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

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

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

I have a Road Worn 50s Tele, purchased used. Although I usually dislike relics, I dig it because it is a great player, and it was at a good price.

Geoff, I keep mentioning to DB via fb that his guitarist needs a paint job on his Strat...:D
 
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Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

I like the way I can drop relic'd guitars in stores and not worry about it.
 
Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

I like the way I can drop relic'd guitars in stores and not worry about it.

It's especially convenient with Telecasters, which are prone to jumping back off the hooks.
 
Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

If you want a guitar with some miles on it, there's no shortage of used ones for sale.

I must respectfully disagree. My Relic is a Fender '51 Nocaster. There is a finite number of real ones for sale. They are unlikely to ever be in my price range. I have the so-called Closet Classic variant. The NOS model would have been equally acceptable. It was the neck profile and the sound that I wanted.
 
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?

I know Brian May's guitar still has the original frets (except the zero fret).
 
Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

The original posted guitars are butt ass ugly to me. But, I'm more of a traditionalist. It's kinda like buying a vintage auto that is all beat to crap paint job. Well, maybe not exactly. I'd like a guitar that has a bit of an "aged" paint job with some antiquity pickups perhaps, but not battle scars. Maybe just a faded look to it. That's kinda cool to my eyes. But, all that being said, when I got my custom shop strat, it was a "new old stock". No battle scars. That's my job to ding them up.

Gosh, remember that awful feeling in your gut when you put your first serious ding in a new guitar? Sucked.
 
Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

The original posted guitars are butt ass ugly to me. But, I'm more of a traditionalist. It's kinda like buying a vintage auto that is all beat to crap paint job. Well, maybe not exactly. I'd like a guitar that has a bit of an "aged" paint job with some antiquity pickups perhaps, but not battle scars. Maybe just a faded look to it. That's kinda cool to my eyes. But, all that being said, when I got my custom shop strat, it was a "new old stock". No battle scars. That's my job to ding them up.

Gosh, remember that awful feeling in your gut when you put your first serious ding in a new guitar? Sucked.

Thats how I am. Very A-retentive about my gear. want it to stay looking new (to a fault). so I dont get this already beat up appeal. Only way it would be good for me is that I wouldnt cry when I ding one.
 
Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

I must respectfully disagree. My Relic is a Fender '51 Nocaster. There is a finite number of real ones for sale. They are unlikely to ever be in my price range. I have the so-called Closet Classic variant. The NOS model would have been equally acceptable. It was the neck profile and the sound that I wanted.

If you're after a specific niche model, that obviously some won't be as plentiful as others. I was referencing guitars with wear-and-tear in general, as a lot of players are rough on their guitars, particularly if they've been gigged with a lot. Those usually sell for less because of the heavy wear, the opposite of relic'd guitars, which sell for more because of the pretend 'wear.' It just seems odd.
 
Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

I'm partial to Fender's Closet Classic level of finish, but the older Relics (pre-2K) weren't really that beat up.

This one's a Relic finish from I think 1998....
DSCN0023.jpg
 
Re: I just dont get this relic thing..White Lightening series

I purchased my Ibanez Prestige after I'd had shoulder reconstruction surgery (had a seizure in bed, rolled onto the floor, broke my right shoulder in 3 places) because I needed a lighter guitar.

Playing even a light basswood guitar is difficult after having your shoulder put back together, so my Ibby has more than a few scrapes and dings on the finish from me getting used to my shoulder working differently but I prefer how it looks now, especially to how it looked when I first got it.

I'd like to note that I achieved all those scrapes the hard way. Well, one of the hard ways (I don't gig).
 
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