How do you feel about "relic" guitars?

[marnold***]

I'm not a big fan of the fake relicing process either. Especially the fact that a professionally reliced guitar will cost much more than someone who reliced it the old fashioned way.

WRT shop owners being anal about their guitars, I don't blame them. I played an SRV Strat at a GC a while back that was new, but it had taken plenty of abuse just hanging there. Granted GC is a mega corporation and the help isn't paid to care. In a mom and pop shop, that's everything. I don't know what I'd do. I suppose with low-end foreign-made stuff its not a big deal, but if you get some U.S. made Fenders or Gibsons, etc., I'd be watching like a hawk.

[Fab4]

In a mom and pop shop, that's everything. I don't know what I'd do. I suppose with low-end foreign-made stuff its not a big deal, but if you get some U.S. made Fenders or Gibsons, etc., I'd be watching like a hawk.

I suppose it depends on how fast your stock moves. Wildwood sells bazillions of guitars over the internet, so they move stuff out pretty fast. They're one of (if not the) largest Fender and Gibson dealers in the world...and certainly the largest independent dealer, although you'd never know it to walk into their store. The guitars at Mom & Pop Ltd. probably hang on the wall for weeks or months, giving them lots of time to develop a touch of the ol' relic.

Wildwood can probably be a little less anal because they cater to the experienced player and the fat wallet guy. The thrashers go to GC. Wildwood also understands the "getting to know you" process, which is key to selling the higher-end stuff. Still, they do ask that you let THEM get the guitars down off the wall...which seems like a reasonable move to me.

[bigoldron]

Did I mention I'm not big on relics?

I'm off rant now..........................

Are you Suhr you don't like reliced geetars? Robert wanted to know. :


I agree. If I'm going to pay the price of a new guitar, then I want it to LOOK like a new guitar! :

[peachhead***]

I agree. If I'm going to pay the price of a new guitar, then I want it to LOOK like a new guitar! :

That's what I was thinking!

As for music shops- my local shop is a Martin dealer but keeps all their Martin inventory way, way up high almost at ceiling height. Takes a ladder to get them down. I never feel encouraged to ask about trying one- I had to go out of town to do that. On one hand I understand it but on the other, it seems kind of pretentious to me.

[Fab4]

I never feel encouraged to ask about trying one- I had to go out of town to do that.

So, it seems like some of these stores are discouraging customers and thereby sacrificing potential sales to avoid shop wear. Of course, they want to avoid shop wear because it would cut into sales. Am I missing something here?

And if I put my G&L Legacy on a guitar stand behind my truck on a gravel road, hit the gas and sprayed the thing with rocks, would it be worth an extra $1500?

What if somebody made a guitar with a new finish but with a worn-in-feeling neck and aged pickups? I think I asked a Fender rep about that once. Would that have any appeal for anyone?

[ZMAN]

I have seen some very nice "relic-ed" guitars from this guy.
A local dealer has them and I tried them out. They are under 500 and they have Wilkinson pickups and hardware.
http://www.jhs.co.uk/vintageelectric.html
I would not pay 3000 or more for a brand new guitar. I have a tech who bought one from the custom shop and paid 3500. It looked like a 40 year old Strat. It even had a pot missing on purpose.

[just strum]

He even has Sponge Bob guitars!!!

http://www.jhs.co.uk/spongebob.html

[Fab4]

I would never want to imply that "modern relics" are bad guitars. Fender started doing them because they wanted to make true vintage clones with period-correct finishes, and they really upped the standards for that approach. The JHS Vintage Electrics look like good values, and I've played some great sounding relics from the Nash Guitars Time Warp series, which have Lollar pickups and sell in the $1700-$1900US range.

http://www.nashguitars.com/timewarp/index.html

For build quality, sound quality and practically, modern relics are some of the best guitars out there. Plus, if you want that look, you can get it on a great guitar that may have modern features like a flatter fingerboard radius, bigger frets and modern wiring. The Wildwood 10 series is like that, and so are the Nash Time Warps.

My beef with relics is strictly philosophical and cosmetic. I don't want to feel like I'm living a lie, plus I love the process of getting a new guitar and watching it "relic" naturally.

(The next step: The Spongebob Relic Series! Coooooal!)

[ShortBuSX]

That's a good point. The owner of Wildwood Guitars told me once that relic guitars are great to have in the shop because they're immune to shop wear.

What? Like they dont have to care for them anymore???
Like its okay if a customer does something stupid, like banging one into another when putting it back on the hook?

I cant say that Id be a fan of paying 1k+ for a relic...but that Joe Strummer is pretty damn affordable and has some nice wear patterns and that rusty corrosion looks pretty sweet! If you havent picked one up...you should check one out!:

PS I really like my "beat all to hell" MIJ Strat....looks like it was left in a car several times...the thin urethane is cracked and chipped, chunks of clear coming off the fretboard and the natural wood under darkening, bridge patina and corroded bolts and hardware...all for $100!
I think Im more of a "used" guy than a "relic" guy...but if they could make a new one with that used feel and still make it affordable(like the Joe Strummer) Id be all over it!

[Gil Janus]

I'm not really into the whole buy a new pre-reliced guitar - even a tribute one.

I like the fact that the new Fender David Gilmour Black Strat is available either as a NOS or a Relic - if I could afford it, I'd buy the NOS one.

I've picked up and inspected some of the Closet Classics - very nice - but they aren't my idea of a new guitar - I want a guitar to look and feel and sound new.

Just my 2 cents

Gil

[ShortBuSX]

I like the fact that the new Fender David Gilmour Black Strat is available either as a NOS or a Relic - if I could afford it, I'd buy the NOS one.

But isnt the David Gilmore a Black on Burst???
A finish like that kinda begs to be relic'd...although I think Im more of a fan of replicas.

[Fab4]

Is there anyone on The Fret who really LIKES relic guitars? Not just well used once-new ones, but modern relics made to look worn on purpose.

Toss in your 2 cents. We'll be nice (at least I will, I promise.) Let us know what the appeal is to you. What do you think is good/cool about them?

[sunvalleylaw]

From my point of view, unless you primarily want the relic version of a guitar mostly as an art piece, or maybe to play with lightly just at home, a relic replica is not useful to a musician that plays. It is designed and built to look just like some artist's guitar, and if you go out and really use it, you will change it from that to something else with your own wear. I will be nice to anyone that shares their desire for a relic too.

[wingsdad]

I think the whole 'relic'd' thing started early one Monday morning at the Fender or Gibson factory when some hungover dude on the line in the finishing dept tripped and hit the switch at the wrong time and screwed up. His supervisor took the goofy ruined body to his boss, who took it to a suit from the marketing dept, who went to lunch with more suits, they had about 3 Martinis, started rapping about P.T. Barnum, were reminded that Barnum said 'A sucker is born every minute!' and thus came up with the brilliant idea to capitalize on the whole 'collector' niche craze thing and throw a premium 'custom shop' price tag on it and feed the mess to the unsuspecting, naieve and hungry yuppy-with-disposable-cash market demo.

Meanwhile, the supervisor got a big fat bonus check for salvaging garbage into gold and fired the dumbass who accidentally came up with a way for the corporation to open an untapped revenue stream.

Sort of like how Penicillin and 'vulcanized rubber' were discovered....

[Fab4]

Sort of like how Penicillin and 'vulcanized rubber' were discovered....

Hmm. Both advances that revolutionized their respective industries. So, you're saying that relic-ing is the wave of the future, and we'll see exponential advances in relic technology that will create a brighter, healthier, more productive world for us all?

Well, that's something to look forward to. And to think, we were here when it all began...

[Gil Janus]

But isnt the David Gilmore a Black on Burst???
A finish like that kinda begs to be relic'd...although I think Im more of a fan of replicas.

Yes it is - but the guitar itself is not relic'd - that is left up to the player :

Gil

[Fab4]

It is designed and built to look just like some artist's guitar, and if you go out and really use it, you will change it from that to something else with your own wear.

I have no problem with "artist tribute" guitars, but I wouldn't pay $10,000+ for any of them. I thought the SRV #1 tribute was really fascinating, with its 1/4"-deep crater above the pickguard, the upside down trem and the twinkle tape "Custom" sticker. It also sounded great. Same for the Andy Summers model. The wear patterns and mods give you a look inside the players' heads and let you feel something of what they felt when they picked up their main guitars. The recreation process is interesting, too.

I like the fact that Fender is offering the Gilmore tribute Strat in "artist relic" and NOS condition. You can decide if the replicated mojo of David's own scratch and dent pattern is worth an extra $800 to you.

Most relic guitars, on the other hand, aren't modeled off of a particular guitar. They're simply aged to show typical wear patterns that might have occurred if the guitars had been played heavily and knocked around a bit. That's simply fake mojo in my eye, which impresses me as intellectually dishonest.

[ShortBuSX]

Is there anyone on The Fret who really LIKES relic guitars? Not just well used once-new ones, but modern relics made to look worn on purpose.

Toss in your 2 cents. We'll be nice (at least I will, I promise.) Let us know what the appeal is to you. What do you think is good/cool about them?

I would totally buy this guitar.(and have never been a Clash fan)



Itd be even better if I found one used!(at a slightly more reasonable price)
If you havent handled one, I really recommend you check it out...its totally got that thrift store denim look and feel...I even like that left out in the rain look its got.
And its not like youre worried about mangling it yourself...Id even go as far as to use it as a drink coaster or TV tray! I mean...what could go wrong?

[tot_Ou_tard]

Maybe the relic thing started with those who have played & experienced good old guitars & those who wish they had. The old beaters attained some cachet, because a good guitar gets played, the bad ones get ignored.

The brain is a lazy instrument. It probably doesn't take too many visual/auditory inputs to permanently assoctiated great tone with really beat-up wood.

The one real benefit that I can see with relics is a worn-in feel, how much money that is worth to you is up to you & your overconditioned brain.


My overconditioned brain thinks tone comes from closing your eyes & soaking in the tone waves that are all around us but need wooing to manifest.


That & the forty amphs, guitars, etc that I am currently drooling over.