Newby quetion of the month but I did search the archives first.
First off I have never liked binding on electric guitars or on the necks. Most of it looked like cheap plastic even on a Les Paul and I would likely pay more for a Les Paul Studio (which retail for less) just to avoid the binding.
I prefer the wood of the instument to take center stage and not flashy hardware and tend to stick to the black harware on electric bass guitars with nice wood. I am definitely more of a simplified elegance "Mission Furniture" design asthetic than anything overly ornate but I always admire and appreciate fine craftmasnhip.
That being said acoutic guitars are completely different creatures construction wise and I have seen some very nice wood binding accents in figured wood or otherwise pleasantly contrasting woods.
My acoustic "jazz guitar" bass project will be my first acoustic build which finaly brings me to my original question.
Is the binding process on the front and backs where the top meets the sides an asthetically functional necessity of joining two thin pieces of wood at right angles along a curve i.e way too tricky to pull off with out glue lines and seam imperfections galore?
Would not using them be feasible but too time intensive to be worthwhile in production?
Or are they for the most part purely decorative in nature?
Prehaps they provide some protection to the seam or glue joint of the edge of the instrument if it were struck against a hard object?
Does it functionaly strengthen the seem?
I think for my first build I would prefer to skip binding the body but then I don't seem to recall seeing any acoustic guitars without some form of binding on the body so now I am thinking it has a serious function role as well.
Hey at least I am never afraid to admit my ignorance when learning something new.
