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Greetings,
I sanded and joined a pretty heavily oxidized gray colored EIRW back set today and some really striking figure came out. Here are some pictures of the joined and sanded back. Almost looks to nice to muck up with a centerstrip. I'm inclined to just leave it like it is. What do you guys think? I had planned to use a Rosewood centerstrip with bwb on either side until I saw how cool it looked.
Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

i would leave it just as it.

not only will show off your jointing skills but it will really make a feature of that wonderful figure.

Joel.

No no no! No strip!

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

No strip, it would detract from that nice figure.

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David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

I agree Terry buddy - this back is too pretty to put a G-string in/on.........

I have to agree with everyone else...No strip. Looks beautiful

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Dan

I would leave it as is
Though I prefer without in general anyways

I like it. Almost reminds me of Georgia O'Keeffe.

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

I like it plain, but it would depend on the rest of the binding / purfling you are planning.

I like to see the stripe. I would use wood binding, a maple or bloodwood. That is just me find what you like and go with that
john hall

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I don't know Terry,this looks great without a back strip but I do
like a matching (with the binding) strip.Either way will look great IMO.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Whether 'tis nobler to use a back strip than not depends entirely upon the design language that you intend to use on the rest of the instrument.

I like guitars both with and without, so I have no particular bias either way. My first impression is that this set is happy unadorned.

If you put in a strip now, you are committed to it, if, after you have the guitar made up and you decide that it really could use a back strip anyway, you can still add it. Yes, it will be a more complicate operation, but with care it is possible.

Go with your gut feeling. Deep inside you already know the answer to your question. Choose and don't apologize for your decision.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

I like it with out, but you could do this,

put in a strip of what you like, look it over really well than decide if you want the strip or not. If not make that the inside and hide it with the seam strip (the word escapes me right now) but I think you know what I mean.

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

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"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Don't forget, it's all going to darken up under finish, and you may not see a very dramatic figure once the finish is applied. If that's the case, you'll be wishing you had a backstrip. Just food for thought...

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I'd leave it as is, I don't think it would add to such beautiful wood. To test out
Don's concern about color, try putting some finish on the off-cuts. I think it will
finish out fine as is...

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

I'd say go without a strip, but think about curly maple bindings?

Myself I will close a nostrip one today, and it will have ebony binding. Ebony headplate, ebony+maple rosette. Really dark scheme. I hope it won't look too boring

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Build log

Lot's of good advice guys. Thanks. I'll report back with the final product. The figure is similar on both sides so Rod's idea was a great one.
Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I don't know, i think a bloodwood thong would turn some heads


on a serious note though, if there's any kind of figure in the wood, i would never mess it up with a backstrip.

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Frank

I vote no strip!

Joe

Thanks Terry, I'll have you know that that idea came from a bit of a screw up on one of my friends guitars.

He had/has a really nice set of EIR like that one you got there. He installed a really nice back strip in it, thin line rosewood with thin maple purfling line on either side. Than he went and cut out the profile of his cutaway body shape which was drawn on the outside face of the plate as if you were looking at the front of the guitar,

Needless to say, he was not impressed and now the guitar doesn't have the back strip that he wanted, still looks great though.

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson