Aged Tokai Les Paul on Ebay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3714258510&category=2384

Any thoughts on this sale item? Apart from it's very pretty, which it is.
:roll:

why would anyone remove the "love rock" from the headstock? i just don't get the whole "aging" thing. waste of time and money. course, that's just my opinion.

Yea this ageing thing just winds me up!!
Like some people buy an aged Gibson or relic Strat and keep it locked away for years unplayed to keep it in pristine condition (and collectable).
What a joke !! What is SO great about a guitar that is made to look like it's umpteen years old but still sounds like a new one !! We all know that the sound and feel matures with the natural ageing of the woods,finish,pickup magnets and no matter how good these people are at reproducing the look, can they really reproduce the sound and feel of an instrument that has been played for donkey's years ? I think not ! Why not buy a new one and let it age and mature naturally? Or buy something with a few years on the clock .
Maybe I'm out of step here but i think it is incredible that people are willing to pay miles over the top for a guitar like that !! Would these same people pay silly money for a naturally worn , heavily gigged ,chipped ,scratched ,beer stained, used as an ashtray example ? They would ?-- ok guys form an orderly queue over here and i'll sort you out with something !!

I have to agree with Plankspanker. The whole idea of the original Fender Relics was to give players like Keef Richards a worn-in, great-playing replica to play on the road because their original Teles/Strats were either too clapped out and unplayable, or too valuable to get trashed or lost on tour. Many of these players used to buy a new instrument and give it to their roadies or techs anyway for a year to play it in so it felt right. So the Relic gave them about the same thing without waiting a year or two.

The reason I buy Tokai Strat replicas is to get a guitar that's already aged (22 to 26 years old already), has been played some (have a few natural "Relic" marks on it, so I won't have a coronary if I put another one in by accident) and has some rust and crust on it (ie. "mojo"). The fact is, they were built and sound better than some of the dreck Fender was putting out in the late 70s and early 80s.

So I'm sure that some of these relic-ed new guitars have some mojo, but if people are silly enough to keep them locked away and not play them, I guess they are entitled to their folly. Me, if I had a relic-ed '69 Fender Strat, I'd play the thing down to the bone until I added some relic-ing of my own. Besides, how can you tell if a Relic-ed Strat is "new" or not? I guess there must be some "Relic" experts out there to sort it out, but really .... :roll:

Given that you can still find those Tokai relics for about ?1200 new I doubt he'll get many takers. 8)

The relic thing is wierd. Players will pay ??? more for a relic over a 'new' guitar. But a real relic commands a much lower price than a mint example secondhand. :-?

I prefer to do it myself. After the horror of your first ding, everything else adds character. I'm careful, but there's still a few dings and marks on mine just from everyday use, **** that nitro. A dinged guitar is a guitar that's played constantly because it sounds good and feels great. That's what ageing is trying to capture.

Personally, I like the looks of a reliced axe, if it's well done. To my wife's great horror, I've done a bit myself to my own '84 Love Rock (if I ever figure out how to post pics, I'll share some). I've always felt that players who really babied their guitars - kept it polished, kept it in the case, avoided belt buckle rash, etc. - were a little peculiar, anal, whatever. I don't abuse mine, but I don't mind the comfortable old shoe look.

Now, having said that, many of us who salivate over a well-reliced new guitar, would turn up our noses at a vintage instrument if it wasn't pristine. So, go figure. :-?

There has been a new Tokai Relic advertised at Guitar Village for some time at ?999. Check out the Tokai section at http://www.guitarvillage.co.uk/index1.htm . I saw 2 of these Guitars at last years Music Live Exhibition at the NEC and they looked very authentic.
Nik

Personally I think it's a bit strange desiring one of these beasties.
You want something that looks like it's been played and gigged by loads of uncareful owners yet it must be untouched by anyone else in other words brand new ???? WEIRD !!! You are willing to pay more for it because someone has taken so much time and trouble to fake up all those years of wear --- simply laughable !!!
Don't get me wrong here I am certainly NOT an anal type that likes my guitars new and immaculate , very far from it actually !! A lot of mine are very abused and beaten up - BUT it wasn't through intent to make them look like it . It's because they HAVE been used and played and loved. The better the guitar generally the more they suffer because they play so well
and surely that is the point.
When you take your expensive relic out on a gig ,will you worry about that extra ding it got from the drunken sticksperson dropping his hihats on it or will you think ' oh goodie it must be worth more now' ??? :lol:
Just a thought ! :roll: