you people are ridiculous "relic" a guitar you POSUERS make me SICK PLAY yer guitar, you fanboy hipsters the guitar doesn't exist to stroke your tiny ego but you jokers wouldn't know that: you're too busy saving up for a 5K axe that LOOKS like it's been used, nut, of course, YOU don't really PLAY guitar, you just HAVE guitars you make me SICK
@delphinazizumbo8674 you realize what this video is about right? My Guitar in the photo was with me for over 2000 gigs on it that’s what we’re talking about, honest wear not relicing your own guitar. 🤦♂️
I’ve been gigging an Eric Johnson signature since 2007. It was purchased brand new and now looks like a relic’d guitar. Lots of exposed wood, especially on the back. As long as it’s a nitro finish it will wear. I recently purchased a fender custom shop 63 strat and got one relic’d. I don’t want to spend another 20 years before I feel like I can pick up a guitar without babying it or gigging it without stressing. My Ej Feels and plays differently from the wear. I wanted that feel on my custom shop out of the box. The roasted neck helped make it feel like an older guitar as well. Very, very happy with it.
My 30 year old poly covered SRV Strat is showing arm wear. 10 years at the Sanctuary? So cool! I've been friends with Brian Meader since we lived in Virginia Beach and onto the Chuck Levin's days!
I have a 1987(?) - '57 RI Strat. I had the neck refinished and refretted. It was a horribly thin neck after. I found an SRV neck on Ebay and put it on. It is perfect for my hand. I've gigged it for a long time and travels everywhere I go.
@@KoreyHicksGuitar A couple times a month. In a few different local bands. Never learned theory or the fretboard. Just learned songs well enough to play out.
My main guitar is a 2010 squier affinity Stratocaster in candy Apple red after I got it back in 2022 it has been my number one and out of all 8 of my strats it was the best playing and sounding the white pickgaurd yellowed a bit and it has a few chips and rings and I've naturally wore the satin finish neck up to slick smooth feeling
Actually Fenders from 1968 til 1982 had a Polyester undercoat with a Nitro topcoat on the body and Poly finished neck except for the headstock face which was Nitro and typically ambers more than the rest of the neck with age. In 1968 they decided to shoot a Poly undercoat on the body and spray Nitro over it which explains why Tab Benoit and Walter Trout's Fenders aged the way they did...a full Poly paint job would never age the same way. By 1983 Fender was using full Polyurethane finishes on their USA guitars (except for the reissues) and those guitars have not aged the same way due to the more plasticky texture of Poly. Look at Malmsteen's yellow 1970s Strats....those were Olympic white originally but the nitro clear coat yellowed quickly and turned the guitar yellow. Just a clarification about those 1968-82 Fenders.
I have a 98' MIM Cyclone, I've had it since 2000, was a daily player for 5-6 years then sat for awhile. Over the last year or so it's bee a daily and It's finally starting to show some wear, also a few drops have dinged it up. I love that guitar IMO nothing beats the offset body.
@@KoreyHicksGuitar Mustang body but 1/4" thicker, its also made out poplar and not basswood. Its heavier than a Mustang and since mines a first get it has a Texas Special single coil in the neck position and a Fender atomic humbucker in the bridge. Also has a 24.75" scale length instead of 24"(Mustang) So its Les Paul length and not strat or tele scale.
I bought a new 2017 built 'closet classic' Nocaster back in 2018. I'm an older intermediate player (with plenty of bad habits😂) and play pretty much every day including lots of noodling unplugged when I'm watching tv with my wife. It's wearing quite rapidly now. Thanks for the videos by the way, Rob.
I have a 94 fender Strat plus (thick poly). That Guitar has fallen off of stages, fallen out of cars, been on the road, been on stage with me when I had the honour of opening for the late great Jeff Healey and let me tell you it’s got some ware. I started playing super young and I was obsessed with Guitar at age 6. Got into electric when I was 10 and over the course of a few short years purchased that Guitar used off my guitar teacher when I was 12. It’s been with me ever since. Honestly it’s not a great guitar compared to other instruments that have come into my life more recently, but it tells such a story that I can’t sell it. I’ve contemplated selling it a few times as I don’t play it all the time anymore, but I just can’t. It has major Mojo, and it’s all my own. :-) I think it’s on its third set of Fretz now and those are starting to get pretty worn out. It’s at the point now, though if I refretted it again, there really wouldn’t be much of a neck left, it’s already a lot thinner than I wish it was, much thinner than it was when I got it back in the early 2000s
@ not like nitro, it’s more dings, scrapes, and such all over the guitar. The dings are from pretty significant impact, but some of the scratches, etc. just seem to happen overtime. The back of the neck is very interesting as it has lots of hairline cracks, even though it’s a poly finish. It’s interesting for sure. I haven’t seen any other poly finish guitars with quite as much as this one. If you’re looking at the Guitar head on, you don’t see a ton but as soon as you look at the sides, it’s very obvious. Oh yeah, and the headstock is very interesting as well. Lots and lots of wear from knocking it into microphone stands, etc. I’m visually impaired so I have knocked it into quite a few L O L.
I have a Gibson Les Paul Special that's been my #1 for 20 years. I got it used in Pittsburgh. I though Specials had P-90's in them, but this one has regular chrome covered humbuckers in it so this one might have been modded. It's been through a lot, and has a few battle scars. But I know every ding and chip on it, and which gigs I got them from (Well, most of them lol).
This is really interesting. I personally NEVER understood the attraction of "reliced" guitars. I am the type of person who takes care of his things. I bought a brand new SUZUKI VL800 "Volusia" motorcycle in 2001. I rode it ALL of the time in the summer, but each fall I washed, waxed, polished and "winterized" it. When I sold it, it was seventeen (17) years old, but looked like new! 🤗 The only brand new guitar that I have bought was a chrome red colored FENDER Telecaster HS. Its beautiful finish was covered in THICK, plastic polyurethane. I assumed that that would NEVER WEAR. 🤔
Some of the wear (like the pearl snaps rubbing on the Strat in the video) or where the guitar sits on my jeans when I teach, or especially where my arm rests just happen over time, and I do take care of my guitars, I'm especially protective of the back of the neck. That Tele only got 1-2 dings in the neck over the years, and it drove me CRAZY
i have a 2011 mexican telecaster that is starting to chip and yellow, edges of the fretboard are worn and the frets themselves are completely knackered but its my only guitar
Unfortunately not every poly finish guitar will worn out. I have for 16 years my first guitar, Ibanez RGR in piano black. It was my only guitar for 11 years (it survived first gigs, regular rehearsals, a lot of exercising and carrying around), so there are a lot of scratches, dinks, neck binding is not white anymore, but paint is not wearing out because it's too thick. And it's still guitar that I use a lot, when I have idea for a song, or solo, this is first thing that I'm going to grab, it's just feels like home. BUT I have Hamer Vector with poly finish, but it's very thin poly finish. At this moment this is my main guitar in band (V's are looking so cool on stage) and this finish IS wearing out after year of regular rehearsals. Of course it's slower process than in my Gibson, but it's getting that "old worn jeans" vibe.
@@KoreyHicksGuitar I have seen some slighty reliced old RG's, but for a 35 years old guitars, that was nothing. So probably you are right, RG finish seems to be indestructible ;)
I have a bunch of Ibanez RGs, the oldest is a 1991 RG570 that I bought in 1992 and it has a bunch of little chips and dings in the paint along the edges of the body where it's been bumped into things over the years, but the paint doesn't seem to wear through on RGs. Same for the clear tinted colors on the various flame maple topped RGs, I have a RG3120 I bought new in 2000, and it has little chips in the finish along the edges, but no wear through.
My daily player is a 1994 Carvin TL60, all Koa body and an ebony fretboard. To be honest, after a coat of oil it looks like the first day that I brought it home.
@@KoreyHicksGuitar - well no longer gigging 400x a year... that's ok. Actually, your posting about the beginner to mediate guitar player is timely. Totally missing playing with you --- few folks can break apart stuff to the "right sizes" like you do.
magically, this thread caught my eye as I put in hours on a personalize of a nitro Pbass... ... I didn't fake relic it... just darkening (it's the amberburst) the blemishes (used copier toner) ... I put in a few hours trying to see what legit nitro looks like as it's abused. As you'll remember, 99% of my gear is all high-polish poly.... Styling a fender for the country gigs.... I may steal your idea and get my name cut into the back. Thank you for posting this.
I always thought it was just me with the fret wear issue. I never hear anyone mention frequent refrets on youtube. Almost all of my guitars have string “dents” on the first and second frets of the B and high E strings. Frets wear out way faster than the paint.
Sounds like it’s time for a fret dress! If you play all the time, you can wear them out pretty quickly. On my main gigging guitars (4 gigs a week 4 sets a night) they usually only last about two years before needing a refret
@@KoreyHicksGuitarI have a 2016 Gibson worn/faded SG that I bought new. The upper bout of the body where your forearm rests got real shiny then started to wear through. It’s my only guitar now and probably has about 800 hours play time on it. I noticed the fret wear about last year.
Keyboard was always my main instrument, but I’ve kept a Strat and LP nearby for at least two decades. Sorry but not much wear. They have lived protected in hard cases and gigged sparingly. Now that I’ve converted to guitar, let’s see how they wear. I do have a 70s nolin era LP I bought early 2000s, but none of the wear and tear was my doing. It looks great though. I always wish I knew who owned it before me.
It should be noted that 'poly" is a misnomer... You mentioned players with "poly" guitars... Those are Polyurethane... but Polyester is ALSO a finish material... The late 70's were the era of Polyester finishes... They WILL NOT wear or relic... they're essentially plastic They will chip and crack off in chunks... You can't remove them by sanding... the only way is to heat them with a heat gun and scrape it off with a sharp chisel... I have a 1999 strat I bought new as a teenager... no frets left, yet the finish is pristine... That's almost 30 years of playing, and it is still as glossy and nice as it was new... it's a bit yellowed, since my family smoked, but that's it... I feel any in the "just play it if you want it to look worn" should understand that finishes are different
It’s a long story, but I was born with an extra rib that caused me to get thoracic outlet syndrome, and I had a pretty intense surgery in 2017 that if it didn’t go well would’ve ended my playing career. I was looking for a fresh restart after the surgery With a new instrument.
@@KoreyHicksGuitar The Strat is definitely the best ergonomic guitar in my opinion. Uncle Larry said if you build a guitar in the air space under a guy just sitting there, you'd get a Stratocaster! It's easily my go to guitar and always will be.
There's a big difference between nitro wearing off from years of play and outright neglect. When I see a guitar covered in years of dirt, rust, and hand-slime it just tells me that the owner is unhygienic and their guitars are likely a biohazard. It's not cool; it's gross.
If it is coated in polyurethane, it will stay new forever. If it is coated in Lacquer, it has a little better chance of aging ... not sure what all they even put into that stuff ...
They're literally encapsulated in plastic, no way they'll wear(if you get a typical run Fender. Not a limited thin skin). They will crack with damage and the paint will chip off, but that's about it. Checking can't happen with these, they can only crack.
If you have a guitar you have played for years that has taken on some serious wear, let us know in the comments, and the story behind it!
you people are ridiculous
"relic" a guitar
you POSUERS make me SICK
PLAY yer guitar, you fanboy hipsters
the guitar doesn't exist to stroke your tiny ego
but you jokers wouldn't know that: you're too busy saving up for a 5K axe that LOOKS like it's been used, nut, of course, YOU don't really PLAY guitar, you just HAVE guitars
you make me SICK
@delphinazizumbo8674 you realize what this video is about right? My Guitar in the photo was with me for over 2000 gigs on it that’s what we’re talking about, honest wear not relicing your own guitar. 🤦♂️
I’ve been gigging an Eric Johnson signature since 2007. It was purchased brand new and now looks like a relic’d guitar. Lots of exposed wood, especially on the back. As long as it’s a nitro finish it will wear. I recently purchased a fender custom shop 63 strat and got one relic’d. I don’t want to spend another 20 years before I feel like I can pick up a guitar without babying it or gigging it without stressing. My Ej Feels and plays differently from the wear. I wanted that feel on my custom shop out of the box. The roasted neck helped make it feel like an older guitar as well. Very, very happy with it.
those EJ’s are amazing guitars
My 30 year old poly covered SRV Strat is showing arm wear. 10 years at the Sanctuary? So cool! I've been friends with Brian Meader since we lived in Virginia Beach and onto the Chuck Levin's days!
Awesome! Yes working with Brian was awesome - just saw him a few days ago when we visited for Thanksgiving!
I have a 1987(?) - '57 RI Strat. I had the neck refinished and refretted. It was a horribly thin neck after. I found an SRV neck on Ebay and put it on. It is perfect for my hand. I've gigged it for a long time and travels everywhere I go.
Nice - did you gig a lot in the 1990s?
@@KoreyHicksGuitar A couple times a month. In a few different local bands. Never learned theory or the fretboard. Just learned songs well enough to play out.
Great content!
@@mokeyxmokey thank you!
My main guitar is a 2010 squier affinity Stratocaster in candy Apple red after I got it back in 2022 it has been my number one and out of all 8 of my strats it was the best playing and sounding the white pickgaurd yellowed a bit and it has a few chips and rings and I've naturally wore the satin finish neck up to slick smooth feeling
I mean to say dings not rings
Actually Fenders from 1968 til 1982 had a Polyester undercoat with a Nitro topcoat on the body and Poly finished neck except for the headstock face which was Nitro and typically ambers more than the rest of the neck with age. In 1968 they decided to shoot a Poly undercoat on the body and spray Nitro over it which explains why Tab Benoit and Walter Trout's Fenders aged the way they did...a full Poly paint job would never age the same way. By 1983 Fender was using full Polyurethane finishes on their USA guitars (except for the reissues) and those guitars have not aged the same way due to the more plasticky texture of Poly. Look at Malmsteen's yellow 1970s Strats....those were Olympic white originally but the nitro clear coat yellowed quickly and turned the guitar yellow. Just a clarification about those 1968-82 Fenders.
Excellent info, thank you!
I have a 98' MIM Cyclone, I've had it since 2000, was a daily player for 5-6 years then sat for awhile. Over the last year or so it's bee a daily and It's finally starting to show some wear, also a few drops have dinged it up. I love that guitar IMO nothing beats the offset body.
Is the Cyclone basically a Mustang body, or is it slightly different?
@@KoreyHicksGuitar Mustang body but 1/4" thicker, its also made out poplar and not basswood. Its heavier than a Mustang and since mines a first get it has a Texas Special single coil in the neck position and a Fender atomic humbucker in the bridge. Also has a 24.75" scale length instead of 24"(Mustang) So its Les Paul length and not strat or tele scale.
I bought a new 2017 built 'closet classic' Nocaster back in 2018. I'm an older intermediate player (with plenty of bad habits😂) and play pretty much every day including lots of noodling unplugged when I'm watching tv with my wife. It's wearing quite rapidly now. Thanks for the videos by the way, Rob.
@@kristinaluckett5591 very cool!
I have a 94 fender Strat plus (thick poly). That Guitar has fallen off of stages, fallen out of cars, been on the road, been on stage with me when I had the honour of opening for the late great Jeff Healey and let me tell you it’s got some ware. I started playing super young and I was obsessed with Guitar at age 6. Got into electric when I was 10 and over the course of a few short years purchased that Guitar used off my guitar teacher when I was 12. It’s been with me ever since. Honestly it’s not a great guitar compared to other instruments that have come into my life more recently, but it tells such a story that I can’t sell it. I’ve contemplated selling it a few times as I don’t play it all the time anymore, but I just can’t. It has major Mojo, and it’s all my own. :-) I think it’s on its third set of Fretz now and those are starting to get pretty worn out. It’s at the point now, though if I refretted it again, there really wouldn’t be much of a neck left, it’s already a lot thinner than I wish it was, much thinner than it was when I got it back in the early 2000s
How did that thick poly age?
@ not like nitro, it’s more dings, scrapes, and such all over the guitar. The dings are from pretty significant impact, but some of the scratches, etc. just seem to happen overtime. The back of the neck is very interesting as it has lots of hairline cracks, even though it’s a poly finish. It’s interesting for sure. I haven’t seen any other poly finish guitars with quite as much as this one. If you’re looking at the Guitar head on, you don’t see a ton but as soon as you look at the sides, it’s very obvious. Oh yeah, and the headstock is very interesting as well. Lots and lots of wear from knocking it into microphone stands, etc. I’m visually impaired so I have knocked it into quite a few L O L.
I have a Gibson Les Paul Special that's been my #1 for 20 years. I got it used in Pittsburgh. I though Specials had P-90's in them, but this one has regular chrome covered humbuckers in it so this one might have been modded. It's been through a lot, and has a few battle scars. But I know every ding and chip on it, and which gigs I got them from (Well, most of them lol).
This is really interesting. I personally NEVER understood the attraction of "reliced" guitars. I am the type of person who takes care of his things. I bought a brand new SUZUKI VL800 "Volusia" motorcycle in 2001. I rode it ALL of the time in the summer, but each fall I washed, waxed, polished and "winterized" it. When I sold it, it was seventeen (17) years old, but looked like new! 🤗
The only brand new guitar that I have bought was a chrome red colored FENDER Telecaster HS. Its beautiful finish was covered in THICK, plastic polyurethane. I assumed that that would NEVER WEAR. 🤔
Some of the wear (like the pearl snaps rubbing on the Strat in the video) or where the guitar sits on my jeans when I teach, or especially where my arm rests just happen over time, and I do take care of my guitars, I'm especially protective of the back of the neck. That Tele only got 1-2 dings in the neck over the years, and it drove me CRAZY
Wise words.
i hear Rory i click like
i have a 2011 mexican telecaster that is starting to chip and yellow, edges of the fretboard are worn and the frets themselves are completely knackered but its my only guitar
Unfortunately not every poly finish guitar will worn out. I have for 16 years my first guitar, Ibanez RGR in piano black. It was my only guitar for 11 years (it survived first gigs, regular rehearsals, a lot of exercising and carrying around), so there are a lot of scratches, dinks, neck binding is not white anymore, but paint is not wearing out because it's too thick.
And it's still guitar that I use a lot, when I have idea for a song, or solo, this is first thing that I'm going to grab, it's just feels like home.
BUT I have Hamer Vector with poly finish, but it's very thin poly finish. At this moment this is my main guitar in band (V's are looking so cool on stage) and this finish IS wearing out after year of regular rehearsals. Of course it's slower process than in my Gibson, but it's getting that "old worn jeans" vibe.
love when that happens! Come to think of it, I don't know if I've ever seen a RG with natural wear - designed to handle a bomb-blast, maybe?
@@KoreyHicksGuitar I have seen some slighty reliced old RG's, but for a 35 years old guitars, that was nothing.
So probably you are right, RG finish seems to be indestructible ;)
I have a bunch of Ibanez RGs, the oldest is a 1991 RG570 that I bought in 1992 and it has a bunch of little chips and dings in the paint along the edges of the body where it's been bumped into things over the years, but the paint doesn't seem to wear through on RGs. Same for the clear tinted colors on the various flame maple topped RGs, I have a RG3120 I bought new in 2000, and it has little chips in the finish along the edges, but no wear through.
Rory had a rare blood type which helped relic his '62 2 or 3 tone burst Stratocaster.
so... honest question... when plating has gotten better (and less nickel)
any thoughts on dorking chrome?
Never tried it myself!
soak a test piece in a solution of vinegar and water overnight and it will dull down the nickel
My daily player is a 1994 Carvin TL60, all Koa body and an ebony fretboard. To be honest, after a coat of oil it looks like the first day that I brought it home.
So timely... I have one of the trash nitro finish Fenders... getting ready to assemble it thinking if I should dork around with it.
Hi Tim, how have you been?
@@KoreyHicksGuitar - well no longer gigging 400x a year... that's ok.
Actually, your posting about the beginner to mediate guitar player is timely.
Totally missing playing with you --- few folks can break apart stuff to the "right sizes" like you do.
magically, this thread caught my eye as I put in hours on a personalize of a nitro Pbass... ... I didn't fake relic it... just darkening (it's the amberburst) the blemishes (used copier toner) ...
I put in a few hours trying to see what legit nitro looks like as it's abused. As you'll remember, 99% of my gear is all high-polish poly....
Styling a fender for the country gigs.... I may steal your idea and get my name cut into the back.
Thank you for posting this.
I always thought it was just me with the fret wear issue. I never hear anyone mention frequent refrets on youtube. Almost all of my guitars have string “dents” on the first and second frets of the B and high E strings. Frets wear out way faster than the paint.
Sounds like it’s time for a fret dress! If you play all the time, you can wear them out pretty quickly. On my main gigging guitars (4 gigs a week 4 sets a night) they usually only last about two years before needing a refret
@@KoreyHicksGuitarI have a 2016 Gibson worn/faded SG that I bought new. The upper bout of the body where your forearm rests got real shiny then started to wear through. It’s my only guitar now and probably has about 800 hours play time on it. I noticed the fret wear about last year.
Keyboard was always my main instrument, but I’ve kept a Strat and LP nearby for at least two decades. Sorry but not much wear. They have lived protected in hard cases and gigged sparingly. Now that I’ve converted to guitar, let’s see how they wear.
I do have a 70s nolin era LP I bought early 2000s, but none of the wear and tear was my doing. It looks great though. I always wish I knew who owned it before me.
It should be noted that 'poly" is a misnomer...
You mentioned players with "poly" guitars...
Those are Polyurethane... but Polyester is ALSO a finish material...
The late 70's were the era of Polyester finishes...
They WILL NOT wear or relic... they're essentially plastic
They will chip and crack off in chunks...
You can't remove them by sanding... the only way is to heat them with a heat gun and scrape it off with a sharp chisel...
I have a 1999 strat I bought new as a teenager...
no frets left, yet the finish is pristine... That's almost 30 years of playing, and it is still as glossy and nice as it was new... it's a bit yellowed, since my family smoked, but that's it...
I feel any in the "just play it if you want it to look worn" should understand that finishes are different
@@ChrsGuit understood, but I suppose I’m talking about buying a vintage reissue or a custom shop reissue that is NOS
Bad Penny…… Nice!
Why did you sell that Tele after all those years? I feel like if I put that much mojo into a guitar, I’d keep it forever.
It’s a long story, but I was born with an extra rib that caused me to get thoracic outlet syndrome, and I had a pretty intense surgery in 2017 that if it didn’t go well would’ve ended my playing career. I was looking for a fresh restart after the surgery With a new instrument.
@ oh wow. Well, that certainly changes things. Thank you for sharing your story!
@@KoreyHicksGuitar The Strat is definitely the best ergonomic guitar in my opinion. Uncle Larry said if you build a guitar in the air space under a guy just sitting there, you'd get a Stratocaster! It's easily my go to guitar and always will be.
There's a big difference between nitro wearing off from years of play and outright neglect. When I see a guitar covered in years of dirt, rust, and hand-slime it just tells me that the owner is unhygienic and their guitars are likely a biohazard. It's not cool; it's gross.
totally.
If it is coated in polyurethane, it will stay new forever. If it is coated in Lacquer, it has a little better chance of aging ... not sure what all they even put into that stuff ...
They're literally encapsulated in plastic, no way they'll wear(if you get a typical run Fender. Not a limited thin skin). They will crack with damage and the paint will chip off, but that's about it. Checking can't happen with these, they can only crack.
I’m sure I put a ding on that Strat somewhere…
Careful, Mark! 😆
My tele turned to dust and blew away.
😆
If you want to relic your guitar, then treat it like crap
this is one annoying moment after another
fanboy hipsters