Sealant

Billy Carr · Post by **Billy Carr** » 17 Oct 2010 8:05 pm

May not have spelled it correctly but here's something I've wondered about for a long time. On guitars that are not flocked underneath, does coating the natural wood with a sealant to seal the wood actually have any effect on the tone of the guitar. I seem to notice a slight tonal difference in the guitars I've done this to. Anybody got any comments or recommendations on this? The tone difference, in my opinion, appeared to be better to my ear. Maybe it's just me! ( Wood bodies)

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 18 Oct 2010 7:40 am

I find that there is a bigger tone difference with the color shirt you are wearing.

Ken Pippus · Post by **Ken Pippus** » 18 Oct 2010 10:42 am

Especially if it's a black shirt.

KP

Storm Rosson · Post by **Storm Rosson** » 18 Oct 2010 11:16 am

Red shirts are def better.....

Georg Sørtun · Post by **Georg Sørtun** » 18 Oct 2010 11:26 am

You must have sensitive ears, but...

Haven't tested on wood-bodied PSGs, but if you cover or treat the surface on one side of the soundboard on an instrument, it will sound different. Even a quite small patch of some thin plastic-layer or something, will make a difference. Chewing-gum is popular...

Whether or not the difference caused by sealing the underside of the soundboard will be audible on a PSG I don't know, and the difference it makes to what the PU picks up and the amplified sound must in any case be very tiny.

Bobby D. Jones · Post by **Bobby D. Jones** » 18 Oct 2010 8:18 pm

When in high school we used to use flocking to cover things, something was going to rest on. Special hangers and gunracks. You have to spray a glue or brush a glue on the object. it was a special glue that sort of stayed tacky. Then blow the flocking on with a flocking gun while the glue was wet. If the glue stayed a little soft to hold the fleece it may give a cushioning effect that would affect the sound. may work a little like putting a pillow in a drum. It may change the viberation of the wood slightly thus changing tone. may help keep noise from the changer,rods, and pedal from going into the guitar and to the pickup.

Storm Rosson · Post by **Storm Rosson** » 18 Oct 2010 8:27 pm

Valid points indeed, Martin Weenick uses flocking on his builds>>>>at least on his last one for Don S. If nothin else it sure looks nice

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 19 Oct 2010 6:22 am

Emmons guitars are flocked on the bottom side.
Besides quieting down the machinery, it can conceal a multitude of sins done to the guitar.
I recently rebuilt a p/p S-10 and that guitar had SO many holes in it it must have been mating with a porcupine. Flocking covered it all.
In fact, the early p/p's were call "red bellies" because Emmons used a red flocking.

Bent Romnes · Post by **Bent Romnes** » 19 Oct 2010 7:09 am

Erv Niehaus wrote:Emmons guitars are flocked on the bottom side.
Besides quieting down the machinery, it can conceal a multitude of sins done to the guitar.
I recently rebuilt a p/p S-10 and that guitar had SO many holes in it it must have been mating with a porcupine. Flocking covered it all.
In fact, the early p/p's were call "red bellies" because Emmons used a red flocking.

Erv that is interesting...the holes in the guitar must certainly have been the result of a previous rebuild?
I find it hard to comprehend that the unnecessary(covered up) holes were made during production?

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 19 Oct 2010 7:15 am

Bent,
No, the holes weren't put in by the factory, heaven forbid!
Somebody in the past had tried to convert this guitar to an all pull and then it was converted back to a p/p. When I got it, it really was a basket case.
In fact, it only had two foot pedals on it.
I added another foot pedal and some more knee levers and it turned out quite nice.