Smoke-Free Environment

[Peteyboy]

Smoke free is a selling point, and I often see sellers touting their newer items for sale as having been in a smoke-free environment, and I understand why. Smell, discoloration, cigarette burns on the headstock, damage to components. Just wondering: when buying vintage gear we all know it existed in a haze of a few different types of smoke. If not in the home then certainly at the gig. What's the year where we transition from "this was likely an ash tray stand" to "smoke free environment"?

 

[joebingo]

late 2000s early 2010s

 

[meisi]

late 2000s early 2010s

I have an acoustic from 1998. I got it used around 2004. Oh my did the case wreak. Had to keep it away from the house for years before it finally mellowed out.

I think some bars still had smoke up past early 2010s in some states but definitely no more in CA.

 

[silky smoove]

I think some bars still had smoke up past early 2010s in some states but definitely no more in CA.

In Washington state it ended in the early 2000s. Tribal casinos still have the option to allow smoking. My events/corporate band occasionally does a casino gig to shake down new material, and there are a few here in Washington state where we refuse to play because smoking is still allowed.

 

[Peteyboy]

I just find it interesting that one instrument's patina is another instrument's demerit.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

Well...I don't know what to tell ya.
It was the 70s and 80s, and yeah..the 90s.
I finally gave up the smokes about 5 years ago. But my main Pbass, and my acoustic guitar has the requisite burn mark on the headstock. Probably a few on the edge of my cab top.
I wouldn't be able to claim the "smoke free environment " thing. But since I never plan on selling them.....

 

[Iristone]

Not a fan of smoking or the smell of smoke so, yeah, "smoke free" is a plus in my book. I could probably stand a few cigarette burns, though, similar to minor "battle scars" such as dents or dings.

 

[DaveParker39]

Probably right around the millennium, when eBay was getting big, relics were coming into fashion, and buying a guitar without having seen it IRL became a norm.

 

[devnulljp]

Everyone smokes weed and has a dog, but somehow all their gear for sale is from a smoke- and pet-free home

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Guess the owner never played a casino gig :/
Even in California: as long as it's a Tribal Casino. I smoke: and it's THICK on the floor.

 

[el murdoque]

A good question would be how long a vintage instrument has to be in a smoke free environment for it to shed all traces of being treated like a smoked bass

(pun intended).

 

[96tbird]

That smoke on old guitars thing is a dealbreaker?. Once I looked at a P bass at a vegan's home and that was the worst; my ears burned for weeks after that ordeal. But the bass was a preCBS jazz cheap so I sucked it up.

This is a true STORY.

 

[el murdoque]

I think the declaration that the item comes from a smoke and pet free environment got something of a standard for people and they include it out of habit mostly. With some stuff, it really matters.

 

[Faith Nicole]

disclaimer: not a bass, sorry .. not sorry

I have an older mandolin, reeked, ugh .. I set the hard case outside for days in a row. With the mandolin I didn't do that but I did let it open air in the house out of the way. At least now you'd have to stick your face in it to notice, but still, it's only because it was given to me that I got it. For purchase, nope, not with that smell.

 

[Ostie]

I used to play sone gigs at a local Moose Lodge. The blue haze was suffocating, but thankfully it never permeated my instruments. My wife made me take off my clothes and leave them and my amp and cases in the garage for at least a week. Then my state passed a no smoking law and the club tried to claim exemption because it was a private club. That didn't fly and they threatened to boycott, but the lure of cheap beer and Keno was too strong and the club is still open AFAIK. Anyway, to answer the OP question, I think this all came down around 2010.

 

[newfuture]

I have vague memories of this stopping in the early 2000s in CA in all but a few bars.

Hasn't been an issue for me in a long time when buying used gear.

 

[mambo4]

What brand of cigarette smoke is best for metal?

 

[/\/\3phist0]

What brand of cigarette smoke is best for metal?

 

[Danny O Danny]

We need another disclaimer: cologne-free environment. I've had the misfortune of buying a few guitars and basses online that reeked of cologne.

 

[meisi]

We need another disclaimer: cologne-free environment. I've had the misfortune of buying a few guitars and basses online that reeked of cologne.

I can imagine walking into such an apartment paired with the particular musk of a perpetually damp shower towel.

lol!