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Relic Guitars and Basses

LazyGecko

LazyGecko

Nov 19, 2013
336
130
#1
Hey TB people,

I was just wondering why relic guitars and basses are so expensive. Are they given as much attention on the inside to electronics as they are on the outside with their damaged paint jobs and beat up parts? I am speaking honestly when I ask what the appeal is for these instruments. Why do people pay more for beat up instruments?Anyone's two cents would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
#3
When done poorly, a 'relic' job is just that: damaged & beat up. The attraction, for some folks & when done well, is an instrument that feels and looks broken in.

There's almost as much effort put into a good relic job vs. a mirror flawless finish. Sometimes more! It's all dependent on the artistic investment of the finisher/builder.

Not everyone likes them, not everyone needs to. Some folks are willing to pay more for a broken in look, some don't want that. There's no mystery here.
 
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#5
Some of them are seriously cool, that's one reason.
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#10
As you might surmise, Nashville is a HUGE market for re-licked instruments. I haven't seen a re-licked drumset yet, but I'm sure they exist. What is especially surprising to me is that many of the re-licked instruments are obviously finished that way; they look like a new paintjob that's trying to look like an old one and only really doing so from a distance, rather than looking really vintage. The other odd thing is how high the prices on them are. Some of them are right there with vintage instruments in price. I suspect a big part of that is that you can't swing a dead cat (trust me on this, it's my other favorite hobby) without hitting a vintage instrument here. Nashville is truly the land of old instruments; they're EVERYWHERE. What's unusual is to see an old one (there are a few 50's-70's vintage guitars and basses that look factory new except for the environmental effects on the finish when you get close to 'em). I guess the take away is that everywhere is a market unto itself.

They are 110% not my thing. It was suggested that re-licking was a way to get first quality prices from seconds, and that is possible. What's cool, though, in the larger sense, is that there's variety and market differentiation so that we can all find something close to what gets our volume cranked, as it were.
 
#14
I confessed I'm always esthetically attracted to relics but the time's I've played them they've felt like a new instrument. A couple of days ago, I played an original 66 Jazz Bass with lots of life earned scars a.k.a: beat to crap and it felt so freaking smooth. Gotta keep saving money....
 
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#15
LazyGecko said:
Hey TB people,

I was just wondering why relic guitars and basses are so expensive. Are they given as much attention on the inside to electronics as they are on the outside with their damaged paint jobs and beat up parts? I am speaking honestly when I ask what the appeal is for these instruments. Why do people pay more for beat up instruments?Anyone's two cents would be appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I don't get it either. To me it's the musical equivalent of a boob job. Sure, it looks nice, but it's fake.
 
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#18
Mike Sorr said: ↑
I don't get it either. To me it's the musical equivalent of a boob job. Sure, it looks nice, but it's fake.

Fxpmusic said:
Hmmm.... Does that make a music store a stripclub?.. You go, look at the relics, play with them a little bit and then go home. To your own real basses.
Click to expand...

Only if music stores start making you slip singles in the G strings of the relics.
 
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