The Steel Guitar Forum

My shiny black mica & polished aluminum Carter looks elegant (to me). Do I drool over lacquer finished figured maple guitars? Yes! Was I willing to wait,& cough up the extra $ required ? No. Would a lacquer guitar sound better or worse ? Maybe. Play better? Almost certainly not.
This whole discussion kind of reminds me of the old graphite vs. split cane debate any old flyfisher would relate to... that could get heated & personal too... I noticed the fishing rods in Ivan Posa's Zum picture which fired a neuron which fired another neuron... you know how it goes.
BTW. Les A., don't forget to notch the edges of those bologna steaks before you fry 'em ... they won't curl up in the pan then. An old Native cooking tip from Jasper Friendly Bear of the Dead Dog Cafe which I'm happy to share with the fobros.
CR.

Les Anderson

Missouri isn't all that far away for me to travel to share and partake in a fried bologna sandwich

Email me when you’re gettin ready to come this way and I’ll reply with directions.
I get my bologna sandwiches at this Deli here that can't be beat.
When your headed this way I’ll order up a couple of dozen.
You don't have to bring a Formica Steel I already got a couple here. Each of these Steels has the same number of knee levers as the number of teeth on the front row at a Willy Nelson Concert, Three.
If you need a Crawford cluster bring your own.

Donny, that "someone" happens to be one of the most respected names in steel guitar building with more innovations to his credit than you shake a stick at.


Joe Rogers

I will add one last thing before I get off this topic. During the course of conversation about the necks, this builder brought out a cabinet (from an older guitar) that had the neck removed. There was a rippling on the mica due to cabinet stress. His comment was, "Picture in your mind what this would have done to a wood cabinet." It left an indelible impression on me.

I never studied physics, nor do I know all of the ins & outs of guitar building. As I stated before, I have heard both wood and mica guitars with tone to die for. I am simply providing food for thought for some that may want to experiment further.

Joe Rogers

So....

How big a cover charge would you pay to look at a lacquer guitar?

About all I have learned from this thread is that there are people on this forum that are insensitive enough to call another persons guitar ugly, that no two guys are going to agree on how to build a PSG, and that there is a place in MO where you can get a good fried bologna sandwich. (information that actually could be of use to me at some point)

BTW, Bo, and Les, try the fried bologna and eggs for breakfast, it is divine!

Up here in the north country, we like fried Spam and eggs.

Sliced, fried hot-dogs aren't bad, either.

chris ivey wrote:the emmons co. originally made quite a definite distinction that they didn't use formica...it was 'mica glass'..as i recall...i think it may have been way more musically inclined than a countertop.

Nope, it was just good common sense. If you advertise you use a "name" product, you must use that product. Formica is a copyrighted term and a trademark. Using a non-tradmarked term instead would allow them to change or substitute another laminate (if they so desired), and not have any legal hassles. Alternative laminates would have been Wilsonart, Nevamar, VTlam, or several others.

Technically, "mica glass" was (and still is) a common (generic) term for the mica mineral sheets used for windows in old woodstoves. But it's not a tradmark or copyrighted term, so there aren't any legal problems.

Wilson Art

If you hate the looks of your instrument, that may negatively affect your playing. But I doubt that having an exquisitely beautiful instrument will make your fellow musicians or the audience appreciate your playing.

Stu, I LOVE your boomerang Wilson art PSG. It is an idea I have toyed with myself, but never have ordered a new steel from anywhere. Thanks for letting me experience my fantasy vicariously.

I have a beautiful black lacquer RusLer steel, that, I bought in 1976. It still looks great, except for the dings and scratches gotten during 29 yrs of continuous playing. I cringed at every one of them and it annoyed the hell out of me everytime it happened. In 2005, I bought a new ZumSteel. It's covered in gloss black and blackstone dropped V front with pearl inlay. I don't think a minor bar drop or bump will hurt the finish at all. And that's why I chose mica over lacquered wood. I feel safer knowing that blemishes won't occur as easily. The only problem I have now, is, keeping the chromed parts scratch free and that's not easy either. ARGH !!!!!

My beautiful Black Lacquer Formica Sho-Bud.

Stu, that last image is pretty enigmatic. The dove of peace, perhaps? Some might say it's poised to make a critical comment!

Although my own aesthetic preferences have been very much on the other end of the spectrum, I must admit that the more I look at your new steel, the more I like it! Not that I'd order the same myself...

Brint,That bird loves me...I rescued her from Col.Sanders,It's my peace offering to Richard Burton,I don't want him to think that I dislike him

Bo

Is that a WD-40 can in the bottom of the picture. Nice picture.

Stu,
Peace offering accepted

Scott, the can at the bottom of the picture is dry silicone spray. I spray it on a rag and wipe my steel guitar strings, bar and hands with it. I don't use it on my strat. For my strat I wipe it down, neck, strings, frets and all with talc. The talc usually seats right beside silicone can, I guess somebody borrowed it.
A lot of women come up to the bandstand and talk to me. I suspicion they're attracted to me because after using all that stuff I smell like a freshly talced babies bottom.

Bo Legg wrote:Les Anderson

Missouri isn't all that far away for me to travel to share and partake in a fried bologna sandwich

I get my bologna sandwiches at this Deli here that can't be beat.
When your headed this way I’ll order up a couple of dozen.

I could bring the chips or tater salad.... ?:P

Bo, do you ever get a clog in your steel?

John Fabian,
thanks for your reply. Yes, Im sure that spraying lacquer does involve using the right equipment and location, which can be costly. I would suspect also that certain environmental laws, etc. would affect the decision to spray vs mica. But with all the mica choices available, even wood grain patterns, Id think that a custie would find something they like, albiet not lacquer. Also, the 1-2 hrs of drying time for polyurethane sure beats the time required for a full mica job + heat clamping and drying time not to mention the final attention to edging, detail, etc.
I thank God every day that we have ol' A.J Nelson here in Nashville. Just picked up Chris Lucker's late 50's cabinet-end permanent D-10 from AJ yesterday. You cant beat him on a Sho-Bud! and he does a fine job on Emmons guitars as well, proof being Dyke Corson's "Halloween Surprise".
While I love the lacquer finishes, my heart belongs to mica for a number of reasons

Gotta contradict myself here. I started back up on stage last night and that shiny black mica and aluminum guitar looked really good!

Howard Tate

Bo, do you ever get a clog in your steel?

Howard, I don’t because I always clean up everything with Vodka.
I serious about the Vodka but that’s another story that I won’t go into now because I’ve already hijacked this topic earlier with a Bologna sandwich.
Apart from my silliness, this has been a very informative topic.
STU, it is a beautiful PSG and I have no problems with the choice of Formica.
Stu, you might ask Tamara about this. The plain diamond quilted fabric on the pad seems a little too Early American for the PSGs Modern decor.