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I want a relic bass!


Angel
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OK, some love them, some hate them, but for the purposes of this thread maybe we could put all that aside for a bit ....

I love the look of old beaten up instruments, and I'd really like the idea of getting some kind of slightly knackered Fendery jazz bass. Looking at options ..... Custom shop too expensive, Roadworn: I tried one the other day and it played superbly, but they seem a tad overpriced and only 2 colours. Anyone know of anywhere that you can get something like a roadworn bass knocked up? custom relicing service or similar?

I assume that the roadworn's are just MIM's with a degree of distressing. Anyone know how a regular MIM jazz plays in relation to the roadworn equivalent?

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The body on my MIJ Squier Silver Series Jazz is well beaten-up - I think the previous owner was some kind of teenaged numpty. At some point I may be moving it on, or I might just sell the body and build the rest onto a new and nicer body. If that happens I'll let you know!

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What about the Limelight Basses, iirc classic and cool guitars had a couple last time I looked in.
No idea if they're decent basses or not but as a fan of the relic look myself I'd say they look pretty cool.
B)

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Depends where you are, but Terry of TJC Guitars, in Stevenage, Herts, will relic a bass for you. So you can buy the bass you want, then factor in a bit of extra cost for the relicing. his prices are good, and his workmanship is excellent.

[url="http://www.tjcguitars.com/"]http://www.tjcguitars.com/[/url]

Re Roadworn v reg (only used Precisions mind, not Jazzes) - the Roadworn basses play great, and feel so comfy. The regs are good, but the RWs are better to play, imv.

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[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1350255935' post='1836587']
I've never seen an old instrument with corroded metal parts. Chrome plating tends to hold up... Gibson gold plating not so much.
[/quote]

Come see my collection of rusty crap then. Sweaty hands and storage in a succession of flats with damp problems will do the job pretty well.
:)

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Sandberg do great reliced basses if you can find one used.

[url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/sandberg-california-jjv-boutique-5-string-jazz-bass-trades-wanted/110646011"]http://www.gumtree.c...anted/110646011[/url]

Very nice! :D


PS: Nothing to do with me by the way, just spotted it on Gumtree!

Edited by TRBboy
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[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1350276217' post='1836637']
The best way to get a "relic" bass: buy a new one and gig it regularly for 20 to 30 years.
[/quote]

Or do what Sting did: ask your roadie to go out and buy the oldest beaten up old fender you can find..........

Sometimes the roadworn Fenders go for as little 550 s/h which would seem to be good value.

Edited by paulmcnamara
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[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1350276217' post='1836637']
The best way to get a "relic" bass: buy a new one and gig it regularly for 20 to 30 years.
[/quote]

I just don't get why people trot out that tired old phrase. MODERN FINISHES DO NOT "RELIC"!!!!!!!! Doh

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[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1350305251' post='1837001']
Depends where you are, but Terry of TJC Guitars, in Stevenage, Herts, will relic a bass for you. So you can buy the bass you want, then factor in a bit of extra cost for the relicing. his prices are good, and his workmanship is excellent.

[url="http://www.tjcguitars.com/"]http://www.tjcguitars.com/[/url]
[/quote]

Does he??? Doesn't say so on the website. As it happens, Stevenage is close to me.

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[quote name='Angel' timestamp='1350331828' post='1837516']
Does he??? Doesn't say so on the website. As it happens, Stevenage is close to me.
[/quote]

Yeah, last time I took my bass to Terry we were chatting about instrruments and he said how he`d reliced a guitar for a customer, to match a very old Les Paul, so the customer had a guitar that looked the same when he went out on the road, without taking a hugely valuable guitar with him.

He also did a re-finish on a black Precision for me, to Arctic White (in nitro), and his fee was very good - £150, in comparison to the £300 most wanted.

Edited by Lozz196
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I suggest you check out Schatz guitars from Sweden
[url="http://www.schatzguitars.se/SchatzGuitars/Schatz_info.html"]http://www.schatzguitars.se/SchatzGuitars/Schatz_info.html [/url]

And some pictures:
[url="http://www.schatzguitars.se/SchatzGuitars/Bilder.html"]http://www.schatzguitars.se/SchatzGuitars/Bilder.html[/url]

Nitrocellulose lacquer, nickel hardware, custom handwound pickups and as much or little relicing as you want.
They get alot of appraisal on pratabas.se (which is the swedish equivalent to basschat)
[url="http://pratabas.se/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=44747"]http://pratabas.se/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=44747[/url]

I'm not affiliated with them, but I have tried a couple of the basses they made and they both look and feel great.

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MJT in the US are a company I'm considering using shortly.

They have a website [url="http://mjtagedfinishes.com/"]http://mjtagedfinishes.com/[/url] and an ebay store [url="http://stores.ebay.ie/MJT-Aged-Guitar-Finishes"]http://stores.ebay.ie/MJT-Aged-Guitar-Finishes[/url] with lots of options.

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[quote name='Angel' timestamp='1350249176' post='1836431']
I love the look of old beaten up instruments, and I'd really like the idea of getting some kind of slightly knackered Fendery jazz bass...
[/quote]

I'm sure I saw a Fender Jazz on evil bay that looked, how can I put it, used! Dodgy paint job though.

Here you go - fretless though...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FENDER-JAZZ-FRETLESS-/120999163182?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item1c2c1cb52e

Edited by ead
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