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Did my own "relic" job

TSanders

TSanders

Oct 23, 2004
2,733
86
42
Columbus, Georgia
#1
Ive been looking for a keeper P-Bass for a long time. I got this one from a buddy and its been designated my keeper P-Bass. Its a MIJ 57RI a 1993 model. It has everything a P-Bass should have and then some (at around 8 pounds). It sits in a live mix like no other Fender Ive ever heard. It truly is a monster. I have it strung with Ken Smith Slick Rounds and this may be the perfect combo.

All that said, I wanted it to feel a little older and have a more vintage vibe cosmetically. I looked around at relic prices and then decided to give it a shot myself. Ive only done the body and pickguard so far. So the neck AND hardware is still ahead of me. I still have a good bit of final sanding (as you can see some sandpaper marks/swirls at times). Ill be working to buff those out this week. i did do a very light sanding to the gloss on the back of the neck and the smoothed out the "grab' of the gloss neck. Feels smooth and well played now. I also still need to darken the wood that Ive exposed, so add that to the whats left to do list.

You may think it sucks or that its dumb to relic an axe, but it gave me the feel I wanted, and I think I did good enough to make the bass look older.


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#3
Looks good. I'm a relic lover. I would add more chipping and less dings. Also take the sharp edges of the pickups (thumb wear) and give them some "age" ;)

Here's my FAV Aria P bass. I heated the body and sprayed it with liquid nitrogen and it crackled nicely. All the wear on this bass was well along on it's own, I just "highlighted" it.

What did you do to your headstock?? Pics??
 
#5
Wear-down equipment is nice, but I wonder how 'authentic' this really is. I've seen guitars and bass guitars used since 1960ies by the same players and they don't like like these 'wear-down' projects. What separates the 'wanna-bes' is usually lack of dings in the fretboard. Also, most of the body wear is at the bottom of the guitar/bass when you set them tilted to the floor, or if you drop them. Extensive wear on the player side is not that common. White guitars are aged yellow, too. Fretboards, maples ones, are very yellow:ish. And so on.
 
#14
I think you took a perfectly nice guitar and ****** it all up, doesn't look convincing at all. The neck is way to light for an old relic.

I've got a 31 yr old Music Man Sabre that just got returned to me after being stolen 26 yrs ago and it looks reliced. White paint job has yellowed nicely and the maple neck is almost orange, plus the usual nicks and dings from 31 yrs of playing in smokey bars.

Relicing is an art form, leave to someone who knows what they are doing. Sorry, but that's what I feel about it.:smug:
 
#15
I compare it more closely with the worn out blue jean fad. I wouldn't buy a pair of pre-worn out jeans with holes in them and I wouldn't buy a pre-worn out guitar or bass. But that wasn't really the question.

If that floats your boat, cool. To me it just looks like you beat up your bass.

~r~
 
#20
Oy, why does this happen in nearly every relic thread?

Let's be clear, guys- IF YOU DON'T LIKE OR UNDERSTAND RELICS, MOVE ON TO A DIFFERENT THREAD. I don't like the taste of fish- that doesn't mean I'm going to go into a thread on fish recipes and tell people they're wrong for liking it.

And if anyone sees a trolling post, just report it- quoting it and commenting back just makes another post to delete.
 

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