Relics and all that

[Bungo]

Is it just me, or does anyone else find this 'relic' business ridiculous?

I've just been reading a catalogue with some carefully beaten up and hand-rusted old t*l* in it for £4399!!!! (or $8300 to you American chaps!)

I just don't get it. This must be the only market on the planet which has punters prepared to pay over the odds for something that is designed to look old and knackered!

Imagine if a car manufacturer tried to sell us an authentic reproduction of their '63 or '59 model complete with dents and rust. I can hear the laughter now! How about a 1970s television with authentic tube wear and dirt carefully encrusted into the 2 button remote control? I don't think so!

So, after all that ranting, what do you think?

 

[tommyindelaware]

i basically agree w/ u..................
but i've made money relicing pieces for customers............

 

[Norrin Radd]

Well,

I think there's a perception that a guitar's tone gets better as it ages (you wouldn't want to drink a wine brewed yesterday). And that really, that means that older guitars are desirable for their tone, which is why the "vintage" guitar market went off the wall about 15-20 years ago.

Now, some people believe (rightly or wrongly) that they can reproduce those aged tones by artificially aging the guitar itself (of, course, you already have had to swallow the prresumption about aged guitars sounding better), so, they get one in hopes of having some of those tonal qualities. At least, that's what I'm assuming. Of cousre, they could all just be posers, too!

 

[Jonny Dubai]

In a word....ripoff. Get playing and put the real milage into your guitar.

Jonny.

 

[Quarter]

I too think that all this poser "relic" thing is a bunch of BS.
Once the fad wears off, there will be lots of disappointed "relic" owners finding that there is little re-sale value for belt grinder abused instruments.

As Jonny said, get buisy and make your own the old fashioned way.

 

[RitchieDarling]

Relics

This seems to go against all logic. I always try to keep my instruments looking as new as possible.
And I don't believe for one minute that an old Fender sounds better than my new Sterling!

Ritchie

 

[Big Poppa]

Destroying a finish on a guitar does ZERO fo the tone. I would never offer a relic....ever and I am a big fan of never saying never.

Some of the reasons why I think people but them is that they reallly like a well played look, the guitar that could tell a story but the prices are stupid for tham and the next best thing is to buy one that the company has strategically damaged.

The other is the poser factor...dimly lit club...this guy has to be good look he has a 57 strat.....

ITs just like guys (Luke included ) that buy jeans destroyed in a factory for several times the price of a new pair....same thought

 

[Bungo]

Glad to hear it's not just me then!

I keep meaning to go and try one in a shop wearing a big chunky metal buckle, just to see if the assistant asks me to take it off!!!

Keep them shiny new lovely axes coming BP!

 

[kbaim]

Destroying a finish on a guitar does ZERO fo the tone. I would never offer a relic....ever and I am a big fan of never saying never.

Some of the reasons why I think people but them is that they reallly like a well played look, the guitar that could tell a story but the prices are stupid for tham and the next best thing is to buy one that the company has strategically damaged.

The other is the poser factor...dimly lit club...this guy has to be good look he has a 57 strat.....

ITs just like guys (Luke included ) that buy jeans destroyed in a factory for several times the price of a new pair....same thought

Hmmn. Thought maybe it was a groupie on crack that did that.

 

[tommyindelaware]

prewashed geetars................
hoood a thunk it..............

 

[edensdad]

Ditto - no intentionally distressed junk for me.


I like my stuff new and shiny - my JP6 is 1-1/2 years old and well played, but still looks mint.

When I was younger I couldn't say the same - my '85 strat looks like it was used as a shovel

The really funny thing is that the people who buy genuine vintage gear want it to be as close to new condition as possible - not beat up. I sold a '61 Gretsch Jet and a '65 Jag this year and the buyers were primarily interested in how well preserved they were.

>^..^<

 

[SteveB]

Apparently the prevailing mindset is that "they don't make 'em as good as they used to.."

..and for non-EBMM players, that may very well be true.


I'm not one for pre-torn jeans, either. Hell, I'd be happy to buy a pair of regular jeans that didn't tear within a dozen wearings.


Now, anyone want to buy some slightly used.. err.. make that 'vintage reissue' chewing gum?

 

[guitrr]

The only benefit I could see from owning a relic would be that you wouldn't be paranoid about it getting dinged up while touring or gigging. What's one more scratch on one of those?

Kane

 

[hbucker]

Norrin, If you're drinking brewed wine you're in for a real treat when you drink some that's been fermented.

I agree, over all relicing is obsurd. There is a cool vibe to a guitar that has been played for years and shows it. Clearly this is what they're after. But part of the vibe of those old guitars is that they feel vibed out too. Making it look that way won't make it feel that way.

With that, we all seem to choose what we want our guitars to look like: color, trans color, quilt, flame, plain, pointy, rounded, rosewood, maple, etc. I can go to a place where these relics are just another appearance choice. But charging a lot for this option bounces it right back out into the realm of silliness.

 

[Junior]

I think it's total BS. But then again, if you have an average paycheck of about 500 000 $, it's OK

The only thing that's good about it is that when you scratch it, you won't feel bad, 'cause it's already all worn out.

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

All my guitars have road wear, but MY road wear! Buying a pre beaten up guitar is so stupid! Every time I am in a store that stocks them , I like to be vocal about how stupid they are! I suppose thats the mentality of people who play Fenders!

 

[koogie2k]

No need to get a brand "new" relic.....kind of an oxymoron if you ask me. I want to put the "character" on my guitars and basses.

 

[tommyindelaware]

i saw a used one on ebay...........in mint codition....

 

[shastaband]

You should make your own relics!

Just throwing in my two cents worth regarding relics. I'm new to the forum, having just picked up a brand new Stingray 4 on Monday, May 8 (natural/tort/maple, love it!).

I have a 1966 sunburst P-bass that I got in 1972. The finish at that time was perfect. Not a mark on it. That axe paid my rent for the next twenty years. You should see it now--no finish left on the back of the neck, no finish where my sweaty arm rested on it all those smoky, sweaty, loud nights, assorted dings, scratches, scrapes from near disasters onstage. But it's a REAL relic. It's got SOUL. Every scar tells a story, like the dent on the front from when an irate audience member threw an ashtray at the stage when we wouldn't play the song she wanted. And the little nicks on the bottom edge, caused by my drummer's highhat opening into it on an absurdly small stage in a club in San Francisco. I wouldn't trade that bass for 50 new basses. But it's earned its scars and nicks honestly in the trade.

But let's face it, we live in an age of style over substance, and some want the look of experience without going out and getting it. So, yes, I have to agree that this relic craze is really dumb!!!

 

[Bud]

One thing these relic guys are missing out on is the smell.I gig with my axe two or three times a week in the smokey clubs and when I take it out of it's case in the nicotine free atmosphere of the house boy it'd cigarette and alcohol time!