Poll: Roadworn guitars and home relicing

Jack-Flash-Jr

I've been browsing a LOT of music shops in JHB in the last couple of days and there are a lot of pre-relic'd guitars on the shelf, some are better than others (the Fender Roadworn series actually looks pretty good from a few steps away, at least for the examples I saw). I also saw alot of genuine article vintage guitars, some of them wear their wear well, others just look messed up. This is not about custom paint jobs unless they are specifically there to make it look like the guitar toured all the lower States in biker bars before winding up in South Africa :) We covered this before but I thought a poll to see how the majority of us feel about factory or home relic'd guitars would be interesting. Bare your soul in the comments or suggest poll adjustments. I personally prefer to see a guitar show its scars (I don't fix nicks and bumps) but feel strange holding a factory worn guitar...

(old forum) Poll Results: Would you purchase a pre-distressed new guitar or consider home relicing yours?

Yes, roadworn new guitars look cool.: 8
Yes, I'd put sandpaper to my guitar to make it looked well gigged.: 5
I'd consider relic'd guitars if they looked more authentic.: 5
No, it's not aesthetically pleasing to see a banged up guitar.: 8
Fake wear offends me. It's uncool.: 34
I fix the smallest nicks to make my 70's original look as new as possible.: 6
Heavy wear is fine if it's the genuine article.: 49

zohn

don't like gold plated watches, don't like factory roadwear. I love my guitars like my jeans with honest play wear.

Keira-WitherKay

? i HATE the look of brand new shiny guitars and said this a few times on this forum , so for me i must admit that roadworn gear as in the fender range looks cool , but i add a "BUT" here , cos i have seen some cool roadworn tele's that i would buy if only they did USA roadworns too..... (they all MIM unless they custom shop relics) but i also seen some "way wrong" roadworn ones too, as in the wear looks unnatural like it was dragged behind a 4x4 for 20 km not like it was worn in with hundreds of gigs .........

so yes if it's done right i'm a fan ........

and an honest comment from my mindset on how i like guitars , is if i had the choice of 2 of the same guitars 2nd hand at the same price so for example .say a 2002 USA tele but one was well played in even abused as in chipped paint /headstock ect ... and the other one was the same model but mint , as long as the damage is not structural( as in broken truss rod or warped neck)and both were the same price .i would definitely buy the worn in one anytime ....... over the mint one everytime

Neon-Gecko

I kinda like the look and silky smooth feel of a new guitar. As time goes by and you've had a chance to become best friends, then scars, scratches and dents are cool. There really is no point in having a guitar that looks well travelled when you don't have any clue how to answer a simple "how did you get that dent then?" Like a good pair of comfortable old jeans, naturally faded please...

rikus

I like authentic roadwear, but I don't ever think I'll play enough to give my strat authentic roadwear. At most it'll just look neglected, which is why I look after my strat... It would however be great to have a guitar that's lightly relic'd/roadworn, which I can then add to.

I'd for example love a la cabronita like so:

Warren

I wouldn't buy a factory-worn guitar for the same reasons some others have mentioned: for me, the look of a worn guitar speaks of a certain relationship with its owner, and you can't buy that relationship - you need to build it over many years of play.

I like worn Strats and LPs, but I also like shiny new ones too. Also, I feel that the more natural colours (natural woods, browns, blondes etc.) look better with wear than Candy Cola Red, for example.

My Strat has some scuffs and whatnot, and I think they add some character. Hopefully as the years go by that character will build! I would, however, also like a maple necked Candy Red Strat that I can keep in perfect, un-blemished condition. ? ?

singemonkey

I like to buy jeans deep indigo and wear them until they are worn. It doesn't actually take that long.

Likewise, if you don't baby a guitar, it will start to get that look in short order. My Tokai does not look like it did in the pictures I've posted any more. After one year the nickel is corroded, and it has scratches in the finish. And all of that stuff represents my history with the guitar.

It must be said that heavy polyurathane finishes and chromed hardware will not show the wear as quickly. Just one reason to go for nitro and nickel if you can - and you like the wear.

VellaJ

I think most people are voicing the same opinion that I have: I will not buy a pre-relic'ed guitar, for the pure reason that I want to be able to wear it myself, legitimately.

I like the idea of being able to say "I did that, nobody else." And I'll be able to, because as singmonkey said, the heavy polyurethane coats and chrome don't wear as easily. So when my guitar, with both of these, starts looking properly worn, I'll feel really good ?

make-and-do

singemonkey wrote: I like to buy jeans deep indigo and wear them until they are worn. It doesn't actually take that long.

..especially if you wear them every day, singe ?

I like the wear on my guitars to be real. Otherwise it's pretending to be something it's not.
It's like buying new well-authored novels and folding the spines and putting it on the shelf for display
without reading it. It's like spraying faux mud on your urban 4 x 4 Vehicle to attest that you've been somewhere
exotic while you were actually at home on the couch all holiday. ???
Buuuuut that's just me

mity88

there we go...ill have one of these thanks ?

Ray

I really dont like it. If I buy a new guitar, cheap or expensive I look after it pretty well but not so much that a bump or scratch will be a disaster. I have bought pre-owned and sometimes a little whacked but that is different - I dont buy it for the worn look but if it is a bargain in my eyes. You know, the mroe I think of it a new guitar is really quite beautiful.

chris77

Not so much the body, but a neck that looks like it's seen some playing through the years adds a lot of mojo to an electric imo.

VellaJ

make and do wrote: Buuuuut that's just me

Evidently it isn't just you ? ?

singemonkey

make and do wrote:
singemonkey wrote: I like to buy jeans deep indigo and wear them until they are worn. It doesn't actually take that long.

..especially if you wear them every day, singe ?

OMG! Are you spying on me?! ???

vic

easy to do... ?

Keira-WitherKay

i have 2 points..

the 1st one is funny but sad too

i'm too old to buy a guitar and allow it to age to get to relic status......... i'm 47 if i buy a brand new shiny USA tele (which i'm in market for) it will take 15 years to reach the point where it';s getting distressed maybe even 20 - 30 ..... i have my 83 strat and it is 28yrs old and played before me by a pro who used it a lot and yet it only very lightly relic'd/worn at moment ... with only one place on body where paint is chipped enough for the wood to show through . cos even though i love the roadworn /relic look i still i won't deliberately throw my guitars around to ding em , so yes either i buy an old worn/relic'd one already as in a beat up 2nd hand one or i should have one relic'd ...or else i just would never get that look i love...till i'm 65 or 70 and frankly i doubt i'll make it that long ?

and 2nd is just a point i seen used a few times that people want to know the history of the guiars dents /scratch's or have personally played it in themselves...... and saying thats a reason to not buy a roadworn ..... but then you also can't buy that distressed 63 stratocaster that you find , or that 59 tele cos you never owned it all the time or put in the wear yourself..... that i don't understand

but yes i understand we do have 2 camps of people liking the pristine new models and the ones who prefer old/worn instruments....... and thats all personal choice ....... so that i get and respect.....

and i think if they can get the process right of copying the wear on a true vintage instrument . like they do when the relic at Fender custom shop on their models , factory relic ing can be awesome, but like i mentioned in my 1st post i also hate it when it's not done right ....... so i'm not defending all relic'd guitars just the good ones.......

a thing of beauty .in the eye's of the beholder

ActionArnie

Gotta say I'm not one to turn my nose up at the factory-relic'd Fenders ... wouldn't mind one of them John Mayer "Black One" replicas at all

Freddy-Bl00D

I love the roadworn look but you can't really plan that? I think you just wake up 20 years later and you realise wow this looks awesome... And like growing your hair and stuff theres always a awkward phase... My 96 Fender Jag-Stang was bought 2nd hand.. He has been banged up and used alot by the previous owner but now he just looks like a 15year old guitar thats just been neglected (which he probably was) but itl take another 10 - 15years of constant use before it starts to look awesome!! So If you have time stacked against you or dislike that awkward phase.. Relic it yourself or just get one of them gorgeous fenders ? but please dont try and relic a mint fender!! I want to build and relic a tele partcaster soon ?

Fingerpicker

I like my acoustics like I like my cars, no scratches or dings.
On the other hand, I like my Strat like I like my women, showing signs of having lived.
I couldn't imagine women getting themselves abraded just to look road-worn, however.

Jack-Flash-Jr

Fingerpicker wrote: I like my acoustics like I like my cars, no scratches or dings.
On the other hand, I like my Strat like I like my women, showing signs of having lived.
I couldn't imagine women getting themselves abraded just to look road-worn, however.

:roflmao: