Relic-ing: is it still a thing?

[jacko]

59 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

It's like putting M3 badges on a 320 diesel BMW, probably fools a few people that don't know much about cars but those that do think you're a douchbag. 

if you're driving a BMW, I'd hazard a guess that most other drivers think you're a douchebag no matter what badge is on the bootlid.  

[bassbiscuits]

2 hours ago, Cuzzie said:

I get you about spending money as you see fit etc. But in the case of a Sandberg the relic’s basses are potentially better depending on your point of view as they have heat, vibration etc

But if they are better basses, it isn't down to the relicing is it? It's down to them being the highest end of Sandberg's range, offering the customer relicing as well as vibration treatment etc.

 

[Cuzzie]

@bassbiscuits we are probably saying the same thing, and I didn’t write eloquently enough as was in the middle of something.

The package of vibration etc generally comes with some degree of relic as you have stated, having a worn in neck/body may make it a better instrument for you to play as a preference, and the other stuff better sounding.

Yammy do their IRA and ARE on non relics, so Sandy may do the same.

Metal flake finishes, binding on a bass are optional extras that cost more - it just equates to man/woman hours hence the cost - no one says on forums I hate metal flakes, why are they making their bass look like a glitter ball that’s fake flake, or the binding looks like a a bad pair of dinner jacket trousers - it’s just an option, no different to the different neck profiles, or headstocks people like for tactile and aesthetic feel

[Beer of the Bass]

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Who needs fake shite when you can have real shite?

Fake poo is a steady seller, if you run a joke shop!

 

[HengistPod]

Should a fellow wish to show off the wood-grain of his bass, he might be well advised to just take all the paint off it (that way, he'll find out what the grain looks like that he somehow wanted to show off before he knew).

Honestly, I couldn't care whether someone wants people to think they're some sort of road mongrel with a bass that's accompanied them up Kilimanjaro and back rather than mostly living in their bedroom. Fact is, it soon becomes fairly obvious who is and who isn't. As said above somewhere, it's like buying pre-ripped jeans, and personally I haven't much time for such fashion statements.

I reckon that most semi-serious players, whilst wistfully acknowledging the stories that accompany each ding or patch of rubbed-off paint on their instrument, don't have the time or inclination to make pretend ones. There are tunes to learn play better, things to fix, gigs to book, band members to round up for rehearsal, lights to programme, and so on.

[ped]

2 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

It's like putting M3 badges on a 320 diesel BMW, probably fools a few people that don't know much about cars but those that do think you're a douchbag. 

Such a stupid thing to do isn’t it - surely anyone who knows what //M represents will know a fake one when they see it - and those who don’t know won’t know what it means, so it’s pointless!

[Cuzzie]

@HengistPod no one disagrees with that.

Gimme a shiny bass, give me a mangled bass - I am a plodder - but very happy doing so and will give it my best 

[musicbassman]

Here is clear evidence that relic-ing can never look quite like the real thing!

 

 

 

[Davo-London]

Scary Photos - children look away ...

 

[Bobthedog]

2 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

It's like putting M3 badges on a 320 diesel BMW, probably fools a few people that don't know much about cars but those that do think you're a douchbag. 

That assumes one does it to impress others. If I had bought the reliced Sandberg it would have been to please me, not to fool or impress others. One of my cars is a 66 plate but with a 55 plate private reg. If someone saw the car and did not know me they would just think it was a 55 plate. Not everything is done to impress others. Those that know me assume I am a douchbag anyway.  

[Osiris]

1 hour ago, jacko said:

if you're driving a BMW, I'd hazard a guess that most other drivers think you're a douchebag no matter what badge is on the bootlid.  

You beat me to it!

And it's surprising how infrequently you are wrong 

[Conan]

More to the point, how is the word actually spelled?! Relic'd? Relic-ed? Relicced?

Using the word garlic as an example, there are references to something tasting "garlicky". So maybe the correct spelling should be "relicked" - but that conjours up images of an ice cream that has been licked by more than one person... Maybe the hyphen is all-important? I dunno. I do over-thing things sometimes 

[stingrayPete1977]

2 hours ago, jacko said:

if you're driving a BMW, I'd hazard a guess that most other drivers think you're a douchebag no matter what badge is on the bootlid.  

True, good point. 

[Wilco]

7 hours ago, Paddy515 said:

Nothing beats 25 years natural wear on a 25 year old bass - my Squier Japenese Silver Series.

See, that looks kinda cool. Nice one.

18 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

This for me is the worst kind of relicing. Thomann had two of these until fairly recently, but now have only one, which leads me to conclude that someone has actually bought the other one. The remaining one (below) is priced at just under £13,000 and that is much reduced from what they were originally. I assume this price drop resulted in the sale. I love me a Fodera, but that's just criminal.

 

See, that looks like a complete & utter dog turd of a finish. Aesthetically completely dreadful in every aspect.

[Cuzzie]

I always wondered about the writing/pronunciation could be relickeyd

[tauzero]

12 minutes ago, Conan said:

More to the point, how is the word actually spelled?! Relic'd? Relic-ed? Relicced?

Using the word garlic as an example, there are references to something tasting "garlicky". So maybe the correct spelling should be "relicked" - but that conjours up images of an ice cream that has been licked by more than one person... Maybe the hyphen is all-important? I dunno. I do over-thing things sometimes 

I think relicked is probably more correct than reliced, which sounds as if you're putting parasites back on that you took off during the process of abusing the instrument.

I bought a very tatty P decades ago - a sunburst with the lacquer seriously chipped and knackered. I took the lacquer off and stained it consistently dark. I suppose that now I'd be considered a criminal in the BC Fender purists' eyes.

[Cuzzie]

No

you got rid of the stench of turdburst

well done

Edited March 6, 2019 by Cuzzie

[Japhet]

I'm thinking of 'relicing' my car before I sell it. It's immaculate now but I could go round it with a hammer and bash it around a bit, scuff up the paint and put a few tasty gouges in it, rip up the interior a bit, crack the windscreen and wind the mileage up by 150,000. All I need is some mug punter musician to rock up and buy it.

[Cuzzie]

Pretty sure we said relickeying

[Stub Mandrel]

Giving my daughter a lift today. We agreed Gorillaz holograms were good but Dio/Tupac hologram tours make us both a bit queasy. While on 'faking it' I sought her view of relickinginging.

She agreed it was often well OTT and that ripped jeans fall into the same category. But she syas she likes ripped jeans because they have more character.

As for us lot... she says it''s pathetic to get worked up over someone else's choice when it does you no harm at all.

So that's put us all in our place!

[Cuzzie]

She sounds brilliant - can we have her running the country instead of our relickeyed prime minister

[tauzero]

4 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

As for us lot... she says it''s pathetic to get worked up over someone else's choice when it does you no harm at all.

But... but... it causes offence! And causing offence is an enormous offence! I have a right to be offended, you know, and it causes me enormous stress.

[Skinnyman]

7 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Giving my daughter a lift today. We agreed Gorillaz holograms were good but Dio/Tupac hologram tours make us both a bit queasy. While on 'faking it' I sought her view of relickinginging.

She agreed it was often well OTT and that ripped jeans fall into the same category. But she syas she likes ripped jeans because they have more character.

As for us lot... she says it''s pathetic to get worked up over someone else's choice when it does you no harm at all.

So that's put us all in our place!

She is wise beyond her years. 

[SpondonBassed]

21 hours ago, skankdelvar said:

Is it my imagination or am I seeing fewer reliced instruments out there?

It would please me to think that it is so.  I liken the practice of faking wear and tear to the practice of stone washing and ripping jeans that are sold as new on the retail market.  The fact that folk pay for fakery of that sort makes me laugh.

Having said that, I have room in my life to appreciate shabby chic.  Examples like the one you've illustrated are fascinating to look at.

[Mastodon2]

21 hours ago, skankdelvar said:

 

Eek.

 

I'm looking at that and wondering what kind of wear pattern they were going for here. You could do four hour sets on a bass seven nights a week for forty years and it wouldn't wear like that. It looks a tad silly. 

I'm very much in the camp of just playing a bass in and letting it gain mojo. I keep my gear in good condition but I don't cry over little marks, especially ones made by previous owners. I'd never try and damage my basses to make them look older or more played than they are.