PSG construction

Jon Voth · From: Virginia, USA

A question or two about how a PSG is made. I have a GFI, the only guitar I've ever been able to look at. It seems to be a plank of wood, and the frame is metal. Looking at pics of guitars for sale, from the underside sometimes the "skirt" is made from wood.

Not a question about necks (wood or metal).

So the main board of a guitar is wood (maple) is it usual for the frame/top/sides to be made of wood and is GFI unusual to be made of metal?

Some builders (Mullen that I know of) charge more for a lacquer guitar. What is lacquer guitar? is it constructed differently or just finished differently? I assume it's mostly cosmetic?

Guitars I see have a color (which is great) or look like finished wood (which is also great). Is that what a lacquered guitar is? Some "mica" guitars have fake looking wood grain but some are all wood with purfling on the edges? Those are lacquered?

And Mica. If the skirt of a guitar is just a frame surrounding the soundboard, why is it always mica? Couldn't it be covered in anything-plastic/metal/etc., why always the word mica?

Apologies if I sound ignorant, but I am. I just know little about how they're made-thanks!

Jon

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Hi Jon. I'm no expert but I do have one of each type.

My Williams is a traditional maple body with metal end plates for the legs to screw into. My Excel has a fabricated aluminium frame faced with a hard plastic material. I've no idea what.

I guess if you have access to the right timber and a talent for finishing it, you'll build in the traditional way.
If you don't have the right wood and you're more mechanically minded you'll maybe go for the metal frame.

The difference in tone is surprisingly subtle ("sound is in the hands" and all that...)
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Jim Pitman · From: Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA

Here's how I would summarize. Some folks may disagree but here's my 2 cents.
The term "lacquer" guitar in the PSG circle denotes a guitar that is made of all wood and finished typically in some transparent lacquer, possibly tinted or stained beforehand. Usually well figured wood is used for the aesthetic drama.
A "mica" guitar is also usually wood, however it is covered with Formica. Formica is an old trademarked name. There are other similar products that are not techincally the Formica brand. Formica was originally used for counter tops.
I may be wrong about this but I heard a story that Emmons noticed that when he laid an electric guitar on a countertop and strummed it's tone dramatically changed positively and that's why the Emmons company used Formica covered wood. Formica holds up better too.
The Excell and some EMCI/MCI guitars were all metal or mainly metal.
More $ is charged for lacquer as there is more labor involved in obtaining a nice finish. Mica is a laminate that is simply glued on with contact cement.
My preference is laquer for aesthetics but mica for sound, two opposing body finishes, but as Ian has indicated often tone is in the hands.
Mica guitars are usually bound with a strip of aluminum since one cannot get standard thickness mica to form around a tite radius and the seem between a vertical and horizontal surface can look objectionable.
There are some laminated guitars that use very thin, figured, exotic all wood laminates that are beautiful. These laminates can be made to follow a tight radius I understand.
Maple is usually chosen for the base wood as it is so stiff.
I think an interesting construction technique would be to use bamboo as the base wood which would need some processing to make a flat board, then cover with an exotic laminate. the ratio of stifness per weight for bamboo is perhaps the highest of any organic material on the planet.
Stifness of the body is important for tuning stability. In fact the term "cabinet drop" refers to the scenario whereby pushing pedals pulls down bends the body and/or the increased sting tension unintentionally changes the pitch of non-pedal strings.
Most builders have realized that the top wood should be no thicker than 1/2" to obtain a resonant good sounding guitar. Of course a thin top plays against cabinet drop.

Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Mica is a sheet silicate used widely in electronics for such things as circuit boards and small-value capacitors.

Formica is the trade name for an artificial mica substitute ("for mica").

In turn, when discussing pedal steels, "mica" becomes short for "Formica". Real mica would be too brittle and unattractive to use on a guitar.
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Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

Jon Voth · From: Virginia, USA

Thanks all,

As I've gathered, little difference in tone but in appearance. I do love the look of wood, but sound is most important. Some say "mica" guitars are better regarding this.

Minutia I suppose.

Bob Sykes · From: North Carolina

Another data point, and something I have wondered about is: Carter Steels (at least the mica ones) have wooden bodies but the rear apron is made of aluminum. I assumed this was to add stiffness.
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Jan Dunn · From: Union, NJ USA

When I sent mine in for an upgrade to the BCT changer, John told me it was too hard to get the bodies apart when they needed change a cross rod or other modifications. He and Bud went to the metal apron simply to make them easier to work on. BTW, they kept mine all wood. Later there was talk of it increasing sustain or improving tone with the metal rear apron (maybe just PR or promotion, who knows?) but I'll take John at his word. I always found him to be an honest man. I miss both him and Bud.

Bobby D. Jones · From: West Virginia, USA

The old MSA's have aluminum rear aprons too. They are easy to work on. Remove about 3 screws and cover plate, And you are looking at the end on the cross rods and Bushings. Allows easy tuning changes and adding pulls to the guitar.
That would have been a selling feature in the period when the Pedal Steel Guitar was being developed. Easy to add raises and lowers as they was developed.

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