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

[blueman335]

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

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?

The logic is that whatever the wear is, it should be real from years of playing, not faked in the factory and meant to fool people. If you want a guitar with some miles on it, there's no shortage of used ones for sale. The more banged up it is, the better the price is; that's 'real' relic'd. Why not get one of those? The difference is wear that's happened in the real world, outside of the factory. Wah Wah didn't buy a new guitar and take a hammer, chisel, and sandpaper to it to get his looking like that so he could pretend it's old. That's from decades of honest stage time. You don't get that in a new guitar, relic'd or not.

It's the reality vs fantasy thing; you seem to have a little trouble differentiating the two.

 

[BloodRose]

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

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.

Chad, I see your point. And for me to buy Wah Wahs guitar and try to pass it off as MY labor, yes, that would be as "dishonest" as buying a reliced one new. I would not say its my doing. I would tell folks that I bought a very thoroughly played guitar. But Im honest.
Now, please dont take what Im saying out of context. If someone likes the look of the reliced guitar, and buys one, Im not going to shun them. To each his own. Personally, Im a-al retentive of my gear and try to keep it looking new. But if I gigged regularly and played the thing till it was worn, Id be thrilled as I want desparately to be good enuff to gig. I just personally cant see paying an escalated price for something already artificially beat up. Now if I bought a historic guitar like Stevie Rays or something, I could see paying more cuz it has a history. Am I making sense?

 

[Chad]

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

The logic is that whatever the wear is, it should be real from years of playing, not faked in the factory and meant to fool people. If you want a guitar with some miles on it, there's no shortage of used ones for sale. The more banged up it is, the better the price is; that's 'real' relic'd. Why not get one of those? The difference is wear that's happened in the real world, outside of the factory. Wah Wah didn't buy a new guitar and take a hammer, chisel, and sandpaper to it to get his looking like that so he could pretend it's old. That's from decades of honest stage time. You don't get that in a new guitar, relic'd or not.

It's the reality vs fantasy thing; you seem to have a little trouble differentiating the two.

So using your soldier/medal analogy, are you saying it's okay for a soldier to wear another soldier's medals so long as the medals are genuine/authentic?

There are finishers/refinishers capable of creating relics (or fixing old guitars) that can't be determined from the real thing. So the lines between reality and fantasy sometimes blur.

You are trying to create black and white scenarios out of something when that just isn't possible. What about player wear that forms on factory relic'd guitars? What if a player were to genuinely search out a used guitar with authentic playing wear, then years down the road they learn the guitar had been relic'd by a professional?

Okay sounds like you want to define it by time ("years") and place ("in a factory"), but how is that even remotely possible? At what point is too little time invested in wearing a guitar to deem it not "real"? What if a Fender employee relics a guitar in their living room?

 

[Chad]

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

Chad, I see your point. And for me to buy Wah Wahs guitar and try to pass it off as MY labor, yes, that would be as "dishonest" as buying a reliced one new. I would not say its my doing. I would tell folks that I bought a very thoroughly played guitar. But Im honest.
Now, please dont take what Im saying out of context. If someone likes the look of the reliced guitar, and buys one, Im not going to shun them. To each his own. Personally, Im a-al retentive of my gear and try to keep it looking new. But if I gigged regularly and played the thing till it was worn, Id be thrilled as I want desparately to be good enuff to gig. I just personally cant see paying an escalated price for something already artificially beat up. Now if I bought a historic guitar like Stevie Rays or something, I could see paying more cuz it has a history. Am I making sense?

Yeah, I totally get what you're saying now that you clarified.

 

[LReese]

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

The relics of yesteryear aren't as beat up as some of the recent ones I see.

Those I like OK - Its nice not having to worry about the 1st bump.

 

[Aceman]

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

teacups.

Absolutely.

When people ask about relicing a guitar, I say do what I did:



Play it for 30 years. But that would take time and effort and there would be no immediate gratification just for owning it.

 

[blueman335]

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

So the lines between reality and fantasy sometimes blur.

Hey, if want to indulge yourself in a world of relic'd guitars, video games, and professional wrestling, go for it.

 

[LReese]

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

I guess what Aceman is trying to say is - it takes a relic to make a real relic..

 

[Aceman]

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

And don't get me wrong. I dig the mojo of a truly road worn rode hard and put up wet guitar that may have fallen out of a truck once or twice. And I'm not beyond perhaps abusing a Squire just for fun.

But I have seen very few decent looking relics. ESP has a couple of horrendous one. That George Lynch model - YUCK!

 

[crusty philtrum]

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

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

That it was locked in a basement one afternoon and repeatedly beaten with a bicycle chain, a screwdriver, a set of car keys and possibly some kind of powered sanding machine. Then it was released and paraded in public as some kind of trophy ?

 

[Ashurbanipal]

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

Hmm, I'm not into reliced guitars either - most don't look right, and I'd prefer to put my own wear and tear on them - it's part of the natural biography of the instrument. Unless you play about 200+ gigs per year for 15 years, no guitar would end up being so trashed unless you incorporated it into sadomasochistic routines.

Hell, even this famous guitar, which has been gigged hard for 25 years, looks less trashed prior to its refurbishment than these faux ones. I guess if BM didn't wear chunky belt buckles, the back would be intact.

The more stupid thing about those Fenders in the op is the price, rather than the relic, so much.

I think you missed a spot .

 

[blueman335]

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

That it was locked in a basement one afternoon and repeatedly beaten with a bicycle chain, a screwdriver, a set of car keys and possibly some kind of powered sanding machine. Then it was released and paraded in public as some kind of trophy ?

And appartently no one could tell if it was relic'd or a real vintage guitar.

Of course the genius behind relic'd guitars is that it eliminates manufacturer seconds, as any with finish flaws get sent to the relic department, where they get completely beat up and can then be sold for a higher price. It's almost as if they thought the public was gullible...

 

[GuitarStv]

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

FWIW, modern guitar finishes don't relic the same way older ones do. I can understand wanting to get a guitar that looks worn in the same way that an older guitar would wear . . . and if you know that most new guitars won't ever look like that, I kinda get the attraction of relicing.

 

[Chad]

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

Hey, if want to indulge yourself in a world of relic'd guitars, video games, and professional wrestling, go for it.

Hey, if you want to indulge yourself in contradictions, flawed logic, and seeing everything as black and white, go for it.

 

[BloodRose]

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

Yeah, I totally get what you're saying now that you clarified.

Cool!

 

[blueman335]

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

Hey, if you want to indulge yourself in contradictions, flawed logic, and seeing everything as black and white, go for it.

And after the bizarre reasoning and examples you've used? Fender employees relic'ing guitars in their living rooms; buying a relic'd guitar thinking it was vintage and years later finding out it was relic'd. Good lord. That's a strange mind at work.

Real = wear from playing
Fake = deliberately damaging a new guitar to give the impression it's been played heavily

 

[BloodRose]

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

Kinda amazing to me that Brian Mays guitar isnt more whupped out looking. Tony Iommi plays one sometimes that looks like its once been on fire..

Makes me wonder on these iconic guitars, how many times they have been refretted?

 

[Chad]

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

And after the bizarre reasoning and examples you've used? Fender employees relic'ing guitars in their living rooms; buying a relic'd guitar thinking it was vintage and years later finding out it was relic'd. Good lord. That's a strange mind at work.

Real = wear from playing
Fake = deliberately damaging a new guitar to give the impression it's been played heavily

I've read a lot of relic threads over the years and most anti-relic comments are shallow & contradictory. Further, reasoning with a lot of those folks is generally pointless. I'll just leave it at that.

 

[Chad]

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

.

 

[GoldenVulture]

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

Funny,I don't remember 60's Strats having humbuckers and floyds.

The more stupid thing about those Fenders in the op is the price, rather than the relic, so much.

Ive got a car in the back yard that's an old relic. Sheit it's probably worth more now than new... if this relic trend is anything to go by.:drive: