Nitrocellulose vs Polyurethane??

I understand the move to Poly is an environmental one, but my AVRI '57 Strat in Nitro just smelled lovely and is supposed to sound better. It did sound wonderful but never did a comparison though.

 

If you want your guitar to stay brand new looking for longest, go with poly. There are examples of seriously aged poly, but it's definitely not as soft as nitro.

Beyond that, it gets a little ethereal.

 

Nitro is more easily repaired .

 

The guitar is wood and it was alive at one time so I'd rather that wood be exposed more and be allowed to breath. I never really cared much about that aspect of nitro until I started playing Martin acoustics. Sure a major part of the electric guitar's tone is what you hear through the amp and I'm not going to argue whether or not nitro sounds better. But I prefer it because I'd rather the wood breath a bit. Does it make a difference? To me yeah.

 

For me nitro looks and feels better. And if my guitar wears a bit then so be it. Its also supposed to effect the sound but to what effect no body can scientifically say.

Imo nitro should be used unless you want your guitar to look like its bee dipped in plastic.

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The wood is dead and therefore doesn't breathe.

 

Have you ever played a worn in opened up Martin?
How about a new Martin? One humidified the other dried?

 

Acoustic is to electic as apple is to orange.

Yes, I've played all kinds of different acoustics. However, there are so many variables that affect tone and it's completely different on an electric.

If you like nitro better, that's fine. If somebody likes poly better, that's fine. But the impact either one has on the tone of a solid body electric is minimal at best and highly debatable. I have both types of finish and, in my view, the differences are more of aesthetics and feel.

 

Nevermind.

 

You mean there's more than one kind of finish?!?!?! who knew... lol... OK, seriously, I've got both poly and nitro guitars... I like nitro best, but not because those guitars sound any better than the poly models I've got... I just like the way nitro feels, smells, and wears... It's how the old ones were made, and that carries a certain cool factor to me.

I think one being better than the other is very subjective, if you want a guitar that looks brand new for years and years then poly is better, if you want to see the time you've spent with the guitar reflected in fretboard and body wear then nitro is better...

You'll hear that the wood will breathe and continue to dry and age with nitro. I think this is true with acoustics, I can look closely at my Martin and easily believe the finish is so thin that it's letting the wood breathe some, but on most electrics there is going to be an undercoat of some kind (often poly) under the nitro anyway, so to me, even though I love nitro, I think with most electrics, any advantages of nitro beyond the way it wears and feels just don't exist....

in fact, there are plenty of people who, due to body chemestry or other reasons, don't get along with nitro at all, they'll find the necks sticky, or the finish too hard to care for, cuz you can't just hang a nitro guitar on any old guitar stand, or put it on any surface, for example, if you lay a beautiful nitro guitar on a pleather couch overnight, you may not like what you find in the morning.

Anyway, I just rambled a lot to say... IMHO one isn't any better than the other, just depends on what you like.

Edit: oh wow, this thread got busy in a hurry, when I started typing there were like two posts

 

I kind of made that point in my original post didn't I? My preference for nitro has little to do with tone, but that I'd rather the wood be exposed to "air".

 

There is undoubtedly a difference between an old dried out guitar vs a new green wood instrument. Its an age old concept.

 

Neither is "better".

If you want the finish to shrink, crack, wear, yellow, deteriorate, then do nitro. I use it as a clear top coat. It smells nice.

If you want the finish to have the toughness of enamel with the ease of fixing it of lacquer but the cost of both times 5 in a vapor that will kill you, but will last until well after you're dead use urathane.

If the wood is alive, then I need to bring in a priest to exercise the evil spirits. I like my guitars to have a finish on them. Prevents them from rotting.

(I have used acrylic lacquer, acrylic enamel, water based urathane, 2 stage urathane, nitro, and other finishes that I don't even know what they are. I use what is appropriate for the job at hand. Asking which is better is like saying "ok, everyone in tdpri.....bring your wives and girlfriends here so we can decide which one is best). Like the question "does this make me look fat?", there is no answer where you can win.

 

I have both, I prefer Nitro. The Poly does age by the way, it hardens and chips. The sweat gets under the Poly surface at the frets and turns greenish along the fretwire. I would say the Poly is not a resonant nor as sustain prone. My examples are a 74 Tele Custom which is Poly and both a 60th Anniversary Telecaster & 2008 American Dlx Strat which are Nitro. Although initially a bit sticky, the nitro necks have a nice feel after 6 months.

 

Not really. In your original post you said the following:

So at first you're not saying whether it has an impact or not but rahter that you're not going to argue that point. But then you go on to say:

So if it doesn't have to do with tone, why does it make a difference to you?

Look, I'm not trying to have an argument over personal opinions. Everybody is free to have their own opinions. In my opinion, it's a matter of personal preference that has nothing to do with tone. Whatever finish people prefer, they should go with that. At least Fender gives us options.

 

I think it's presumptuous to assume you know what anyone else can or cannot hear. Can I recognize any tonal differences between nitro and poly on an electric?...nope...but I'm not going to presume that I know whether others can or not.

To each his own...i prefer nitro for the softer feel of it....and the matte look when it's not buffed to a gloss.