"Liver spot tattoos" next big thing am tellin ya
or Cosmetic hand surgery, receptionist - " we do a lovely Keef Richards sir, one of our more popular procedures with the up and coming guitarists"

You're right. Hating is a waste of mental energy!

There is no way a guitar can end up looking like SRV´s or Rory Gallagher´s.
If you handle a guitar for so many thousands of hours, you´ll need to refret.
The back of the neck will show some wear marks.
A few minor dents and that´s about it!
These ¨warrior¨guitars, they were purposely abused. I got in the groove and totally thrashed my red squier. I would get drunk and slam it against the wall. It felt real good. I would still bring that guitar out and feel like a bad boy if it didn´t give me tuning problems. You know, this whole looking mean thing, it is kind of Darwin-esque.¨Hey look! I´ve been through hell. I get the girl¨.
Now when you see someone like Danny Gatton sounding a Tele which has seen better times, well, it is nostalgic.
Let us not confuse the extraordinary commitment of the Fender Custom Shop to matching the specs of earlier runs, with the cosmetic and marketing side of it all. I am thankful I can choose between a 50´s and a 60´s Strat. Relic or NOS, is inconsequential to me.

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FIGHT!

I think the well-done relics look great. Of course, there's nothing like the real thing.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Nice picture there orville my friend!
What CS may that be?

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FIGHT!

That's no Custom Shop instrument.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I'm not into the relic'd or road worn thing. As has been said already in this thread relic'd has come to mean extra ££££ or $$$$. Careless dings and scratches have found a new description "home relic'd"

How many ads do you see for pre owned guitars that say "....home relic'd but in excellent condition......" What they mean is I have not taken proper care with it and bashed it a couple of times.

Don't get me wrong my guitars are there to be played and as with the Highway One's the finish is supposed to show some evidence of playing to me that shows it has been played and i've put the hours in playing it, but i still take care of the guitar.

Vintage is a term I would expect to be used for an old guitar and would describe an original 52 tele rather then the 52 reissue. Imagine a car manufacturer bringing out a brand new car with a 50s relic or road worn look and charging an extra £ks for it.....i think not.

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ukraider
"money cant buy you love but it can buy guitars!!!!!!"

Exactemundo!!
I want to see the rest of it,Orville!!

Mr. O blesses us with a full view every now and then!!

MEGA-DITTOS!



Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

im not a fan of the so called 'relic' look.

i would much rather buy a guitar which is brand spanking new and not ruined by anyone else but me

Here we go again..........


What's with all the name calling? The "people who buy relics are poseurs and idiots" bit...

I mean come on people, to each their own. You ever think that some people buy a relic'ed guitar not because of the relic job but inspite of it? I didn't buy my Road Worn '50's Strat because of the relic job. I'd rather it not be relic'ed honestly, but I liked the guitar so I didn't let the appearance stop me from buying it.

ahahahaha! I love that poser comment! Like I said, I bought into the warrior guitar thing and totally thrashed my squier, to be hip! It seems kind of foolish now, I´ll admit. I wonder about posers who can really play well. Steve Vai comes to mind. But I am more of a Roy Buchanan type. Even tried the hard drinking too! That didn´t work out too well either.
So I´m back to focusing on good tone.

¨He who wants to live in the woods, let him do so.
He who wants to live by the lake, let him live there¨. Sidharta Gautama.

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FIGHT!

Well, as one who has just reached 60, I kinda like having the option of buying a guitar like the Roadwords... At my age, I doubt I'd be able to relic one by playing it enough to cause a lot of visual wear since this is just a hobby for me. Of course, I could just abuse a guitar like some here have mentioned, but "damaged" isn't exactly the same as "relic'ed" to me..

I don't see the distinction -- abuse and/or neglect, whether accidental or deliberate, is just that. In the case of the latter, it's a reflection of an endless stream of punks who did not respect the craftsmanship that went into creating an instrument sufficiently to care for it properly under their stewardship. I doubt seriously that anyone is fooled by the cookie-cutter vibe of the Roadworns -- they all look exactly alike......cheesy and artificial.

JMO

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY