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I still have a massive fender j-shape itch that needs scratching.
Jazz or jag in Olympic white or sunburst...
Quite fancied a vintage modified but they look out of stock (and been for months...).
Even been eyeing up the new professional...
I still want this but money has sadly had to be spent on other stuff for now
https://reverb.com/item/34856061-squier-vintage-modified-jazzmaster
I am SERIOUSLY missing jamming, ugh.
Cannot wait to get back to playing gigs
Selling a vintage modified squire jaguar if anyone is interested
Looks in wallet. I'm guessing that £100 is nowhere near enough?
Looks in wallet. I’m guessing that £100 is nowhere near enough?
Double it or have a mustang/duo sonic to swap and you're on
I have no offsets in my cupboard to offer you either, Simon. I did have a Squier Jagmaster a few years ago - in silver sparkle. Great guitar, weighed a ton and seemed to be covered in about 4mm of sparkle and clear coat, but good fun...
I have been fancying a 'Powercaster' - which, despite the name looks a great guitar.
What’s the general opinion of pre-worn guitars? In bike terms I’m never unhappy if my bikes have some wear - it shows that I’m using them - but I can’t imagine buying a full price bike that’s been made to look like someone else has used it for years. That’s just second- hand. I can’t quite work out why a guitar would be different.
I'm with you on bikes and cars - if they can be shiny, then they should be shiny...
There are arguments about 'If you don't want to gig your '64 Strat, then why not buy a relic version of it?' - but I don't think that applies to many people. There is something undeniably appealing about a guitar with 40, 50, even 60/70 years' wear on it... And the companies have got very good at replicating the look of it. I don't think that anything will compare to the feel of a truly old guitar - there's just a feel, a smell and a tactile sensation from playing an old guitar that I don't think you can replicate...
However, if you have new, white trainers, or a new mountain bike, or a new guitar, you live in fear of that first scuff, or water spot, or scratch. Why not start with something that's a little lived-in?
I know that Fender's Custom Shop now mostly sells relics - so much so that (my pal who works there tells me) they have trouble keeping the NOS stuff clean and scratch-free sometimes as the luthiers are so used to working on beaten up guitars that they're not always super-careful to keep the sharp 'n' pointy stuff away from the new guitars...
It's whatever you want, though. If you want a pristine guitar, get something shiny and poly-coated, like a PRS or an '80s Aria Pro II, which will still look shiny in 20 years. If you want something that'll age with you, get a nitro-coated Fender or Gibson, but you need to promise to only play that one guitar for years until it wears in... Or you could buy a relic and skip a step.
Some people (me included) buy dark, selvedge denim jeans, or leather belts, or waxed boots and wear them continuously for a couple of years until they start wearing in and showing signs of personalisation. Only then do they think they've 'connected' with that garment...
Other people just buy pre-washed jeans off the shelf and just get on with living life... It's up to you.
Nah, not loving relics, especially paying more for it! It's like paying for a fake "coolness".
Imagine if some bike companies fiddled the paint on their frames so you can pretend you've rubbed it off on loads of bikepacking trips you've never been on?
My guitars are all somewhere between 20 and 40 years old and all still look pretty much new.
any recommendations for a luthier in Surrey area.... or anyone down here who knows what they're doing and would have a go at setting up my bass. I've been playing it for a year with some visible improvement, my wife can even recognise some of the bass lines (not just 'The Chain' either) but I played my son's for a bit the other day and it's so much better set up it's made me realise where mine isn't.
I've looked at youtube etc., but I'm a bit scared that I'll make it unplayabale (in which case it'll need a set up anyway so why not try, is the other option) - in which vein, best online tutorial?
Generally very happy with my gear. I have a Reverend Charger 290 with a Bigsby that does everything I need. A Guild acoustic that has served me well for song writing, recording and playing live. It is well worn and I'll never get rid of it.
However I have an aspirational itch to scratch in the shape of a Novo Serus J. 3-4k's worth of delicious offset beauty. Designed by Dennis Fano and made in Nashville, every guitar is hand finished and is unique. Luckily (or unluckily) I live not far from Coda Music in Stevenage so I can get to see these beauties in the flesh. It's torture I tell you.
Double it or have a mustang/duo sonic to swap and you’re on
I can only stretch to £175 ☹
What’s the general opinion of pre-worn guitars?
I love mine.
I have a Mary Kaye Relic Strat from the first series they did in the 90s. I paid under £1700 thanks to some crafty dealing by the late great Jeff at Machinehead in Hitchin.
It is the best guitar I have ever played. The relicing made me happy to just treat it as a guitar and not give a toss.
I have a PRS Artist 22 from Jeff about the same time. Triple A top and Birds. That too was reliced. By a display rack containing several PRSs falling over. It had the tiniest of scratches but again was well under £2k and it plays really nicely but I don't care about it like I do the Stat...
I also have a couple of aged by time and nature guitars.
A 63 Les Paul Jnr that is VERY tired and all shot to bits. Virtually unplayable now.
A mid sixties tele that someone sanded all the paint off at some point. All the wood is dried out and the fingerboard is really badly worn. Again pretty unplayable.
What’s the general opinion of pre-worn guitars?
Vintage guitars are the ‘ultimate’ in desirability. A ‘58 Gibson Les Paul being the holy grail. A genuine original in excellent playable condition will cost you megabucks (and there’s plenty frauds out there as a consequence).
You probably don’t have a a couple hundred $ in yer back pocket but you’ll more than likely have 3 or 4k. You can get a facsimile the guitar you’d ideally like to have. I’ve already stated a preference for an Olympic white jazz master (with a rosewood neck). I don’t want to shell out custom shop price so ultimately I’ll have to comprise somewhere.
Some people just want to have something ‘tasty’ looking ‘just’ lying about...
I can’t quite work out why a guitar would be different.
Worse I’d say. They say that a real guitar gets better with age (all that string vibration?) and you cant replicate that. But, hey, each to their own.
The ones that really confuse me are limited custom shop replica guitars going for approaching £10k. Still, again, whatever floats yer boat.
Personally I’d rather have a new guitar that I age (mine are pretty good nick, not abused but they pick up the scratch and knock through use, I actually like my guitars, as with my bikes, to look like I’ve used them!) or pick something up second hand
What’s the general opinion of pre-worn guitars?
I like the look of old guitars but I'd never buy a relic guitar no matter how much skill has gone into creating it.
Have you ever played a guitar that has really worn in well?
Until Fender brought out the Relics no-one was really doing the rolled fingerboards, very carefully dressed fret ends. Ut wasn't just the banged up body edges.
They really felt different to all the other Strats at the time. The Custom Shop PUs were pretty nice and the very light body feels good and some allege that the very thin and worn finish sounds different.
Anyway, each to their own.
I have no issue with anybody's opinions on relics
I have some early 80s fender that I bought new and in poly still look like new
My Collings looks brand new cos I baby it, Same with my Kauer and eggles
My CS Fenders are all journeyman relics which is the most pleasing to look at for me and I mostly played those when I used to gig or rehearse
I just want sometihng that feels played in and I dont care if it gets knocked
Almost everyone I've gigged with or rehearsed with has any concept of relicing they just think they are old guitars
Thanks to the lovely Mr @rOcKeTdOg I am now the happy owner of a 2012 vintage modified squire jaguar 😊
👌
My guitars are all somewhere between 20 and 40 years old and all still look pretty much new.
I’m guessing they’re poly finished then? The only mark on my ‘91 strat was an ugly chip where I dropped it once, the finish was otherwise still pristine until I redid it earlier this year.
I’m not sure how I feel about relic. I love the look, but it feels inauthentic. I redid my strat in nitro with an intentionally thin(ish) top lacquer. As a result it already has the faintest bit of wear from playing which I like 🙂
Thanks to the lovely Mr @rOcKeTdOg I am now the happy owner of a 2012 vintage modified squire jaguar 😊
Lovely!
Niiice....🙂
Sorry, but it's a no to relics from me.
It just feels wrong somehow.
I've bought beat up secondhand guitars and I'm happy with that, but fakery just doesn't sit right.
And all the 'Heavy' relics I've seen just look ridiculous.
If you look at pictures of bought new nitro finished guitars that were gigged every night, they look amazingly worn after a few years, but not to the extent of the Heavy Relic Custom Shop stuff. Even Rory Gallagher's Strat wasn't that bad before it was left in a ditch for a while.
BTW, the Orange Rocker 15 is bloody marvelous.
I genuinely don't think you could find something nicer sounding and as versatile for £500.
Sounds far better than the Orange Crush it replaced even at bedroom volumes and responds very well to the volume on the guitar.
Cranked it up in the shop and it was hellish loud, but the 1 watt setting works well at home volumes.
The clean channel is very rounded and the gain channel goes from nowt to mayhem.
Very happy indeed.
BTW, concerning cost.
The Ibanez Genesis RG550 is still the epitome of quality for me. Made by Fujigen, it's utterly flawless. I don't think paying more gets anything better, just something different.
It also happens to be the most comfortable and versatile guitar I've ever owned and for £800 new I would urge you to try one before Ibanez/FGN come to their senses.
Nice Jag that, the Vintage Modified series are ridiculously good. The first gens were almost all better than the mexi Fenders of the time which I don't think was supposed to happen. But is kind of history repeating itself I suppose...
relics... No problem with it if it's done well, it's just that it basically never is. I worked for a while in guitar shops, mostly as a dogsbody/setup monkey and doing rewires and that, so I handled a ton of older guitars and the difference between loved-to-bits and intentionally relic'd is usually pretty obvious. Also some factory relics which had subsequently been loved-to-bits and you could totally tell what was genuine and what was fake, which would drive me crazy 🙂
RustySpanner
Full MemberThe Ibanez Genesis RG550 is still the epitome of quality for me. Made by Fujigen, it’s utterly flawless
My MIJ Strat is a Fujigen, absolutely lovely bit of kit. And also completely undesirable as it's HRR with a floyd rose and that's not really what people want from their vintage strats, which is why I could afford it, and didn't mind totally changing the bits and ruining its purity.
Haven't picked up a guitar for ages but even if I never play properly again (kind of lost the love and it's a bit trickier now with my busted wrist) I'm keeping that one. And probably my MIK Tele now I think of it
Some people do take their Relicing a bit(!) too far:
Even Rory Gallagher’s Strat
Rather OT, but can anyone explain to me why I haven’t properly listened to Rory Gallagher until this year, at the age of 52? I amaze myself sometimes with the great stuff I somehow missed. 😳
but can anyone explain to me why I haven’t properly listened to Rory Gallagher until this year, at the age of 52?
Poor parenting? Shit mates? 🙂
Still loving the Jag. I know it should really be on a Jazzmaster but I've been trying to play some Dinosaur Jr today. I can see a Big Muff appearing sometime in the future.
Love the curve of the grain on the fingerboard on that, Simon. Nice catch!
Poor parenting? Shit mates? 🙂
😂 I guess. I will introduce him loudly to my teenage daughters later, to avoid accusations of the former in twenty years.
Love the curve of the grain on the fingerboard on that, Simon
It looks great!
I will introduce him loudly to my teenage daughters later, to avoid accusations of the former in twenty years.
Wise 😁
Set the intonation on your new to you guitar, Simon. It's visibly a country mile out.
I like news guitars with new frets and new pots and new jack sockets and stiff new machine heads and even new pickups. Easy to please me. 🙂
Has anyone mentioned Simon's HiFi yet?
Obviously a man of taste and distinction.....🙂
I'm aware of the mahoosive mine field ahead to negotiate but I've a big birthday coming up.
Having never been musically inclined in my previous 4 decades, and bereft of any other answers to "so what do you want for your birthday then?", I'm leaning towards asking for a first guitar.
There's a seemingly well regarded LGS not very far away so I think I'll be popping in to see what they say.
Knowing next to naff all about guitars, a little research tends to suggest an acoustic is best to start on.
Drradnouhht, parolor, auditorium are terms lost on me currently! I'd want something I'm hopefully going to still want to pick up in six months time, any thoughts on the below?
PRS Parlor
Is there any benefit of going electro-acustic on a first guitar?
Yamaha APX700II
Fender Mailbu
I’d want something I’m hopefully going to still want to pick up in six months time
Squier Telecaster and a modelling amp with a headphone socket. 😉 Take me seriously and I'll explain.
An electric seems to be better to start on for a few reasons:
Easier to play - it’ll hurt your fingers and hand muscles less
Can be played quietly unplugged unlike an acoustic - your family will thank you for that
Electric guitars tend to be a higher quality for a given price point so assuming you’re starting affordable you can get something much more playable (acoustics take a lot a labour to build that hollow, light but strong body)
Electrics are more easily adjustable in terms of “action”
Electrics are usually smaller bodied and more comfortable to play
Electrics can sounds however you want them to depending on the amp and setting, from clean jazz to distorted rock at the turn of a switch
BUT..... the most important thing is to buy a guitar that you like - one that your musical heroes play, one that makes you want to pick it up and play.
Warning in case you get into it. N+1 applies strongly - so you’ll probably end up with a few anyway so don’t overthink it...
As a recent learner I concur. I started by getting my acoustic out of the loft, but was forever trying to play quietly, so as not to annoy the wife/neighbours.
This was not great for learning technique!
Switched to electric early on, and it just means I can play as loudly and as repetitively as I like, either unplugged or with headphones in. And repetition is a big part of learning... 😅
I have bought a guitar to learn during lockdown and agree with getting one you like as more likely to want to play it.
I went on guitarguitar and selected the style I wanted, filtered on price and worked my way up up until I found one I liked the look off 🙂
Any thoughts on the fender rumble bass amps? I’m considering the LT 25 with the voices to practice on.
I've used my mate's top end Rumble stage 800 with an extra cab. I thought it was excellent with the ability to customise your sound without effects pedals. I like the preset idea a lot. With a pedal board it's clicking one pedal at a time, but with a modelling amp you can change amp model and three pedal models in one click.
As for a 25W bass amp it hasn't got the power for a band practice with an acoustic drum set. I had a 25W bass amp with 8" driver and sold it because even a 50W guitar amp with a 12" driver does a better job. If the guitarist has a 50W tube amp and the drummer plays noramally you'll need a transistor bass amp of at least 200W to be heard properly.
Try before you buy.
Thanks Ed. It’s just for my own messing about at the moment. The 25 lt is only around £170, so I may just treat myself!
Cheers for the pointers chaps.
When the idea did initially float into my head, I did assume that an electric with a headphone amp would get me somewhere near being able to strum out a nearly recognisable Marr or Squire riff a bit faster than going acucstic first (and indeed be more family and neighbor friendly!).
Go on @Edukator, I'm listening 🙂👍
Markwsf covers most of the points I was going to make in favour of electric over acoustic so that bit is done. You then have to choose an electric guitar and amp.
If you really do want to sound like Marr then you can buy the amp he uses, the effects pedals he uses and thus spend a fortune and have something unuseable because it's too loud, or just buy a modelling amp with a Marr preset in there. The Fender Mustangs have one. They have an AUX in, headphone out and some great software for your phone or computer to manage all the amp models and effects options. You can try lots of effects without spending a fortune on pedals then if you really get into it buy the real pedals/amps you like the models of.
Choosing an electric guitar is another headache for a beginner. I've played a lot of different styles and reckon the Telecaster is as good as any to start on. It's really easy to set up following the info on Fender's site using bits of paper, a steel ruler, a screw driver and a couple of allen keys that come with it. You can strum it (without accidentally turning the volume knob or hitting the selector switch) and pick with equal ease. Finding the strings as you pick is easy as you can either rest your little finger on the bridge plate edge or rest your palm on the saddles/bridge (especially with the original ash-tray bridge). Slide your hand up the slim neck and when it bumps into the body your index is on the 12th fret, open your palm a bit and when it bumps into the body the index is on the 15th fret etc. On any other guitar I feel I'm working around one irritating feature or another, with a Telecaster I can just play - and I love the sound.
Over to the Strat/Les Paul/SG/Mustang/Jag/Jem fans to persuade you otherwise. 😉
As a beginner, I’ll go typical STW and recommend what I’ve got - a PRS SE. They come in various flavours and prices - my first one was a used £250 SE Santana for example.
I also have a sweet spot for Telecasters and have owned a couple - am now on the hunt for a nice one.
The must important thing I though is to get a guitar that you like the look of. One that you want to pick up and play.