I've got 3 nitro coated guitars and 1 poly. The nitro starts off sticky. When I first got my Gibson Les Paul 15+ years ago, it bothered me a lot that my hand couldn't move up and down the neck easily. A lot of that had to do with the fact that I sucked. But that stickiness has worn off now (the guitar was barely played when I got it even though it was already 13 years old).
I adjusted much better to my new Tokai. The stickiness is there and these nitro finishes do make my hand sweat more. But they also feel nice. That's the only way I can describe it.
But for silky smoothness, nothing matches the poly finish on my Pacifica's Warwick neck. It feels powder smooth, if you follow me. So there's nothing wrong with poly neck finishes.
They're different. Nitro is more expensive because it's more difficult to apply - not because it's better. It's just a preference thing.
MikeM wrote:
I can't see the distressing.
Note the pale patches on the frets. It's a rather poor attempt to simulate the effects of years of playing. I once played a '50s Telecaster, so I can tell you straight up that that looks nothing like a 60 year-old fretboard. If you want some examples of good distressing I can dig them out. Mass produced, "relic" guitars are always going to look super-fake. Also, on most of these guitars the distressing is exactly the same from one to the other. You certainly wouldn't want two together in the same band or even non-guitarists might figure it out. ?
And Mike, I don't think it's ok to call people with different preferences to you, "gear whores." It's like that tired BS assumption that people who own more than two guitars can't play a lick. It's crap.
