Relic work?

[metropolis_4]

As a guitarist I love the look of old worn guitars.

As a player, I only like it if it’s real wear and tear that I’ve done myself naturally.

I had a Tele that was heavily “relic’d” from many years as my main gigging guitar. When I lost that guitar I tried replacing it with relics and I liked them at first because they felt more familiar, more like that Tele had felt.

But over time I found I didn’t bond with them because I knew the wear wasn’t my own.

These days I like to look at them, but when I play them they just feel wrong. Like they’re trying to pretend to be something they’re not and it’s only skin deep. As soon as I play it the illusion is gone and it’s just another new guitar it just looks old.

I also HATE the ones that are overdone and don’t look anything like real wear!

I think what I love is the story. Real authentic aged guitars have stories behind them. Relics don’t

 

[dbagchee]

I’d like to get a nitro finish Fender at some point so I can develop my own relic. I suppose my 94 mexi strat is vintage now right?

 

[FuzzyAce]

Real authentic aged guitars have stories behind them. Relics don’t

Hacks gone wrong!? Sounds like a story to me.

 

[Chocol8]

I’d like to get a nitro finish Fender at some point so I can develop my own relic. I suppose my 94 mexi strat is vintage now right?

Your 94 is a good bit older than SRV's number one was in the 80's. If you have a thin nitro finish it doesn't take very long to get natural aging.

 

[Eagle]

Relics usually sound better than their NOS counterparts because the paint is thinner and probably less or no plasticiser so harder too . The most important part of instrument finish is thin and hard . Nitro not important as long as thin and hard is right.

 

[Eagle]

Working on my blackguard . Body is cut from a water stained old piece of swamp ash that will get the final guitar at just under 7lbs .
The CNC is to a 52 original.

Trying to copy the style of the sanding and all the mistakes on the earlier bodies.

Router hump and uneven lip on the edge of the neck;

And here is a 52;

Quite a way to go but I’m not paying £50k for an original and I enjoy the challenge ( when it’s for me anyway).

 

[FuzzyAce]

Working on my blackguard . Body is cut from a water stained old piece of swamp ash that will get the final guitar at just under 7lbs .
The CNC is to a 52 original.
View attachment 61252
Trying to copy the style of the sanding and all the mistakes on the earlier bodies.
View attachment 61253
Router hump and uneven lip on the edge of the neck;
View attachment 61254
And here is a 52;
View attachment 61259
Quite a way to go but I’m not paying £50k for an original and I enjoy the challenge ( when it’s for me anyway).

 

[gearJunkie]

I like your approach for creating relic finishes.

Like you, Kip Elder of Starr Guitars here in Orlando does excellent relic work. He also maintains the guitars on display and in storage for Hard Rock Cafe Orlando.

He does a great job with laquer checking and wear use patterns.

 

[Eagle]

I like your approach for creating relic finishes.

Like you, Kip Elder of Starr Guitars here in Orlando does excellent relic work. He also maintains the guitars on display and in storage for Hard Rock Cafe Orlando.

He does a great job with laquer checking and wear use patterns.

View attachment 61264

That looks believable and that’s what makes it look good imo.

 

[LCW]

Do you still have that LP with the HB in the bridge and P90 in the neck?

No I ditched it. Just didn't jive. I don't keep stuff I don't click with.

 

[JasonE]

I personally hate relic jobs other than what you are talking about where you put in the effort to match a real vintage guitar that has naturally aged.

The other stuff just looks fake to me. Suhr, Fender CS, Murphy Lab, pretty much all of them. I would MUCH rather have a NOS copy where it will naturally relic on its own if it gets used. Of course most of these high dollar guitars end up as part of a collection and don't get played much if at all. They might get the effects of age, but not the wear that comes from use.

This is exactly the camp I am in.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

No I ditched it. Just didn't jive. I don't keep stuff I don't click with.

 

[laxu]

Relic finishes are a difficult style to do well. I agree with Eagle that the Suhr and Nash don't look good.

I'm not adamant that it should look like real wear because that is often not very appealing anyway. I think it needs to just look aesthetically pleasing, and that's where you get into the fine details.

I think Novo does it nicely, with the finish sinking into the wood grain but without looking too overdone.

 

[Steinmetzify]

I’ve had a few and I think as long as it’s not overdone it’s fine.

These are my two favs I’ve had, both MJT bodies.

 

[EOengineer]

I’ve had a few and I think as long as it’s not overdone it’s fine.

These are my two favs I’ve had, both MJT bodies.

View attachment 61473
View attachment 61474

Nice! I have a LPB offset build in progress currently…MJT body too.

 

[DrewJD82]

This is pretty much my limit when it comes to relics-

Wow…..I haven’t looked at these pics of my Gilmour Strat in quite a while, there’s several wear marks on the fingerboard I thought MJT put there, but very clearly from this pic, I wore it down myself. (12th fret and past it)

 

[Eagle]

MJT bodies used to be good considering how cheap they are but the last few I have seen are well painted but a shitty relic and some of the shapes have been off.

 

[DrewJD82]

MJT bodies used to be good considering how cheap they are but the last few I have seen are well painted but a shitty relic and some of the shapes have been off.

I wouldn’t be surprised if seeing a continuous run of belt sander FCS’s going for $4500 had something to do with that. I regularly check Reverb for MJT bodies in case I want to snag one for a future project and have noticed a difference, particularly with the detail stuff, like how the edges of the chipped/worn paint on my sunburst Strat above was likely rubbed with leather to smooth out the edges, doesn’t seem like they’re taking the time for that stuff anymore.

Alas, their light-to-non relic’d bodies are a pretty good deal for a nitro finished body as I don’t think you can snag them anywhere else for $350-$400 a pop. Both my Strat bodies were made by Wildwood and sent to MJT, but I’m unsure if they’re using the same supplier for bodies or not. I don’t think that’s the same Wildwood that sells guitars, either.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

I wouldn’t be surprised if seeing a continuous run of belt sander FCS’s going for $4500 had something to do with that. I regularly check Reverb for MJT bodies in case I want to snag one for a future project and have noticed a difference, particularly with the detail stuff, like how the edges of the chipped/worn paint on my sunburst Strat above was likely rubbed with leather to smooth out the edges, doesn’t seem like they’re taking the time for that stuff anymore.

100% this. I've got some saved searches setup for MJT bodies and they definitely look more rushed and not as good as they used to.

 

[Eagle]

I wouldn’t be surprised if seeing a continuous run of belt sander FCS’s going for $4500 had something to do with that. I regularly check Reverb for MJT bodies in case I want to snag one for a future project and have noticed a difference, particularly with the detail stuff, like how the edges of the chipped/worn paint on my sunburst Strat above was likely rubbed with leather to smooth out the edges, doesn’t seem like they’re taking the time for that stuff anymore.

Alas, their light-to-non relic’d bodies are a pretty good deal for a nitro finished body as I don’t think you can snag them anywhere else for $350-$400 a pop. Both my Strat bodies were made by Wildwood and sent to MJT, but I’m unsure if they’re using the same supplier for bodies or not. I don’t think that’s the same Wildwood that sells guitars, either.

Just not the same product it used to be but probably worth the money still.
As for Fender CS they still produce some of better heavy relics too but you won’t get one in the team built range. The good ones are more than double and they spend more than twice as long making them. I good relic job takes far longer to do than the rest of the instrument. This is why Nash is such shit