the varnish of Dorian Gray. or yellow. tom

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the varnish of Dorian Gray. or yellow. tom

It may look as new but would be decaying inside. Old Dorian had to pay the piper eventually. Not a pretty sight.

Ironically, the orange/yellow look is the chief thing I find off-putting about varnish hence do not own one. It also jaundices any ab, bindings, and anything within a 5 meter radius. Ok, maybe not the last part.

Jaundice is predominate these daze, it being an election year. My varnish OM1A had a top that looked like ten year old German. all tops, other than bursts, yellow. So, should we sell after four or five years before that unsightly waxy yellow build up starts showin'? (pardon the ancient tee vee ad reference.) This is new, the yellow peril notion. All the other varnish threads beat the dead horse about price vs. tonal difference. At least we have a new point to ponder. Not me. My (continually) approaching Cj varnish is a burst with tortoise binding. Not a jaundice in a cord. tom

Collingscowboy, you really don't like varnish.
OK, what if it had a nice sunburst and lets say tortoise binding, so now all the yellowing has been minimized. Oh and no upcharge. How's that!

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Originally posted by austex:
I need to chime in for Gryphon as well - I recently purchased an OM-2HA Varnish they had and dealt with Matt and Grant. Both were extremely professional, helpful and timely. I'd definately shop there again.

Congrats! Could you give us a review of your varnish OM-2HA? That may be the one we discussed back in April/May.

Beautiful, Hawgadi. Thanks for the post and the pics. Gonna be a lifetime guitar for someone. Cheers!

B

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the yellow peril notion

S'man, even you're not that old to be using expressions that even pre-date WW Twice. Even Churchill lifted it from someone else.

Papi, I say God Bless the virulent votaries of the varnish vice. I've seen it being applied right from its inception at Collings. I've played it. I've discussed it with Important Persons at Collings. I've looked into it's provenance, composition, ageing, characteristics, pros and cons. I understand it. But the unvarnished truth is that I politely decline to be a user, upcharge or not. In fact, if the roles were reversed with lacquer and varnish, I'd gladly pay the upcharge for lacquer. But, you know, I drive an Italian car, drink single malts, and shoot guns. Lots of people hate that. My red car has been spat on more than once. Diversity makes the world a better place. Hey, I even like guavas.

collingscowboy wrote:

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I drive an Italian car, drink single malts, and shoot guns.

For some reason, I picture you doing all those things at the same time . . .

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In fact, if the roles were reversed with lacquer and varnish, I'd gladly pay the upcharge for lacquer.

Check out Sexauer guitars -- standard flat-top comes with varnish finish -- lacquer finish as an option will run you $500 . . .

This message has been edited. Last edited by: redavide,

It took us years to get here, with many pages of debate, but we've finally identified THE critical factor in deciding whether to go with Varnish or Lacquer.......the color of the finish

FWIW, to my eye the Varnish finish looks great on every Varnish Collings I've seen. It gives the guitars a nice vintage visual vibe, while avoiding the fake look of some versions of aging toner (Martins EC model comes readily to mind).

As for Bruce Sexauer's reverse upcharge for Lacquer v. Varnish, if you speak with Bruce I think you'll find it has nothing to do with the time and effort of applying one rather than the other. Bruce just doesn't want to work with Lacquer for other reasons. And BTW, you'll have to look real hard to find someone who is a stronger advocate of Varnish than Bruce....

not all varnishes are created equal. the "recipes" that some of the mandolin guys use are closely guarded.

quote:

Originally posted by hawgadi:

Not enough better to make me go through the gymnastics of selling my D1A and getting it, but an amazing guitar. That probably has to do more with the fact that I'm looking for something with a thicker, smoother tone to compliment the D1A. It is however, probably the best Collings I've ever played.

Interesting comment. I would have thought the difference between mahogany and rosewood to be fairly significant, varnish notwithstanding. I've owned and ultimately sold 2 D1A Varnish Collings, finding them just a bit too "metallic" and brash for my taste. I've been considering a guitar very much like the one at Gryphon (GREAT store in my experience) but now am wondering. Can you expand on your comments/comparison?

Collingscowboy, I have always found italian cars to be a bit tempremental maintenance wise.
I drive a Japanese car drink single shakes and get shot at. I hate it when that happens cause, it's not that they're shooting at me, it's just that they are bad at it and the bullets end up in other peoples cars.
Anyway, haven't had a chance to try any varnish guitars since they don't seem to sell any in Chicago. I'd like to try a D2A varnish.