Relic guitars...waste of money?

I am constantly entertained by adverts for aged guitars and also the guys who want to 'wreck' a perfectly good guitar so they can pretend they own a relic!

Surely the appeal of genuine relics is that they tell the tale of that particular guitar and reflect the life that it has had. Every scratch should tell a tale and every dent bring back a memory.

I can understand the appeal of a relic that is created (down to the last paint chip) as an EXACT replica of a famous guitarists instrument. I do however, fail to understand the appeal of willy nilly gouge marks from a belt sander in some backstreet workshop!

I reckon you've all been suckered!!!!

Have you played one?

I loved the look but was unsure of the whole concept at first. Since then, two of the nicest guitars I've ever played are:

1) Fender relic tele
2) My Love Rock relic

Try one, you might like them :wink:

Most "relics" on eBay are rubbish, clearly "created" by someone who hasn't looked at the way old guitars tend to wear. Some can be very good though. Take a look at

http://www.3rguitars.co.uk/

The white Strat is mine, & it plays beautifully. Chris is currently making a new neck for my 88 MIJ Tele, since Fender were no help at all when the old neck was damaged in an accident - they would only supply me with a Fender Mexico neck at some ridiculous price.

http://www.bravewoodguitars.co.uk/index.html

Bravewood is probably the leading UK relic producer, & some of his guitars sometimes appear secondhand on eBay. Both of these guys produce stuff that looks convincing. Whether you like the look or not is a matter of opinion, but it's certainly not for those who like to keep their guitars locked away in a case until they are brought out to be dusted. :lol:

My own 86 Fender US62RI was pretty battered when I bought it in 91, and it's been steadily losing flakes of paint over the years. I finally decided to sand off the worst areas earlier this year, & I think it looks much better now, and I have stopped the problem with flaking paint - it seems to have stabilised the whole thing.



It does help when you have a nice bit of Alder underneath to expose - if you try the same thing on a ply body it will look like s**t, like a lot of the cheap and nasty eBay relics.

The other advantage of a relic is that a bit of carefully done wear on the neck of a new guitar can make it feel much nicer to play - it's already played in, & it doesn't feel too new. To me, worn maple feels much better than shiny glossy new maple.

Horses for courses I guess

Meant to say, if a belt sander of any kind is used, the result WILL be awful.

Yes to me.I prefer oneself relicing...like my Navigator....

Any pics Luis?

It's a strange fashion statement - I'm so cool I play a faked guitar? It's not really art since the original is the art. Relics are simply descriptions of originals, facsimilies. And that's just the good ones. :lol: That's not to say the can't be fantastic guitars. The only real reason to have a relic done is if you're Strats are worth too much to take out of the bank vault. Like the seventeen I own. :lol:

threads on relic guitars appear on every single web site I visit and they always end the same way...some guys like em...some don`t. Burny built the FLG-90 VOBS decades before Fender got the " idea " so they`ve been around for a long time. I`ve never passed on a good guitar because it was reliced nor have I ever bought a guitar because it was reliced, cosmetics...and opinions of guys on the web whom I`ve never met... are way down on my list when I`m considering a guitar. Players oughta buy what they like, no business of mine.

sneakyjapan said:

threads on relic guitars appear on every single web site I visit and they always end the same way...some guys like em...some don`t. Burny built the FLG-90 VOBS decades before Fender got the " idea " so they`ve been around for a long time. I`ve never passed on a good guitar because it was reliced nor have I ever bought a guitar because it was reliced, cosmetics...and opinions of guys on the web whom I`ve never met... are way down on my list when I`m considering a guitar. Players oughta buy what they like, no business of mine.

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Agreed. I also think that people some times lump reliced guitars in with custom shop reissues. You guys have already heard me sing the praises of my Custom Shop 65 Strat (yes it's reliced) when compared to my real 65. Virtually indestinguishable from one another in terms of feel and tone. The real one is a tad lighter.

Problem is that the real one is in museum quality without a nick, bump or scratch on it and it's all original. I've noticed that they are selling for around $20,000. Do I gig with it? Once a year on my birthday - that's it.

I'm hard on my guitars and the relic job takes the sting out of putting a gash or a divot in it. Did I buy it to fool people or to look cool as someone eluded to earlier in the post? Piss off. I bought it because it was as close to the real deal I could find after playing a dozen of them reliced or not. The fact that it was reliced had no bearing on my decision at all. The fact that it is a very good relic job draws alot of questions from other players wondering if it's real. My answer is always "No, it's my $2000 Custom shop beater because my real one is my retirement plan"

andyscott said:

It's a strange fashion statement - I'm so cool I play a faked guitar? It's not really art since the original is the art.

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Excuse me? Aren't we getting a bit confused here about what is "real"? Most of the best Tokais are "fake" Fenders or Gibsons - i.e. they are not the "real thing", and they try hard to look like the originals (e.g. the original Springy decal).

And yet many people on this site would rather own or play a Tokai "fake" than a real Fender or Gibson. Why? Because they are good guitars! Now we have a lot of fake Tokais on the market.....

I own Fenders, yet I'd happily play a "fake" that is as good (or better) than the real thing.

What is real anymore?

Confused? Not really (well, no more than the average musician ) As a pose factor or some kind of "cool" fashion statement relics seem fairly cheesy is all I meant, I'm sure most are owned because they look hip and happening, just witness all the hideous SRV's out there!

As far as fakes go I have no problem, indeed I generally prefer a Tokai over a Fender ( I wouldn't write that on a Fender forum!) unless we're talking proper Fenders which are too expensive anyway. I consider Leo to be the artist though - the originator.

Having said all that, though, I bought a Mexican CP60 recently and it's a great guitar for the price.

andyscott said:

unless we're talking proper Fenders which are too expensive anyway.

I bought a Mexican CP60 recently and it's a great guitar for the price.

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How do you define a "proper" Fender?

And what is a CP60? :-?

A proper Fender is one with that elusive quality which cannot be written down.

(how's that for a cop out?)

A CP60 is a Fender Classic Players 60's Strat, a fairly recent addition to the Mexican catalogue and probably their best effort yet. If you get a chance check 'em out, the shops are full of 'em right now. They come in blue! Sonic Blue though, maybe a little too light for your tastes.

Total cop-out! Anyway, using that definition, there are plenty of Fenders that have that elusive quality, but are not too expensive. I guess that depends on how you define expensive....

OK, I'll have a look, though I've yet to try a Mexican Fender that I like. I've played (and owned) Squiers that are better than some Mexican Fenders, but I'm still not sure why.

stratman323 said:

OK, I'll have a look, though I've yet to try a Mexican Fender that I like. I've played (and owned) Squiers that are better than some Mexican Fenders, but I'm still not sure why.

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Try a Jimmie Vaughan Signature Strat - Made in Mexico - great guitar. soft V neck, Texas Special p'ups and wired Jimmie style with the middle pickup wide open and the bridge p/up active with the bottom tone control.

I tried several, and I really don't like them, even though Jimmie is my main man. They feel nasty to me, thick shiny poly lacquer, and a thin scratchy sound - not good at all.

The only signature guitar I could live with is the Robert Cray model, I nearly bought one of them. But the Jimmie Vaughan was a great disappointment to me. My white relic Strat is a much better Jimmie Vaughan Strat than the one Fender make - it even looks like Jimmies

By the way, the JV comes with Tex-Mex pickups, not Texas Specials. The SRV & Bonnie Raitt Strats come with Texas Specials.

Unlike most people, I like Texas Specials

stratman323 said:

... there are plenty of Fenders that have that elusive quality...

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Well, it's entirely subjective, of course. My main guitar for over 20 years was/is a Strat Elite - a guitar which so many players detest but which completely nails a clean funk sound. I just haven't been particularly moved by that many Strats apart from the old ones, which is what I mean by expensive.

of course I am not an expert:

but a guitar that's been played for many years has a totally different sound then even the best (master, custom, ..) one.

I guess all of us have been to big guitar shops and tried 20-30 babes. And we walked out.

6 months later sames procedure in the same shop: and you strum A-maj and you know you will not leave the shop without her.

Quite a few of the Tokai's I own have been played for a long time. Perhaps I am just plain stupid: but the played ones have much 'richer' sound.

Wood is not just wood. It remembers.

Cheers. Rupert

When I first started playing guitar I had no money. I had to buy cheap second hand things with bits missing and many a dent or scratch. The very Idea of going on stage with something that looks like its been set on fire then pushed through a Combine harvester is totally repellent to me. BAD Memories. Lets face it. Only guitar players in the audience know what a relic is. Anyone else thinks.." Look at that piece of old crap the guitarist is playing, cant he afford something better?"