| Author | Message | ||
| phylo
Intermediate Member Username: phylo Post Number: 106 Registered: 10-2005 |
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/ESP-James-Hetfield-Iron-Cross-Electric-Guitar?sku=580896&src=3TP9DE&ZYXSEM=0 This seems just unbelievably ridiculous to me. Maybe at 1/10th of the price I could understand a diehard fans desires. But c'mon now, 10k? "even the neck and fretboard are distressed." I wonder how much you could sell a box full of splinters for if you called it a Pete Townsend Model (Distressed) | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3703 Registered: 7-2004 |
Jon: Check out this one. Makes the Hetfield seem like a bargain! I guess some people just have too much $. lol Bill, tgo | ||
| hydrargyrum
Senior Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 505 Registered: 3-2004 |
Am I the only one who thinks the "relic" treatment on guitars is asinine? I can't imagine a better way to say "I'm a poseur," than to buy a guitar someone else has beat up for you. | ||
| phylo
Intermediate Member Username: phylo Post Number: 107 Registered: 10-2005 |
i guess the Hetfield IS a bargain. I nearly shat when I noticed the ciggie burns on the headstock of the EVH. Clearly worth $$$ for that alone. | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 729 Registered: 12-2003 |
I have several relic'd guitars. I sent my Gibson R9 to Historic Makeovers, who did a fantastic job - the most incredible Nitro repaint, natural finish checking, rolled binding and scattered, tasteful wear spots. I love the look of a well worn (not abused) Les Paul or Strat. But it would take me several lifetimes of playing as I do to have this happen naturally. So I took a shortcut. For me, it's not asinine. Things like the Frankenstrat that replicate every nuance of someone else's career on a guitar are another matter altogether. But, if you're an obsessed fan... | ||
| hydrargyrum
Senior Member Username: hydrargyrum Post Number: 506 Registered: 3-2004 |
Sorry, I shouldn't have shot my mouth off. Different strokes for different folks and so forth . . . I guess what gets me is that a vintage guitar is worth so much more when it doesn't show signs of age. And what does it mean if you beat up a relic while you own it, does it go up in value?  | ||
| dnburgess
Senior Member Username: dnburgess Post Number: 608 Registered: 1-2003 |
If I had to take a P-bass to a gig, I would most likely take the Fender Pino Relic or Roadworn. The Pino is actually a great bass - one of the nicest traditional Ps that I have played. The Roadworn is also nice - good value for money IMO. Some gigs you just don't want to turn up with a shiny new instrument. | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 730 Registered: 12-2003 |
Kevin, Don't worry about it. Actually, the madness doesn't stop there. There are only certain guitars that I like the aged look for. I've sent three vintage BC Rich guitars to Neal Moser for complete refinish work. Basically paying him to undo to them what I paid Historic Makeovers to do to my Les Paul. It's pure insanity! | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 731 Registered: 12-2003 |
David, Yes. Two thumbs up on the Fender Road Worn guitars. I bought two of the 50's Strats (one black, one sunburst). They have a wonderfully broken-in feel. The Aging job is very nice - maybe a bit overdone on the fretboard wear, though I've seen plenty of vintage Strats with similar patterns. The Tex Mex pickups sound awesome. And, most of all, for the price you're getting a nitro finish which is usually found only on Fender Custom Shop instruments. Why anyone would pay upwards of $6000 for a Masterbuilt Relic when these are available for $950 is beyond me. | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3709 Registered: 7-2004 |
Jonathan: Now I'm confused - didn't you sell your Series I because it showed its age? As for "roadworn" or "reliced" I've found the perfect recipe: 1. Buy a guitar 2. Play it for a quarter century or more It worked great on my Strat that I bought in 1975 and played almost exclusively until a few short years ago. Bill, tgo | ||
| jalevinemd
Senior Member Username: jalevinemd Post Number: 732 Registered: 12-2003 |
Bill, That's what I mean by the "insanity." I like worn Les Pauls and Strats. Alembics and other such beauties I like pristine. Had I kept the Series I, I was going to send it back to Santa Rosa for a refinish. But I found someone who loved her as she was. I think your relic recipe is perfect and I'm jealous of you and all other musicians who have the opportunity to play out like you do, with so many people in so many places. Unfortunately, my guitars don't see that kind of use. Hopefully they will at some point. But right now, what took your Strat 25 years to age gracefully would take mine 250! | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 449 Registered: 10-2006 |
"As for...'reliced'...." OK, now I've got to say something. Without going into the wisdom of paying extra for a pre-damaged instrument, this drives me nuts - relic is not a verb!!! Sorry - turning off paper-grading mode & stepping away from the keyboard.... Peter | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 2178 Registered: 10-2002 |
I'm with kevin on this one. Can't see the point of paying someone a fortune to beat up my instrument when I'm perfectly capable of doing so myself even though, as Bill points out, it may take 25 years to achieve what some guy at fender can do in minutes with a power sander. I can just hear the screams from the relic shop now ;-) Graeme (who can account for every scrape on all his instruments) | ||
| benson_murrensun
Intermediate Member Username: benson_murrensun Post Number: 124 Registered: 5-2007 |
C'mon, you guys are being to critical of those who would buy a Van Halen replica for $25K. Didn't you notice that it contains a 1971 quarter???? | ||
| bracheen
Senior Member Username: bracheen Post Number: 1438 Registered: 11-2003 |
What I noticed about the Van Halen guitar was the review from the guy who says he owns four of them and hates them. I have to wonder what he was thinking when he bought the second one. | ||
| bracheen
Senior Member Username: bracheen Post Number: 1439 Registered: 11-2003 |
Peter, I guess if antique can be a verb why not relic? | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 2186 Registered: 10-2002 |
Is antique a verb in the USA? I don't think it is over here. Weathering or distressing perhaps ;-) re the guy buying >1 VH strat, perhaps he's doing it as a public service - get the damn things off the street ;-) Graeme | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 2173 Registered: 6-2002 |
Re the guy who owns 4, he wrote: "I own four of these guitars. Each one came set up very poorly out of the box. As a player of mostly smooth jazz, I require a guitar that can stand up under pressure. My first took a fall from the stand during a gig and the headstock was ruined. I am on my fourth and I hope it does not happen again. If you're going to get this guitar, DO NOT PLAY IT! It is not a very good players guitar." One or two clues in there as to whether he was posting on the right page. | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3719 Registered: 7-2004 |
This is my favorite pic. I just can't believe anyone would actually shell out $25K for some bare wires hanging out of a hole where a pickup used to be. And don't you just love the "strap pins"? Maybe you can hook a couple of carabiners to a strap - the ultimate straplocks! I actually saw one of these in person. It's the opposite of what we often hear around here about Alembics. The EVH even looks WORSE in person! Bill, tgo  | ||
| davr35
Member Username: davr35 Post Number: 79 Registered: 12-2004 |
You are right Bill, I saw one in person also and it looked like it would break if you touched it. Dave | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 452 Registered: 10-2006 |
I dunno, Dave, that might be an improvement - the pic looks like it done went & broke already! Peter | ||
| pocket8
Junior Username: pocket8 Post Number: 47 Registered: 10-2008 |
Even though I think the first three Van Halen albums should first be put in the national archive, and then should be shot into deep space on a gold record attached to its own special satellite shaped like a Jack Daniel's bottle for the benefit of the rest of the universe, I think the jacked-up quarter (assuming two bits counts as evidence of debt) may make each of these things meticulosly illegal: "United States Code TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE PART I - CRIMES CHAPTER 17 - COINS AND CURRENCY 333. Mutilation of national bank obligations Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, or Federal Reserve bank, or the Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both." Would this make these goofy things worth $25K just for their inherently forbidden constitution? Dunno, but unless this thing is played off to the feds as a really snazzy quarter that is still viable legal tender (representing about a 100,00 fold loss on your investment), you're just asking to send the people at the Fender shop to the clink. Again, I don't know, but other than excelling in the prison wood shop, I don't think they have the necessary survival skills! But on a related VH collectible note, I have distressed sweat socks that are exact replicas of the ones that Alex Van Halen wore on the WACF tour! This year's run is limited to 52 pairs of these stinky beauties given the time required for the patented "aging" process! A must-have for any serious Roth-era Van Halen fan! Serious inquiries only. |
