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SHOW YOUR DISTRESSED FINISHES!

#5,301
God's Favorite Bass said:
Here's a few and even a too clean 60s Hofner that just sold at Dave's. I know the good Doctor appreciates a good Hofner, and it IS a cool one.
Click to expand...


I know we are not supposed to dis each others basses here - and I know you find these photos from various FB groups and elsewhere on the web so I am assuming it's fair to point to things which could use improvement. This is the sort of detail that screams 'amateur' to me as far as relic work goes:

Screen Shot 2022-07-06 at 8.58.43 AM.png


Besides looking very orbital sander, one has to consider how these would wear naturally. If going for a 'color over color' as Fender did back in the day (finishing over botched finishes or to fill a rushed custom order), wear from normal use would go through the layers 'concentrically', if that makes sense.
 
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#5,302
Dynacord said:
I know we are not supposed to dis each others basses here - and I know you find these photos from various FB groups and elsewhere on the web so I am assuming it's fair to point to details which could use improvement. This is the sort of detail that screams 'amateur' to me as far as relic work goes:

View attachment 4741098

Besides looking very orbital sander, one has to consider how these would wear naturally. If going for a 'color over color' as Fender did back in the day (finishing over botched finishes or to fill a rushed custom order), wear from normal use would go through the layers 'concentrically', if that makes sense.
Click to expand...

I totally thought the same thing David and there's no need to feel like it's a dis - a big part of why I started this thread was for it to be a serious reference library of actual examples, to visually appreciate and to use as a reference if considering doing your own 'relic-d' finish. Pointing out such (in my book) is respectful education - and I hope everyone here knows that is the goal. (artificial) relic-ing/distressing is a finish technique/look that many players like. As this has become an established given - the aim is to keep the bar high as examples so as not to cheapen/dilute the look.

Sorry to get this deep in the weeds - but I compare it to decorative arts painting. (scenic arts stage painting also, but in this regard interiors/furniture etc) A skilled decorative artist can make something look old with paint and manipulation/technique. It's been around for centuries. A DIY'r can attempt that 'look' with sand-paper and limited reference - but sitting next to an artisan's version will clearly show how clearly different they look. (as in - night & day) So.., the point being, as fun as it can be to do a 'relic' finish on a guitar/bass - if there are more DIY versions than studied, articulately rendered versions... you give all the nay-sayers fodder to diss this type of finish as 'fake', not 'earned' etc. If a relic finish is done skillfully - no-one should question it being 'fake'. It's a bit 'magic', a bit 'slight of hand' - a bit illusion. But this is a serious skill, regardless of what anyone says. And don't bring up dragging a bass/guitar body behind a truck - I will report you to the mods... and trust me, they are on my side on this point.

Speaking of which, those who flat-out diss a 'relic' finish can be totally narrow-minded about it - and frankly... to each their own - no-ones going to change their minds. What I wanted from day one here on this thread is to create a place for those with a joint appreciation of the visual 'look' of a player-distressed finish and (if one wants to dig deeper) an understanding graphically/visually of how these finishes ended up looking like that. And furthermore (if that interests you) - to use that visual understanding to replicate it. No-one is asking those who don't like an artificial (the word/term used very didactically - not as a negative reference) relic'd/distressed finish to like it - this thread is exclusively for advocates of a visual aesthetic, of which there seems to be more all the time. I consider that education in its purest form.

Bottom line - I want to continue to invite all those who appreciate the subject/focus to join in with pics of their own 'road-worn' basses or ones they've found on-line. :thumbsup: :bassist:
 
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#5,303
JIO said:
I totally thought the same thing David and there's no need to feel like it's a dis - a big part of why I started this thread was for it to be a serious reference library of actual examples, to visually appreciate and to use as a reference if considering doing your own 'relic-d' finish. Pointing out such (in my book) is respectful education - and I hope everyone here knows that is the goal. (artificial) relic-ing/distressing is a finish technique/look that many players like. As this has become an established given - the aim is to keep the bar high as examples so as not to cheapen/dilute the look.

Sorry to get this deep in the weeds - but I compare it to decorative arts painting. (interiors/furniture etc) A skilled decorative artist can make something look old with paint and manipulation/technique. It's been around for centuries. A DIY'r can attempt that 'look' with sand-paper and limited reference - but sitting next to an artisan's version will clearly show how clearly different they look. (as in - night & day) So.., the point being, as fun as it can be to do a 'relic' finish on a guitar/bass - if there are more DIY versions than studied, articulately rendered versions... you give all the nay-sayers fodder to diss this type of finish as 'fake', not 'earned' etc. If a relic finish is done skillfully - no-one should question it being 'fake'. It's a bit 'magic', a bit 'slight of hand' - a bit illusion. This is a serious skill, regardless of what anyone says.

Those who flat-out diss a 'relic' finish can be totally narrow-minded about it - and frankly... to each their own - no-ones going to change their minds. What I wanted from day one here on this thread is to create a place for those with a joint appreciation of the visual 'look' of a player-distressed finish and (if one wants to dig deeper) an understanding graphically/visually of how these finishes ended up looking like that. And furthermore (if that interests you) - to use that visual understanding to replicate it. No-one is asking those who don't like an artificial (the word/term used very didactically - not as a negative reference) relic'd/distressed finish to like it - this thread is exclusively for advocates of a visual aesthetic, of which there seems to be more all the time. I consider that education in its purest form.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Very well said. The merits of relicing in general is a separate discussion (that never goes away and is the same points ad nauseam). The issue of relicing done well (or not) is a different topic and there's a wide range in ability and artistic sensibility. There are some real artists doing it. Nacho Baños is well known. Clive Brown and Bravewood in the UK, Gord Miller in Canada, Joe Riggio, Mark Grant, Carson Hess and, of course, Tom Murphy in the US, Matteo Rufini in Italy and others. Those guys also make their own necks and bodies vs some better known/comparably priced ones which are slapped together Allparts, Warmoth, etc parts - we can do that ourselves easily enough. The thing that impresses me about some of these - I've tried Bravewoods and Clive Brown built basses - is that they don't just look old, they feel it, too.

I mean, seriously, compare these:

nash.jpg.e1fa151f5994c612d36dbf48c0593235.jpg


100759960_ScreenShot2020-07-24at12_37_14PM.png.9d0896fbc7c8f4153f798e3e8200e2b0.png
 
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#5,304
Dynacord said:
Thanks. Very well said. The merits of relicing in general is a separate discussion (that never goes away and is the same points ad nauseam). The issue of relicing done well (or not) is a different topic and there's a wide range in ability and artistic sensibility. There are some real artists doing it. Nacho Baños is well known. Clive Brown and Bravewood in the UK, Gord Miller in Canada, Joe Riggio, Mark Grant, Carson Hess and, of course, Tom Murphy in the US, Matteo Rufini in Italy and others. Those guys also make their own necks and bodies vs some better known/comparably priced ones which are slapped together Allparts, Warmoth, etc parts - we can do that ourselves easily enough. The thing that impresses me about some of these - I've tried Bravewoods and Clive Brown built basses - is that they don't just look old, they feel it, too.

I mean, seriously, compare these:

View attachment 4741106

View attachment 4741107
Click to expand...

And another reason for this thread - is it attracts serious advocates (like you David! :thumbsup:) who share your knowledge - thank you for being an important part of my thread. You listed 8 people I wasn't aware of that I will be looking into. :thumbsup:
 
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#5,307
JIO said:
I mean it whole heartily :) This is our world - and we should all join together to make it a big as possible!
Click to expand...

Thanks for your kind words. You contribute A LOT here - your build threads alone!

I should have also mentioned Florian Jaeger in Germany as well. He does super impressive relic work - particularly on his restorations (kind of not fair to just call them refins) Lately & notably - EN

DACC1EA9-7E97-4DFD-938A-1CB704EE5C6D-f1851bb0.jpeg


0E023179-145F-4C17-9277-4DC5DA02FE3F-bd2d5b9d.jpeg


920FBE9D-D5EF-44D5-A097-CF4C580FB3B1-e6f02c58.jpeg


1D51BB21-4090-4E8B-815A-F39A6D49EE81-88fcbf31.jpeg
 
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#5,308
Dynacord said:
Thanks. Very well said. The merits of relicing in general is a separate discussion (that never goes away and is the same points ad nauseam). The issue of relicing done well (or not) is a different topic and there's a wide range in ability and artistic sensibility. There are some real artists doing it. Nacho Baños is well known. Clive Brown and Bravewood in the UK, Gord Miller in Canada, Joe Riggio, Mark Grant, Carson Hess and, of course, Tom Murphy in the US, Matteo Rufini in Italy and others. Those guys also make their own necks and bodies vs some better known/comparably priced ones which are slapped together Allparts, Warmoth, etc parts - we can do that ourselves easily enough. The thing that impresses me about some of these - I've tried Bravewoods and Clive Brown built basses - is that they don't just look old, they feel it, too.

I mean, seriously, compare these:

View attachment 4741106

View attachment 4741107
Click to expand...

I'd love to see the rest of that fender bass with the pink/red headstock...
 
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#5,311
mongo2 said:
Thanks so much for that.

What a great old piece.
Click to expand...

Happy to help where I can. Probably the best known/most sought after Premier bass was the 'scroll' model as used by Mark Sandman in the band Morphine. This clean example from 1958:

1958-premier-e-741-bass-guitar-ruby-red-mahogan.jpg


1958-premier-e-741-bass-guitar-ruby-red-QFuuUl5.jpg


Slightly later version with 4 in line headstock (like Sandman's)

fx0siailia8actald3zc copy.jpg
 
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#5,313
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#5,315
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#5,316
JIO said:
I too usually prefer 4 in-line but I do like a few basses with 2+2 -

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Agree as well - there are cool ones, too - and that's a great selection! My fav was the one on the Ampeg I had:

asb1 #2.jpeg


For pure wacky headstocks - albeit inline - the Avalon is hard to beat:

Avalon Headstock.png
 
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#5,318
JIO said:
I too usually prefer 4 in-line but I do like a few basses with 2+2 -

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View attachment 4741386 View attachment 4741401 View attachment 4741404 View attachment 4741413 View attachment 4741422 View attachment 4741427 View attachment 4741440 View attachment 4741442 View attachment 4741461 View attachment 4741463View attachment 4741467 View attachment 4741468
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All good examples. There are definitely ones that wouldn't look right without that design. It has to compliment the combined aesthetic of all the lines and shapes involved. A Ric, Hofner, Gibby EB and such would look unsettling indeed.
 

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