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fender road worn vs. custom relics

#21
mike_v_s said:
The alternating pictures above would indicate this is not the case. The "wear" is definitley similar between the two, but not identical. I imagine this opened up an issue for Fender anyway. How do you maintain consistency with a product and yet not make it identical? So, you get what we have, very close approximations of the same idea, without being exact. I'm not sure how else they were expected to do it.

Mike
Click to expand...

I created that animated image to show just that. The wear on the instruments are very similar front and back. They are all worn in the same exact spots but not in the exact same way.

IMO they are still too close to really be seen as original relics. That is where the custom shop will win. You get wear that is different then everyone else. Basically having generally the same wear as someone else does not settle well with me.

If these basses were at least $200 cheaper I bet they would sell very fast. At this price I am not sure....maybe...maybe not. I bet they will do OK on the used market.
 
#23
I hope someone buys every bass Fender makes as a healthy Fender is good for us all. I just visited the Detroit GC and had a chance to check out some RW models.

Very interesting, but not for me. The new standard models are far superior for the money in my view. I never got the relic thing, but if it helps the music business, great!
 
#24
mike_v_s said:
The alternating pictures above would indicate this is not the case. The "wear" is definitley similar between the two, but not identical. I imagine this opened up an issue for Fender anyway. How do you maintain consistency with a product and yet not make it identical? So, you get what we have, very close approximations of the same idea, without being exact. I'm not sure how else they were expected to do it.

Mike
Click to expand...

wow...looks MUCH better than Fender's website photos...

perhaps, I've been duped as a victim of a bad photoshop program... :hmm:
 
#26
allexcosta said:
Standard relic'ing doesn't really take more than one hour of your life and a dollar worth of muriatic acid. Can't understand why pay hundreds extra for it...
Click to expand...

Don't start stirring up ****, ok?

If you don't like them or don't understand why people buy them, go express that in some other thread. We don't need people derailing yet another relic thread.
:scowl:
 
#27
Toshiro said:
Don't start stirring up ****, ok?

If you don't like them or don't understand why people buy them, go express that in some other thread. We don't need people derailing yet another relic thread.
:scowl:
Click to expand...

+1, this is fairly civil so far, it'd be nice if it could stay that way.

How would these shiny bass guys feel if we came in to their Fodera and Sadowsky threads saying "I could buy a few Warmoth parts and put together practically the same bass in like an hour..."

Probably not too happy ;)
 
#28
mongo2 said:
The wear is so similar that it successfully avoids the individual mystique inherent in a natural relic.
Click to expand...
If such a mystique is a selling point for a person, then yes.

I'd really like to know how this is being done on such a scale. I just can't imagine a scenario where Fender said "OK guys, we're gonna crank out a few thousand Road Worn basses and guitars....make 'em different". As stated, I'd really like to know how this is being done (by hand, machine somehow, or a mix?). Any in depth discussion on my part concerning the similarities/differences with the instruments really depends on the process.

I mean, on the one extreme, if they have a "Relic Machine" with built in variances, then the standard wear they all recieve makes total sense. On the other hand, if a skilled craftsman is given 8 hours and a host of tools at his disposal with which to "relic" each instrument....they need to get more creative. The reality is probably in between.

Mike
 
#30
I'm all for beat up-looking basses...especially when they are legitimately "road-worn". I think the Fender series is alright...I'm assuming they always put the "worn" areas in all the same spots because those are all the spots natural wear usually occurs...but yeah, some relics look like complete crap.

Like this gross piece of junk found on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Relic-P-Bass-Candyapple-Red-60s-Era-Extreme-Relic_W0QQitemZ120361756340QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item120361756340&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

While you're at it, check out the Strat the same guy is also selling!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Relic-Stratocaster-Sonic-Blue-60s-Era-Extreme-Relic_W0QQitemZ110337718723QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item110337718723&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318


:rollno:
 
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#33
allexcosta said:
Standard relic'ing doesn't really take more than one hour of your life and a dollar worth of muriatic acid. Can't understand why pay hundreds extra for it...
Click to expand...

allexcosta said:
Believe me, it is... I've done it... Some steel wool, sand paper, a cigarette, a knife, muriatic acid and you're done in about an hour...

It can take more time if you decide to do drastic temperature changes to crack the finish or maybe use some staining techniques.
Click to expand...

Doesn't seem to me like allexcosta is trying to troll at all. He actually performed his own relic job so he's clearly not a "hater".

He's suggesting that there might be a cheaper alternative to the factory "road worn" process. That seems very relevant to the discussion the OP was trying to encourage.

Johnny Alien said:
846a195972fd4f8f555767ac8c021dd1.gif
Click to expand...

Comparing those samples, it sure looks like their relicing process is at least somewhat automated. But so what? It doesn't seem to me like someone is going to see you playing your road-worn and say "hey, wait a minute - I saw an extremely similar wear pattern on a different bass the other day".

It might, however help them with wholesale. This way if you like what you see on a web site or catalog, you can order it and you won't get something with a completely different wear pattern that you don't like nearly as much. (Works that way blowing glass for catalog items - tiny variances OK, major deviations BAD.)

I'm assuming that at lower price & higher volume, the big sellers don't want to be posting a unique photo for each piece they sell.
 
#36
mongo2 said:
The whole attraction of a natural relic is the mystique of the "stories it could tell" and that's about it.

The faux relics have no such stories or mystique. They're just marketing to capitalize on that romanticism.
Click to expand...
I dunno if that's the case for everyone, though. I had a 78 Rickenbacker that had seen a few stages before it got to me. For purposes of this discussion, it was a "mild relic". I bought it because it "fit". Immediately, it fit. The scratches, dents, missing spots of finish didn't make a bit of difference. I didn't care how they got there. I bought it because of the way it felt.

I think there a large segment of the people interested in these basses are interested because they hope they might "fit". If I were to be in the market for a Fender, this is definitely something I'd look at. If part of the "Road Wear" process made the bass feel better in my hands than a non Road Worn bass, I'd buy regardless.

Anyway, that's just me. This thread is supposed to be comparing the Road Worn series to the Custom Shop Relics. I wonder how much of a difference there is and how the process varies.

Mike
 
#37
Not sure I understand the question. Is there a distinct wear pattern(s) that occurs over the life of a road used bass? I guess obviously bucklerash and wear on the top of the body. Wouldn"t alot of the other wear occur based on the player's style? What I can't figure out is how Fender can sell these mim basses for a grand. Seems alot to me, even if it has been purposely made to look worn out.
 
#38
EddieG said:
For me, the worst example of "cookie-cutter" relic jobs is the Jaco Pastorius relic model from Fender. The wear looks ridiculously fake, like wear templates have been taped to the bass before painting. And to then charge three thousands dollars for it is a travesty, the guys at the Custom Shop should be ashamed of it. In fact, I think they might be, because it doesn't seem to exist on Fender's website any more.

I don't care if it's the best playing bass ever, the relic job absolutely sucks!!
Click to expand...

I dont really care what the bass looks like, but the jaco relic plays super sweet... neck is un beatable for a FENDER JAZZ
 
#39
mike_v_s said:
I dunno if that's the case for everyone, though.
Click to expand...

Could be but I think Fender is counting on a huge "I wanna old looking relic'd bass" factor.

I've played several CS relics, the most recent one was a J bass a few weeks ago at the local GC. That particular one felt especially awful, the neck felt like it was freshly sanded and fuzzy with none of the "hand polish" found on the naturally relic'd necks I've handled. It sounded average and looked very fake (as did the others I've tried) but it felt much worse.

What are the chances that the MIM Road Worns will be as good as the CS?
 
#40
mongo2 said:
What are the chances that the MIM Road Worns will be as good as the CS?
Click to expand...

I thought those chances would be low. But I saw a bunch of Road Worn guitars the other day, and they look good. They're better than a couple of the Custom Shop relics I've seen, one of which just looked silly. If the process is automated, they might be more consistent than the Custom Shop models.
 

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