Fractal Talk

[DrewJD82]

Are they relics?

I have no issues with anyone that likes relics. They just aren't my cup of tea.

Here are a couple of things I wonder about the whole relic thing.

How can you call a relic guitar on the used market mint? How the heck will someone even know if you put a couple of extra dings in it. I kind of laugh every time I see a relic for sale with a condition listed as mint.

Do the people that like relic guitars steer away from buying guitars with dings in them if they were not a factory relic? Do they expect to get them cheaper because there are dings in them?

I wouldn't have brought 'em up if they weren't!

As for your questions, I can't answer the one about listing them as mint, I've never sold one and don't intend to.

I can't answer your 2nd question for everyone, but I've bought guitars since getting these with dings in them that didn't come from the factory. I didn't "expect" anything from the pricing outside of it to be within my budget and being reasonable for a used guitar.

There's way too much confusion/assumption over what relic owners are thinking, IMO. I've got 15 or so guitars, 2 happen to be relics. That hasn't changed anything about how I think about other guitars in the slightest bit. At most, they make me chuckle at the $4500 Fender Custom Shops and Murphy Labs.

 

[JasonE]

I wouldn't have brought 'em up if they weren't!

View attachment 35965

As for your questions, I can't answer the one about listing them as mint, I've never sold one and don't intend to.

I can't answer your 2nd question for everyone, but I've bought guitars since getting these with dings in them that didn't come from the factory. I didn't "expect" anything from the pricing outside of it to be within my budget and being reasonable for a used guitar.

There's way too much confusion/assumption over what relic owners are thinking, IMO. I've got 15 or so guitars, 2 happen to be relics. That hasn't changed anything about how I think about other guitars in the slightest bit. At most, they make me chuckle at the $4500 Fender Custom Shops and Murphy Labs.

I honestly never have and still don't understand the whole relic thing. I am one that takes extremely good care of my equipment. I have guitars that I have played many gigs with that still look almost new. I am careful with them but I am not afraid to play them either. I have taken pretty much every guitar I own to gigs, regardless of cost. If I pick up a scratch or a ding, I am not happy about it but I don't dwell on it. I just can't ever see me wanting a guitar that has been purposely beat up. I don't even buy guitars that have been neglected and have dings and scratches all over them. I am this way with pretty much everything I own. I buy quality stuff, which usually costs me more, but I take care of it so it lasts. Again, I have no issues with people that like relics. I just don't understand the attaction.

 

[DrewJD82]

I honestly never have and still don't understand the whole relic thing. I am one that takes extremely good care of my equipment. I have guitars that I have played many gigs with that still look almost new. I am careful with them but I am not afraid to play them either. I have taken pretty much every guitar I own to gigs, regardless of cost. If I pick up a scratch or a ding, I am not happy about it but I don't dwell on it. I just can't ever see me wanting a guitar that has been purposely beat up. I don't even buy guitars that have been neglected and have dings and scratches all over them. I am this way with pretty much everything I own. I buy quality stuff, which usually costs me more, but I take care of it so it lasts. Again, I have no issues with people that like relics. I just don't understand the attaction.

Well, whenever I played my extended solo in "Mustang Sally" with one of my relics, every woman in the bar leaves their husbands while saying things like "You're so passionate about playing guitar, I can tell by how beat up it is, you must be a road warrior!"



I like beat up guitars. It's really that simple. I also like new guitars.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I honestly never have and still don't understand the whole relic thing. I am one that takes extremely good care of my equipment. I have guitars that I have played many gigs with that still look almost new. I am careful with them but I am not afraid to play them either. I have taken pretty much every guitar I own to gigs, regardless of cost. If I pick up a scratch or a ding, I am not happy about it but I don't dwell on it. I just can't ever see me wanting a guitar that has been purposely beat up. I don't even buy guitars that have been neglected and have dings and scratches all over them. I am this way with pretty much everything I own. I buy quality stuff, which usually costs me more, but I take care of it so it lasts. Again, I have no issues with people that like relics. I just don't understand the attaction.

Some relics feel great like a broken in pair of jeans. Some of them feel like a pair of jeans with a hole in the wrong spot and now they're drafty or embarrassing to wear. Some feel like a really bad pair of acid wash jeans that look fake, are stiff in some places, too lose in others, and way too many holes in them. Some new guitars feel fantastic. Others feel...new. Some old guitars feel fantastic. Some old guitars just feel...old.

I just took my '56 Gibson to a guy that does lots of pre-war acoustic guitar restorations. He found it to be in phenomenal functional shape as an instrument. Beyond checking there are a lot of scratches, including some buckle wear. Feels great; plays great; sounds great; can pass it around amongst a bunch of friends without anybody worrying that they might scratch it so we can all enjoy it.

 

[duzie]

Well, whenever I played my extended solo in "Mustang Sally" with one of my relics, every woman in the bar leaves their husbands while saying things like "You're so passionate about playing guitar, I can tell by how beat up it is, you must be a road warrior!"



I like beat up guitars. It's really that simple. I also like new guitars.

Do you put a fleshlight in your pants too

 

[deadpool_25]

I wouldn't sell a relic guitar as "mint". I also would roll my eyes at someone who did. To me it's all about how it plays and its vibe. With that said I haven't bought a used relic guitar either and I don't know if I would.

Especially now that I'm converting almost my entire guitar stable into Strandbergs.

 

[makeitstop]

TOP = The Other Place = TGP, where you've seen me going up against the relic haters for the last week.

Oh, that other place. Got it. Thanks for the heads up.

Relic haters...I'll never understand why relics upset them so bad. Never.

As far as that place and Fractal goes - they really want it to not be good. Almost like they're afraid of Fractal gear.

 

[makeitstop]

I sold my FM9 recently and was Fractal-less for a while. I recently got that 5:25 and just ordered a VP4 to use with it.

I liked my FM3 with my amps back in the day but I did occasionally have some noise issues with it. FM9 was better in that regard.

See, now this is the type of post that'll make me sell my FM3 and AX8 and buy an FM9. Thanks, pal.

 

[paisleywookiee]

I wouldn't sell a relic guitar as "mint". I also would roll my eyes at someone who did. To me it's all about how it plays and its vibe. With that said I haven't bought a used relic guitar either and I don't know if I would.

Especially now that I'm converting almost my entire guitar stable into Strandbergs.

Technically, a relic’d guitar can be sold as mint, if it arrives to the new owner with the same exact wear as it arrived to the original owner with. How that’s proven would require meticulous photos at time of purchase and sale. But hey. It’s a strange world.