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Ok . . . I can't be the only one. I don't like quot;relicedquot; guitars, quot;agedquot; pups, or quot;vintagequot; this or that. If I bought SRV's old Strat, I'd probably have it refinished. If I bought SD Antiquities, I'd probably call the Custom Shop for non-aged covers. I like my modelling amp, and non-traditional pup configurations. (Dual-humbucker Strats, 3-pup Tele's.)

I'm guessing this comes from growing up in a large, poor family, with lots of hand-me-downs and second-hand stuff. I like quot;newquot;.

So . . . who's with me?

Artie

P.S. Anyone know where I can score an original '65 Black Face?

I don't like relics guitars. But i like aged pickup covers in certian aplacations(i KNOW thats not spelled right)

I would not buy a reliced guitar because I would not buy a restored and reliced Corvette. Or a brand new reliced corvette

On the other hand if I buy a Corvette with a bit of character and road wear I'd be fine with it.

slade

Oh yeah . . . dissenting opinions welcome.

I don't mind beat up guitars but I would never quot;relicquot; anything. I think it's silly and pretentious.


Originally Posted by danglybangerI would not buy a reliced guitar because I would not buy a restored and reliced Corvette. Or a brand new reliced corvette

On the other hand if I buy a Corvette with a bit of character and road wear I'd be fine with it.

slade

A quot;bitquot; of character I agree with. But when something needs to be repaired . . .

I think a bit of wear and tear gives a used guitar character - tells its story if you like. But if I buy a brand new guitar I want it to look brand new - it shouldn't have a story yet! I wouldn't buy reliced.

I make an exception for Antiquity humbuckers. They look great in the right instrument. Mine are in a 14-year-old guitar and they match the rest of the hardware which has aged naturally. Most distinguished (IMO).


Originally Posted by Simon_FI make an exception for Antiquity humbuckers. They look great in the right instrument. Mine are in a 14-year-old guitar and they match the rest of the hardware which has aged naturally. Most distinguished (IMO).

Thats a good point. As you say, quot;in the right instrumentquot;, I guess I'd make an exception too. But if I had a new guitar, and wanted quot;that tonequot;, I'd go for new-ish looking.

Edit: I wonder if thats what a Benedetto A6 or PAF would accomplish. (Vintage tone - new look.)

I don't know what it is but a worn out, finish falling off, yellowed pickups, nasty maple neck, 50 year old Strat or Tele just does it for me, and since I will never be able to actually own a real 50's Strat or Tele a relic will have to do...my HW1 Tele is already showing wear in quot;all the right placesquot; and I love it...my black Strat has a set of CS Duncans and I ordered Antiqity covers because they look soo cool, my Tele has an antiquity cover on the neck pickup and I also love it...both my Yamaha and my Moderne have nicely worn in gold hardware and their fair share of nicks and scratches and I'm very happy about it...

Every time I pickup a quot;relicquot; Strat or Tele it feels like a perfectly worn in pair of jeans...maybe Im crazy.

I love beat up old guitars, and new looking amps. Go figure.

My take on the fender relic thing is it's a bit funny, but the fact is they are the best sounding fenders money can buy. I've played NOS, closet classic and relic models of the same guitar, and every time, the relic has sounded better. Thinner finish? -probably.

i tend to like mint guitars. i hate guitars that look fairly new then have one or two chips or a big scratch in them to me that's worse than a beat to crap relic (real or fake). i rather have it perfect or it has to be worn to crap, nothing in the middle. i do for some reason like the look of a dirty played maple neck though with fingerboard stains...why, i have no idea. i'm fine with some relics (strats and teles for the most part). being that most of my guitars are pretty much mint i'd like to get 1 relic strat just to have one guitar that when i'm playing it in my chair and a bump it against the arm of the chair i don't cringe and freak out checking it for marks like i do now lol. overall i prefer more modern guitars though, like you Artie, strats with hums etc. i'll never own a 3 single, 3 knob strat again and even if i built a relic strat it would have a hum in the bridge otherwise it would do me no good.

-Mike


Originally Posted by the guy who invented fireI don't know what it is but a worn out, finish falling off, yellowed pickups, nasty maple neck, 50 year old Strat or Tele just does it for me, and since I will never be able to actually own a real 50's Strat or Tele a relic will have to do...my HW1 Tele is already showing wear in quot;all the right placesquot; and I love it...my black Strat has a set of CS Duncans and I ordered Antiqity covers because they look soo cool, my Tele has an antiquity cover on the neck pickup and I also love it...both my Yamaha and my Moderne have nicely worn in gold hardware and their fair share of nicks and scratches and I'm very happy about it...

Every time I pickup a quot;relicquot; Strat or Tele it feels like a perfectly worn in pair of jeans...maybe Im crazy.
Originally Posted by Hot _GritsI love beat up old guitars, and new looking amps. Go figure.

My take on the fender relic thing is it's a bit funny, but the fact is they are the best sounding fenders money can buy. I've played NOS, closet classic and relic models of the same guitar, and every time, the relic has sounded better. Thinner finish? -probably.

I can appreciate both of those answers. Vintage can be good . . . especially if there's a quot;story-tellerquot; behind it. Anyone who's old enough to know who Jean Shephard is will know what I mean.

Artie

If I buy my guitars or amps reliced or scratched, thats fine. But I'll never specifically damage a guitar to make it look aged. I want my relics to happen naturally, to tell a story, not quot;oh i paid extra money to have this donequot;...

1 to what XSSIVE said about new guitars with only two scratches in it... does make it look weird

I agree, I think this relic thing is way overrated, I can't understand why someone would pay big bucks for a crapped up guitar.

I like classic looking stuff or throwback or vintage, that can be very cool, but distressed to the point of looking like it's falling apart is not my thing.

Yes, SRV could pull it off because he can play the cuss out of the guitar, If I had a guitar that looked like that it would just look like crap!

Something that has quot;aged gracefullyquot; can be cool too, but taking hunks out of the wood and putting rusted parts on it on purpose, I mean come on!

I dislike relic'ed guitars, any trems but OFR's, Kahlers, or Wilkies, non-tilt-back headstocks, zebra or double creme pickups, any hardtails besides BC Rich's one piece, and a TOM/string thru or TOM/Stop tail, single coils, radii lower than 14, and alder.

Yeah, not vintage at all.

I don't like the 'relic' series other than the feel of the finish is that much nicer. Whether those are actually dried nitro finishes or not- they do feel nice. The idea of making them look pre-beat is silly to me. I beat the hell out of my instruments.

I like the look of relics, BUT I would like to do that myself through gigging.

Vintage rules!
I dont like all the modellign stuff, I like my guitar through 1-4 effects (only have 1 right now) and into an amp. done.

All I know is that if I paid extra for a reliced guitar, I'd want it to look like it was dragged behind a truck or something. I had a Japanese basswood Custom Esquire that I reliced nicely by quot;smashingquot; it onstage fairly frequently and then fixing it if it broke. It looked great.

Artie, Im with ya...there is nothing vintage looking or sounding that I like...I take that back- its ok when other people use it, just not me.
i spend most of my time trying to make my guitar sound...strange. or not like a guitar at all. or at least not like the last 50 years of guitar playing. Fans of Adrian Belew and David Torn know what I mean...

I got bit by the relic bug. I relic'd a few of my guitars. To me, the relic was a finish option, nothing more. My Tele-Gib was my first attempt, got good pics of Beck's axe and copied the wear and scratches. It was fun to do, and then I took it furthur with my own mods. I love not having to worry about not dinging it...I'd hate to think of chipping my LP, my gold Tele and now my Sheriton. They are all flawless and I intend to keep them that way. So I'm very happy with my 'ugly' and 'pretty' guitars...and I don't think I commited any sin by restoring and recovering my BlackFace Champ in blonde Tolex and new hardware...it looks old, and new, as Peter would say,quot;freakin' sweet!quot;