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Since when did "relic'd" mean " beaten to sh*t"?


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[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Squier-reliced-Fretless-Vintage-60s_W0QQitemZ280345425992QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item280345425992&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1309%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50"]Ebay link[/url]

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[quote name='Greene-Mann' post='492456' date='May 19 2009, 04:06 PM']Relic'd means beaten to sh*t if something thinks it will make an instrument worth more

Theres a fine line between a good relic job and obliterated. wtf is up with the burning??[/quote]

There's a not so fine line between a bass being used and getting genuinely 'aged', unique and 'an old friend' and someone deliberately defacing it. One is real and one is entirely fake (and stupid?).

All in my opinion of course, it makes no sense to me at all, owning something entirely incongruent and being in the slightest bit pleased with it.

:)

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I had an Aria precision copy for a long time as a kid, it wasn't a bad bass, and during the rehearsals and gigs it got beaten up a bit, the point was, every ding and scratch and mark were there because of something that happened and a lot of the time it was something i remembered.

I can't understand what memories a sanding disc and a blowtorch impart.

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[quote name='Mr.T' post='493039' date='May 20 2009, 10:11 AM']I just don't understand the thinking behind 'Relic-ing'....

I wonder if anyone has ever bought a brand new car/motorcycle and relic-ed it?[/quote]

Basically, there is a situation in the guitar and bass market where some very highly-prised vintage models have noticeable signs of wear on them. This is compounded by the fact that a handful of musicians who have achieved deity status in our community play or played instruments that were extremely road-worn, such as Jeff Beck's Esquire, SRV's Strat and so on.

Add to that that one of the most appealing features of such democratic models as the Tele and the Strat are their "utilitarian" aspect, indeed you'll often hear these instruments described as "workhorses". As a result of this, a well-used instrument will wear its dings and scratches as badges of honour, battle-scars if you will, rather than ugly accidents.

Ultimately though, few and far between are those who can afford to purchase a real vintage instrument with what some call "mojo", i.e. the lived-in, used, distressed look that you're likely to see on a beat-up '64 Strat, but some people would still like to get close to that feel. Hence the appearance on the market of "reliced" instruments, where you can buy an instrument that to the ineducated eye looks like you've been playing it hard for twenty years, whereas in reality you bought it a week ago.

There are some other peripheral benefits to this, such as the degree of increased comfort that you get, even with an artificially worn instrument, plus the fact that it has compelled some manufacturers to re-release instruments in desirable finishes and configurations that had been discontinued. It has also slightly buoyed the market for vintage instruments, whereby whereas a beat-up vintage used to be worth far less than a vintage in good condition, the prices are now a lot closer to each other.

However, as with guitar modding, there are good mods and amateurish mods. And the relicing process is not, in appearance at least, something you need to know a bit about wiring or woodwork to do yourself. As a result, a lot of dumb kids have looked at professionally reliced guitars and thought, hey, I can do that myself, I have sandpaper and chisels. And so we see things like the above example, where someone has obviously assumed that damaging a guitar with various chemicals and power tools will achieve the same look as careful sanding and staining.

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I relic'd my car the other day. Spun it 3 times in driving rain and ended up backwards up a small cliff.

Although it was genuine mojo, I didn't really get on with the new look rear end and the buckled alloy would have made it hard to concentrate while driving so I got it towed away and my insurance has paid for it to be put back to new.

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Each to their own, but....

I would rather own a bass that has been cared for and loved!
I have owned my Status Empathy for 20 years, it has done hundreds of gigs, and it is still 'Mint'.

I wonder if a beautiful young girl has ever had cosmetic surgery to make her look 'Relic-ed'?

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Relic pros and cons of aside, but what the f**k would the point of those four off-centre holes, between bridge and pickup, have been? Even if a genuine period piece, those drill points would have been useless. The result of giving an idiot a paintstripper and electric drill, I suppose.

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[quote name='noelk27' post='493575' date='May 20 2009, 05:39 PM']Relic pros and cons of aside, but what the f**k would the point of those four off-centre holes, between bridge and pickup, have been? Even if a genuine period piece, those drill points would have been useless. The result of giving an idiot a paintstripper and electric drill, I suppose.[/quote]
Good point, and the wood beneath it looks totally fresh too, he's obviously not paid much attention to what he was doing. What a moron.

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[quote name='noelk27' post='493575' date='May 20 2009, 06:39 PM']Relic pros and cons of aside, but what the f**k would the point of those four off-centre holes, between bridge and pickup, have been? Even if a genuine period piece, those drill points would have been useless. The result of giving an idiot a paintstripper and electric drill, I suppose.[/quote]

Copied off a photo of Jaco's bass, from the mutes, but you can only see them at an angle. Probably did it with the strings on too, so they had to be off line.

Edit: Just had a look, and the ones on Jaco's are not in line with the strings.

Edited by Mr. Foxen
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[quote name='Ou7shined' post='493832' date='May 20 2009, 11:24 PM']Et Voilà!
The custard mystery is solv-ed!
This guy's more of a retard than we though. :)
[/quote]
Well, that explains the front custard... but why the custard blobs on the back?

No, hold on, I shouldn't question this any further. It just is what it is. A heap of sh*t.

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  • 2 weeks later...

[quote name='Mr.T' post='493039' date='May 20 2009, 10:11 AM']I just don't understand the thinking behind 'Relic-ing'....[/quote]
It's to give the appearance that you're so wealthy you don't give a toss what happens to your gear because you can always go out and buy some more. It also serves to remind people of how unsuitable the finish applied to Fenders is for musical instruments which might actually be used.

[quote name='Mr.T' post='493039' date='May 20 2009, 10:11 AM']I wonder if anyone has ever bought a brand new car/motorcycle and relic-ed it?[/quote]
It was the entire basis of Reliant's business model.

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[quote name='tauzero' date='Jun 2 2009, 04:16 PM' post='503938']
It also serves to remind people of how unsuitable the finish applied to Fenders is for musical instruments which might actually be used.


Hmmm...

That's a good point.
I can't imagine that my Status Empathy which I have gigged with for 20 years would ever look that 'bad'.

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