• Guys, we've spent considerable money converting the Les Paul Forum to this new XenForo platform, and we have ongoing monthly operating expenses. THE "DONATIONS" TAB IS NOW WORKING, AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANY DONATIONS YOU CAN MAKE TO KEEP THE LES PAUL FORUM GOING! Thank you!

Should neck be same color as body?

sws1

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Messages
2,846
I'm not entirely sure of the sequence they built these guitars, but I always thought the neck was put into the body unfinished. The fretboard was then taped off, and the entire guitar stained. Then sunburst. Then binding scraped. Then nitro. Then, the fretboard is untaped.

Wouldn't the neck be the same color as the body? Maybe over the years it gets lighter from playing, but I can't think of why the neck would be darker, unless of course, they are painted separately.
 

Marcel M

New member
Joined
Nov 28, 2014
Messages
555
Wouldn't the neck be the same color as the body? Maybe over the years it gets lighter from playing, but I can't think of why the neck would be darker, unless of course, they are painted separately.

I believe the neck is sometimes from a different piece of mahogany with a different color. If you flip through BOTB, I believe you'll find a bunch of guitars with a slightly different color neck than the body (I'd reference some pages, but not at home). Its the color of the wood coming through the clear/tinted finish, not the paint/nitro. :2cool
 
Last edited:

Xpensive Wino

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 3, 2012
Messages
6,079
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zFo_k6vCmX4?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

sws1

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Messages
2,846
Were the 50s guitars done the same way? Sounds like the answer is yes, the necks can be different colors.
 

Big Al

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
The neck timber is more or less quarter sawn and of different piece or even tree than is used on the body. There are variations in natural wood color and how the grain is oriented also plays a part in perceived color or darkness. In the 70's it bugged the bejeepers out of me that the Maple neck wood used in necks from 75-82 were not stained a matching brown to the body on Goldtops! It only seemed to bother me.:laugh2:
 

Tom Wittrock

Les Paul Forum Co-Owner
Joined
Aug 2, 2001
Messages
42,567
Necks are generally done in the same color.
They were in the 50s.
 
Top