Lt. Bob
Spread the Daf!
ooh .... gonna want to see some picsEh, Lt Bob beat me to it.But yeah, I'm refinishing a bass and the thought of how it's going to look has me so anxious, I bought a bass kit so I can start from scratch.
Lightly aged or brand spankin' new?
- Thread starter jimistone
- Start date
Chili
Site Moderator
groovyisland
hay wasa
i vote shiny new
aged plastic looks goofy
aged plastic looks goofy
jimistone
long standing member
Finishing is my favorite part. I agree with lt bob that it's economical to build. Doing an exact duplicate of a '59 strat that would be even closer to the original than a fender custom shop one would be would run about $1100 to $1300. A custom shop "time machine" would cost twice that much if not more.
I can build a strat that exceeds the quality of a fender American for around $600. American strats are twice that.
Now squires are a different story...it's more economical to buy the entire than to build one (but who would want to put so much labor into building a very cheap guitar anyways?)
I can build a strat that exceeds the quality of a fender American for around $600. American strats are twice that.
Now squires are a different story...it's more economical to buy the entire than to build one (but who would want to put so much labor into building a very cheap guitar anyways?)
Last edited:
lipservice
New member
Detailed opinion (just one view)
Philosophy: new guitars just don't have the mojo, whether beaten up or whipped or dragged behind a car.
Belief: There is something about the wood of a guitar that has been played for weeks/months/years that changes the way the wood responds on a microscopic level.
Reality Check: People buy collectors - unplayed, untouched and relative virgins demanding the high price. I have to ask "Would the wood change in the same way?" Why were they kept unplayed - were they terribly unplayable when new? Go into any store and sample five new Strats. Odds are that one will be sweeter and one will blow. If it blows then a relic job won't help it play better. If it plays sweet a relic job may ruin it - it will only become sweeter by proper play.
You can change the pots and pickups without changing that nature of play to get the tone you want but as wise people mentioned Leo was trying to make the most affordable guitar, not the best one possible. If ceramic magnets were available then Leo might have chosen to use them. They used caps they could get in volume for the cheapest possible price.
"But the legend!"
Yes, the legend. If there were more Strats or Les Pauls than other guitars because they were made in larger numbers the chance of finding one with a really good build and wood stock would be higher. Great musicians would find one that played well and leave the others around to linger under someone's bed. The "relic" guitars became relic'd by going on the road and being played live a lot. Did a musician take their best guitars on the road knowing the rigors of the tour? They took the ones they could afford to get knocked about. The guitar then "became" theirs after enough play, after they grew into it and the wood changed on that microscopic level and their second best guitar became "their sound."
The Les Paul and Strat became famous because of 1000 guitars made 50 would have "magic mojo" from the wood and they could be found by musicians way back. Today if a musician gives their signature to a guitar the plant will make 100 or more of them. The artist themselves will get a custom shop version of that model to suit them and if it isn't right that will be tweaked until it is right either by a change in neck or body or whatever. You can't make a guitar into that magic just by taking one that looks right.
Recommendation: If the guitar doesn't play really well today then it may age into a good player or it may suck forever. Find a guitar, new or used, that plays well knowing it will play better and sound better. If you aren't going to play it enough lend it to people you know will play it well and take reasonable care of it. Each time you get it back it will improve and after 20 years you will have a heavenly piece.
A great playing guitar shouldn't be relegated to being art. If you are Jonesing for art then save your pesos. To me a fake is a fake - whether a no-name with a waterslide decal that is unplayable or a new strat that is a pretend relic that is pretending to be what it is not.
I know you have already made your decision, but for anyone else considering this the question remains: What is it that you actually want?
New won't have mojo. Buy a decade old that plays well for cheap and keep on working to play the hell out of it. If you want vintage pickups put them in if you like the sound but you will always know that it isn't an original.
Psychology: If you know it is a fake, a "relic" or not, it won't be the same as an original. Would you have a fake Picasso in your home as well? Would you be proud of that?
sigh
Philosophy: new guitars just don't have the mojo, whether beaten up or whipped or dragged behind a car.
Belief: There is something about the wood of a guitar that has been played for weeks/months/years that changes the way the wood responds on a microscopic level.
Reality Check: People buy collectors - unplayed, untouched and relative virgins demanding the high price. I have to ask "Would the wood change in the same way?" Why were they kept unplayed - were they terribly unplayable when new? Go into any store and sample five new Strats. Odds are that one will be sweeter and one will blow. If it blows then a relic job won't help it play better. If it plays sweet a relic job may ruin it - it will only become sweeter by proper play.
You can change the pots and pickups without changing that nature of play to get the tone you want but as wise people mentioned Leo was trying to make the most affordable guitar, not the best one possible. If ceramic magnets were available then Leo might have chosen to use them. They used caps they could get in volume for the cheapest possible price.
"But the legend!"
Yes, the legend. If there were more Strats or Les Pauls than other guitars because they were made in larger numbers the chance of finding one with a really good build and wood stock would be higher. Great musicians would find one that played well and leave the others around to linger under someone's bed. The "relic" guitars became relic'd by going on the road and being played live a lot. Did a musician take their best guitars on the road knowing the rigors of the tour? They took the ones they could afford to get knocked about. The guitar then "became" theirs after enough play, after they grew into it and the wood changed on that microscopic level and their second best guitar became "their sound."
The Les Paul and Strat became famous because of 1000 guitars made 50 would have "magic mojo" from the wood and they could be found by musicians way back. Today if a musician gives their signature to a guitar the plant will make 100 or more of them. The artist themselves will get a custom shop version of that model to suit them and if it isn't right that will be tweaked until it is right either by a change in neck or body or whatever. You can't make a guitar into that magic just by taking one that looks right.
Recommendation: If the guitar doesn't play really well today then it may age into a good player or it may suck forever. Find a guitar, new or used, that plays well knowing it will play better and sound better. If you aren't going to play it enough lend it to people you know will play it well and take reasonable care of it. Each time you get it back it will improve and after 20 years you will have a heavenly piece.
A great playing guitar shouldn't be relegated to being art. If you are Jonesing for art then save your pesos. To me a fake is a fake - whether a no-name with a waterslide decal that is unplayable or a new strat that is a pretend relic that is pretending to be what it is not.
I know you have already made your decision, but for anyone else considering this the question remains: What is it that you actually want?
New won't have mojo. Buy a decade old that plays well for cheap and keep on working to play the hell out of it. If you want vintage pickups put them in if you like the sound but you will always know that it isn't an original.
Psychology: If you know it is a fake, a "relic" or not, it won't be the same as an original. Would you have a fake Picasso in your home as well? Would you be proud of that?
sigh
Is there even such a thing as a "killer strat"? They're all junk. 
I vote for shiny and new. Faux relics are lame as hell. Make it look great and leave it that way. Me personally, I try to keep my stuff looking as good as I can. I clean my cymbals after gigs. I clean my hardware. I clean my guitars after I fingerprint and sweat all over them. I clean my drums. I haul my drums in cases. I canned-air the dust off my pedals. I keep my mics and cables nice and orderly. I don't worry about naturally occurring wear and tear on my gear, but I don't abuse and/or neglect my shit either. And I'd never buy a fake aged instrument or want to build one.
I vote for shiny and new. Faux relics are lame as hell. Make it look great and leave it that way. Me personally, I try to keep my stuff looking as good as I can. I clean my cymbals after gigs. I clean my hardware. I clean my guitars after I fingerprint and sweat all over them. I clean my drums. I haul my drums in cases. I canned-air the dust off my pedals. I keep my mics and cables nice and orderly. I don't worry about naturally occurring wear and tear on my gear, but I don't abuse and/or neglect my shit either. And I'd never buy a fake aged instrument or want to build one.
Lt. Bob
Spread the Daf!
a Picasso isn't the same thing .... it doesn't have a function other than being looked at.
Jimi said he's gonna put things he likes in it .... it will absolutely be as good as if he order a strat with those features. It's not a matter of fake unless you relic it. Otherwise it's just a strat with specified features.
I have two strats I built ..... they are both as good as any Fender and both of them have pretty unusual features.
I could care less about pretty much the entire idea of psychoanalyzing all this. It's just a guitar.
Jimi said he's gonna put things he likes in it .... it will absolutely be as good as if he order a strat with those features. It's not a matter of fake unless you relic it. Otherwise it's just a strat with specified features.
I have two strats I built ..... they are both as good as any Fender and both of them have pretty unusual features.
I could care less about pretty much the entire idea of psychoanalyzing all this. It's just a guitar.
groovyisland
hay wasa
i dont have anything in particular against making a relic
i can see why people would want one
i cant get over the feeling of having a brand new fender shiny and with white plastic
i can see why people would want one
i cant get over the feeling of having a brand new fender shiny and with white plastic
groovyisland
hay wasa
lol with acidrock
i love strats but the wiggle stick is tempermental
i can keep it in tune for bending OR dive-bombing but not both
i love strats but the wiggle stick is tempermental
i can keep it in tune for bending OR dive-bombing but not both