I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

[blueman335]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

.... as if Strats weren't ugly enough to begin with....

+1. I'm so tired of seeing Strats, OMG. I go to the local all-day blues festivals here, 6 bands, 8 guitarists, and 7 of them have Strats (the other guy has a Tele). Out of those Strats, all but one or two have way too much treble, or too much distortion for that lovely 'bee in a can' effect. Very nice. Like there were no other models of guitars in the store when they bought theirs. It's one thing to have a Strat and know how to EQ your amp for it, which some guys do with great results. They need to show the other 90% how they do it.

Rory was a great player, but good lord, he needed a new guitar. You'd think his bandmates could have chipped in and got him one. It's like wearing shoes until the soles are all worn thru and your toes are sticking out the top.

 

[blueman335]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

I think i found a pic of you, holding Rory's Strat ....

And he's got the same expression on his face that I would. He's probably thinking: 'I wish they would have sprayed this thing down with Lysol.'

 

[Chad]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

+1. I'm so tired of seeing Strats, OMG. I go to the local all-day blues festivals here, 6 bands, 8 guitarists, and 7 of them have Strats (the other guy has a Tele). Out of those Strats, all but one or two have way too much treble, or too much distortion for that lovely 'bee in a can' effect. Very nice. Like there were no other models of guitars in the store when they bought theirs. It's one thing to have a Strat and know how to EQ your amp for it, which some guys do with great results. They need to show the other 90% how they do it.

I'm tired of seeing Les Pauls, Strats, and Teles. I play those guitars at home, but try to avoid playing them live because of the cliche factor.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

Hideous.

 

[blueman335]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

I'm tired of seeing Les Pauls, Strats, and Teles. I play those guitars at home, but try to avoid playing them live because of the cliche factor.

I wish I saw local guys playing LP's more often. They're certainly not common on the west coast of Florida. When I go to hear live music, I'd like to see more 335's, Casinos, SG's, V's, DC LP's, and Firebirds. Those are fairly scarce here, at least for blues and classic rock. Definitely under-represented. I don't know why so many payers are like sheep and get Strats (and then can't EQ them); possibly mass hypnosis? Subliminal messages?

 

[vinta9e]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

To me, a relic finish is one that makes a guitar look and feel old or "vintage", if you please. It's not about having a couple of dings and scratches, it's about the story they tell, it's about a touch-welcoming neck that feels as familiar as your own well worn pair of shoes. It's about a lively, inspiring tone as well. My hat's off to anyone who can breathe that warm quality into a new guitar.

But in most cases, all that artificial aging ends up looking cheesy and fake. "Look, I gave the guitar a bit of a beating so you can relieve yourself of the two grand burning a hole through your pocket".

 

[blueman335]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

it's about the story they tell, it's about a touch-welcoming neck that feels as familiar as your own well worn pair of shoes...But in most cases, all that artificial aging ends up looking cheesy and fake.

+1. What kind of 'story' does a relic'd guitar have to tell?

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

Those are kinda....backwards. Flashy should be on the OUTSIDE!

I'm not really a relic fan, but I've got a strat that local forumite Scott Anstine built for me. It was, initially, a very light relic that I could live with. The goal was to create a vintage guitar that "barely got out of the 80s" alive. 57 strat appointments but a 14" radius 6100s and a routed bridge slot. After almost 4 years it is a little worse for wear but still not bad.

 

[Drunken Bowling]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

I wish I saw local guys playing LP's more often. They're certainly not common on the west coast of Florida. When I go to hear live music, I'd like to see more 335's, Casinos, SG's, V's, DC LP's, and Firebirds. Those are fairly scarce here, at least for blues and classic rock. Definitely under-represented. I don't know why so many payers are like sheep and get Strats (and then can't EQ them); possibly mass hypnosis? Subliminal messages?

They probably all got them at Guitar Center because people had been telling them for years that if they want to play the blues, they need the guitar that all the blues greats, namely Jimi, played. The one thing that stood out to me about that place was, out of every guitar they stock, they have more Strats than anything else. And if Jimi had played an Epiphone Coronet, I guarantee you'd see entire walls full of Coronets in music stores today. I've got nothing against Strats, I'm even trying to get back into liking single coils after years of hating them and only playing LP's. It's just me trying to "undo" my own brainwashing. But I see what you're saying. It's been drilled into people's heads for decades that a Strat is THE guitar.

 

[Chad]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

+1. What kind of 'story' does a relic'd guitar have to tell?

Wait a second here, gonna wax philosophy on relics here for a bit...

How exactly does a guitar tell a story? A used, worn guitar is the by-product of the stories lived by the person who owned it. If somebody goes out and buys a brand new relic guitar, that wear was put on artificially and might be viewed as "dishonest" playing wear by some folks. But what if the same person buys a used guitar that has a ton of playing wear from a previous owner? Is that any more honest? Quite simply, a worn guitar is a worn guitar. Well, outside of a few famous, celebrity owned guitars that have well known stories behind them...but that's not what I'm talking about.

 

[vinta9e]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

The wear on relics is all fake but when done right, it does look and feel believable. Likewise, a book or a film might tell a story that's entirely made up, but still gripping, enjoyable, thought-provoking. Or it could be a naive, incoherent bunch of rubbish and a waste of time.

 

[Chad]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

The wear on relics is all fake but when done right, it does look and feel believable. Likewise, a book or a film might tell a story that's entirely made up, but still gripping, enjoyable, thought-provoking. Or it could be a naive, incoherent bunch of rubbish and a waste of time.

In other words, in your opinion, as long as a relic in done in an authentic manner, playing one of those guitars is as "honest" as playing a used guitar with actual wear (regardless of whether you or a previous owner lived through that wear)?

I'd say I agree. It's just finish (or lack thereof) after all. Most "honest playing wear" comments are rather shallow when you really think about it.


BTW, regarding the guitars in the OP.......fake, real, honest, stories, etc. Who cares? They look awful IMO.

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

So hot. Want to touch the hiney.

Dat price tho. :boggled:

 

[wahwah]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

I can't stand all those Strats with half the finish missing, I don't care who owned them. They're nasty. They look termite-infested and no doubt are a biohazard with the accumulation of decades of sweat, dirt, mucous, slime, & bacteria on them. Probably more germs than a public toilet. If some guys want to stand in awe of them, that's fine, but I wouldn't touch one unless I had gloves on. Some wear on an old guitar is one thing, and to be expected, that's fine; but there's a point at which it becomes an eyesore and a refinishing is in order. At least clean the things.

This is why I don't go to my accountant for advice about guitars. For the record, I don't go to my plumber or dentist for advice about guitars either, so as not to discriminate. I have a relatively old Strat that I've used professionally now for 32 years. The finish is worn. I really don't mind, it just keeps sounding and feeling better, and it helps me make my living...as a guitarist. To the best of my knowledge, it hasn't been the catalyst for any major, or minor, infections. It is kept in excellent working condition, it has to be, because I rely on it for my only source of income. The wear on the finish is utterly inconsequential. As for what kind of guitar my accountant prefers, who cares? As long as she gets my tax return right!

Seen here as we prepare to play live to 90,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground...look at that wear on the finish...tsk, tsk, tsk...




As for the intentional relics in the OP...well, they seem to be trying hard to be something they're not...somebody out there would love them though, I'm sure.





Cheers...................................... wahwah

 

[BloodRose]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

Wah wah, You should know by now that we almost all, oogle your strat. Its the real deal. You have played the crap out of it for years, so it's honest. Its the fake aging that gets me and then done at such a high price.

 

[wahwah]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

Wah wah, You should know by now that we almost all, oogle your strat. Its the real deal. You have played the crap out of it for years, so it's honest. Its the fake aging that gets me and then done at such a high price.

I'd have to agree. Paying a high premium to have someone smack a new guitar around, just to feign the aesthetic of experience, seems like a waste of money to me. But, as someone said, if it's not my money, then all power to them, if that's what they would choose. I do love that old Strat though, and the state of its finish is the least of my interests with regard to it. I still apologise to it any time I bump it in the course of my work! I couldn't imagine damaging it intentionally.




Cheers...................................... wahwah

 

[Chad]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

Wah wah, You should know by now that we almost all, oogle your strat. Its the real deal. You have played the crap out of it for years, so it's honest. Its the fake aging that gets me and then done at such a high price.

If you bought wahwah's guitar and played it live, would that be "honest"? If somebody made an exact, indistinguishable replica of wahwah's guitar and you played that live, would that be "honest"?

So is it the process (how a guitar gets the way it is) that is more important than the outcome (how the guitar ends up being/looking)? In the two above questions, both scenarios have guitars that look the way they do because of somebody else's labor/effort.

Again, just trying to understand the relic philosophy of some folks.

 

[blueman335]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

So is it the process (how a guitar gets the way it is) that is more important than the outcome (how the guitar ends up being/looking)?

Yes, when it comes to wear. A relic'd guitar can't really dulpicate the wear, nor the aging and meshing of materials that occur over decades of use. That's what part of the price of vintage guitars is about and it can't be reproduced by an employee in a shop getting paid to bang a new guitar around. Would Wah Wah be just as content with a new reclic'd Stat as he is with his original one? I doubt he'd think they'd sound or feel the same. That's one of the reasons guys hang on to guitars like that. Personally I think they look god awful, but you can't swap Wah's Wah's Strat with a relic'd copy and think he wouldn't notice.

To me, a relic'd guitar is like a solider wearing medals he didn't earn, because he likes the look of the medals, and the assumptions people will make about a soldier wearing them. Either way, it's pretending.

 

[blueman335]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

To the best of my knowledge, it hasn't been the catalyst for any major, or minor, infections.

You've had time to build up a resistence...

 

[Chad]

Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

Yes, when it comes to wear. A relic'd guitar can't really dulpicate the wear, nor the aging and meshing of materials that occur over decades of use. That's what part of the price of vintage guitars is about and it can't be reproduced by an employee in a shop getting paid to bang a new guitar around. Would Wah Wah be just as content with a new reclic'd Stat as he is with his original one? I doubt he'd think they'd sound or feel the same. That's one of the reasons guys hang on to guitars like that. Personally I think they look god awful, but you can't swap Wah's Wah's Strat with a relic'd copy and think he wouldn't notice.

To me, a relic'd guitar is like a solider wearing medals he didn't earn, because he likes the look of the medals, and the assumptions people will make about a soldier wearing them. Either way, it's pretending.

So by that logic, is it pretending to buy and play anything but a brand new, non-relic'd guitar? Or new condition, used instrument?