Real wood finish vs photoflash finish

[noth]

Could someone explain the difference to me, please? I think I know but I need confirmation.

Also, how can you tell if it's real or not?

Thanks,
Noth

[big_black]

Are you talking about "photoflame"?

There was a thread about it last week.

[St_Genesius]

The real thing seems to move when you move the wood/ move your head. The shape of the flames/quilt actually seem to shift slightly. The fake stuff doesn't. Still, I've seen some fake stuff that still looked pretty nice.

[big_black]

For me it reeks of cheap.

I want to see real wood or nothing at all.

[noth]

Yes, photoflame. I read the entire thread you referred me to. Thanks - lot of info there. At the price of my Dillion, I can't see my mine being real, though I do think it looks beautiful, and I love it just the same.

It says "Solid Arch top maple body, Quilted maple laminated top", but I don't know how to interpret that. Could it be veneered AND photoflamed?

Noth

[Zerberus]

Yes, photoflame. I read the entire thread you referred me to. Thanks - lot of info there. At the price of my Dillion, I can't see my mine being real, though I do think it looks beautiful, and I love it just the same.

It says "Solid Arch top maple body, Quilted maple laminated top", but I don't know how to interpret that. Could it be veneered AND photoflamed?

Noth

It could be veneered and photoflamed, but that would usually be stupid from the side of the manufacturer, because the veneer looks better than the fotoflame does

[kherman]

It means it's a solid plain maple body with a very thin veneer of figured maple on top.

[JacksonMIA]

If your guitar doesn't have binding and has a translucent finish on the sides you might be able to see the transition and tell if it's a photoflame or not. Sometimes veneers are pretty thin and hard to see through the paint.

[Binnerscot]

A veneer is fine for quality, I know the Japanese Jackson imports use flamed maple veneers and the are really nice looking (I like the veneer better than a thikcer top on Alder bodies - gets too bright with too much maple)

Parker Mojo flame tops also use a thin veneer because they haven't found a good way to carve a maple top for such a unique design and thin body construction.

[noth]

Thanks, guys, sounds like I actually do have veneer

Hope to be getting my first SD pups in the new year. I'll report and post some pics then.

Noth

[aleclee]

The Dillion I owned had a fotoflame top.

[noth]

Holy crap, Alec, I just looked at all your equipment. Tell you what, you don't need all those. GIve me one of those and I won't have to worry about the finish

Seriously, though, if I haven't said it before, beautiful stuff.

Noth

[aleclee]

Holy crap, Alec, I just looked at all your equipment. Tell you what, you don't need all those. GIve me one of those and I won't have to worry about the finish

Seriously, though, if I haven't said it before, beautiful stuff.

Noth

Thanks. There have been a couple of additions since I last updated my gear page.