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'Relicing' a Bass

merello

By merello,
in Bass Guitars

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budget bassist Mentor

budget bassist

Posted
Posted

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='788869' date='Mar 28 2010, 08:58 PM']The really cool looking relic instruments with classic wear all have a thin nitro finish.If you bash about a MIM Fender with a thick poly finish for thirty years it'll get scratched & dented, but never wear through like a nitro finish. Attacking it with abrasives will make it look stupid & you'll look stupid playing it. :rolleyes: So I say - do it.[/quote]
This, you can't really relic a bass with a poly finish, it just doesn't work. It's a shame so many companies use poly finishes now, they just won't look good 30 years down the line :)

OutToPlayJazz Experienced

OutToPlayJazz

Posted
Posted

[quote name='budget bassist' post='788889' date='Mar 28 2010, 09:13 PM']This, you can't really relic a bass with a poly finish, it just doesn't work. It's a shame so many companies use poly finishes now, they just won't look good 30 years down the line :)[/quote]

No, there's a plus point here - In thirty years' time they won't look like old wrecks only worth £5 at a car boot sale. That's the advantage of the poly finish. :rolleyes:

I agree that the nitro does look sort of cool as it wears, but only if it's honest wear over time and hard playing. DIY "relicing" (no, it's not an English word as we know it!) just looks fake.

Don't do it. It's sad and wrong. In the same token, I am right, so there. :lol:

3V17C Rising Star

3V17C

Posted
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I reliced mine!!!





I did have all the metal work etc meticulously dirtied up too, but I gave it to my guitarist/tech to do a bit of work and and he decided to clean it.... idiot!!


peace

c

paul h Rising Star

paul h

Posted
Posted

Go for it. Then you won't go through the agony of buffing out the wee scratches only to scratch it again almost immediately!

Quick devil's advocate question. Those of you against relicing, can you afford the real thing? I am never going to be able to afford vintage coolness so if I want to fake it I will!

:)

chris_b Grand Master

chris_b

Posted
Posted

[quote name='paul h' post='789258' date='Mar 29 2010, 11:27 AM']....Quick devil's advocate question. Those of you against relicing, can you afford the real thing?....[/quote]
I can't afford anything, old or new, these days so I want to keep what I've got in as good a condition as I can. I clean the car, Hoover the house and take care of my gear. Old fashioned, I know!!

grumble Community Regular

grumble

Posted
Posted

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='789279' date='Mar 29 2010, 12:01 PM']Damn!

I knew I was doing something wrong.

I'll stop Hoovering my gear immediately.[/quote]

What a great idea ! A bass Aeolian harp !

Must find out where 'er indoors has hidden the vacuum cleaner this week....... :)

Jazzjames Collaborator

Jazzjames

Posted
Posted

[quote name='paul h' post='789258' date='Mar 29 2010, 11:27 AM']Go for it. Then you won't go through the agony of buffing out the wee scratches only to scratch it again almost immediately!

Quick devil's advocate question. Those of you against relicing, can you afford the real thing? I am never going to be able to afford vintage coolness so if I want to fake it I will!

:)[/quote]


IMHO:

The only reason old beat up instruments look cool in that condition is because they've got a stories to tell about how the dents, scratches and worn out bits got to how they are!

To get a newish bass that's in alright condition and to tow it behind your car for a bit to make it look like its 20 years older is pretty lame tbh. I had for a while a '77 Jazz bass, which was nice, but sold it on in favour of my Sandberg Jazz bass 5 string (which I didn't get reliced by Sandberg in the factory).

I'd rather start with something new and as the years go on the bass ages and changes with me, rather than having it F'd up for me at extra cost!

Come on people see sense!

OutToPlayJazz Experienced

OutToPlayJazz

Posted
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This bass is coming up to two years old now. Rich (Grey Parrot) had it from new and I bought it at about four months old. It's finished in a satin lacquer which is just starting to go shiny where my arm hooks over the instrument and where I anchor my thumb most of the time. That's true and honest wear. I'm sure it'll look gradually cooler as it gets older, but it gets worked hard and is looked after meticulously.

Scratches and dents are nothing to be proud of unless they tell a cool story :)
paul h Rising Star

paul h

Posted
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I respect your collective rights to prefer new and shiny. I don't like new and shiny. I also don't think having a cool story makes the slightest bit of difference how the thing looks hanging around your neck.

Which, as we all know, is the single most important thing.

paul h Rising Star

paul h

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[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='789829' date='Mar 29 2010, 07:57 PM']So it's all about image for you then, Paul? Not honesty, hard work or reality?[/quote]

After getting half way through a huge reply I decided to not even bother.

Just chillax! You don't catch us relicing fans giving you lot a hard time do you???

:)

skankdelvar Grand Master

skankdelvar

Posted
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All very well, this 'play it for 30 years, put the dings in yourself, cherish the golden memories' stuff. 30 years from now, I'll be too old to climb onstage without a full crash team in attendance.

See, it's alright for all you young shavers with your floppy haircuts and knees that work and "fashionable" clothes and not needing Viagra just for [i]looking[/i] at a jazz mag. You haven't got the Grim Reaper leaning over your shoulder going "You shouldn't mix 4x10's with 1x15's and [i]real[/i] bass players don't use picks".

I want my Mojo now and by Chr*st, I'll have it.

Edited by skankdelvar
OutToPlayJazz Experienced

OutToPlayJazz

Posted
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Heh! Not a problem, Paul - As far as I'm concerned you can all take belt sanders to your gear as it's yours after all. I was just trying to get to the bottom of the reasoning behind it. Is it a bit like these young lads who cover their 1.0 litre Corsas with unpowered weight like spoilers and garbage can tailpipes? :)

paul h Rising Star

paul h

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It's all good OTPJ.

The reasoning is...it looks cool. End of. It's only a bass. It's only music. It isn't a reflection on my warped and crooked personality. It doesn't make me a bad person.

I don't like to take all this too seriously. Or I might start making serious sounding music, and that would never do!

:)

OutToPlayJazz Experienced

OutToPlayJazz

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[quote name='paul h' post='789851' date='Mar 29 2010, 08:12 PM']It's all good OTPJ.

The reasoning is...it looks cool. End of. It's only a bass. It's only music. It isn't a reflection on my warped and crooked personality. It doesn't make me a bad person.

I don't like to take all this too seriously. Or I might start making serious sounding music, and that would never do!

:)[/quote]

Quite true and a very well put point - I suppose the difference in a lot of ways is that I do take music very seriously, as it's my living :rolleyes:

Thanks for the very well reasoned explanation, btw.

paul h Rising Star

paul h

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[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='789853' date='Mar 29 2010, 08:14 PM']Quite true and a very well put point - I suppose the difference in a lot of ways is that I do take music very seriously, as it's my living :)

Thanks for the very well reasoned explanation, btw.[/quote]

I have no major desire to make music my main source of income so I guess I have the luxury of having a more relaxed attitude. But I know and have known plenty of people who have made this malarkey their living. And there are a number of Bravewood owning, belt sander wielding, fun having, not taking it too seriously types included in that bunch.

But also remember, it's your talent that is making you a living. Not how shiny your gear is.

skankdelvar Grand Master

skankdelvar

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[quote name='paul h' post='789843' date='Mar 29 2010, 08:08 PM']But that's because you are dishonest, lazy and live in a fantasy world.[/quote]
Guilty as charged, M'Lud.
[quote name='paul h' post='789851' date='Mar 29 2010, 08:12 PM']It doesn't make me a bad person.[/quote]
Yes, it does. You've got an evil streak in you a mile wide and you'll roast in hellfire eternal if you even [i]think[/i] about relic-ing a bass.

And not taking it seriously? God will smite you as he smote the Cities of the Plain.

OutToPlayJazz Experienced

OutToPlayJazz

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[quote name='paul h' post='789871' date='Mar 29 2010, 08:28 PM']I'm quite clearly going to hell.

A hell where I will have to practice for minutes on end while continually polishing my maple cap.[/quote]

Sounds like heaven to me! :)

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