Hi guys

I'm not looking to relic my strat or anything. I have just seen many pictures from guitarists such as SRV, Mike McCready and John Frusciante for example over the years. And I've never understood how they come to wear out above the pick guard.

It could be from picking. But from looking at most of the pictures it looks like they get worn br something running parallel to the guitar.

Do these guitarists wear them like this because it looks cool or is it due to something else?

Bingo!!!!!!!

but picking doesn't seem believable. People don't strum the guitar so badly that it strikes the woodwork above the pick guard. Well i don't see how they can. And if you look at some pics, the scratches seem to go the other way as if it has been deliberately filed.

Different players have different playing styles. If you've seen SRV playing, you might ask the question, "How did that guitar ever survive?"

All my Strats have wear there of some sort. It's easily done if you gig regularly and put some enthusiasm into it.

True - i'm all in favour of giving the guitar some tough love but i just can't fathom how a pick could do so much damage

SRV deliberately abused that low E string more than anyone I have ever heard. Regarding your reference to the parallel wear, my guess is that is the wood grain causing differential wear on the body.

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Heilly
"That's thirty minutes away. I'll be there in ten." --W. Wolfe


09 Am Special Strat
01 Corona Strat
99 Sq Std Strat
95 MIJ TL-52 Tele
95 MIJ Sq Strat
93 MIJ FotoFlame Strat

I just picked up a used '94 Peavey Predator (Strat-style guitar) that has a fair amount of pick marks above the pickguard. They seem to run from straight up and down to a slight angle, like someone was really rocking on it. There is no wear through the paint, so it's not a big deal, but I think I'll try to buff them out.

You have to remember, too, that some people use picks that are very thick and very hard, hence more damage inflicted with heavy handed playing.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

I would also imagine that if someone used a finger-pick on their thumb it could do that. Other than that, I'm not sure either. Most of my pick marks are on the lower side. Oddly enough, a lot of it is due to me resting my pinky on the body as I pick. I have a Bass that has thumbnail gouges on the top side from a previous owner.

Just a thought.

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Those Strats had a nitro finish. When played aggressively it is much easier to wear thru the finish to the wood. I doubt that you could get that kind of wear pattern on today's poly finishes.

^^ This ^^

You can pretty much sneeze on an old nitro finish and make it wear like that. As mentioned above, all my Strats have marking there to some degree, but my single nitro-finished one is well on it's way to heavy relic status in that department.

Plus if I use a pick, they are thick stubby ones which could probably rip through anything given the a little gig-based enthusiasm. Switched over to mostly fingerstyle these days, so perhaps that sort of wear will be a thing of the past.

While I suspect that SRV's #1 strat was already quite worn before he ever owned it, if you watch how he plays, even if his pick isn't hitting the body his arm rubs against the area above the strings.

SRV wore bracelets and other things around his wrist over the years,
plus playing behind his back and head, no telling the things that were rubbing against the guitar.
he used very heavy gauged strings, and played very aggressive, i'm surprised he had a guitar left to play.

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1986 Kramer Baretta
1989 Samick "The Samick" Les Paul
2007 Fender Strat MIM Deluxe / 1985 MIJ neck
1990 Epiphone Strat
Marshall JCM 2000 DLS 50 watt / Marshall 1960a 4x12

https://soundcloud.com/jim-slimjim-cassi

i would iamgine also if you have your guitar hung right down low, its a lot easier to hit the area above the plate.

I agree. A luthier I know explained to me that Nitro may look like a solid thing. It wears and moves. It's not really a solid. Kind of like old glass. That's why older guitars wear thin and modern guitars chip.

Bottom line: For all of you guys who want that, "Old Worn Relic Look," 1. Buy a Hwy1 body, 2. Shine it up with some rubbing compound and 3. Gig the hell out of it and then don't put in a case.