The Argument Against RELIC Guitars – Honest and Real Aging and Wear Feels Better? Fender Custom Shop
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00:00 Truefire discount codes
00:15 Relics weren’t too much of a thing until the Fender Custom Shop?
00:35 the idea of paying for someone to artificially wear the instrument…
00:50 actual wear beats a relic?
5:15 from light relic to heavier relic?
5:30 they say that new nitro doesn’t age like this…
6:00 actual neck wear is lovely to feel under the hand
6:50 your hands are the sandpaper….
7:10 the transitions are so smooth
7:40 if you buy someone else’s worn guitar, is it as comfortable?
9:15 how my own personal relic project is going…
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#Argument #RELIC #Guitars #Honest #Real #Aging #Wear #Feels #Fender #Custom #Shop
Originally posted by UCkL4v-tohdDZX7kzmL9b2UA at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDKmODWZhnI
Playability is paramount to me. I do think the whole concept is kind of silly, but if I grab two guitars off the wall, and the relic'd one plays way better than the other, I am leaving with the relic.
Still, paying MORE to have someone bash your guitar up is a bit of a hard pill to swallow.
Some relics are very ugly because they are artificial and poorly done, not accurate. But if it's done right it's a great way to have vintage looking instrument. Having it or not depends only on the player's preference. I don't judge.
I measure every guitar on the following criteria – in priority order…of course, first it has to catch my eye or it won't enter the process…
1. Tone / sustain / string separation clarity / overtones
2. Feel / weight / responsiveness
3. Workmanship / craftsmanship
4. Looks (if it looks good relic'd then fine, if it looks good pristine then fine).
5. Price. Sometimes I'm wiling to go high, other times not, but I'll pay a premium for actual or perceived quality / fit.
I never set out to buy a relic or showroom quality guitar at the outset. Have had both – and been happy with both. But if relic'd, I prefer lightly aged in reasonable wear spots with realistic checking, not over the top "this guitar was just abused" look.
I would say, if relic'ing includes some of heat/cool process that reduces weight/moisture which allows the guitar to vibrate / ring more freely, that's a plus. The problem there is one can never a/b the before and after so it's impossible to know root cause.
As far as what other people think about relics, don't care. Life too short. I'm out to be happy, not win an argument about a first world problem.
Artificially relicking a guitar is a commercial gimmick that fools (some) people into spending more money for something that looks worn out and, quite frankly… ugly. I can see why someone would like the mojo of naturally worn instruments with stories to tell… etc. Myself, I go for new, shinny and immaculate instruments. I will break them in myself… no worries.
I probably have an unpopular opinion on this, but I prefer a new looking guitar over a relic’d guitar in most situations. For instance, if the color is beautiful like that Cobra Blue Strat, then it would be a shame to have it worn away. I bought it for the color and would want to show it off in pristine condition, just as you would a car. Nobody buys a car with a great paint job and then likes to drive around with dents or the paint worn off down to the bare metal, so why would you want to do that on your guitars? But if I were a gigging guitarist, I would be okay with relics because they are one less thing to worry about once they already have a bit of playwear to the point that you have the peace of mind to not obsess over every scratch that would inevitably accumulate on the road. However, for guitars that live at home, in a studio, or are only taken out casually to play with friends and the like, I would try to keep them as close to the original new condition as possible.
I do find it fascinating that relic'd guitars lose a lot of value once they get a real ding or nick. That leads me to believe that most of us want to buy mint gear, where "mint" means exactly how the item left the factory.
I'm going to sandpaper my car and paint the sideskirts brown so it looks like I'm a real hardcore driver.
Good show John (intro playing)! I’m sitting here on the beach in Biloxi, Mississippi and listening (on repeat). I can always tell when you’re playing an S type guitar (like your Springfields). Relic or not relic, sounds great! You know my green Sherwood ‘59 CS Strat reissue and I love the relic feel. Even though I wasn’t looking for it. Just saw it like star shining from the rack at Guitar House of Tulsa (always give Drew Winn the plug; love that place). I tried to avoid it for about 2 weeks. Once I got it down, it was done! I sat and played for about 3 hours! Always a good sign. ❤
I would definitely own any guitar that I felt right with. Relic or not. It’s about the emotive and practical.
Peace to you are yours John! Thanks for making my beach time a little extra! ✌????
I like having a neck relic. When you buy a used guitar it is natural relic
I cant stand the way relics trigger old men. The way they bitch and moan about people who own them. Enjoy your polyester squire Dave????
Not into relic'ed guitars at all. I like clean, mark free guitars and if I come across a nice vintage guitar that plays well and sounds well AND happens to be in really good condition, that is what floats my boat. I have three nice condition 1970's guitars.
Regarding relicing or natural wear, it always seemed to me that people who buy that worn in look are sort of pretending they've worn it in themselves. In effect BUYING credibility, buying 'cool' pretending they paid their dues in the bars and clubs over many years and so on. I have nothing against people who like it, but it's not for me. And if someone wanted to charge me more for what to my eye is a damaged guitar, then no way am I paying extra for that nonsense.
Someone gave me a relic, Strat and a relic telly as a gift. There’s something cool about it because it feels broken in. I really enjoy playing them more
I love the feel of a relic, but I don't care for the looks of anything beyond what Fender calls "Closet Classic".
I really enjoy your playing. I just feel it!
Mate pull your head in ???? there is no arguement. Guitars do NOT age like that anymore. If you want a relic guitar you have to pay for it, otherwise you’ll never see one in your life time. It’s that simple. So worry about your own guitars and carry on ????
rolled fretboard feeling old is nice, not worrying about the first scratch is nice. Other than that make all the battle wounds personal, not store bought
I would feel weird buying a reliced guitar but it don't mind when it happens naturally, I have a 74 l6S that is pretty well broken in but it felt that way when I got it. I do have a Charvel strat from 2020 that has smoothed out really nice along the fretboard edges and the paint is also starting to wear to my surprise, this guitar did have an extremely thin poly finish. My only nitro guitars are Gibson and that's just not a brand I can sit and put in hours of playing time, on, I never bond with Gibsons in that way.
I painted my own parts caster with nitro and gigged it hard, it wears really easy in the first couple of months!! I personally feel much more confident gigging an expensive guitar if it’s a relic.
I think the main issues with a guitar that is fake old is the chips, wear, rubs, don't seem to be in the right places – so what's the point when it doesn't look old and worn to the eye? Frankly I don't know any players that are so rough with their equipment that their guitar would look anything like most relic guitars. The ones Maybach still do – 'light-relic' – is pretty much what looks and feels like a real aged instrument – which does get you out of the fear of the first chip or ding on a new pristine guitar.
I had a 50's style Fender Telecaster in nitro copper that was dead mint but that was years ago before the relic craze. I want another but it seems like the guitars with the best finishes and appointments are all relic jobs. It looks like I would either have to buy one used and near mint or have one built. It doesn't really matter to me either way as long as it plays and sounds good.
Relics are cool. So are nos custom shops. Just own both.
I don't understand relic'd guitars at all. Ffs, get a brand new one, play it, sweat on it, abuse it. Relic'd is cringe like cuckolding.
Tasty playing. That note you hit at 3:18 just shows how certain notes against certain chords can have such an effect
If I was to pay the big money for a nitro finish guitar, I would rather wear it out myself. But more affordable guitars that have been relied are often a good bet. Not being completely covered in thick poly does mean they can resonate better.
Also the whole idea with the Mexican roadwork Fenders was that they wanted to do nitro finishes but didn't have the price point to be able to make them flawless, so they thought it was a relic them so the flaws were the feature.
So I heard anyway.
I make a destinction between something functional like rolling the fretboard edges or making a neck less sticky with scotchbrite pad to make it play better vs beating up the guitar and messing up the paint to fake it looking old and worn. One is functional, the other is poser
My only issue with relics is that I want to be the relic-er. I want to be the one who has all the stories behind the wear.
I started playing guitar in 1978. Seems to me that so many of these relic jobs are over done based on what I can remember. Of course a 1958 Strat would've only been 20 years old…. That said, how many guitars were actually painted with Sunburst, and then painted over the original finish with Lake Placid Blue? Then the two finishes are both worn down to the wood? That is IMHO what I mean by over done. It might look cool, but I doubt you could ever find a real one like that. What seems funny to me, is that what I think – at least from what I can remember – is what I used to see fairly often, but never in any of these relics, is people would completely sand the paint off the guitars. I can remember many more people doing that, then guitars looking as they do from vintage shops. I remember someone one day brought a small headstock Strat (my guess 60s because it had a rosewood board?), body completely sanded down to the wood, and someone routed it for a single humbucker, and they cut the pickguard by hand using some kind of plastic material. I loved that guitar! I can still remember it. But you never see anything like that come from the custom shop, which was more common than sunburst painted blue and being worn down. I had a mid-sixties Music Master stripped, I can remember two bass players that had J basses stripped, plus more…. Lots of guys used to do that. Actually, I have a Tokai I stripped and painted it yellow. Almost forgot about that one.
Anyway, the relic jobs look cool, but to me often times seem over done. Not everyone is Rory Gallagher! lol
God Bless!
Kinda like ratroding your car.
when i see a professional guitar player with a heavy reliced guitar i just laugh, another fashion victim…
almost missed it today oof
I would never buy a relic'd guitar any more than I would buy a fake Rolex or hang a print of a famous work of art in my living room. There's plenty of used guitars out there authentically beat up.
But I think Carmine Street guitars and the like that are built from old, repurposed wood from old buildings are cool. To pay an extra couple thousand because someone smacked my guitar with their car keys and scratched it with a steak knife seems silly and fake.
Jake has incredible guitars! I feel your Nacho will age this way if you keep it, more lacquer you have on begging the more material to shape in your ware pattern. And more it becomes yours
I don't feel like it's this or that. I think that many ways of looking at it are valuable, and that whatever is meaningful to you is good!
As someone that has always tried to take good care of everything I own I can't understand why anyone would want to buy anything that looks beat up and abused ???? I have a few guitars that I've played for 45 years and they have wear but I wouldn't fake it to look that way.
I don't want a wornout guitar even if real
The relic thing is kinda silly, but I do have a road worn tele, and psychologically I guess, it does seem to have a mojo to it, in my mind anyway!!!
One of your sweeter intros…
I love my lightly relicd guitars! They do look "cool" but if you get the right one it just feels good to play! It's still gonna get nicks and dings and uniquely wear as I gig it too…to each his own tho… just stap it on get out play & have some fun!
You gotta put the real mileage on a guitar to get the real worn in feel.
No relic conversation is complete without making it clear that on a modern finish normal run guitar, there is simply no way to wear it in naturally by playing it. A new Fender with a lacquer finish will NEVER wear in from your hands and normal play. It is impossible. You could play them to death for 50 years and it will look like the day you bought it. Even worse, the "wear" you get will just be damage to the clear coat. It wouldn't ever be cool looking aged and faded like a nitro finish. If you want your neck to feel right you have to work that in manually with sandpaper, steel wool, etc. Playing it will not do anything to break it in or get through the clear coat.
I have a silver poly Jaguar that has yellowed a bit overtime it’s also at a point where it dings more easily. I have headstock marks from smacking the drummers cymbals with it. From far away it still looks newish. It’s seen a lot over the 12 years I’ve had it!