Worn to the bone

[Immortal]

Re: Worn to the bone

I respect your opinion and taste Newc.

As for me, it has to sound right and it has to be in mint condition. I think almost everyone tries to compensate those two things, right?

[diablomozart]

Re: Worn to the bone

mint condition?...nah...i go for used cos they're already broken in...if a guitar is a little beat up who cares?...just about every time i play out i add new dings to guitars...it happens...d.m.

[fuel0707]

Re: Worn to the bone

Everyone has their own value on the looks of a guitar. And yes, there is a definitely a market for relic-d guitars and guitars that have faked finishes. As for me, I'd rather have a good-looking guitar if I'm buying it new or slightly used. If it gets a few dings, let them be a record of my playing. I think a decent amount of people buying relics are people who don't play much but want to give other people the mistaken impression that they are a "road warrior". Put another way, sometimes those relic-d guitars are the equivalent of a stuffed bra or a sock in some guys gym shorts - false advertising. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[sully]

Re: Worn to the bone

Originally posted by Immortal:

Let's take one J/C guitar. Let's say Model 6, which is very praised and very well built guitar.
All Mod 6 guitar are pretty much the same, if they're stock. Let's say, they're all stock.
Which one would you chose, since you know that every Mod 6 available sounds the same as the other does?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">as far as that analogy goes, if i was going to buy a guitar, and the only difference between them was condition, i would certainly choose the one in the best shape. however, i wouldn't care much if the guitar showed its age after the years of playing it.

on the relicing topic, i agree that it could be a bit silly, but from an artistic stance, i like it. i respect the amount of work that goes into it. and yeah, some of it is just taking it out on the dock with you on your smoke break and put a few cigs out in it, but i like the wear patterns that get put into the necks. i think it's neat.

sully

[Tekky]

Re: Worn to the bone

Originally posted by Jim Shine:
Thanks Sully!

Immortal, cleaning the guitar had nothing to do with it. With the old nitro finishes cleaning them all the time would wear them out faster. The dirt is embedded in the wood.

The Relic replica SRV guitars are more or less a playable showpiece for the die hard SRV fan. I feel we should all wear our own guitars out, but hey, Fender has been selling Relics for almost 10 years now, so there is demand. Did you hear about the Randy Rhoads relic at the last NAMM show?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Rhoads at Winter 04 NAMM was incredible, but the one that really caught my attention was this little gem...

<center>

</center>

It is a dead-on replica (yes, I said replica) of SRV's #1. I thought it was the real thing until when I finally was able to take my eyes off it and watch the video of them making it.

[Jim Shine]

Re: Worn to the bone

They were a mere $10K and every guitar sold before they were built.

Early Charvel employee Mike Eldred has done a killer job in the Fender Custom Shop. He really got them to get some of those minute differences zeroed in when he started out as the CS Manager. I really disliked Fender relics before then as they were horrible looking replicas. Today not only are the guitars more accurate to spec, but they are aging these things out RIGHT. I can still pick one out from a real vintage guitar in a second, but they look perfect from three feet now versus 10-15 feet in the past. They have really been perfected over the past 4 years.

[Newc]

Re: Worn to the bone

I never heard of SRV using 17's (bass strings?) but I have read that he used 13's.

And there's no way to duplicate SRV's Strat to 100% - you can age the wood, finish, and pickups artificially, but even laser scanning and shaping the neck with a computer-driven neck-shaver isn't going to get the back of the neck 100% identical to where the owner couldn't tell the difference in the feel.

The Relics, IMO, are for the wannabes who want the look of a heavily-toured guitar without putting in the work to make it look that way, but, as was stated - there's a market of buyers for it.

Stop obsessing over the finish of a guitar, as that's going to interfere with your creativity as well as your development as a musician - you'll spend more time worrying about damage than concentrating on progress, and in 20 years you'll just be another suck-ass wannabe with a 20 year old near-mint guitar [img]graemlins/eyes.gif[/img]

Newc

[Ninja Guitar]

Re: Worn to the bone

Replicas are gay, I think. But there's an audience for them, so whatever. I'd rather buy my own guitars and break them in myself.

Originally posted by Immortal:
Let's take one J/C guitar. Let's say Model 6, which is very praised and very well built guitar.
All Mod 6 guitar are pretty much the same, if they're stock. Let's say, they're all stock.
Which one would you chose, since you know that every Mod 6 available sounds the same as the other does?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">If I went to a store with a bunch of all stock Mod 6 guitars, I'd buy the one that's most worth my money (which is pretty subjective from person to person). I'd like a mint condition one, since it would look prettier and probable be ready for more years of playing and beating, but if the worn ones were substancially(spl?) cheaper looking to my budget, that's what I'd probably go for.

My guitars are like some of my best friends, but I'm not going to have a heart attack if they get worn. In the end, they're musical instruments and that's it. I'd rather my music define me than my guitars.

[Outlander]

Re: Worn to the bone

Great thread, I think the brand new stressed look is silly but if there is a market for it...money talks.
I have seen photos of Stevie standing with both feet on his guitar on stage while pounding on the strings and just yanking the hell out of the trem bar! Every video I've seen of him he's just sweatin' his ass off. You can see it just rolling off his face.
Wooden musical instruments are more desirable for their tone as they get older. As was stated by someone earlier as the wood drys the tone is transmitted more purely. This is why Stradivarias(sp)violins are so highly regarded, this and their construction which is also tone related.
With me it's a love/hate thing with a new guitar because until you get those first few dings or so you seem to hold back some on your playing.

[Ninja Guitar]

Re: Worn to the bone

Originally posted by OUTLANDER:
With me it's a love/hate thing with a new guitar because until you get those first few dings or so you seem to hold back some on your playing.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I just learned to say "fuck it, this axe is my ***** now", or something like that. [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[charvelguy]

Re: Worn to the bone

If you 'listen' to Vaughn or Rory and not see them play, even on video,.. then you really can't judge them as demure players. They were as aggressive as they were sensitive.

Watch the video Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble live at the El MoCambo..that will change your opinion fast. He does everything but toss it over his shoulder and wipe his ass with it. You think Yngwie is rough with his axes.. Stevie played the shit out of that guitar with incredible emotion and technique. His upstroke chokes and slight upstroke sweeps are so quick..there is undeniably some cool things to see on that tape.
It really is a treat to see him in a club setting when he was just starting to break out..
a priceless Vid to be watched more than once.

[ June 01, 2004, 11:41 AM: Message edited by: charvelguy ]

[ApeDosMil]

Re: Worn to the bone

guitar that look beat to shit are the best.