Vintage Series I Guitar on Reverb

[jazzyvee]

Alembic Series I 6 String guitar Rosewood Vintage 1977 w Power Supply & Cable | Reverb UK
Interesting that it isn't showing the checking i have seen on instruments of that age.

I have no connection with the seller.

[edwardofhuncote]

It's funny how that Polane finish checked up badly on some instruments and bypassed others. That guitar is #77-611, presumably completed just days before my bass at #621. You have to have my bass in the right light to see the checking, it's there, just very light.

[jazzyvee]

My Series bass is a 1980 and was covered in checking when it was in the hands of the previous owner who decided to have it refinished.
This guitar is really nice and not priced outrageously like some we see.

[flavofive]

I have read that checking is primarily caused by temperature swings that occur too quickly.  For example, if an instrument is left in a van in the winter on the way to a gig, but then opened in a warm venue, it (relatively) rapidly heats up.  The expansion/contraction causes the finish to form tiny cracks.  It could also be vice versa, i.e. suddenly going from a warm environment to a cold one.  I have heard that shipping during winter can be a common cause of this, if you don't allow the instrument to slowly come up to temperature in your house.

I assumed that any vintage instruments that don't have checking are the ones that luckily never experienced this.  Maybe the owner always kept it in the house, or just fortunately never exposed it to rapid temperature fluctuations.

I could be wrong, and there are probably other reasons why checking could form - I'd love to know if anyone is more knowledgeable about finishes!

[hammer]

From what I understand you are correct (i.e., finish checking refers to finish cracking that occurs over time due to quick changes in temperature).  Personally, I hate it, especially when it affects the neck.  However...At GuitarMill.com I found the following...

"A majority of luthiers in the current market use razor blades to achieve a finish checking effect. We have perfected a way to cause checking the natural way, giving our check work an untouchable authenticity."

Not on my alembics you don't!

[edwardofhuncote]

With Alembic finishes, there was a change, -and I don't know exactly when this change was- from a Sherwinn-Williams product called Polane to another compound of Poly finish. I suspect it is sometime between Jazzyvee's '80 short-scale, and my '80 medium-scale though, because it has that silky, velvety smooth, but not super glossy sheen. I love that look and feel. It's just a bit more shiny than what I'd call satin. My '81 and '85 Distillates were the same way. But the older '77, made within days of the subject guitar of this post, has these tiny inch-long horizontal checks interspersed all over the body. It's very mild, but I've seen some (like Jazzys, where it almost all flaked off. Others seem unaffected. No idea why.


I read one time (maybe here) that Sherwinn-Williams altered the makeup of Polane at some point, and the change made it unsuitable for use anymore.

[BeenDown139]

"A majority of luthiers in the current market use razor blades to achieve a finish checking effect. We have perfected a way to cause checking the natural way, giving our check work an untouchable authenticity." ...

isnt this old hat in the art world?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craquelure

[edwardofhuncote]

Mica's post on finishes- (from 21 years ago!) https://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=2777.msg31420#msg31420