Lets look at our guitars thread

[vdn]

chemistry said:

vdn said:

Any help / advice appreciated.

The other half was gifted a Made In USA Strat back in the 90’s. It was brand new at the time and has been kept well in a hard case. Played every so often and never gigged.

We’re trying to get an idea on value (not selling but interested) and also, advice on a specific issue I’ve seen. The neck shows signs of surface cracks... are these lacquer cracks only or a sign of something else? Pics below.

Some ‘relic’d’ Fenders come like that from the factory and it’s seen as a custom/premium/desirable feature...see here, about 2 minutes in:

https://youtu.be/M5-wzopnZqA

Interesting! I didn’t know ‘relic’ing’ was a thing.

[chemistry]

vdn said:

Interesting! I didn’t know ‘relic’ing’ was a thing.

It's a huge thing...loads of Fender, Gibsons, etc. come relic'd (apologies for the apostrophe, but reliced never looks right!) from the factory. Often done to custom shop guitars, e.g.

https://www.andertons.co.uk/brands/fender/fender-c...

The (intentional) cracking on the back of the neck (indeed, all over) on this brand new, £9k Gibson SG makes your Fender look like it's barely been used:

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/20091736215...

Edited by chemistry on Tuesday 19th January 12:10

[Escapegoat]

The only good thing about relic guitars is that you will never have that "what have I done!" moment when you put the first ding into your minty new guitar. A new ding on a new relic has no such gut-punch moment.

(Of course, the same is true when buying a well-used guitar anyway.)

[chemistry]

Escapegoat said:

The only good thing about relic guitars is that you will never have that "what have I done!" moment when you put the first ding into your minty new guitar. A new ding on a new relic has no such gut-punch moment.

(Of course, the same is true when buying a well-used guitar anyway.)

I think you are right.

It seems crazy (to me) to pay for a brand new guitar that already looks secondhand BUT it definitely does spare you from that awful "Oh sh*t!" moment when the first genuine dent/scratch gets put on a pristine instrument. Arguably there's a slight benefit from a guitar with a played-in feel too it too. In 99% of cases though, buying a decent secondhand guitar gives you the same result for significantly less money.

Each to their own though!

[rsbmw]

My old strat probably isn't for you then



I will however point out that the desirable relicing/checking (or natural aging) is usually to nitro finished instruments, cracking poly doesn't feel pleasant and can be likely to simply chip off

[WindyCommon]

A milder version of "relic-ing"...

Looks an old one. Sounds quite like an old one. But is in tune, stays in tune, doesn't buzz, has a manageable neck profile etc etc etc

[chemistry]

rsbmw said:

My old strat probably isn't for you then



I will however point out that the desirable relicing/checking (or natural aging) is usually to nitro finished instruments, cracking poly doesn't feel pleasant and can be likely to simply chip off

It's awesome! Is that a relic'd example or natural aging (or a combination of both)?

More generally, I'm not a relic hater! I just wanted to point out to vdn that not only did they not need to worry about he lacquer cracks in the neck of their strat, but that some folks actually buy them new like that. That then got sidetracked into a discussion about any practical benefits of relicing; my view is that old/relic'd guitars can look great and play well...but from an economic standpoint, it can make more sense to buy a well looked after secondhand guitar that has been aged/worn and played in naturally than a brand new relic'd one.

Buy what you like; play what you like. Even if folks want to play metal with a Hello Kitty guitar through a bass amp [insert other inappropriate combination here, according to personal preferences], it's all good as far as I'm concerned.

[SD_1]

sutoka said:

Snap, I've had my Gibson SG Special about 8 years, 2002 model in reasonable shape, love the chunky neck. I it bought Dublin for 280 euro it was in the window of a charity shop. It stank of a pub, stale smoke and I wasn't 100% sure it was genuine. Anyway took a punt as it had an original Gibson case and a pile of flyers for the previous owners band who owned it. Brought it home and one of the pickups was a bit iffy. Took it to local music shop he popped off the back and soldered one the joints and it was back in business. Backplate off and he confirmed it was the real deal.

Here it is with the other SG's I've got.

Wow that is an incredible price for one of these. I paid about double that and thought I did well! Are these the original pickups with covers added or have they been changed?

vdn said:

Any help / advice appreciated.

The other half was gifted a Made In USA Strat back in the 90’s. It was brand new at the time and has been kept well in a hard case. Played every so often and never gigged.

We’re trying to get an idea on value (not selling but interested) and also, advice on a specific issue I’ve seen. The neck shows signs of surface cracks... are these lacquer cracks only or a sign of something else? Pics below.

I have a 2004 American Standard Strat from the era where the lacquer on the necks was very thin indeed. Mine has done the same thing to yours through extensive playing, but looks quite a bit worse. I'll put a photo up later if I remember. As mentioned its nothing really to worry about, "relic" guitars are the in thing these days and I have no plans to ever sell this one.

[OldSkoolRS]

I've got a 1982 Strat that I've owned from new, so it's well worn and feels like a comfy pair of slippers. I did have it resprayed about 5 years ago, but I'd previously done it 2 times myself anyway. The last time was in nitro so it's worn a little quicker than it did originally, so it all looks fairly natural. The body doesn't look 38 years old, but since the neck is poly the wear on the fingerboard isn't as extreme as some 50s maple Fender fingerboard look (or the Custom Shop relic ones).

Last year I bought a pre-finished body for an Esquire project I was working on. I couldn't find one that was finished like new in a colour/finish I liked, so I ended up buying a lightly worn one: Crazing in the nitro and a few chips/marks, but nothing more than Fender would consider their mildest relic option.

I wasn't sure I'd like it, but it grew on me and has been quite liberating taking it out to open mics/gigs (back when you could!) and not worrying about it getting knocked. During lock down I sanded off the poly finished Fender neck I'd fitted and refinished it myself in tinted nitro which has given it a look that better matches the body. The fret ends and fingerboard edges feel really worn in now and by comparison to my Strat, feels like it could be many years old too, despite only being built last year from mostly new parts.

All my other guitars look pretty much like new, but I have to say I've changed my mind about the whole relic thing. At least in terms of it feeling well broken in and having a few marks, so I don't feel afraid to take it out.

I'm planning on putting together another Strat as a back up to my 1982 one (as I'm concerned about it getting stolen when we do start playing gigs). I'm going to do a thin finish on this one so that it wears quickly and do the same work on the neck as I have on the Esquire. Not sure I'll do any false 'wear' on the body, but it will probably mark up fairly quickly anyway. I want it to wrinkle up at a similar rate to me as well...old bloke playing a shiny new guitar looks a bit odd.

Edited by OldSkoolRS on Tuesday 19th January 16:17

[smn159]

I've got a 1987 Japanese Strat that I bought in 1990. It's been well gigged and has been refretted but the poly finish is pretty much indestructible. It's got some slight fading in a couple of places and a few nicks, plus the knobs and pick up covers have yellowed, but otherwise looks looks pretty much as it would have when it left the factory.

[OldSkoolRS]

smn159 said:

I've got a 1987 Japanese Strat that I bought in 1990. It's been well gigged and has been refretted but the poly finish is pretty much indestructible. It's got some slight fading in a couple of places and a few nicks, plus the knobs and pick up covers have yellowed, but otherwise looks looks pretty much as it would have when it left the factory.

My Strat is a Japanese one, when they first started making Squiers (I missed out on the larger 'Fender' font' though as mine was the second batch).

It's taken 38 years to start to wear this poly finish:



The plastic has aged a bit too, but I think some bits have been changed over the years. I drilled a hole in the original pickguard to add a switch (doh!) so it has a pattern one on it now.

[smn159]

I think that you summed it up when you said that these are like comfy old pairs of slippers. I've got more expensive guitars, including a US professional Strat but the old MIJ is still my favourite to come back to.

[WindyCommon]

Any "Trigger's broom" guitars out there where all the major components have been replaced? Still the original guitar natch, despite the new body, pickups, neck and furnishings...

[smn159]

WindyCommon said:

Any "Trigger's broom" guitars out there where all the major components have been replaced? Still the original guitar natch, despite the new body, pickups, neck and furnishings...

Maybe just me, but I'd consider a guitar with a new body to be a different guitar.

[OldSkoolRS]

WindyCommon said:

Any "Trigger's broom" guitars out there where all the major components have been replaced? Still the original guitar natch, despite the new body, pickups, neck and furnishings...

Well kind of, though I consider it a 'new' guitar: The Esquire I referred to above started from a £99 Squier Tele I bought 15 years ago.

I swapped the pickups for some decent Fender ones after a couple of years. Then I wore out the frets when I'd had it about 13 years, so put a new (fat) neck on it. The next year stripped it all down to make it into an Esquire (so new pickguard and 3 barrel style bridge by then). Wanted to respray it, but the thought of stripping it back to bare from poly put me off, so I bought the pre-finished body I mentioned further back. Assembled it again, but thinking of it as being a 'new' guitar as by then all that was left was the pickguard screws and strap buttons!

EDIT: I gave the body and various other left over Tele bits to a friend, who has added a neck from another friend to make into another Tele again.

[WindyCommon]

OldSkoolRS said:

WindyCommon said:

Any "Trigger's broom" guitars out there where all the major components have been replaced? Still the original guitar natch, despite the new body, pickups, neck and furnishings...

Well kind of, though I consider it a 'new' guitar: The Esquire I referred to above started from a £99 Squier Tele I bought 15 years ago.

I swapped the pickups for some decent Fender ones after a couple of years. Then I wore out the frets when I'd had it about 13 years, so put a new (fat) neck on it. The next year stripped it all down to make it into an Esquire (so new pickguard and 3 barrel style bridge by then). Wanted to respray it, but the thought of stripping it back to bare from poly put me off, so I bought the pre-finished body I mentioned further back. Assembled it again, but thinking of it as being a 'new' guitar as by then all that was left was the pickguard screws and strap buttons!

EDIT: I gave the body and various other left over Tele bits to a friend, who has added a neck from another friend to make into another Tele again.

Which one of you has the original guitar..?

[OldSkoolRS]

WindyCommon said:

Which one of you has the original guitar..?

Neither I guess, since mine only contains the pickguard screws and the strap buttons, his has the body and a few other bits of metalwork, but another neck, pickups and tuners.

[gazza285]

WindyCommon said:

Any "Trigger's broom" guitars out there where all the major components have been replaced? Still the original guitar natch, despite the new body, pickups, neck and furnishings...

Yes, my ES135 I posted the other week.
Trapeze replaced with the Bigsby,
Bridge replaced with a roller bridge,
Tuners replaced with Kluson Revolution,
Pickups replaced with Seymour Duncan’s,
Pots replaced with 1 Meg Bourne’s,
And a set of strap locks.

Original knobs, output jack, loom, and nut.

[sutoka]

SD_1 said:

sutoka said:

Snap, I've had my Gibson SG Special about 8 years, 2002 model in reasonable shape, love the chunky neck. I it bought Dublin for 280 euro it was in the window of a charity shop. It stank of a pub, stale smoke and I wasn't 100% sure it was genuine. Anyway took a punt as it had an original Gibson case and a pile of flyers for the previous owners band who owned it. Brought it home and one of the pickups was a bit iffy. Took it to local music shop he popped off the back and soldered one the joints and it was back in business. Backplate off and he confirmed it was the real deal.

Here it is with the other SG's I've got.

Wow that is an incredible price for one of these. I paid about double that and thought I did well! Are these the original pickups with covers added or have they been changed?

No just bought a pair of covers, the original black pickups were very worn and pitted.

[HighwayToHull]

Here's my 'relicked' Strat. It's a '79 and all the relicking is genuine.