In the 2-tone sunburst Classic '50s, do they use a veneer on the front of the body? The belly cut area isn't completely black on the back, like the standard MIM sunbursts if that means anything...

No veneer on the MIM Classics.

My '99 Classic'50s has a 2-piece center-seamed body. (2 piece bodies don't sound any better than 3 or 4 piece bodies but they generally look nicer -- same for center-seam 2-piece vs offset-seam 2-piece.)

+1

"The belly cut area isn't completely black on the back, like the standard MIM sunbursts if that means anything..."

What that means is, the fully-blacked belly cut is used to conceal the fact that the body has a veneer top -- the black paint is used to hide the edges of the lamination which would otherwise be visible.

Arjay

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