Why is the natural back a current trend?

pwrmac7600

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Not just with PRS but i have seen it with multiple manufacturers. In my recent search for a black PRS McCarty or Gibson Les Paul Standard I am seeing that all of the new models have natural backs. I found it odd that multiple manufacturers seem to have gone this route. I get that it is probably cheaper having a natural back, but i just want my guitar to be all one color!
 
I suppose fully opaque paint comes and goes, but natural backs have been a commonality all of the nearing 50 years I’ve been around guitars. Perhaps you’re seeing them more on the guitar styles you like these days. Some people like them (I do), some don’t, and it probably does make it easier to finish the backs all the same although one continuous coat of paint seems the cheaper/faster way to finish a lot of guitars in a line. In the end, you see very little of the back in performance, so why not highlight the front more? Just guesses, of course :)
 
Opaque solid-painted backs are actually much cheaper to manufacture, because you don't need to worry about the looks of the wood that would be underneath. (Time is spent in inspecting the looks of the wood, and time = money.) I would have assumed that in a higher-end guitar like PRS, you're getting the benefit of nice-looking wood grains instead of boring old painted wood. A majority of the old sought-after Gibson instruments from the '50s also had transparent/semi-transparent back & neck finishes. This is nothing new or controversial, really.
 
I actually like the natural back with more "modern" colors. Highlights the evolution or something like that. They definately have a place i my heart, but not (yet) in my collection

I feel the same way

I'd love a PS Silver Sky with a Cobalt Blue finish over flamed maple on a mahogany body, with three single coils and no pickguard. So: half-SS, half-Mark Lettieri.

Add to that: a natural back and a flamed maple neck (and yes, I know about the potential disadvantages of flamed maple as a neck material :oops:)
 
I'm a big fan of seeing the wood at least, if not paintless. Tops too. The ideal custom guitar I have in mind for the future is all natural on all sides.
 
My most expensive PRS has a black painted back. I LOVE the guitar, but “smokeburst” is not my choice on a beautiful 10 top guitar. But it was a gift and it is a fantastic guitar. Just shake my head when I see that painted back and edges.
 
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