Fretboard binding. In or out?
- Thread starter Emmanuel
- Start date
This example is what I dislike the most (design-wise).Binding
Black gold finish with no body maple binding, having the fretboard plastic binding.
A plain dark fretboard would be way better on guitars like this one. But taste is a very personal thing and someone would perhaps love this or even do not bother as long as it plays/sounds amazing (which I do not doubt).
sergiodeblanc
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They don’t do that anymore.
Alnus Rubra
Loving nature’s wonders
This one should be the Santana core standard design.You’re correct m’lady.
Made 2014.
Thankfully, I have the same one in black gold finish (2016 made).
Unfortunate to see that the Santana core is changed since (no idea when) and got as a default this plastic fretboard binding.
Alnus Rubra
Loving nature’s wonders
Mine is immaculately finished and no movement in 9 years.
I own all the guitars in my post. You'll be relieved to know that I didn't buy any of them for you.
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Mr bean
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Subjective for sure.
I’ve never seen so many ugly finishes from such a reputable high end maker.
There are currently 7 594’s in stock near us and I wouldn’t buy any of them.
(Edit: not true. There is one that is nice)
The guitar pictured above…I’m buying Wednesday.
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I would also agree.
PRS lately (in my eyes and I do need glasses.. so maybe I am wrong), have 'over..modernised' their finishes and design in general.
Their call and I am sure they know what they do, however I would always prefer buying their earliest offerings (if they do these again).
I'm one of those traditionalists, so I tend to buy the vintage style finishes, when available. However, the finish stain is (to me) less significant than other factors.
My Special had the Aquableux finish, but with purple burst. I wasn't crazy about the finish, but I liked the guitar so I bought it anyway. I sold it last week, but not because of the finish.
I think we sometimes make too much of some of these details, when the important thing is how the instrument works qua instrumentum musicum!
My Special had the Aquableux finish, but with purple burst. I wasn't crazy about the finish, but I liked the guitar so I bought it anyway. I sold it last week, but not because of the finish.
I think we sometimes make too much of some of these details, when the important thing is how the instrument works qua instrumentum musicum!
As much as I like PRS guitars, I actually prefer a guitar body, especially, with no binding and nice radiused edges. That's what I like about the older flat tops with a bit of arm relief so you don't have the sharp bound edges, although those scraped bindings as on the above Santana do look great.
JasonE
New Member
I can agree on no liking some of the finish colors of some PRS guitars. I avoided buying a hollow body for quite a while because I didn't like any of the finishes. I finally ended up getting good deals on the ones I have and decided I could live with the finishes. I would change the finish on a few of mine if I could pick the finish for them. I don't hate the finish on them but would change it if I could. I bought them because of the great playing and sounding guitars they are.
Mike Duncan
DGT Player
I have binding on my ‘19 DGT - didn’t ask for it, but I got it anyway. Wasn’t an option when I ordered the guitar and wasn’t available any longer once the guitar finally arrived - irony? Yes.
My other five DGTs had no binding like the guitar gods intended.
My other five DGTs had no binding like the guitar gods intended.
Agree!
A guitar is made and meant to be played for making music.
However.. at least one my case: I can not bond with a guitar that does not look good. Now the question ''is what looks good then?''
Well.. again this is very personal, but if I could put this in perspective: almost all PRS models from 1998-2005s were spot on. A good balance between modernity and electric guitar history.
Today PRS is too modern for me (especially the finishes and all these double bridge pieces). Like we moved from vinyls to CDs. Modern is technically better but sometimes I miss the old-school vibes.
And these vibes (at least on Santana core), should be the ones similar to the Santana models in the 80s.
If we open the book from Burrluck on PRS, we will see what some old-school PRS models used to be. And they are amazing (at least to me and no offense to the new line-up).
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Here's the thing:
What you're referring to as old-school PRS was never old-school at all. PRS was a very modern guitar, even cutting edge. When PRS first started, people objected to buying an expensive guitar that didn't have the fretboard binding! I bought my first PRS in 1991 (and have owned 36 since) and I remember thinking twice about investing in a high end guitar whose maker didn't bother to bind the fretboard, because it looked cheap!
Incidentally, my first 1991 PRS was a Whale Blue Custom with a WRAP finish.
Two-piece bridges are very old-school, introduced on (at the very least) the mid-to-late 1950s Gibson models. There's nothing modern about the idea, except the PRS ones are a design that looks better and is easier to string. PRS also made an early Signature guitar with a two-piece bridge.
But regardless of what you consider old-school, I'm going to make this observation: The PRS models with the two-piece bridge sound more old-school than the PRS models with the standard stop tail bridge. If you agree that old-school is the goal, there you are: get a 594 or similar.
Re: bindings:
Plastic fretboard binding was always found on the higher-end guitars made by Gibson, Martin, Rickenbacker, Gretsch, etc. It was a feature, and is functional - it kept the fret ends from poking your hand if the fretboard shrunk, as many of them did back in the day.
When I started playing, only the cheap and cheerful guitars' fretboards weren't bound (this includes Fender, whose 'band-saw' guitars were less expensive than their competitors from Gibson and others).
Binding also followed the tradition of luthiers going back to the Renaissance and Baroque eras, when ivory was used to bind the fretboards and bodies of guitars by makers like Stradivari and his predecessors. Here's a 1679 Stradivari with a bound fretboard:
So, what do you consider 'old school'? One thing's for sure:
The early PRS models aren't old-school. They were intended to compete with the Super Strats of their day that were the hot ticket.
PRS' return to bound fretboards IS old-school! PRS' return to two-piece bridges IS old-school! If they were still making the JA with the wooden tailpiece and separate bridge it would be even MORE old-school.
I suppose one could define 'old school PRS' in a different way. But then what does one make of PRS' VERY modern floating bridge, and other design elements he patented? The winged tuners were NOT old school. The shape of the headstock was radical at the time.
Point is...let's not get into all that 'old-school' nattering. Buy what you like, don't buy what you don't like, but all the other stuff is just preference and shouldn't matter to a real player.
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Both. I have 2 without that I love, and one with, the S2 McCarty, which I also love. My SE 245 doesn’t have it and I love how it looks and a silver sky would look just crappy with it, to me anyway.
Outside of that I’m like I am with necks…an agnostic.
Outside of that I’m like I am with necks…an agnostic.
Going Modal
I should be practicing right now.
Hey no fair, man! That one has purfling, which we all know is superior to BOTH bound and plain unbound necks.No binding
sergiodeblanc
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I really wonder what the inspiration was for putting binding on the “Retro”?
I don’t think I’ve ever recalled seeing Carlos play a Pre Factory with binding. Was the single pup guitar he borrowed from Howard Lesse for ZeBop with binding like the Golden Eagle?
It just seems weird they’d make all these period correct corrections like the heel, headstock, and janky backplate and then add binding.
I don’t think I’ve ever recalled seeing Carlos play a Pre Factory with binding. Was the single pup guitar he borrowed from Howard Lesse for ZeBop with binding like the Golden Eagle?
It just seems weird they’d make all these period correct corrections like the heel, headstock, and janky backplate and then add binding.
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