Mica & Lacquer ,,is there a difference ?

Richard Tipple · From: Ohio, USA

Do you think there is a notable difference in tone Etc. between a lacquered steel and a mica covered steel ?

I remember asking Gary Carpenter before I ordered my Rains & his answer was,,not much.
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Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

that BLACK Mica bodies possessed more dynamics, TONE,
sustain and everything else you could possibly want.

Brint Hannay · From: Maryland, USA

Ah, Ray, you introduce an additional variable! Does a black lacquer guitar sound better than a red mica one?
Razz

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

I feel Todd Clinesmith has one of the brightest finishes on his Birdsye Maple guitars.........

However I've been duly impressed by the Rasberry finish on the Rittenbury. What a knock-out colur!

Skip Edwards · From: LA,CA

Common sense would tell you that if you take a body with acoustic properties...in this case a wooden guitar body...and cover it in mica, there would have to be some sort of an effect on the sound that body will produce.

Whether that effect is a good thing or a bad thing is another matter...

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

I think it has been rumored that black mica was thicker than the other colors and that's why it sounded better.
I doubt if there was any truth to the rumor.

Now bars, that's a different matter.
Everybody knows that a black zirconia bar sounds better than a white one. Rolling Eyes

Chris Lucker · From: Los Angeles, California USA

My experience from comparing apples to oranges is that a mica guitar is likely to have plain hard rock maple or some sort of hard maple underneath. A lacquer guitar is likely to have birdseye maple or some sort of figured maple. This is not the case with Emmons, of course, because their lacquer guitars are veneered so they -- in theory -- don't darken or dull the sound of the guitar with less crisp figured wood.
What I am saying is that you are likely comparing is what is found under the mica or lacquer or whatever finish -- harder straight maple vs softer figured maple.
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Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars.

Stu Schulman · From: Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)

A while ago I messing around with a piece of mica and snapped it in two,The sound that it made was almost like a firecracker,very high frequency,plus it's extremely hard,I would guess that it would accent some highs on a steel guitar...I really don't have any proof to back this up just a thought. Confused

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Chris Lucker · From: Los Angeles, California USA

Stu

That would make sense, yet at the same time my leather covered Esquire is just as crisp and bright as it was before with its super thin black lacquer flaking off the pine body. You would think the leather would deaden the sound or kill sustain, but it does not.

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Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars.

Stu Schulman · From: Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)

Chris Yer killing me...awesome guitars,I'm in tears! Laughing

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richard burton · From: Britain

Mica guitars very often have an aluminum neck, whereas lacquer guitars lean to wood necks, so there is a variable there.

Mica with ally neck is better on the bandstand, hands down, as they cut through better.

A properly eq'd lacquer guitar can sound quite nice on recordings, though Very Happy

Rex Thomas · From: Thompson's Station, TN

Chris, that Bud permanent is PAINFULLY beautiful.

Dean Parks · From: Sherman Oaks, California, USA

3 top veteran builders who are now designers/builders of their own brand, once, about 3 years ago, "compared notes" as I listened, and their thought was that mica guitars usually sounded better to them because of the hard-rock maple bodies... lacquer guitars are made of visually prettier wood, but not sonically prettier.

I'm sure there are exceptions on both ends, but there it is.

Dave Grafe · From: Hudson River Valley NY

I have one of each and they definitely sound different, but I would not say that either sounds "better" than the other, just different.

At our last steel jamboree here I had them both set up with identical amps, settings, etc. and several other pickers got a chance to play them as well as myself. Perhaps one or the other sounds "better" for certain genres but they both sound truly awesome when properly handled....

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

I used to have one of each, but sold one the mica one. They did sound different, but not that different.

I used both on one of the tunes on my West Side Story CD. The lacquer one represents the jets, and is on the left channel. The Mica one represents the Sharks and is on the right.

Here's a link to the song. You can hear there is only a slight difference between the way 2 steels sound.

Incidentally, I also used the out-of-phase position of the 5 positions George L pickup on the lacquer guitar, and a Goodrich match- bro to represent two of the other characters on the film.

http://www.perlowinmusic.com/Track14.mp3
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Chuck Walker · From: Cody, Wyoming, USA

Richard, there is a recent thread in the "Steel on the Web" section entitled "Paul Franklin Playing a Sho-bud - recent vid." Toward the end of that thread, Paul gives his thoughts on the difference between wood and mica bodies. It might help to answer your question.

Richard Tipple · From: Ohio, USA

Chuck, thanks for the heads up on the thread Smile

Very interesting Shocked

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Jack Francis · From: Queen Creek, Arizona, USA

Since everyone EQ's to the sound that they want on their amps...I think that it can't make all that much of a difference. Oh Well

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