Relic'd Guitars are for Posers

[Sledge Johnson]

Btw, the hammer in your avatar is a ball peen hammer and not a sledge.

I'm a poser

 

[Sledge Johnson]

Using the word "poser" is for 13 year old boys.

But I'll be 14 next month !!

 

[Sledge Johnson]

It

is that a relic'd sledge, in your avi? ...

or do you use it to relic someone else' guitars?

(disclaimer: I know it's not a sledge, just joking)

it's a relic'd baby sledge !

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

When I was sanding some stickers off of a Strat body that was given to me..
I had a cool looking bit of wood bleeding through the sanding,, so reassembled it and played it for a couple of weeks..
It was at the time mat black with raw wood showing at the top of where your forearm would be. I thought it was comfortable.. but I would no way pay top dollar for one,, already done..
But that’s just me..

Cheers
Mitch

 

[Cooltouch]

The closest I get to a relic'd guitar is if I buy a used one with honest wear -- or if I grab one of my own that I've used as a basic "kick-around" for years. I've just never got the whole relic'd thing, mostly cuz it feels like cheating. It's almost the same as claiming work as your own that you didn't have anything to do with. But then I ask myself, how is a relic'd instrument any different from an old, used one. And I sez to myself, one got its wear the honest way and the other didn't. So I come full circle.

Hey, if it makes you feel good to buy a relic'd guitar, that's cool. Just don't try to pass it off as one with genuine wear.

 

[Vinsanitizer]

What say you?

Any blemishes or finish faults on my guitars were earned honestly... by me !

People want to recapture the past. If they're becoming status symbols now, then that might be an indication to me that the fad is continuing into the next generation after the baby boomers. Personally, I kinda squawk at players who spend $6,000 on a new Gibson 1959 reissue, then change the pickups out for another $500, and then send the guitar out and pay a couple thousand more for someone to beat the living crap out of it. I don't get it.

 

[Lo-Tek]

Even though I don't agree that relic=poser I do frequently find relics to be quite funny looking.
Some of them just have the most absurd wear patterns. lol
But again, to each their own
I think pretty much everyone ultimately agrees that honest wear looks better.

 

[Derek S]

Even though I don't agree that relic=poser I do frequently find relics to be quite funny looking.
Some of them just have the most absurd wear patterns. lol

Same. Definitely disagree on the "relic = lame" view, if you can play, you can play, a falsely advertised vintage guitar won't hide that.

I agree on the comical look on many of them too. My guess is some feel a guitar with the beat up/aged look adds character (natural or fake character, I don't think they care), and I get that, it's all personal preference...I personally look for some character in the playing, tone and what's actually being done with the guitar vs some visual fad, but to each his own. If a guy wants to buy a new axe and then add some fake character so be it, just wonder if they know it's usually pretty obvious to other players because it's done so much now...it's like when you spot a guy with a bad hair piece or dyed hair color lol, you don't say a word, but you sure notice it's overdone and hardly natural.

 

[PowerTube44]

It’s been a long, long time but every relic that I’ve tried was set up perfectly. They basically played themselves. This must have been 1996 and they were Fender Custom Shop.

That's why they played so well, not because they were relics.

 

[mplecha]

I'd never want one. It's definitely a poser thing. Its like buying jeans with holes in the knees. Most of the relic jobs I've seen are way overboard. The guitar looks like it came from the wreckage of the titanic, but the bridge, saddle and tuners are shiny new.

No thanks.

 

[Vinsanitizer]

Even though I don't agree that relic=poser I do frequently find relics to be quite funny looking.
Some of them just have the most absurd wear patterns. lol
But again, to each their own
I think pretty much everyone ultimately agrees that honest wear looks better.

Right. Like a Les Paul with the upper bout, where your arms rests, all warn away. Get that thing refinished! It doesn't look cool. Same with any other guitar, to me anyway.

 

[MarshallDog]

If you are buying a relic because it looks cool, yea you're a poser. But what I've found is that many relics just feel better.

How can a relic'd guitar feel better than the same exact guitar that is not relic'd or is it more of a mental thing, just curious?

 

[Derek S]

How can a relic'd guitar feel better than the same exact guitar that is not relic'd or is it more of a mental thing, just curious?

Placebo!

 

[Frodebro]

How can a relic'd guitar feel better than the same exact guitar that is not relic'd or is it more of a mental thing, just curious?

A decent relic job will make the neck feel well broken in.

 

[Lo-Tek]

A decent relic job will make the neck feel well broken in.

I think that's why so many Nashville guys use them. The look, feel and tone of a vintage piece but at less cost.
I like the style of Sean guitars as an example. Almost looks legit vintage.

 

[WellBurnTheSky]

And you should continue to do so. The OP should concentrate more on making and sharing music like you do than worrying about what finish someone else puts on their guitar.

This, pretty much. The whole thread screams "looks how much integrity I have", which always looks phony to me (much more so than any relic job).
And the world would be a much better place if people were less judgmental of others and others' tastes in life.
Don't like it ? Move around. Like it ? Enjoy it. Simple as that.

 

[mark123]

That's why they played so well, not because they were relics.

Congratulations, Sherlock Holmes. You’ve cracked the case.

 

[LeverAction Gypsy]

Of COURSE they are poser guitars...that WAS the whole point of relic guitars in the first place - guitars that look like 'players guitars' for people who never play enough to get one to look like it. I was working for a Fender dealer at the time they came out (1998?) and you have to realize the hysteria (and cost) over a vintage 50s-60s Fender or Gibson. The prices were way high and it was a status symbol to be able to afford on of these beat guitars. I remembeer Jay Boone of Emerald Guitars in Seattle making the papers with his $350,000 vintage Les Paul, old Strats were going for $30,000+....well a relic was a way for these jokers to afford their status symbol and look wealthy and try to look cool at the same time with a beat guitar..."that guy must be amazing look at how worn that guitar is?"....of course both the vintage guitar market and record labels promoting guitar based music both tanked since, so looks like everyone who played the game got what they deserved - screwed! haha

 

[ApathyForum]

I don’t mind artificial relic’d guitars at all. This one, however, is naturally relic’d. I bought it a couple of weeks ago. There are cracks in the finish, dings, stains and lots of chips on the edges of the fretboard (which can’t be felt during play), but I love it. It's the best Strat I've ever played.

 

[Moony]

I don't mind used looking guitars.

Problem is that many relic jobs look just like fake to me.
I can't ignore it once I see it.

Either it doesn't look realistic, or it looks like the owner of the guitar is a complete idiot for bumping the same scratches in the same unusual spot multiple times in a row.

Also some relic jobs are so over the top, like someone had already played that guitar for 100 years nonstop.

But to each their own I guess.