alig
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Post by alig on Jun 16, 2013 21:42:39 GMT
Hi,
Anybody got any thoughts on the benefits, or otherwise, of French polishing guitar interiors?
I'm having a couple of Tarans made and I'm swithering about getting them polished.
Martin, I know yours is so finished - what made you get it done?
Any help will be much appreciated.
All the best.
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Post by marcus on Jun 16, 2013 22:42:54 GMT
Well I have no experience but wonder whether it would make the guitar slightly more resistant to humidity shifts by preventing the interior of the guitar soaking up or giving off moisture? The fact that you are getting a couple of Tarans is something I have more definite thoughts on... you lucky old so and so!!! Should be a wonderful duo. Cheers, marcus
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Jun 17, 2013 9:38:16 GMT
Alasdair, the interior French Polish thing is something Rory seems to have offered from very early on. Apart from it looking very good, and as marcus says, protecting the wood a bit better from the elements, I'm not really sure what the benefits would be. Rory sent out his RT guitar without the FP interior a few years ago, just to see what difference (if any) people picked up upon. I don't think that was conclusive, and having played the RT guitar (which influenced me to buy my own Taran), I can categorically state that your guitar(s) will be fantastic whichever you choose. Personally, I wanted it to be done because I liked how it looked
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Jun 17, 2013 9:47:11 GMT
That's something I sometimes wonder about Alasdair. I suppose that if Rory is making you two guitars you could have one with interior finish and one without.... Not entirely sure what that might or might not demonstrate though! Keith
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Post by earwighoney on Jun 17, 2013 10:00:04 GMT
Apart from it looking very good, and as marcus says, protecting the wood a bit better from the elements, I'm not really sure what the benefits would be. That makes sense. Tonally, I imagine that finishing on the interior of a acoustic guitar could potentially reduce acoustic reflections; ie if there was too much finishing inside. I imagine for one of Rory's guitars the FP finish would be pretty thin and the finish wouldn't have a negative impact on tone in the slightest bit. Some tonewoods are more or less stable than other woods. If the tonewood was more prone to cracking eg Brazilian/Ziricote etc, if possible a thin FP finish would probably make a lot of sense. Something like Cypress on the other hand, I'd reckon it'd be fine without.
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alig
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Post by alig on Jun 17, 2013 10:43:24 GMT
Thanks all. What you say kinda confirms what I feel myself.
I agree with you, Martin, in that it certainly looks fantastic. Notwithstanding the different wood combination, did you notice any difference between finished/unfinished?
The stuff about resistance to humidity changes seems intuitive. I know, too, that Sobell puts a finish on the inside of his guitars, although I'm not sure if it's FP or varnish.
What I have gleaned is that any sonic difference seems to be slight...?
Keith, you have read my mind! I was thinking of having one FP'd - I can't pretend that cost isn't an issue. However, I'm only gonna do this once so... We'll see. Perhaps another chat with Rory!
Thanks all!
Alasdair.
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Post by matt on Jun 17, 2013 14:09:53 GMT
The finish surely buffers/smoothens these changes and some kind of finishing makes the guitar more spill-resistant, but does it really prevent the moisture coming out or going in...?
I recently spoke to a luthier who had tested different finishes in a lab humidity chamber (or how do you call those) during his studies. The results were quite surprising: the amount of humidity absorbing to a slab of wood didn't seem to strongly depend on finish.
...I would like to have a steel-string guitar that has French polish in the soundboard... it's anyway the standard choice for hi-quality classical guitars as it is very thin and light, and it is supposed to be acoustically about the best possible finish.
Alig, maybe you could ask the maker, what is the benefit of that finish?
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