They are too expensive for me to consider buying one, but all the many I have tried have been among the best instruments as far as vibe, sustain and tone. I don't feel the same things in every production guitar.

I haven't read all the other responses here so please forgive me if I'm being redundant but personally, I just don't get it. The first relic I ever saw (in a music store) was the Jaco Pastorious bass and I still vividly remember standing there thinking "Who on Earth would pay $4000 for that beat up piece of crap?". At the risk of offending the powers that be here at Fender.com I also have to say that I feel the same way about this new "Road Worn" series of instruments. Why would someone pay extra for something that's already beat up?

I've been playing for well over 20 years and I currently have 19 guitars (I'm a junkie...sorry). I still own my first "real" electric...an early 80's Memphis LP copy (gotta love those old "Fire Power" pickups! LOL!). Yea, sure she's got her nicks and dings and scares from the reckless days of my youth. I used to touch them up from time to time but I really don't bother any more. Even so, she's still better looking cosmetically than the Road Worn's or the Relics. I've always gone out of my way to take the best care of my "beloved" instruments as I can...even the cheap ones.

I mean let's think about this for a second...would you really go out and buy a brand new car that the factory had taken and "pre-rusted" and where they used a sledge hammer to methodically put a few good dents in??? I certainly wouldn't! LOL!!! How about the computer that most of you are typing on...would you really have bought it if the monitor and case came pre-stained with cigarette smoke and the keyboard had some burn holes on it and was missing a few keys? Would you not have bought the pretty "shiney" one on the shelf next to it instead? Even with antique furniture people usually want something that's either pristine or at least has been restored as apposed to something that's beat. So what makes a guitar so different?

I guess I understand that some folks seem to think that this look some how gives the instrument a sense of "vibe", but in my mind, that vibe comes from years of playing (whether it gets beat and abused or not)...it's not something that can be built in at the factory. "Vibe" is such a subjective term...it's not something that can really be seen or quantitatively measured, but to me it's something in a guitar that whispers in your ear "I've seen MANY nights on the stage and I'm ready for more...play me" (...or something along those general lines). More over, -if- I really wanted a guitar that really looked like a relic, I want those scars and that vibe to come from -me-...not a machine or manufacturing plant or a "skilled craftsman" (just how much skill does it really take to knocked the crap out of a guitar anyways? LOL!).

I'm sorry but again when it comes to relics and such...again, I really just don't get it.

Peace,
Jim

I don't like to have a whole hunch of guitars. I'd rather have one that I can form a special bond with. The relicing is just a manifestation of that love and customizes the look to give it a unique appearance. I would never buy a prereliced guitar. I would and have bought a used guitar with some dings.

My answer would be no. But, if you find a used one for a fair price that you really like, maybe consider it.

If I'm paying full price for a guitar, I want it to look great. I think that when it relics naturally, it's built up some mojo.

JJ

Hey Stratheads-

IMHO- Relics are a novelty. I guess I could let my strat get all banged up and wear through the finish....this is if I didn't take so much time and effort taking care of my sweet baby. I gig several times a month and all I have to show for it is some worn frets and a yellowing of my maple fretboard finish.

I think relicing also leaves a false impression on its player- Did the player earn all those battle scars?- Its kinda hard to ding up your axe if it doesn't leave your smoke free bedroom .....

That is not to say I wouldn't take one if it was offered to me (Hint Hint Contest Judges)...I just wouldn't go out of my way to buy one.

The Freeze

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There's Always Room For MELLOW !!!!

2000 MIM Stratocaster, Midnight Wine W/Texas Specials
2000 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
1969 Fender Vibro Champ

A good guitar feels warm and comfortable and sounds fabulous! That '66 relic was probably just a good guitar. The relic job didn't make it good or better. The really significant thing about that story was how this fellow could instantly feel and hear the difference to his 91. That's what likely catured his heart. Relic work is dressing for wannabes.

I don't mind the looks of a relic.
For me, that's usually an accident, however




And don't let them get too close to the barbeque grill

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

I don't get the relic thing. I don't like the worn look. If my guitar got scuffed up it would bother me. I like to keep my things looking new. Just my opinion, to each their own.

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1994 Standard Strat, Blue
2000 Standard Strat, Black, with GFS block, and GFS Lil Killer pickup.
2004 Standard Telecaster, Black
1971 Gibson SG
1985 Kramer Baretta
1986 Kramer Vangard
Carvin X60B
Marshall 50 watt 2x12 combo

Hahaha Orville. Very tasty looking Strat, just needs some Bull's Eye BBQ sauce!

That charred guitar is the first Strat that Jimi Hendrix burned.
It recently went up for auction for some large price.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Pete55 has it right...the '66 relic is just a nice guitar. It probably got lost in my post, but I was expecting to be turned off by the relic work when I went in to view the guitar. I just wanted the best I could get for my money, and this shop happened to have a second-hand one available for a bit over half the price of a new one here in Australia. If they'd had a NOS one there, I'd have been interested in that -- but the relic job they'd done on it was startlingly good, that's all I'm saying. Good enough to make you forget you didn't put the battle scars there yourself...and...well, when it comes down to it, is there anything wrong with being perceived as a "wannabee"..? I'm not going to get the chance to play a good guitar the way it deserves to be played in this lifetime..heh. That '91 ultra is still pristine after 17 years apart from fret wear...maybe it'll be a nice piece to hand over to my son in another 17 and he'll get to see if that '90s finish is as indestructible as it appears to be.

The '66 puts a smile on my face every time I'm around it, and the relic treatment doesn't detract from that...I'm prepared to admit that it maybe enhances my pleasure just a little as far as exploring the guitar to see what they've done goes...so, that's all I care about, really. I wouldn't have had the cash to pay retail, though, and wouldn't have been able to justify having to pay extra for that treatment.

Hope I don't step on any toes here but:

As far as relics go, I think it was fuelled by the 'Great Yuppy Guitar Collecting Massacre' People saw stuff like Clapton's Blackie, and Rory Gallagher's beat up strats, and saw that those guitars had a rich history.

So when a lot of them couldn't get iconic guitars, or pry a workingmans old favorite out of his hands, enter the falsified history and street cred of the artificially aged guitar. Its just like the 'relicing' of fake antiques. You know that's a NICE end table, but it's not good enough that it's a NICE table, its got to be an OLD nice table, or at least look like it.

Strat's are the working man's straight forward guitar. relics seem somehow against this spirit to me. "All I need is a Red Guitar , Three Chords and the Truth" Is now "All I need is a Red Guitar, a Belt Sander, Three Chords, and Some Deception"

Relics look like they have a story, but don't. That 66 reissue would have sounded just as sweet if no one had worked on it with belt sander.

I wish Fender would put the same effort into making some new, and reviving classic colours that they put into theis fad.

Yeah, I remember the day a beat old Strat brought only a small fraction of what a clean old Strat would bring.

Now real relics can bring a few more bucks to their owners.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

yes, yes

no toes trodden on, here...the point I intended to make about that '66 guitar is that it is indeed sweet, and the relic treatment in no way detracts from that. If I'd had a choice I might have gone for something without the pre-ageing, but that's what I ended up with and as it happens I've come to like the relic effect. I may as well enjoy it...they sure went to some trouble to produce it. It seems in keeping with the excellent overall quality of the guitar, so I'm happy. I don't know about the longevity of these things in the marketplace, but I'm a player rather than an investor. It's only worth money if you decide to sell it, and then you don't get to play it any more!