• Ernie Ball
  • MusicMan
  • Sterling by MusicMan

Jack FFR1846

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Feb 17, 2008
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Hopkinton, MA
I can't hide my feelings......

I think it's stupid.

It's due to substandard finishes on old guitars......or the process or making a newer guitar look like it has an old, substandard finish.

My 39 year old Guild has a nice finish that's got a few chips and scratches......most I can even give the story of where they came from. I don't know what they sprayed it with down in Hoboken back in '69, but they sure did a better job on it than Fender ever did.

My transblue Axis SS has the kind of finish that looks like that Guild did when I first picked it up. I'm not going to take either one and throw keys at them....soak them in the ocean or light them on fire. That's just stupid.

jack
 

Astrofreq

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Sep 5, 2006
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Santa Fe, NM
I have to admit that some relics look pretty dang cool, but.......I would feel like a huge poser if I was playing a guitar only built to look like that. It's one thing to have it naturally happen over time, even by someone else, but another thing to create that look.

I would just feel like a dork when someone asks, "Man, that guitar looks so cool. What year is it?" and then saying, "Umm......2008.......:("
 

poj

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Oct 17, 2006
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Thailand
You don't have wait anymore,There's one relic EBMM on ebay now. :)
Ernie Ball Musicman Silhouette Stratocaster Type - eBay (item 300256933599 end time Sep-14-08 20:07:37 PDT)

cf48_1.JPG
 

GHWelles

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Jul 28, 2005
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Rancho Mirage
The weirdest thing I ever saw: A Fender Strat Relic with a lacquered maple fretboard. They wore through the lacquer where fingers would wear it through over time, and made the wear spots dirty looking. So far so good. THEN THEY LACQUERED OVER THE FAKE WEAR SPOTS. So if you tried to play it there was a weird lumpy fretboard.

It looked really good from ten feet away, but bizarre up close and ridiculous to play.

Now, if you want to relic your EBMM, take the neck off and all the electronics out of the body. Then put the body plus lots of nails and bolts and quarters in the dryer. Spin cycle for one hour. Then take the neck and sand off all the wax/oil. Suspend the neck in a closet. Get a carton of cigarettes in a trash can and put it below the neck. Light the cigarettes on fire and allow it to smoke like beef jerky. Then take all the electronics and put ithem in a bucket of Coca-Cola and throw a lot of salt in. Let sit for one week. Then re-assemble. Then put the guitar on e-bay because it will be completely destroyed, will no longer play, and will look like crap. :D
 
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hbucker

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Oct 11, 2002
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707
I also think there are two kinds of relicing: One is what most here refer to as fake player wear such as worn fretboards and such. That is generally pretty lame IMO. There are exceptions but not many. Then there is the look of an old guitar with oxidized nickel hardware and dulled nitro finish with no player wear.

IMO the second of these is a viable finish option and looks pretty nice without crossing over into "Poser-land". The Gibson VOS LP's would be a good example of this. I think Fender calls them "closet classics".

But since EBMM doesn't use nitro and doesn't use covers on most of their pickups, this "VOS-ing" isn't an option. So you're only left with chips and dirty wear marks which would just be kind of sad...

Anyone trying to relic my EVH will receive a serious beat-down!
 

leftyguitarblue

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Jun 29, 2007
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Planet Erf
IMHO....relicing seems like such a fad. I personally can't imagine paying serious money for a high end guitar and have it look like it was dragged behind a truck.

I prefer to get the battle wounds on my axes old fashioned way...just play the damn thing!


Well said Donnie.
Relics to me are a waste of time. Why would anyone pay $25,000 for a new, old guitar?
 

Tim O'Sullivan

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Apr 22, 2003
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Christiansburg, VA
The whole relic thing is the most ridiculous thing ever to happen to the guitar market. Someones 40 year old guitar that has been played every night has a story to tell - a pre bashed about one is just plain daft.

Could you imagine buying a new car - 'This one has been pre-rusted for you sir, also the seats are all worn and stained, and all the black plastic bumpers are a nice shade of grey' :)
 

marantz1300

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Nov 19, 2007
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London U.K.
I like them if they are not over the top. I can only afford used guitars anyway. So I like that played in feel and they have mojo . If I had a nice shiny new EBMM I'd be scared to pick it up,because I know I'm clumsy and I'm gonna hurt it.
 

Earplayer

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Sep 5, 2006
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finally it´s a matter of taste and i can completely understand someone who says relic is "fake"... of course it is. but the argument relic it yourself is a bit dull in my opinion because the relics are especially made for people who are looking for those mojo-vintage guitars in an affordable way... i have no problem to tell everyone this guitar was finished 2008 - the guitar sounds and looks perfect - thats it.

i remember when i played a vintage ´61 strat for the first time - it was absolutely stunning - the tone, the feeling, everything... (there are vintage strats that sounds like crap too...) - but this piece of wood was/is unaffordable because of the price and the owner wouldn´t give away his strat for all the money in the world...

check out that strat-cat!
Guitarplayer.de

...so i was looking for the no1 strat for almost one year and finally found it in a relic ´60 strat in olympic white - and let me tell you this strat will never go away it´s a keeper in every way...
have you ever played some good relic strats?! the good relics are the best strats you can get imho... first i wanted a closet-classic but ended with a relic because the tone, feel and look is amazing... don´t let the relic-thing turn you off!

for me musicman-guitars are modern guitars with a superb playability, good quality and wonderful tone! a musicman is a musicman and i think everybody knows why we love this brand... i absolutely LOVE musicman but to be objective if you lean towards the "vintage-camp" a fender relic and/or a gibson vos can give you some serious tone.

peace.
 

Colin

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Jan 23, 2005
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Brisbane Queensland
I like them if they are not over the top. I can only afford used guitars anyway. So I like that played in feel and they have mojo . If I had a nice shiny new EBMM I'd be scared to pick it up,because I know I'm clumsy and I'm gonna hurt it.
the new ones feel great and you get to add your own mojo overtime
 

Slingy

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Aug 15, 2007
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Fair Oaks, CA
Personally I wouldn't be caught dead with one. The car analogy is good one but I guess it's like buying a pair of jeans with the holes already in em. Good way to get laughed at.
 

whitestrat

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Aug 13, 2007
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The Little Red Dot
finally it´s a matter of taste and i can completely understand someone who says relic is "fake"... of course it is. but the argument relic it yourself is a bit dull in my opinion because the relics are especially made for people who are looking for those mojo-vintage guitars in an affordable way... i have no problem to tell everyone this guitar was finished 2008 - the guitar sounds and looks perfect - thats it.
.
.
for me musicman-guitars are modern guitars with a superb playability, good quality and wonderful tone! a musicman is a musicman and i think everybody knows why we love this brand... i absolutely LOVE musicman but to be objective if you lean towards the "vintage-camp" a fender relic and/or a gibson vos can give you some serious tone.

I have a problem with this arguement. To say "to each his own" is fine. To desire a vintage instrument because it's been played-in, and thinking it has that extra mojo is also fine. But to insist that only vintage instruments have that mojo?

I have also played some really nice vintage instruments, most notably, a gorgeous 1958 maple necked strat. That was a beaut. But I didn't feel any extra mojo in it. It was just well setup, well made, and the electronics had been well preserved and maintained. The overall package was killer. But I have also played NEW instruments that have given me that nice feeling too.

What was contained in that 58 that was so nice to play? It had been well maintianed by it's previous owners, and had been played countless of times. It was worn down by players for years. Not luthiers. It was well set up, and the tones were nice. But that's it. Nothing more, nothing less.

There's is magic everytime you pick up a guitar that fits you. There's even more magic when you play that same guitar over and over again. A bond develops between the guitar and the player. That magical bond, is "mojo". Knowing each and every nook and cranny on that plank of wood, and knowing VERY WELL how it'll respond to your every touch. If it gets dinged in the way, then so be it. It's YOUR guitar. A factory relic has the look. But nothing the factory can do can replicate that long time of playing. No machine or artisan can recreate that bond.

See how I have a problem with people wanting to have that "worn-in" look when the guitar is spanking brand new? No offense, but it does sound very "wannabe" to me. Wanting to own a guitar that "looks" old to give the impression that you hold a nice vintage piece is, IMHO, LAME. (there. I said it.)

I was lucky enough to have tried 2 examples of the famous Clapton "Blackie". That same one that went for $25,000. How did it feel? Like crap. Probably because the original blackie was equally (if not more) unplayable due to EC's abuse over the years. Did it feel worn in? yep. did it feel old? yep. Was there magic? Nope. Had I the money, I'd probably buy it (and the frankenstrat), only to display as a mantlepiece.

Now. If those factory was charging a decently low price for relics, I'd buy that idea. But to mark up the guitar's price because it's what the market wants is pure business and marketing. I applaud Fender for coming up with this idea. But I pity those who buy into it.

I'm also discovering something recently. ANY decently made guitar with the right set up, electronics and wood can give you serious tone. It doesn't even have to be a Musicman. But most certainly doesn't need to come from exhuberantly priced beat-up jobs that call themselves "vintage inspired".
 
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Earplayer

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Sep 5, 2006
Messages
146
well lionel, thats your point of view... i don´t want to make this a VS thread... thats just my opinion - for me really nothing sounded as good as some of the custom shop relic strats - all i want to say is try some relics before judging the guitar by the relic-finish. my mate was a relic-hater now he has a relic tele and a heavy relic strat in his collection (he also has some custom-built strats and strats more than twice the price of a heavy relic he has selected over the years and he prefers the relics - he still doesn´t like the finish -lol).....

i am with you - everytime you pick up a guitar that fits you and you grow on that guitar is something special - maybe someone can find the perfect strat in a squire with new pickups - MY personal experience is after 20+ guitars counting and a few left that when someone is looking for that "vintage/classic"-stratsound in a new guitar nothing beats a good/selected relic.
 
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