Cactus Jack
Senior Member
- Messages
- 484
Korina might be my favorite body wood. I love pretty much everything about it so I decided to pickup a few more examples. I really wanted to see how different finishes look on the wood, and my conclusion is pretty much any transparent finish would look awesome.
The Strat to the far left is 100% Korina and has a beautiful Brown to Clear burst with a transparent brown back. The brown really makes the reds pop and brings the wood to life. I really like the way the Canary neck complements the color and grain pattern.
My HSH Tele is 100% Korina, but has a Black to Clear burst with a solid black back. In my opinion you can't go wrong with Black to Clear or Brown to Clear, they make the wood pop in equally cool ways.
The Strat to the far right is Korina on Alder with a Clear front and back finish. Compared to 100% Korina this body might have a bit more spark to it. It resonates a bit different. I'd compare the difference to something like the tone difference between Alnico V vs Alnico II. Subtle difference, but there's something unique.
I purchased the two Strats second hand, and both are excellent builds. However, I already have plans to personalize them, and spent the last week customizing the Clear finish Strat. Long story short I swapped the neck, installed some Fralin SP43's (my new favorite Strat pickup), and wired it up following Fender's Fat 50's half blender scheme (also my new favorite). The Brown to Clear will get a similar treatment, but I'll be installing Duncan SSL-2s in the neck and middle, and a SSL-6 in the bridge, and will be using the same Fat 50's wiring.
If you've ever thought about doing a Korina build, do it! Korina is awesome.
The Strat to the far left is 100% Korina and has a beautiful Brown to Clear burst with a transparent brown back. The brown really makes the reds pop and brings the wood to life. I really like the way the Canary neck complements the color and grain pattern.
My HSH Tele is 100% Korina, but has a Black to Clear burst with a solid black back. In my opinion you can't go wrong with Black to Clear or Brown to Clear, they make the wood pop in equally cool ways.
The Strat to the far right is Korina on Alder with a Clear front and back finish. Compared to 100% Korina this body might have a bit more spark to it. It resonates a bit different. I'd compare the difference to something like the tone difference between Alnico V vs Alnico II. Subtle difference, but there's something unique.
I purchased the two Strats second hand, and both are excellent builds. However, I already have plans to personalize them, and spent the last week customizing the Clear finish Strat. Long story short I swapped the neck, installed some Fralin SP43's (my new favorite Strat pickup), and wired it up following Fender's Fat 50's half blender scheme (also my new favorite). The Brown to Clear will get a similar treatment, but I'll be installing Duncan SSL-2s in the neck and middle, and a SSL-6 in the bridge, and will be using the same Fat 50's wiring.
If you've ever thought about doing a Korina build, do it! Korina is awesome.
. I took everything apart and reassembled it from the ground up. One unique challenge I ran into was the previous owner copper lined EVERYTHING, and then painted over the copper with non-magnetic paint. Total PIA to swap the electronics.
