Gibson "faded/worn" finishes

[Sérgio]

So, we often discuss Gibson's faded and worn finishes... Some folks like them, some others don't.

I myself had to educate myself before I could really appreciate the worn brown finish on my '61 RI Gibson SG... At first I missed the filler and the thicker lacquer.

Well, that finish DOES INDEED create a "played in" look and feel... here's my SG and my father's old Mario Gropp acoustic. This guitar is a good couple of decades old and has been played a lot.

Pretty cool, isn't it?

 

[JohnnyGoo]

Very cool there Sergio.

 

[Bocc69]

Real cool!!
I don't own a faded, but I sure do like them.

 

[Tony M.]

I love the way the faded brown 61 RIs look.

 

[bea]

One of my sons owns a fades Les Paul Junior with burstbuckers. In brown. Really good guitar. Unfortunaly the finish wears off.

That guitar might shine a lot more if finished with something like true oil...

 

[Sérgio]

One of my sons owns a fades Les Paul Junior with burstbuckers. In brown. Really good guitar. Unfortunaly the finish wears off.

That guitar might shine a lot more if finished with something like true oil...

Thing is, it is actually made to wear off quickly, so the guitar acquires a "road worn" look real soon.

It's part of the idea, so they say at Gibson

 

[eSGEe]

 

[Dave Sloven]

My 2007 Gibson SG Special Worn Yellow

 

[Inspector #20]

Thing is, it is actually made to wear off quickly, so the guitar acquires a "road worn" look real soon.

It's part of the idea, so they say at Gibson

I think the faded brown finish looks good. I changes in the light...Same guitar, just different lighting...

 

[Col Mustard]

Faded brown is the color of my favorite guitar... my '07 SG faded special. And we've got some
fellows on this site who actually own an old one, and you can see when they post photos of
theirs that the faded brown does resemble the real thing.

So I think they nailed it with this one. (Of course, I admit to being biased... my faded SG
won my heart). I like the fact that these guitars aren't artificially "aged" by being sanded and
smacked around by goons. They just have some of the look, and some of the feel, and some
of the sound of the old ones. The rest is up to the player.

And if you play them hard, they show it. For most of us, that's okay. The players who can't deal
with that end up selling theirs, and one of us picks it up for a good price and gets one hell of a
guitar for very reasonable money.

The used Gibson SG faded special is one of the better deals to be found. I sure do love mine.
Some aficionados say that the thin faded finish enhances tone and even sustain. I don't know if
that's true, but something does. My faded special rings like a bell unplugged, and sustains for more
than 19 seconds (until I can't hear it anymore). Plug her into a decent rig, and she can rock yer
socks off... well, she can do anything I'm capable of anyway. But one of my favorite things to do is
to put her in the hands of someone who plays much better than I do, and listen. I can get chills...

Here's Luna, my '07 SG, on a stand next to Rosebud, my 1936 Martin 0-17. Two mahogany guitars
nearly 70 years apart...


And Sergio... that '61 is a real stunner. It's great to see the Mario Gropp acoustic...
I'm not familiar with that make of guitar. It looks like a beauty, and also it holds its own
right next to an elegant Gibson. '61 RI is one I've drooled over for a long time. I regard it
as one of Gibson's best. I feel the same way about the Les Paul faded special that Bea
mentioned. I don't own a Les Paul... but if I wanted one, I'd look for a used faded special
Les Paul. I've played one, and I know I could relate to it.

 

[Sérgio]

The Gropps (Armin and Mario) are very good German luthiers.

They make classical guitars and lutes, I'm not sure they are still in business but google Gropp Gitarren and something might come up.

This one is a very good classical guitar. Made of Brazilian Rosewood (early 1970s batch), ebony fingerboard and African ivory nut and bridge.

 

[bea]

They make classical guitars and lutes, I'm not sure they are still in business but google Gropp Gitarren and something might come up.

They are: Armin & Mario Gropp – Klassischer Gitarren- und Lautenbau

 

[shreddy bender]

Dings and dents. Show off your honest play wear. r.

Some photos of a 10 plus year old Faded that is much loved!

 

[Col Mustard]

very cool... thanks for sharing the pictures and the information about the Gropp guitars. An excellent post for the tone rooms. I was intrigued by those pictures instantly. The SG and the classical guitar make quite a pair.

we (some of us) get so involved in discussions of *gasp! Gibson and *clasp-hands-in-prayer! Fender
that we overlook other makes. And there are great luthiers and instrument manufacturers in every nation.

I hope that inexpensive (but good quality) Epiphones don't make trouble for small factories everywhere.
Chinese sell jillions of them, worldwide.

Honest wear now... that's a whole 'nother can of worms:

Here's my Luna, made in 2007 and purchased new by me in 2008. She's got some wear on her
by now.

A few dings visible on the body... For me one of the cool things about the faded finish is the
way it responds to a blow. It gives... but doesn't shatter. So you can dent it easily, but the
damage looks like it belongs there. "What yields is not always weak..." --Phedre no Delaunay

The tung oil finish that Bea mentioned is a really good idea. I have finished my Walnut pick guard
using this. It looks great, it's easy to apply, and if you scratch it (as I have) you can rub the scratch out
with steel wool or fine sandpaper, and simply apply more tung oil to the place. disappearo.
That is a very handy and practical. Refinishing your beloved SG faded special with tung oil would
change the nature of the instrument, but in a positive way. So she's right.

I'm happy with mine the way it is, so I don't feel a need to take it apart and strip it.
Here's an example of the stock finish wearing off from lots of play:

Look at the upper bout, where my arm goes back and fourth...

and here's some wear on the upper horn... dunno how I did that.

The back of the neck has become a lot more blonde from my thumb going up and
down on it. But these are the signs of a well loved and much played instrument...
the faded finish handles it quite well... up to a point.

There are other members of this forum whose playing has removed the finish completely
in these areas. I've seen pictures. Once you get down to exposed wood, it's time to begin
the thinking process about what to do.

These guitars inspire devotion mostly... there are a few who prefer something else.
So seeing one with wear patches on it is a good indicator of worth. if it's pristine, it's
spent too much time in the case, and it needs to get out there and boogie. Also, buying
a used one is usually a good bet, because even if the owner was unsatisfied with it,
what ever was wrong can be put right easily and quickly by a new owner with the right
skills and attitude.

 

[bea]

The fades SG with the wooden pickguard looks really pretty.

 

[Col Mustard]

she's my pride and joy... I fell hard for this guitar nearly nine years ago, and
she's still the Queen of my music room. Every time I put this instrument down after
playing, it's with the spoken or unspoken comment: "What a great guitar..."

I have other excellent instruments, some are more than that. But this humble faded special still pulls
at some strings inside of me... and I responded by fitting her out with all the best of
everything I could buy or make.

It's not sensible... I know. But she's responded to all this pampering by enhancing my
music, and making practice into an adventure instead of a chore. That's priceless...
to me anyway.

Some performers regard their equipment as just property... a tool, like a hammer or
a saw. I can't argue with that, because that's reality (for them). They buy and sell guitars,
use them and move them on... and never dream about them at night. *shrugs
We all have our little ways. I play better music with an instrument that seems to come alive
in my hands. Whether it actually does or not is unimportant to me. An audience seems to notice
and appreciate these intangible things, when the mojo is working.

 

[Inspector #20]

Great post, Colonel. I would respond with my own tale, but i think i should probably not talk quite so much....

 

[Sérgio]

Faded brown is the color of my favorite guitar... my '07 SG faded special. And we've got some
fellows on this site who actually own an old one, and you can see when they post photos of
theirs that the faded brown does resemble the real thing.

So I think they nailed it with this one. (Of course, I admit to being biased... my faded SG
won my heart). I like the fact that these guitars aren't artificially "aged" by being sanded and
smacked around by goons. They just have some of the look, and some of the feel, and some
of the sound of the old ones. The rest is up to the player.

And if you play them hard, they show it. For most of us, that's okay. The players who can't deal
with that end up selling theirs, and one of us picks it up for a good price and gets one hell of a
guitar for very reasonable money.

The used Gibson SG faded special is one of the better deals to be found. I sure do love mine.
Some aficionados say that the thin faded finish enhances tone and even sustain. I don't know if
that's true, but something does. My faded special rings like a bell unplugged, and sustains for more
than 19 seconds (until I can't hear it anymore). Plug her into a decent rig, and she can rock yer
socks off... well, she can do anything I'm capable of anyway. But one of my favorite things to do is
to put her in the hands of someone who plays much better than I do, and listen. I can get chills...

Here's Luna, my '07 SG, on a stand next to Rosebud, my 1936 Martin 0-17. Two mahogany guitars
nearly 70 years apart...
View attachment 3751

And Sergio... that '61 is a real stunner. It's great to see the Mario Gropp acoustic...
I'm not familiar with that make of guitar. It looks like a beauty, and also it holds its own
right next to an elegant Gibson. '61 RI is one I've drooled over for a long time. I regard it
as one of Gibson's best. I feel the same way about the Les Paul faded special that Bea
mentioned. I don't own a Les Paul... but if I wanted one, I'd look for a used faded special
Les Paul. I've played one, and I know I could relate to it.

That Martin is BEAUTIFUL!!!

 

[smitty_p]

I play better music with an instrument that seems to come alive
in my hands.

Yup. Whereas there are technical matters which influence which guitar to use for a song, sometimes that decision for me really comes down to how I feel and the mood I'm in.

 

[ninjaking67]

I have a 2004 SG Special Faded and the finish is shiny in the area where my forearm/sleeve moves across it while playing. It is not yet worn through. I guess I better get playing more, huh!