounter any tuner issues, just get a set of Grover Rotomatics, a very common Les Paul upgrade. Problem solved.

You really can't do better for a new American made Gibson Les Paul

For an American built guitar from known-to-be-high-priced Gibson no less, you're getting something pretty darned good here.

The price of this Les Paul is something you would ordinarily associate with Asian-build guitars, but this one is labeled as a Gibson USA model.

And can you believe there's nitro on this guitar? There is. It may be a dull gloss worn satin finish, but there is a hand-sprayed nitrocellulose coating over it.

For a lot of Les Paul players out there, this model really does hit the sweet spot. Get yours.

The two sides of surf music (I love one and hate the other)

Mon 2016 Sep 12

Surf music is a bit of a weird animal.

There are certain types of music that I absolutely cannot stand, and one of them is what I consider the bubble gum side of surf music.

Surf Music vs. Beach Music

A true surf music song is an instrumental with a very "wet" sounding electric guitar which is sometimes called a "drip" sound. Specifically, it's a Jazzmaster, Stratocaster or Jaguar that's "drowning" in spring reverb that has a liquid-like tone to it.

Some examples of surf instrumentals are:

Let's Go Trippin' by Dick Dale and His Del-Tones
Baja by The Astronauts
Pipeline by The Chantays
Perfidia by The Ventures

The other type of surf music is one with vocals in it. This is technically not surf music at all. The song is only characterized as surf because of its lyrical content. An example of one of these songs is Surf City by Jan and Dean - a song I can't stand.

Why does the song bother me? Because it's bubble gum pop music of the '60s. Surf City does nothing but talk about surfing but doesn't have the wet guitar sound whatsoever. You don't even hear it. In fact, you struggle to hear any guitars in that song at all because the vocals are booming over so loudly.

True surf music is the Jazzmaster/Strat/Jag guitar with the wet sound along with obvious Middle Eastern and Mexican guitar influence. The other bubble gum pop stuff with lyrics in it should just be renamed to beach music. This is logical because surf music literally has the wet sound and beach music literally talks about the beach. Makes sense to me.

Anyway, for the remainder of this article, when I mention surf music, I'm specifically referring to the the instrumental stuff as that's the kind of surf music I like. The other side with the bubble gum vocals I really don't like at all.

The 2.5 year run that never ended?

Surf music's peak popularity was from September 1961 to February 1964, just shy of 2.5 years.

September '61 is when the first true commercially successful surf instrumental song Let's Go Trippin' was released, and February '64 is when The Beatles happened. Technically, The Beatles were introduced to America in December '63, but February '64 is when they made their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, and that's when Beatlemania and the "British Invasion" officially began.

The funny thing however is that even after surf music was pushed out of the limelight, it never completely went away.

To this day in many TV shows and movies, whenever there's an establishing shot of a beach, you hear surf music. Or even if the beach is not seen, if the intention is to make you think "this is a beach related thing" such as packing up a car to go to the beach, surf music is heard.

Surf music also goes hand in hand with vintage '60s American muscle cars. At just about any classic car show in America, surf music will inevitably be heard.

In the end, surf music is associated with beaches and muscle cars more than anything else. But there are two other associations. Mystery/intrigue and spooky/creepy.

Mystery/intrigue

The original movie theme to James Bond has a very prominent surf guitar sound in it; this is the best example there is of this specific style of surf music.

Spooky/creepy

The American monster movie and TV era of the '60s had spooky/creepy music all over the place. The most prominent example of this is The Munsters TV show theme. Another example of this is Werewolf by The Frantics.

Modern surf bands mostly gravitate to the spooky style just because it's very fun to play and it allows you to be very cheesy in stage appearance because it totally fits the vibe.

If I'm fortunate enough to ever get in a surf band myself, I'd probably go for the spooky style just for the fun factor.

A musical genre defined by the guitar, weirdness and all

Instrumental surf music is defined by a twangy Fender guitar washed in reverb, with the most "authentic" of the surf guitars being the Jazzmaster.

You can use other guitars to get surf sound. Heck, all you really need is a cheap Bullet Strat and a decent spring reverb emulation pedal. Or if you have an amp with a real spring reverb tank in it, that obviously also works too.

Almost nothing about surf music is what anyone would consider normal and that's what makes it weird. It's almost like an anti-pop music of sorts.

The music industry tried to normalize surf music with the introduction of vocals and the whole bubble gum pop beach music thing. But the original instrumental sound is what has stood the test of time better. That is the sound you still hear in TV and movies to this day...

...because it just sounds cool.

Did you know Fender has 8 white guitar body color options?

Fri 2016 Sep 9

When it comes to guitars, white is not white. In fact, it's usually anything but white.

Fender and Squier typically will not produce guitars in a stark, bright white. There are a few exceptions as I'll note below, but generally speaking you almost never see bright white Fender guitars.

The one you know is most likely the Fender American Professional Stratocaster in Olympic White. This is 1 of 8 whites Fender currently has on their color chart.

These are all 8 of the Fender white guitar body colors by name:

White Blonde
Olympic White
Flat White
Pearl White
Olympic Pearl
Vintage White
Arctic White
Antigua

Now as for the differences between each, this is how it works:

White Blonde: Semi-transparent finish. Very light yellowing with wood grain showing through.

Olympic White: Yellowed white, solid color, no transparency.

Flat White: Only seen on the Jim Root Telecaster as far as I'm aware. This is as white as a Fender gets and there is no whiter.

Arctic Pearl: Like flat white but brighter and with more gold hue to it.

Olympic Pearl: Like White Blonde but solid and with no transparency.

Vintage White: This has the most yellow of all the whites. Almost a canary yellow-like color. The Yngwie Malmsteen Strat is in this color.

Arctic White: The second whitest white Fender currently has. Very slight yellowing.

Antigua: The darkest white Fender currently has. White, but just barely because it's aged to a brown. Some love this finish while others hate it.

When Squier does white...

...they usually don't match up with the Fender versions at all.

As far as I know, Squier only offers 5 whites across their solid-body electric guitar line.

Squier Olympic White: Typically several shades whiter than Fender Olympic White. This is the whitest white Squier has.

Squier Arctic White: Much closer to Fender's Vintage White. You can easily see the yellow in this finish.

Squier Pearl White Metallic: Only offered on the Squier Deluxe Stratocaster and unique to Squier Strats as Fender doesn't even offer it. Yes, it does have metallic flake in it, but it's a mild sparkle, which in this case is a good thing. The Squier Deluxe Strat is one of the best looking Strats Squier makes.

Squier Vintage Blonde: A few shades lighter than Squier Arctic White, and like Fender White Blonde, you can see wood grain through the finish (or at least you should, depending on model of guitar). Definitely not as yellow as Fender's White Blonde.

Squier Vintage White: Basically the same color as Squier Vintage Blonde, but a solid color with no transparency.

What are the best Fender whites?

If you want the "Hendrix white", that's Olympic White. Vintage White on the Malmsteen Strat and White Blonde are also great.

What are the best Squier whites?

Arctic White and Vintage Blonde are the two best whites Squier has.

What about Fender yellows?

There are currently 10 of those:

Several of Fender's yellows directly depend on the body wood used to bring out a specific color. This is why Vintage Blonde Alder is different than Vintage Blonde Ash. Alder will have somewhat more of a muted color while Ash will bring out something brighter in hue. Basically it's the same semi-transparent yellow applied to different a different wood to get a different final color.

Most Fender yellows are transparent. In fact, only Graffiti Yellow, Maize Yellow and Monaco Yellow are true solid yellow colors.

I mention Fender yellows because some players see an aged-to-yellow white and think the color is a yellow when it fact it's a white.

Chances are if you like the yellow (I know I do) and want it on your next guitar, what you're actually looking for is probably an aged white, such as Fender Vintage White.

On a final note, if you've never seen Fender Graffiti Yellow or Monaco Yellow, don't be surprised because most people haven't. I've only seen Fenders of those colors in person once or maybe twice. Seeing Fenders in those yellows is not an everyday thing.

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