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reluctantly changing opinion on reliced tele, for the better.


dogtownmax

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I went to GC on Saturday to kick some tires with some band associates, and while wandering around and disinterestedly picking at stuff had a chance to look at a reliced tele up close.

 

As much as I really hate the idea of fake wear on a guitar, i have to admit it looked really convincing. it was _relatively_ light wear, with what appeared to be oxidized hardware, but no "rust" no massive paint missing, just a little bit of convincing wear in likely places, with a little excessive wear at the bottom of the guitar. The thin paint was a really nice feature regardless of the fake wear. the clearcoat over the fake wear was... subtle but regrettable.

 

As for the guitar itself, it was a nice, old school tele, blond, with three saddles, ashtray bridge, covered small single coil in the neck, and an f-spaced single in the bridge. classic style tele, nicely made.

 

I would never buy a reliced guitar as it's just not my style, but I have to say I now have a better appreciation of why some people are drawn to them.

 

I think it was one of the roadworn models, but im not sure.

 

:mad::facepalm:

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my problem with the relic'd fenders (well i have numerous issues with relic'd...but that's another thing)....is that if you set 5 of them (same model) in stands...what you notice is that the relic-ing is EXACLTY THE SAME on EVERY guitar.....Strat....Tele....doesn't matter.....Strats get one relic and Teles get a different relic....but within the model....exactly the same....even the pin head dings are in exactly the same position on the body and exactly the same size.....i just can't get with that......when Gibson "ages" a group of R9's, for instance, no two are exactly the same.....it's as if Fender has a machine that they feed the relic'd bodies into....and it wears each guitar precisely the same.

 

i can't get with that....i mean...not only is it on purpose relic-ing....it's FAKE on purpose relic-ing....:facepalm::facepalm:

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i felt the same way, i wasnt a huge fan of relic'd guitars and i am still not. but when i plugged in my 72 deluxe, it totally changed my mind. one of those instant bonding moments, it was eerie. i could give a crap about the relic job, i played 15 teles that day and the one i bought was the best player in the bunch. the neck was perfect shape for my hands and it just felt like a guitar i have owned for years. right now its sitting in the chair across from me and honestly its a damn fine looking guitar.

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The first time I saw a relic Fender as a kid, I wondered why anyone would pay $1K for a faux beat-up guitar, when you could get one that looked nice with the same electronics, etc. for less. I don't know what they cost now, they never catch my attention.

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The first time I saw a relic Fender as a kid, I wondered why anyone would pay $1K for a faux beat-up guitar, when you could get one that looked nice with the same electronics, etc. for less. I don't know what they cost now, they never catch my attention.

 

 

It is somewhat silly, but the roadworn series are SO damn comfertable to play.

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my problem with the relic'd fenders (well i have numerous issues with relic'd...but that's another thing)....is that if you set 5 of them (same model) in stands...what you notice is that the relic-ing is EXACLTY THE SAME on EVERY guitar.....Strat....Tele....doesn't matter.....Strats get one relic and Teles get a different relic....but within the model....exactly the same....even the pin head dings are in exactly the same position on the body and exactly the same size.....i just can't get with that......when Gibson "ages" a group of R9's, for instance, no two are exactly the same.....it's as if Fender has a machine that they feed the relic'd bodies into....and it wears each guitar precisely the same.


i can't get with that....i mean...not only is it on purpose relic-ing....it's FAKE on purpose relic-ing....
:facepalm:
:facepalm:

 

The only Fender's that get the same relic treatment are the Mexican made Roadworns.....USA relics are all different unique with varying degrees of relic.

 

Aren't Gibson R9's like $5,000 guitars?? Not fair to compare $799 MIM Roadworns to $5,000 Gibson R9's.

 

I personally love relic guitars...but it has to be done right, Nitro is a must, and it can't just be trusted to anyone with a staircase and a sheet of sandpaper.... it is a artform to recreate 50 years in a few hours...... don't believe me? Click over to Feebay and look at all the bad relic jobs by amateurs.

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it's funny, when they first came out most people hated them, now a lot of them have had the chance to play them a lot of people are changing their opinions. Personally i'd like them to offer something as comfortable as the Road Worns but with the Hwy1 faded looks, so it's age naturally but already feel aged.

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The only Fender's that get the same relic treatment are the Mexican made Roadworns.....USA relics are all different unique with varying degrees of relic.


Aren't Gibson R9's like $5,000 guitars?? Not fair to compare $799 MIM Roadworns to $5,000 Gibson R9's.

 

 

I have a Fender Custom Shop Relic Nocaster (the one pictured in my avatar), and the relic job is completely different than a buddy who has one as well. I don't care one way or the other about the looks, the reason I bought the guitar is that it is the most resonant guitar I have ever played. The body has the thinnest coat of nitro on it I have come across (you can feel every grain), and the neck was incredibly comfortable to play. Had any other guitar felt and sounded as good, I would have bought it regardless of the finish.

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I finally played a Road Worn strat at a local store Wednesday night.

 

I was indeed favorably impressed, but not enough to buy one since I've already got several strats and a few of which I like better

 

BUT!!

 

What I find interesting is to play a strat which does indeed to my ears sound soooooo much better than my Jimmie Vaughan strat. That is sort of amazing to me. Why? Because they both have the same pickups. Now maybe I should say "different" instead of better, but I don't like the sharp attack of the JV and prefer the more vowel-like tones of the RWs. I know there's plenty of JV Strat love around here, but both myself and my stepson find my JV to be a bit thin, bright and piercing. With the RW is has a more resonant hollow-ish tone to it that removes that sharpness from the TM p'ups that I hear on the JV.

 

How the hell the RW does that is beyond me but I think it has to be the wood they've used. :confused:

 

My stepson reported this phenomena to me shortly after the RWs arrived at GC and I was finally able to confirm his findings last week.

 

Maybe if I start scraping the {censored} out of my JV and putting tea bags on its pg it will sound as good? :p

 

 

P.S. The one thing I didn't like one the RW was the sandpapered feel on the back of the neck. I was thinking that I'd probably take steel wool to it and then maybe some sort of oil to it to smooth it out.

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I'd gladly buy one if I liked how it played and they gave me a scratch-n-dent discount.


But charging me extra for a guitar they scuffed with a belt sander and added water damage and fake fingernail gouges to? Pass.

 

 

Play a $499 Mexi standard...then a $799 Road worn.... more of a difference than fingernail gouges.

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How the hell the RW does that is beyond me but I think it has to be the wood they've used.
:confused:

 

Just confirming what people have been saying for years with a ton of inexperienced naysayers trying to convince you otherwise...thin nitro=different tone than thick poly, different wood=different tone. all the cheap bastards will call me out like usual and say as long as the pickups are the same, the guitar will sound the same unless youre an anal corksniffing snob who only reads headstock names:blah:

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my problem with the relic'd fenders (well i have numerous issues with relic'd...but that's another thing)....is that if you set 5 of them (same model) in stands...what you notice is that the relic-ing is EXACLTY THE SAME on EVERY guitar.....Strat....Tele....doesn't matter.....Strats get one relic and Teles get a different relic....but within the model....exactly the same....even the pin head dings are in exactly the same position on the body and exactly the same size.....i just can't get with that......when Gibson "ages" a group of R9's, for instance, no two are exactly the same.....it's as if Fender has a machine that they feed the relic'd bodies into....and it wears each guitar precisely the same.


i can't get with that....i mean...not only is it on purpose relic-ing....it's FAKE on purpose relic-ing....
:facepalm:
:facepalm:

 

Murphy aged R9 = $10,000

 

Roadworn Strat = $600

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Just confirming what people have been saying for years with a ton of inexperienced naysayers trying to convince you otherwise...thin nitro=different tone than thick poly, different wood=different tone. all the cheap bastards will call me out like usual and say as long as the pickups are the same, the guitar will sound the same unless youre an anal corksniffing snob who only reads headstock names:blah:

 

 

Yes, I'm totally with you in that camp that "of course it makes a difference" but I'm just surprised by how much of a difference there is between the two guitars, especially since both the JV and RW are alder.

 

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Road-Worn-50s-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=526797

 

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Artist-Series-Jimmie-Vaughan-TexMex-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=510057

 

The only obvious difference is the skin.

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i dont really get the "the all look the same argument". who cares what they look like or if they all look the same? every non-relic'd guitar looks exactly the same and no one complains about that. my priorities are: how it sounds, playability, feel and waaaaaay down the list: looks. plus its a nitro finish... if you play it every day instead of keeping it locked up in a case it will further relic and become uniquely your guitar.

 

i dunno, i hated the relic look but of the 15+ guitars i played that day on the exact same fender tube amp i honestly would have picked this one if i had been blindfolded. i am not trying to convince anyone to buy one of these, i could care less but the argument of, "well it played great and sounded great but i dont like how it looks" is odd to me. i would rather sound good.

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Yes, I'm totally with you in that camp that "of course it makes a difference" but I'm just surprised by how much of a difference there is between the two guitars, especially since both the JV and RW are alder.


http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Road-Worn-50s-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=526797


http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Artist-Series-Jimmie-Vaughan-TexMex-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=510057


The only obvious difference is the skin.

 

:cool: even more proof. im actually kinda surprised the RW is cheaper, last time i checked they were 999, where have i been. i may have to pick up one of the blonde teles, ive been wanting to add a tele to the collection and the RW is now in the price range i want to be in.

 

sleewell, "if you play it every day instead of keeping it locked up in a case it will further relic and become uniquely your guitar." thats the point i was trying to make before. if you look at some early ones that have been gigged with on the tdpri forums, they have taken on a look of their own. also, great argument that all the solid finish guitars look the same from the get go too:lol:

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Roadworn tele: Amazing necks, great sound. Fail looks.

I can live with most of it, but they overdid it on the fingerboard wear IMO.

 

 

i agree 100% - the fingerboard wear is dumb/overdone/not done properly, but most people are looking at it in great light up close. i think it still looks bad but not terrible from 10-15+ feet away in bar. its the one thing i dont really like about the guitar but obviously it did not keep me from buying it. i LOVE the feeling of the neck though, really comfortable and easy to play.

 

the sad part is that while the body has a nitro finish and will continue to relic, the neck is not and will look that way for a long, long time. oh well, i love playing this guitar so its one of those things you just deal with.

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