I understand the theory of nitro being a finish being mote conducive to delivering a more resonate tone just as maple fretboards should make for brighter tone. However can anyone say that they really can tell a difference in tone based on the finish? Educated me on this please.

No difference in tone, there´s difference in tone if the guitar doesn´t have finish at all though (like you said).

The thickness of the finish has an effect but there are thin poly and thick nitro finishes available (you can´t always prove).
Maybe, for some people like Eric Johnson

Cheers,
Robin

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No

Perhaps an acoustic guitar with thin nitro will sound more resonant and brighter than a guitar with thick poly finish. Hence, the thin finish will allow the soundboard to vibrate more than a thick finish acoustic. I can tell the difference in sound between rosewood and mahogany and koa on acoustic. But for solid body strats, I could not tell the difference in finish or wood.

It may be more understandable if you consider that nitro is made from wood. Wood product on wood will resonate differently than plastic on wood does. Also, the nitro doesn't seal the wood, allowing the wood to further age. But poly does seal the wood, preserving it in the same state of moisture content for much longer, and dampens the resonance. The differences are subtle, but noticeable by some. However, on modern Strats, there is a poly undercoating, even on the ones with a nitro finish, so it makes little difference now. The plastic undercoating can even mute the tonal differences between Ash and Alder bodies.

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Nitro is a porous finish, and allows the wood to breathe and age. Nitro will also continue to get thinner as it ages. Any thick finish will choke a guitar, but a thin nitro finish will help with the unplugged "loudness" of your electric guitar. Tone comes from everything, the density and type of wood used, the neck joint, saddles and nut........not to mention the gauge strings you use, the pickups AND the finish......it all adds up man! Nitro is easy to repair too, because nitro lacquer will "melt" into nitro lacquer if you have to spray a little touch up! Once Poly gets damaged, it will look like busted-@$$ forever.

Shellac, more specific the French Polish method, is way better than both >_>

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

Nitro doesnt really have any profound impact on tone for an electric guitar.I have both and the big difference is the nitro will wear quicker.Its one of those guitar urban legends.

budglo, unless you have one that is a pre '63 Strat, there is poly base coat on both finishes that you mentioned, so I can believe that there would be very little tone difference. Modern Strats are not the same as the all nitro finish of the originals. There is a difference in the tone of the original bodies finishes, with no poly underneath. The all nitro finish is part of the reason that the tone of those originals is so sweet.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

While we're talking nitro vs poly, what was the first year that Fender began using the poly finish on Strats?

To say that nitro lets wood "breathe" or is porus is not exactly true. The reason some people say you can get better tone from it is simply because it is thinner. Dupont developed Nitrocellulose Laquer finishes for the exact oposite reason. For automotive metal to be sealed up meaning just that, sealed up. NOT TO BREATH. To be sealed and protected from the elements. It's simply thinner and not as high quality of a sealer as poly. Here's a good article on it and after a good bit of research i've found that this article is true.

http://reviews.ebay.com/Myths-about-Nit ... 0004635258

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"Damn Right I Got the Blues"

Still a bit of hyperbole and myth. Pre-CBS nitro finished strats don't sound magical, they sound like strats. Trust me, I got to experience a whole weekend in Nashville with nothing but Pre-CBS strats, Boutique manufacturers strats, and my own CS 65. In my experience most of the boutique built strat clones were much better playing and sounding guitars than the originals I got to A/B with them. Don't get me wrong they are pretty fine examples of guitar craftsmanship, but they have been romanticized past the point of actuality.

I played a lot of poly strats (have one currently), none nitro tho, but I played nitro Gibsons... IMHO finish has impact on your feeling because your fingers touch differnt type of finish (I don't really have a "favorite finish" if the guitar is 'killer' - only that matters to me), it doesn't have any effect on sound worth speaking about let alone arguing about on the internet forum. It is far more fruitful to concentrate on playing .

I.M.H.O.

Actually the guitar in question is a 59 thinskin avri.It has a nitro undercoat as well as the top coat.I believe the regular avri s are nitro over poly.

Bshane84 I read the article you linked to. That was great info and answered so many questions. Thanks.