Relics-I don't get it.

[Fred E.]

Did this all start from Jaco? Dragging his bass around and treating it like dirt.

Without taking anything away from Jaco, Rory, or my personal favorite relic king: SRV; my understanding is that the concept of relic as a product line came from Keef who wanted a beatup looking tele for stage use.

 

[Caca de Kick]

Personally, I like the way beat up Fenders look. A Relic finish to me is no different than blue, red, or sunburst--it's an aesthetic that some people find appealing.
.......
Not everyone wants to wait 30 years for wear to show up. What's the big ****ing deal?

Exactly!
I have not bought any relic basses, but there are different degrees of the relic'ing, they don't all have to look like s**t. Most actually feel great already broke-in.
And there's the fact that some of those people own original instruments worth tens of thousands of dollars. It makes perfect sense for them to tour with a 2500 duplicate of their original, rather than risking their 25000 original.
Also I can see a 20yr old guy buying a shiny new bass and spending the next 30yrs wearing it out. But chances are a 50yr old guy buying a bass won't be playing enough to wear one out, or possibly even be around in 30 yrs. So I don't see why it's so difficult to understand.

 

[Surly]

If a relic bass felt good, I would buy it. I have played older Fenders that felt real sweet. I don't mean 60's basses, but more like early 90's. Still though, they are broken in and play smoothly after 15 years.

 

[bovinehost]

If a relic bass felt good, I would buy it. I have played older Fenders that felt real sweet. I don't mean 60's basses, but more like early 90's. Still though, they are broken in and play smoothly after 15 years.

Just to be contrary, a good bass is good right out of the box. If I had to wait 15 years for my basses to feel broken in and smooth....well, you see what I mean.

Jack

 

[lorino]

Well Worn

Just to be contrary, a good bass is good right out of the box. If I had to wait 15 years for my basses to feel broken in and smooth....well, you see what I mean.

Jack

Well, I'd be divorced if my wife adopted that mentality. Now I'm well worn and broken in. Smooth? never.

Hey, now there's a thought - I should market myself as 'relic'd', not creepy old suburban dude.

JIM

 

[Beth]

Been checking out other manufacturer websites, & quite frankly, I don't see the attraction of a $2,000 to $4,000 brand new instrument that looks like 20 miles of bad dirt road. Joe Strummer might have had his Tele since he started playing, & dinged, dented, DIY paint job etc etc, but I sure don't want an instrument that looks like Sh** out of the box. Then there are the people who buy a brand new beautiful instrument, & proceed to thrash it to make it look 30 years old. Just play the crap out of it & age it yourself naturally.

Thanks BP for not doing anything dumb like this.

Yeah, we don't understand that either.

 

[Beth]

some of these "relics" actually make me laugh out loud.
They look beat-up, for sure; like they've been dropped in a 55-gallon drum full of 3-year-olds on amphetamine-soaked gummy-bears swinging belt sanders around by the cord.

But NO wear where you'd expect to see it; IE where most folks rest their thumb by a pickup, arm-wear in wrong place, NO belt buckle carnage, etc.

An astute entrepreneur could market a DIY faux-finish "kit" for instruments..like they did for furniture in the 70's. Sheesh..

It reminds me of those "distressed" jeans out there on the market. Real used jeans aren't jet dark blue on the sides of your legs and then WHITE on the top of your thigh and down the back of your legs. It's like you can imagine the factory worker scrubbing the bleach onto the legs of the pants at the manufacturer.

 

[oddjob]

It reminds me of those "distressed" jeans out there on the market. Real used jeans aren't jet dark blue on the sides of your legs and then WHITE on the top of your thigh and down the back of your legs. It's like you can imagine the factory worker scrubbing the bleach onto the legs of the pants at the manufacturer.

Saw this the other day and laughed - saw some ladies jeans with, not only the bleach marks, but holes in the knees (no biggie), frayed ends (again, no biggie), but holes in the butt AND a ripped crotch (no joke - I thought it was one pair but it was the entire rack and we're talking BIG rips)... why bother with pants at all??? Would love to see the factory workers doing those.

 

[scottbass71]

And there's the fact that some of those people own original instruments worth tens of thousands of dollars. It makes perfect sense for them to tour with a 2500 duplicate of their original, rather than risking their 25000 original.

Caca de kick I agree with you on the above comment because I know a few guys that have done that because things can go wrong on the road

but m a couple of other thoughts as well

Even though the bass looks old has the wood itself been actually aged 20-40 years as well or is all the damage just cosmetic.

I also think it is the w@nk factor of a musician playing one and hoping that there are other musos in the crowd that come up to him and say cool bass man Geez what a great L series Pb@ss etc. because I actually know guys that have done that and not told the punters they are fakes.

like I said before make your own history

end Transmission

 

[Dr Stankface]

I don't do relic stuff but I do like that avatar of yours, Mr. Dark.

 

[Surly]

Just to be contrary, a good bass is good right out of the box. If I had to wait 15 years for my basses to feel broken in and smooth....well, you see what I mean.

Jack

yeah good point

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

I really don't get the relic thing at all. Nobody would buy a new car that looks all dented and rusty, to get that 70's Morris Marina vibe!

 

[Spudmurphy]

A good friend of mine makes a pretty good living out of making custom built guitars from scratch - and I mean from scratch. Everything is hand made except for the bridge and machine heads.(they are badged in his own name).
He sells more relics than anything else. Horses for courses - there is a market out there, and despite the pros and cons people keep asking him to make them.

 

[Strangeglow]

I'm going to relic a bongo. And then start convincing people that EBMM will be selling 8 band eq models in 2040 but they won't sound as sweet as the old preamps. So you could buy the reiic'd version and save yourself the expensive trip to the future.

 

[bovinehost]

...and save yourself the expensive trip to the future.

But aren't there some kind of package deals or something? I mean, I know you have to go look at a time-share, but......

 

[Psycho Ward]

I like my stuff to look new so I take extremely good care of my equipment.

But as several of you have seen me, it’s easy to tell I’m the relic.

 

[Fred E.]

Saw this the other day and laughed - saw some ladies jeans with, not only the bleach marks, but holes in the knees (no biggie), frayed ends (again, no biggie), but holes in the butt AND a ripped crotch (no joke - I thought it was one pair but it was the entire rack and we're talking BIG rips)... why bother with pants at all??? Would love to see the factory workers doing those.

Makes me hope that no designer ever tries to market a "Monica Lewinsky Tribute Blue Dress" (Or "Larry the Cable Guy Thong Underwear".

 

[PzoLover]

same ol same ol

I was at a local guitar shop, and they were excited that they got some new ESP relics in. I took the two strat-like ones down to compare them. They had the exact same relic-ing to them. Three small scratches on the upper horn, and nick by the bridge, the same-sized crescent worn away at the heel, etc.

It was like they came up with the formula of what the perfect relic should look like and came up with a checklist to follow.

Anyhow, if you could get past how they looked, they did play very well, but I agree with the initial post here -- why bother?

this reminds me of driving noth on Seymour St in Vancouver at 1 AM, but I reckon every city has their own version of trish trash avenue ... while some folks just dig paying top buck for scuffed up fakery, some dig yapping about itthen there's the Marketing folksas though there's actually something to understand

/PL

 

[brooklynfall]

My 2 cents: I think relic-ing looks better on some basses than others. For example, scratch or dent my new Lava Pearl SR5 and I will destroy you. On the other hand, my '87 Fender P looks like dogs**t and I actively hit my drummer's cymbals with the headstock whenever we end our set. New EB's look beautiful and should stay that way, whereas I can't wait to mess up new Fenders.

 

[PzoLover]

America needs your $$$

Been checking out other manufacturer websites, & quite frankly, I don't see the attraction of a $2,000 to $4,000 brand new instrument that looks like 20 miles of bad dirt road. Joe Strummer might have had his Tele since he started playing, & dinged, dented, DIY paint job etc etc, but I sure don't want an instrument that looks like Sh** out of the box. Then there are the people who buy a brand new beautiful instrument, & proceed to thrash it to make it look 30 years old. Just play the crap out of it & age it yourself naturally.

Thanks BP for not doing anything dumb like this.

Consumerism is the lifeblood of the American economy - "culture",anything to make a buck is sacredbeating the $#!+ out of something is ultimately good for business

And paying stupid $$$ for smeone else's thrash is ultimately good for your soul "You are what you buy"
"The Bleat"ing goes on"
/PL