Plastic Binding - To use or not to use

[Clancy]

So the other day I was attempting to get my head around playing the bouzouki when one kid wanted a drink & the other kid wrapped himself around my legs as I moved forward and the zouk went crash bang to the ground.

Inspecting the zouk, i found that the qld maple binding had been damaged in 3 places (compression & tear).

This got me thinking about why we use wooden bindings.
For me the look and the added pleasure of the newly found skills I'm learning bending & installing wooden bindings.

But do wooden bindings do the job required of them?
Are plastic bindings actually better for the protection of the instrument along the vunerable corners?

I stopped in at the music shop(s) this week to check on the high end mass producers.
Martin, Taylor, SCGC, etc all with plastic bindings.
Economics? or are they smarter by using a better material for the job instead of making it prettier.

Just curious what others think
(and I know qld maple isn't the most ideal wood for binding - but it sure looks pretty against the blackwood)

[kiwigeo]

Some of the new Martins dont have ANY bindings. IMO they look ugly and they look mass produced.

[Kim]

Yeah I reckon plastic bindings do have their place and in some ways they are indeed better than wood. Being able to run a $6, 65" strip around the git in one hit without bending is a good thing as is the fact that plastic's impact resistance is much better than wood and so too I imagine it's ability to exclude moisture from the end grain of the plates which after all is a main function of bindings.

But nicely figured wood bindings do look really good and identify a guitar as something special. Plastic just cannot pull off that sort of class so I will use both as the situation requires. For black bindings, plastic is the most sensible choice IMO, it's cheaper, easier to fit, does a better job of protecting the guitar and is indistinguishable from the best ebony once under a finish and when you think about it, the finish is really nothing more than a thin shiny plastic wrapping itself......

Have edited this post to clarify my point and add the emoticon with da joint.

Cheers

Kim

[Nick]

I'm with Kim, plastic is a hardier edge affording the guitar better protection and corners are the area's that tend to cop many knocks. I've used black (for the same reasons Kim gives) and I love a bit of ivoroid in the right situation. But I think that wood bindings do add a touch of class to an axe not to mention giving it that 'hand built' look.

[graham mcdonald]

Binding used to be wood until the groovy new plastic, Celluloid, arrived early last century. It was new and very modern and could be made to look like mother of pearl or ivory or tortoiseshell and so became very fashionable. It wasn't until the 70s revival of guitar building that the new crop of hippie builders rejected plastic and returned to wooden bindings.

I wouldn't feel guilty about using plastic bindings, but the annoying thingis that all that is legally available here are the plain coloured white, black or cream bindings and the more interesting ivoroid and tortoiseshell celluloid binding strips can't be airmailed from the US (or at least the retailers won't post them). There is a supposed fear that they might self ignite in the hold of a plane, or maybe they trip the explosives detectors that they run over packages. Celluloid, after all, is not dissimilar chemically to various explosives.

If a friend was to buy some in the US and post them out to Australia there would be a minimal chance that they would be intercepted, especially if a few other guitar building bits and pieces were included in the package, I suspect.

cheers

[Clancy]

Very interesting Graham.
I wasn't aware of the history, but makes sense.
Funny that they won't send the binding but they'll ship built instruments with
tortoiseshell binding.

[jeffhigh]

I used the tortoise plastic binding from ALS on my current build, don't know if it is celluloid.
It is certainly a pleasure to use, easy to get tight fitting

[Nick]

I used the tortoise plastic binding from ALS on my current build, don't know if it is celluloid.
It is certainly a pleasure to use, easy to get tight fitting

I've also gotten Ivoroid from them in the past to so I'm not sure how they ship it in to Oz? Maybe it sails the seven seas.

[graham mcdonald]

I didn't realise ALS were selling it. Most of their stuff comes from germany and I suppose it come by sea, so some celluloid binding wouldn't be much bother. It is such wonderful stuff

cheers