Fender Relics

[Diminished Triad]

For owners or those that have played light or heavy Fender relic guitars, is there a noticeable difference in feel? Tone? Other? Seems like that side of the Fender Custom Shop continues to expand and grow, and it looks like someone is buying the beat up/worn guitars. Meanwhile others are replacing frets and pickups and polishing and cleaning - what's the meaningful difference aside from price? I know Gibson offers the Tom Scholz Les Paul relic......not sure if too many other choices available, but Fender has really dedicated much of its Custom Shop resources to this market. Is there real comfort in playing a relic'd guitar? Thanks!

 

[LReese]

Re: Fender Relics

I've got 2 of the earliest versions of Fender Relics - Beat up or not, they sound tremendous.

Aesthetically, I like the Closet Classic level - something about checking I really like. Because its not perfect, I tend not to treat them with kid gloves.

Decide on the way it plays and feels to you, not how it looks.

 

[TattooedCarrot]

Re: Fender Relics

Feel yes, tone no.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Fender Relics

FYI - Gibson does various levels of aged guitars also, from 'aged' to just 'VOS' parts.

http://www.themusiczoo.com/product/...ul-Electric-Guitar-Heavily-Aged-Burbon-Burst/
http://www.themusiczoo.com/product/...ice-12-1957-Goldtop-Les-Paul-Electric-Guitar/
http://www.themusiczoo.com/product/...es-Paul-Chambered-Electric-Guitar-Lemonburst/

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Fender Relics

I agree on how you treat the guitar. I'm still dreading the first big ding on my Martin.

Reliced necks certainly feel different. Raw wood and rolled edges are quite nice (I also have these features on flawless guitars, but still)

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Fender Relics

The tone question boils down to the quality of materials used.

I have a Fender '51 Closet Classic Nocaster. This guitar sounds great because of the materials, pickups and huge neck rather than because of anything to do with its appearance. Similar cosmetic treatment applied to a Fender MIM Road Worn series instrument does not recreate the same effect.

I also am fortunate to own a Fender Old Growth Redwood Telecaster. This marries the modern American Standard bridge assembly to Custom Shop '62 pickups and a Hot Rod '52 profile neck. The cosmetic aspects are as new as hunk of historic railroad lumber can be. Again, it the materials that set the tone.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Fender Relics

Feel yes, tone no.

Pretty much the same here. I have played some I loved the feel of, but none that I thought sounded good enough to justify the retail price.

 

[LReese]

Re: Fender Relics

I agree on how you treat the guitar. I'm still dreading the first big ding on my Martin.

Reliced necks certainly feel different. Raw wood and rolled edges are quite nice (I also have these features on flawless guitars, but still)

I bought a 20 Year old Martin. Had to sink a chunk into it to get the action reasonable, but its pretty much pristine except for a bit of finish checking, which I think sets off the look.

 

[LReese]

Re: Fender Relics

My 2 'relics' have rather small necks. The No Caster is more akin to an EJ neck (which isn't exactly small, but its smaller than a NoNeck profile). FWIW, I have 2 'Closet Classic' Strats with the NoNeck profile.

 

[Diminished Triad]

Re: Fender Relics

How are the closet classics and especially the noneck? Have been interested in a noneck since I first saw them out a while back - you can hear the difference? Interesting to read about the fender old growth redwood telecaster.....I had not heard very much about the wood after reading about the release and so I guessed it didn't impress too much. Can imagine a relic'd old growth redwood noneck or nocaster...... Is there a noticeable tone difference between very heavy relic'd and just closet classic or very light relic'd guitars?

 

[LReese]

Re: Fender Relics

Don't worry about the level of finish on the Closet Classic, its usually just some finish checking.

The NoNeck is huge, but I don't think its uncomfortably so. I have big hands so that makes a lot of difference.

However, I would not make the assumption that a big neck necessarily makes a better sounding guitar. The Relic Strat's neck I have is a pretty small neck (probably my smallest neck profile), but it sounds like no other Strat I have (in a good way) - its got tons of unique personality.

I'm finding what i ultimately prefer is a medium sized neck with a lot of shoulder.

 

[Diminished Triad]

Re: Fender Relics

Anyone ever try the Les Paul Tom Scholz relic'd 1968 Signature? I read one review that wrote about even one of the frets protrudes from the side of the neck. I don't have a relic but if I do ever get one will likely be between the Nile Rodgers Fender Signature or the Tom Scholz Les Paul models.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Fender Relics

They feel different all right; they feel like they have been unreasonably beat up and very poorly taken care of for 40 or 50 years. And they look unrealistic on top of it; very few actual old guitars have the level of abuse Fender puts on them, and often the fake aging put on them is near identical from one copy to the next. If that's worth the extra money to you, then by all means, go for it. But personally, I think that NOS is the way to go. Then just play the thing regularly, and you will have your own personally-tailored "relic" before too long. It will be tasteful, realistic, and fit just to your playing habits, plus much cheaper.

 

[B2D]

Re: Fender Relics

Tone - occasionally... but that's more of a function of proper components and quality material used that emulate historical accuracy of a coveted vintage instrument.

Feel - yes. A proper relic feels good in the same way that a broken-in pair of jeans or boots does.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Fender Relics

You can get the same effect by deglossing the neck most times.

Tone is based on the materials, not by how many flakes of paint are missing.

 

[Diminished Triad]

Re: Fender Relics

It doesn't seem like the relic market could survive here, and yet not only does Fender dedicate the largest portion of their top shelf custom guitar work (at least retail) to relics, but they also charge a heavy premium for the relic work. If you compare a NOS Gilmore signature guitar with a relic'd one.....the only difference being the "relic"....sometimes as much as a 1500 dollar difference. If not serious guitar players, who keeps that market vibrant and who's buying all those relics? I'd prefer Fender produce reissues and dedicate its resources to developing the best guitars possible with everything available today.

 

[DreX]

Re: Fender Relics

Tone is based on the materials, not by how many flakes of paint are missing.

Removing paint and finish might allow the wood to dry out and become more resonant.

 

[DreX]

Re: Fender Relics

It doesn't seem like the relic market could survive here, and yet not only does Fender dedicate the largest portion of their top shelf custom guitar work (at least retail) to relics, but they also charge a heavy premium for the relic work. If you compare a NOS Gilmore signature guitar with a relic'd one.....the only difference being the "relic"....sometimes as much as a 1500 dollar difference. If not serious guitar players, who keeps that market vibrant and who's buying all those relics? I'd prefer Fender produce reissues and dedicate its resources to developing the best guitars possible with everything available today.

Doing a convincing job of relicing might be one of the more difficult parts of the process. You'd think it would be easy enough until you see horror pics or DIY relicing.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Fender Relics

If not serious guitar players, who keeps that market vibrant and who's buying all those relics

Upper middle-class amateurs are overwhelmingly the ones who keep the "expensive guitar stuff" market alive, not professionals.

Having been a music lover and concert goer since I was a kid, and having been a sound guy for several years, and also having played in bands, I have seen who knows how many thousands of musicians play live, on all levels of the professional spectrum. Yet I can count on one hand the number of times I have actually seen a "Relic" on stage. I remember every one of them clearly. One of those is the guitarist in my own band, who plays a very early Strat Relic, most of the wear on which is actually her own wear from putting 1000's of gigs on the guitar. Another example would be the Rolling Stones, for whom the Relics were tailor made for security purposes (they didn't want to take their old guitars on the road). The other was a young singer/songwriter guy who I did the sound for. He had a Nash Tele, and it looked stupid on this 20-year-old surfer-looking guy playing gutless pop/rock solo. The last would be myself. Although I am somewhat embarrassed by it, I do own a G&L Rustic, which has a very light amount of fake wear. It was such a great guitar at such a great price ($1,400 brand new with case and shipping: a far cry from Fender Relic prices), that I didn't care about looking like an *******.

At any rate, Relics are obviously getting bought...but not by pros, by and large, IME. There are pros who play them, but it's pretty rare. It's mostly fairly well-off people who don't make their living with music.

 

[DreX]

Re: Fender Relics

Amateurs with disposable income are overwhelmingly the ones who keep the "expensive guitar stuff" market alive, not professionals.

That's not fair. Amateurs with disposable income keep the entire industry alive. You don't see many "Big-Band Instrument Centers" around.

Although I am somewhat embarrassed by it, I do own a G&L Rustic, which has a very light amount of fake wear.

I sometimes like the aesthetic of rustic furniture or worn out clothing. It can look good in a guitar context too, but people get hung up on the idea that having one is a poseur thing to do and overlook the fact that worn down things sometimes just plain look nice.