love rocks relic

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Jonathan

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Oct 16, 2003
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hey there, i just bought my first tokai, a custom shop edition les paul style guitar, from the UK. Its a relic model, and supposedly one of only 12 made a year (from the Uj custom shop apparently). i i think it was made 2003. i was wondering if anyone on this forum could tell me as much as possible about this guitar, hardware used, woods, general information, specs and history etc. as there is very little information on the internet, nor is there even a serial number on the guitar.

appart from that, i really am very impressed with the guitar. it has a really beautiful flame, and is aged very tastefully, and compares almost, i feel, with a lot of the stuff comming out of the gibson customshop these days, aesthetically, playability and sound wise. it really is a beautiful guitar…

thanks

jonathan
 
Baz - I played a new relic recently and it didn't have a serial # either. Maybe they've stopped putting them on. EDIT: could the UK relic'ers have stripped the original finish and not bothered to stamp the # back on? :-?

It also had a matte finish on the top and the arm rubbed area was dirty grey at the centre.

I liked the back & sides finish ageing but the rest looked a bit odd to me. Arm area was obviously sandpapered and the aged hardware plating didn't look too convincing close up (except on the tuners). Still a fantastic guitar that I'd loved to have left the shop with though. Best of all it won't lose its value if you gig it to pieces :D

(actually, thinking about that hardware comment - do the standard MIJ models have nickel or chrome plated bits? And what does the relic have?)
 
Just looked at the pics on the Registry and the one I played was very different looking to that one. I've seen another 2002 relic that was the same as Barry's so I assume they've altered the technique for '03.

The arm rub area was much bigger and almost extended to the bridge area. It had a grey centre as mentioned above. It didn't have Love Rock written on the headstock. The trussrod cover was smaller, matte and all black (I think there was only 1 screw too - could be wrong). The bridge plating was flaking rather than wrinkly and the dirt around the screws wasn't so overdone.

Just for interest's sake.
 
no, there's no serial number i can find, and certianly not on the back of the headstock, as in the pictures on the registry of the 2002 relic.

I will take pictures of the guitar when i can get round to borrowing a friends camera, but the finnish on mine is definately nitro, and a flame very similar to the pictures of the relic online, except the rellicing is slightly different. among other minor aged details, on the back of the body there are stronger scratches from where a belt buckle might rub, and the arm rubbed area is slighly smaller, and is also lackered over for obvious reasons. the aging on the pickups is not quite as sophisticated as the seymour duncan antiquity humbuckers, but still pretty good. it has no 'love rocks' on the headstock, and only one screw on the trussrod cover, which is all black, and raised slightly froom the nut. the finnish from the top of the neck down to the bottom of the guitar is pretty matte.

i spoke briefly to the manager of the factory in the UK, which is in sheffeild, only very briefly while in andy's guitar shop, denmark street, london, and he was able to tell me a little about the guitars. there are only 12 made, and each one is personally relliced, and the pickups used are trev wilkinson(i cant find any info online about these - and was wondering if anyone knew anything?), he was very helpful, but i didnt have time to get much more out of him; which was a shame.

jonthan
 
Jonathan said:
the pickups used are trev wilkinson(i cant find any info online about these - and was wondering if anyone knew anything?),

Really? Didn't know about that. They sounded very good through the rig I was trying out. Did they guy say where the relicing was done?
 
yeah, i'll get some pics asap.

the guitar was up for sale at ?1300, but i got it down to ?1000.

I sent Bob Murdoch an email the other week from the tokai website UK, the same guy i spoke to in andys, and he replied with:

'I think I have replied to every email sent to me ,but no ones perfect
The guitar you have is a Relic and is one of only 12 or so made per year it
has Trev Wilkinson pickups and is individually made and aged by hand and as such is a unique guitar'

that was about it. i've read on the site that they are relicked ls70f's but elsewhere it says, ls75f, which one is it, and what are the diffenence between the those guitars? i'd be quite interested to know about the woods used, and more info on trev wilkinson pickups.

the rellicing was done in sheffield. bob also said he would make up some special cases for them which would retail at ?99 with no profit, and would be brown with pink inside - like gibson ones. he also said he would make up a certificate of authenticity.
 
Interesting stuff. I wonder who these sheffield chaps are? A pro aftermarket relicing service would be a great thing to know about.

The only difference between the 70f and 75f is the name, which reflects in the increased list prices (tokai names are the list price in 000's yen, eg. 70f = 70,000 yen). The wilkinson pickups are, I think, only used on the relics and aren't installed by Tokai.
 
I'm afraid I could never see the point of the relic thing. Whay pay approx ?300 for someone to hack up an LS70? Its not going to magically give it an authentic 'aged tone'. Why not save the money either buy a new one and enjoy, or if you must, hack it up yourself? Of course you could always try to find an original. I have to say the guys that do the hacking must be sad cases. Having built several guitars I can't bring myself to purposely destroy their finish.
Everyone to their own I suppose.
BobW
 
I don`t mind em dinged up a little but I`ve been buying used guitars for a couple of years now, no new ones, and some I bought came naturally reliced. I agree with some of the reasons above... less worry about adding a scratch or two myself.
Something comforting about a guitar thats been played by someone else... means another player found the guitar worth of owning.
 
Theres certainly nothing wrong with a pre owned and worn in guitar, but the Love Rock Relic is simply a new overpriced standard guitar thats been bashed around and the purchaser is expected to pay ?300 for the privilage.
To my mind this is not the same thing.
BobW
 
I agree with LRUK an just about everything. The first time I dinged my LS200 nobody else could even see the mark but I was totally mortified.

However I'd definately prefer something personally relic'ed. If nothing else your guitar's ageing is a reflection of you as a player and owner.

I don't think anyone under the age of 35 should own a relic. It just doesn't look credible, like a 17-year-old driving around in an E-type. :roll:
 
Yeah I tend to agree with bobw. I'm also a bit mystified by this "relic" business.I always thought it came about when players wanted old Fenders,Gibsons etc but just couldn't afford them and were also affraid of getting passed off with "bitsas" for big money(let's face it there are a lot about) :x
This begs the question why pay for a new "relic" loverock when you can buy a 20-25 year old one for the same money or even less?!
By all accounts these "relic" Loverocks are great guitars and as such worth having on that merit alone,but surely they must of been great guitars before the abuse....sorry I mean relicking! :)
It just seems a shame to beat the living daylights out of a guitar before it has ever been sold(maybe I'm just missing the point completely) :-?
Anyway just wandering and meandering thoughts take with a pinch of salt!

prince bishop
 
really its all just a look. glossy or aged. both are atificial. i really really dont liek guitars that are too shiny, the colour and tone of an aged guitar, fake or real, i personally find much more appealing. and i dont have enough money to buy a real vintage. teh relic-ed ones arent just aged - they also have different pickups (mine came with trev wilkinson PAF's). the guitars are shipped from japan without any finnish - all natural, and then the paint and relicing is done at the custom shop - which is why the finnish is slightly sexier on the relics than the original ls70f's. although i've only seen pics on the net and none in the flesh.

really, it comes down to what you like.

i would conceed that the relicing in places on my guitar is a little 'over the top', but i do really like it - just taste i guess. in an ideal world i'd have a bashed up 59 LP if i could afford it....one day!
 
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