Blue Burst vs Blue Dye misconception?

[haceteunosmates]

I've been looking around forums and the Warmoth webpage about these 2 kinds of finish. However I found very different pictures and all of them are labeled as Blue Burst. So, which is which? You can tell that the color scheme is not the same. According to the official webpage only the first and third example that I'll post down here is Blue Burst and the second is Blue Dye, right? Because the second one is much more vivid, if you will.

If I'm not getting this right, I'll appreciate any info our pictures to clear my doubts. Thanks

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=17663.0

http://www.tonymckenzie.com/fender_strat_warmoth_body_blue_burst_review.htm

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=17020.0

 

[line6man]

Any sort of blue finish with a burstover is a blue burst. Can be dye, or a transparent finish, or a solid, or anything else.

 

[Cagey]

"Burst" in general just means the finish starts from the center as one color then gradually transitions to one or more other colors, or even just a lighter/darker (usually darker) shade of the starting color as you get toward the outline of the body. As Line6man said, the material doesn't matter. Dye, stain, paint, etc. can all be used to create a burst finish.

Some bursts are more dramatic than others. They'll only shift in shade a bit, or the darker edge will be wider or narrower. Also, you most often see them on figured woods such as curly, quilted, birdseye or spalted Maple, or woods with more interesting grain patterns such as Zebra, Swamp Ash, or Mahogany. But, that doesn't mean you won't see that finish on woods with a plainer appearance - just that they're more likely going to be done with solid colors rather than dyes/transparents.

 

[line6man]

As I understand, sunbursts started out as a means of hiding the endgrain of woods that don't dye or stain uniformly. It's been done that way forever, but now we see more interesting varieties of bursted finishes, regardless of whether or not there are endgrain issues to hide.

 

[Cagey]

I think that's true. I know on my Mahogany strat, I had no intention of bursting it. But, once I got the color shift I wanted, the end grain was too dark. It looked too weird, so I burst the thing to hide what was a severe transition from the top to the sides.

I've since learned that sealing the thing before staining will all but eliminate that problem, but I can imagine OEMs not wanting to add a step to their finishing process. So, bursts are the answer.

 

[haceteunosmates]

Hmm is it the lighting then what causes the colors in all the examples I used to be all different from each other? Because if you look at the first "blue burst" it's like some grayish-blue, and the second, also a "blue burst", is much more vivid (reminds me of the bottom of the ocean). Finally, the 3rd example is the only one that really looks like the sample picture provided by Warmoth of how the blue burst color looks.

 

[line6man]

Hmm is it the lighting then what causes the colors in all the examples I used to be all different from each other? Because if you look at the first "blue burst" it's like some grayish-blue, and the second, also a "blue burst", is much more vivid (reminds me of the bottom of the ocean). Finally, the 3rd example is the only one that really looks like the sample picture provided by Warmoth of how the blue burst color looks.

You'll never figure out why the pictures look different.
You have to account for the batch of dyes or tint that Warmoth mixed when they finished; the woods used and how the individual cuts responded to the finish; the cameras used to take the pictures and their exposure and color settings; the lighting; etc.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

In Warmoth's case, they've done what was already known by many.  That is, dye works best on Maple.  If they only dye the maple and don't shoot the edges with a darker transparent color or black, that is a dyed top.  If they shoot the whole.thing with.a transparent color, that's a transparent finish.  If they do that and shoot a darker transparent color around the edges, it's a burst.  I find the misconceptions arise with what we call them, not what they call them.  In the builder, you'll note burst finishes are available on most woods with a few exceptions, mainly because a few niche bursts have dye, so they're limited to maple.  To make it more confusing, Warmoth sometimes dyes non-maple woods like Zebra wood.  But here's my criteria, if there's more than one shade of the same color, whether dyed or transparent, it's a burst.  In the 3 links, those all look like bursts to me.

 

[haceteunosmates]

Ok I think I got it now. Why are the edges black in some blue bursts (first and third link) and just of a darker blue (second link) in others? Does it depend on the wood on the top?

If not, how can you be sure then if your body will ship with one or the other paint job??

 

[bagman67]

I think the burst edge color variation (black vs. dark blue, in the example you cite) is just a matter of the artist's choice.  Whether the edge is dark transparent or solid blue, metallic blue, or black, it's still a burst.

 

[drewfx]

Ok I think I got it now. Why are the edges black in some blue bursts (first and third link) and just of a darker blue (second link) in others? Does it depend on the wood on the top?

If not, how can you be sure then if your body will ship with one or the other paint job??

I think it depends on the finish on the back.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Dyed tops with a black burstover are popular to, though still just dyed tops and not really bursts.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I don't think there's any black in the 3rd link, just a lot of transparent blue around the edges.

 

[hannaugh]

Blue Dye

Blue Burst

They're both nice, but very different.

 

[Ace Flibble]

A lot of the 'blue bursts' that show up in the Showcase look like transparent turquoise with a huge black burst over, but the examples they always give for blue bursts in the body builder and finishes page are like the Les Paul there ^^. I so rarely see that sort of finish turn up in the Showcase though, it's always the odd aqua-black one. Wish they'd make up their mind about which it is, or specify them as different finishes. I love the light turquoise-blue burst, hate the black one. I'd be pissed if I ordered a body thinking it would be a nice bright green/blue combination, as the body builder suggests it is, and what I got was sludge green/black.

 

[Cagey]

I'd call both of those blue bursts. One has a dark blue center that fades (bursts) to black at the perimeter, the other has a light blue center that fades (bursts) to a darker blue at the perimeter.

It's not the intensity or the color that qualifies it as a burst. It's the gradual transition to a darker or different shade around the edges.

I think the original term was "Sunburst", where you started off with a brighter yellow at the center and gradually darkened to red and/or brown at the edges. It followed the color chart, starting with bright yellow and heading into the infrared end of the spectrum, like you'd expect any intense light source to do.

Over time, finish artists started using different shades, but kept the "burst" part of the description. That's where we got the tobacco burst, blue burst, honey burst, etc.

 

[hannaugh]

Those two are just what Warmoth considers blue dye and a blue burst.  I'm not really sure why they put that black edge around the dye, you'd have to ask Ty that.

 

[Tonar8352]

Here is a solid blue burst that I did back in the late 90's for a student of mine. Now he has grown up and started making his own little guitar players.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Those two are just what Warmoth considers blue dye and a blue burst.  I'm not really sure why they put that black edge around the dye, you'd have to ask Ty that.

It has to do with the back color.  If you have a gloss black back, the standard is to have a black burstover on the top.  You have to pay extra for the clean line option.  I recently ordered a blue dye top with trans blue back and requested the small black shadowing on the top edge.

 

[Ace Flibble]

Those two are just what Warmoth considers blue dye and a blue burst.  I'm not really sure why they put that black edge around the dye, you'd have to ask Ty that.

It has to do with the back color.  If you have a gloss black back, the standard is to have a black burstover on the top.  You have to pay extra for the clean line option.  I recently ordered a blue dye top with trans blue back and requested the small black shadowing on the top edge.

Thing is, there's been quite a few dyed tops I've seen in the showcase that have that tiny black burst at the edges but with a clear back, or masked binding and then a transparent colour back.