Heavy relic

[Dougco1234]

Took a perfectly good guitar and reliced the crap out of it:
Squier body, noiseless 4gen pickups, obsidian controls, locking tuners. Next step is a real fender neck. Soon the only thing squier left about this will be the body (considering replacing the bridge too). I’ve never owned a tele before (nor a relic) but so far I’m liking it a lot!

 

[Novak]

Uggh!

 

[Dougco1234]

Uggh!

I get it, it’s not for everybody. But I'm not the only guy who likes a heavy relic in their collection…

 

[joebloggs13]

Uhhh....it might need a little more work to look....authentic...? Just saying....

 

[teletail]

I love a good relic, but I don’t think the wear pattern is typical and any guitar with a body that worn wouldn’t have pristine hardware and fingerboard.

 

[Dougco1234]

I’ll freely admit that I’m not a connoisseur of the “beat-to-crap” look. I just liked the look of the Roseworn tele that I saw on the music villa site and emulated it, but I also like my guitars to play and sound well hence the newer electronics. FWIW I have a hard time imagining how some of the wear on the SRV guitar and Sting bass got there. I guess those instruments were dropped and scratched just the right way. I know the John Mayer guitar was made to look beaten up.

 

[Sax-son]

I am not a "relic" guy at all. I am ok with those natural worn instruments that have seen band stands and traveling for years, but not the made-up ones. It never made any sense to me whatsoever,

If it is for "vintage" value, it is illogical because the most pristine examples are the ones commanding the largest values. I am ok with the 'rat-rod" versions as they were built especially for that. However, I can never understand taking a guitar with a good finish and ruining it. It takes a lot of hard work to paint and polish for a good paint job. Fender could take unfinished wood bodies and necks, slap some hardware on it and call it a "relic". It's all poser nonsense to me.

 

[JL_LI]

It’s a Strat, but this is Fender’s take on heavy relic. The back and sides are relic’d. The headstock is crazed. The hardware is new but grayed a but. It’s lost some of its polish. The rosewood fretboard doesn’t have the wear you see on a maple neck but it’s less than pristine with a little of the color washed away. The back of the neck is worn but perfectly smooth. It’s actually a joy to play.

.

 

[Dougco1234]

I am not a "relic" guy at all. I am ok with those natural worn instruments that have seen band stands and traveling for years, but not the made-up ones. It never made any sense to me whatsoever,

If it is for "vintage" value, it is illogical because the most pristine examples are the ones commanding the largest values. I am ok with the 'rat-rod" versions as they were built especially for that. However, I can never understand taking a guitar with a good finish and ruining it. It takes a lot of hard work to paint and polish for a good paint job. Fender could take unfinished wood bodies and necks, slap some hardware on it and call it a "relic". It's all poser nonsense to me.

The only instrument that should have vintage value is a vintage instrument.

IMO anything “made to look old” is not authentic so there are no rules. I’m not trying to make a counterfeit.

Out of curiosity, if someone picks up this guitar 50 years from now with a few extra dings would it be considered a relic then, even though it has unnatural wear?

 

[johmica]

I like where you're headed with it. If it were me, I'd be thinking about a relic'ed B5 to replace the Squire bridge.

 

[brookdalebill]

Indeed!

 

[Dougco1234]

Yeah that bridge has to go! Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Back at it]

Here’s an actual relic…. My 58

 

[Back at it]

Just for the wear pattern, most of this was done before I got it in ‘74, it is semi restored from previous mods, p-90s hacked into the bridge and neck

ive added plenty of xtra bumps and dents

 

[ChicknPickn]

Hey, looks like a perfectly good guitar that has had the hell relic’d out of it!

 

[Flip G]

I must be feeling all philosophical today.

| love the mix of shiny, new hardware and a beat up body and I think I know why.

Star Wars. Both the OP and I were 10 years old when Star Wars came out. The droids, ships, and costumes all had a mix of old and new parts, which excited my imagination. Not one story -- like Rory Gallagher's legendary Strat -- but multitudes. A picaresque journey, as opposed to a solid, teleological one.

It's that first glimpse of a Rebel Blockade Runner in A New Hope as opposed to one all cleaned up in Revenge of the Sith.

It's the Flight of the Phoenix!

 

[Sax-son]

The only instrument that should have vintage value is a vintage instrument.

IMO anything “made to look old” is not authentic so there are no rules. I’m not trying to make a counterfeit.

Out of curiosity, if someone picks up this guitar 50 years from now with a few extra dings would it be considered a relic then, even though it has unnatural wear?

My opinion only for what it's worth. It's your guitar and you can do with it what you want. My comment is about relicing in general and not to put you on the spot. If you are happy with it, that's all that counts.

The problem I see with most relic jobs is that for the most part, guitars don't really age the way they are made to look. I know a musician who has Fender guitars from the late 1950s to the early 1960's. Without naming a name, these guitars were used on numerous recording sessions, saw a lot of TV time and were heavily used over a period of 60 years. A few years ago, I got to pick them up and play them. Aside from some tarnish and a little bit of patina on some on the hardware, they were in marvelous condition. Perhaps a little lacquer checking here and there and the usual small chips and scratches, but that is about it. None of this heavy chipping and arm wear. One was a sunburst as well. Although he took good care of his instruments, he told me that it was the normal care that most any musician would do. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I never noticed the relic thing until Stevie Ray Vaughn and Rory Gallagher's sunburst Strats appeared in public. Rory attributes his paint chipping to excess sweat. In the case of Stevie Ray Vaughn, it was "abuse".

 

[Dougco1234]

My opinion only for what it's worth. It's your guitar and you can do with it what you want. My comment is about relicing in general and not to put you on the spot. If you are happy with it, that's all that counts.

The problem I see with most relic jobs is that for the most part, guitars don't really age the way they are made to look. I know a musician who has Fender guitars from the late 1950s to the early 1960's. Without naming a name, these guitars were used on numerous recording sessions, saw a lot of TV time and were heavily used over a period of 60 years. A few years ago, I got to pick them up and play them. Aside from some tarnish and a little bit of patina on some on the hardware, they were in marvelous condition. Perhaps a little lacquer checking here and there and the usual small chips and scratches, but that is about it. None of this heavy chipping and arm wear. One was a sunburst as well. Although he took good care of his instruments, he told me that it was the normal care that most any musician would do. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I never noticed the relic thing until Stevie Ray Vaughn and Rory Gallagher's sunburst Strats appeared in public. Rory attributes his paint chipping to excess sweat. In the case of Stevie Ray Vaughn, it was "abuse".

I’ll tell people it’s the SRV kind. I was playing pride and joy on it the other day.

In any case based on the comments in this thread I think I’m gonna call it “Fugly” maybe do a water slide decal of it on the headstock of the new neck when it arrives.

 

[Flip G]

I vote to call her "The Millennium Phoenix."

If people wonder about her artfully-arranged dings and scrapes, nod your head, look off into the distance, and say ... "It looks like Sandpeople did this, all right. But it's just ... I never heard of them hitting anything this totally awesome before. You know, I bet they didn't. We were only meant to think they did. These blast points are too accurate. Only Imperial troopers are so precise!!!"

 

[Sax-son]

I vote to call her "The Millennium Phoenix."

If people wonder about her artfully-arranged dings and scrapes, nod your head, look off into the distance, and say ... "It looks like Sandpeople did this, all right. But it's just ... I never heard of them hitting anything this totally awesome before. You know, I bet they didn't. We were only meant to think they did. These blast points are too accurate. Only Imperial troopers are so precise!!!"

That's really interesting. Sort of a Brian Jones model on mushrooms.