want2design Posted November 22, 2003 Report Share Posted November 22, 2003 Hi, I am looking at purchasing a guitar that has a body made out of laminated alder/maple. I'm just wondering, because it's laminated, will this cause any problems when trying to strip the finish or restore it? I assume laminated is something that is just done on extremely cheap guitars. Anyone care to comment? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted November 22, 2003 Report Share Posted November 22, 2003 i'll go ahead and assume the guitar has a figured maple top that has a transparent colour finishe of some sort??? right? well the body it's self is alder, then the top is a maple veneer, basicly a very thin sheet almost construction paper like of maple wood that was glued onto the body. Or it could be a photo finish, but if someone told you it's a laminate then it's probably real veneer. This technique isn't just limited to "cheap" guitars, some good mid rang guitars also use veneer tops. In terms of refinishing it does make things a be more tricky for you, but it's not impossible. oh ya, there's also the posibilty that it could be a "drop top" basicly the same thing as a veneer only it's quite a bit thicker in comparision, but usualy not as thick as a full maple top that would get carved. Being thicker there would be easier to strip cause it's thicker and you have a bit more room to work with and sand if you make a mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 22, 2003 Report Share Posted November 22, 2003 lamination has nothing to do with whether a guitar is expensive or not.it is just a decoration.alot of high end guitars use thicker tops,but some also use veneers .laminating is just a term which describes pieces of wood glued together.alot of high end guitars have 3 piece laminated necks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
want2design Posted November 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2003 Sorry I should have included the guitar. It's the Epiphone Les Paul Special II which can be seen here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 23, 2003 Report Share Posted November 23, 2003 i can't really tell but io think in this case it just means a 2 piece alder body which is perfectly normal.or maybe it has a middle section of maple and alder wings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted November 23, 2003 Report Share Posted November 23, 2003 looks like a thick maple top to me, but it's hard to tell for me too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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