"Road Worn" ... what do you think?

[reluctant-builder]

I really don't understand the appeal of a buying a so-called "road worn" instrument. I don't mean buying secondhand someone else's instrument, which may have been well-used and shows signs of wear. I mean a "brand new" instrument made to look old.

To me, it's like buying a "distressed" pair of jeans, which is either worn thin or actually has holes in it. I wouldn't want to buy a pair of pants that is going to last significantly shorter because it's already worn out at the time of purchase. While the guitar isn't quite the same; it's not rendered useless by bare spots in its finish like pants could be due to its holes ... but it's certainly similar.

If my guitar is going to be road worn, it's going to be worn by me, from actual use. Or I'd buy someone else's axe, if it was a great player, despite signs of wear. But it strikes me as pure poseurdom to fake the look.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I believe that you were getting to it, but yes, a pre road worn instrument is cheating.  If you are after a worn instrument from the 50's or 60's, you can make a reliced instrument due to the lack of candidates that are available for use, and the number of people that would try and kill you for ruining a piece of history.  But other than that, it is just cheating.
Patrick

 

[Eric Banjitar]

I just bought a road-worn new car. It is great. It came from the factory brand-new with zero miles and worn tires, shopping cart and door dings, gravel damage in the front, a cracked window, a split dashboard with foam hanging out and a large dent in the front fender. Now everyone will think that I 1) dont drive well or 2) dont take care of my stuff.

If this make sense to you...distress your guitar.

 

[erogenousjones17]

Well put.  :icon_biggrin:

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

Its especially weird because "reliced" instruments often cost more due to the efforts put into the relicing process.  A used instrument, fine, but a brand new instrument looking worn out I don't understand.

 

[ptirman]

Doesn't appeal to me. I'll take new and shiny please.

 

[Cagey]

Doesn't appeal to me. I'll take new and shiny please.

Same here. But, I can understand how someone might want something that could be kicked around with impunity. Less focus on appearance and more on performance, that sort of thing.

 

[hannaugh]

I think REAL road worn instruments are freaking awesome.  It's like a badge of honor to have played your guitar so much that the finish has worn off where your arm rests on it when you play.  That type of use just gives an old guitar it's character.  But the fake ones are, well... fake.  In my opinion, you gotta earn that kind of mojo. 

 

[Jusatele]

I never thought I would like a road worn instrument,but after selling my 62 last year, I crave a Beater Tele again. one that is so beat up you wonder if it will last to the end of the song.
Now would I miss it if I had never owned it? nope.
road worn is to get the look in a new Axe. If you never owned a naturally road worn instrument,deal with the fact everyone is going to call you a poser.

 

[NovasScootYa]

IMO, Buy or build a good new guitar and take it on the road or if you're not that famous drag it down a gravel road. On a more serious note, my pristine guitars are a pain to keep pristine. When they're in the hands of someone else it's a tight wire act until they're safely back in the case. My naturally worn older builds are a pleasure to play and to see being played with little or no worries. In a nutshell, it should be all about the music.

 

[Jusatele]

all of my guitars are mine to be used and they get dinged worn scratched etc,they are not art they are just a tool. I do not try to keep them perfect. I will say tis, once they get the first imperfection they are more valuable to me as then they lose the value of a perfect guitar. But I can say to fake a road worn because you have never played on that much is like buying a beater of a car because you want to say you have drove that long, Who gives a shit.

 

[JamesL]

I know most of you are Nazi's when it come to taking care care of your guitars, but I'm not that way, there are some guitars I treasure and take "better" care of than others, but for the most part all of my guitars are tools to make my music, and I treat them as so..


How many mechanics do you see putting their wrenches in cases and polishing them off after every time they use them?


I don't abuse my instruments, I just don't baby them either, thus they get character.

 

[Nightclub Dwight]

I know most of you are Nazi's when it come to taking care care of your guitars, but I'm not that way, there are some guitars I treasure and take "better" care of than others, but for the most part all of my guitars are tools to make my music, and I treat them as so..


How many mechanics do you see putting their wrenches in cases and polishing them off after every time they use them?


I don't abuse my instruments, I just don't baby them either, thus they get character.

I agree, guitars are tools used to make music.  I don't abuse them, but I use them, and use them hard if need be.

A good mechanic takes care of their tools.  They may not polish them, but they sure as heck put them away where they belong when they are finished using them.  A weekend warrior mechanic will leave his tools scattered where ever.

 

[Cagey]

How many mechanics do you see putting their wrenches in cases and polishing them off after every time they use them?

Depends on how good the mechanic is. Many of those I've met do that, but it's not a rule. I think it has to do with how hard they had to work for the tool(s), and whether they expect to be able to use them effectively again at a later date.

 

[Mr. Dude]

It would be cool to start a business "distressing" nice guitars.  You'd just have to let the customer know it could take some time. :laughing7:

 

[B3Guy]

+1 for the lameness of "pre-reliced" guitars.

First of, I LOVE the look of a well-played classic strat, tele, LP, etc. VERY cool. However, knowing the look came from some sausage with a belt sander takes all the cred right out of it. A truly relic instrument says "I have been loved and have played lots of music . . . often . . . for a long time". That's what makes it cool. I respect my guitars, but inevitably every one will get a ding or a scratch or what have you. Trying to keep them pretty is a battle that will eventually be lost. When I get around to building a guitar, I'm gonna get a vintage finish, so it wears like the old ones. Of course as a warmoth it will be a player guitar, not a case-sitter, and not one for resell, one to keep for a really long time. By the time I'm ready to part with it (when I'm dead or when I can't play anymore) . . . by that time it should look "reliced", but not by belt sander, by music. Hopefully I will have a responsible and talented child, grandchild, niece, nephew, or young musician friend to pass it on to. As I have recently discovered, "Broken-in" instruments with personal and sentimental value attached are the best kind. I was just given an '80s Custom Shop "60s Style" Sunburst Strat, by the guy who got me off of classical piano and on to Hammond and guitar. It was his first axe, and while it isn't perfect, it is his. The raw wood on the back was made so by his belt buckle . . . the holes for the now-gone locking nut were his too. The missmatched and rusty screws, dings, crackle . . . It plays great, is in perfect working order, and it looks loved . . . and it is. I can only hope to pass on a Warmoth someday that means the same to whoever gets it.

 

[jalane]

About the only scenario in which I'm down with relicing is if it's a new element going on a vintage guitar (that is, presumably, already 'reliced' the old fashioned way).  For example, refinishing a vintage body, I would be in to checking the finish a bit.  Or if you need to get a repro pickguard or a new piece of hardware, etc.  And even then, it needs to be tasteful.  None of this belt-sanded, totally unrealistic looking crap that the Fender Custom shop seems to be selling for $6k+ these days. 

Also, if any of you are familiar with Danocaster, he makes the most amazing, authentic-looking relics imaginable.  But even then, I appreciate his guitars solely for the artistry he puts into the relicing; I can't ever imagine having the desire to buy one. 

 

[Tipperman]

I'm not down with relicing, as much as I like a vintage guitar aesthetic. With all the Nitro bodies I've gotten, I've done it myself, over a long time.

That being said, I REALLY like the "Fender Road Worn" series. Not for aesthetic, but they just feel good to me. My friend Chris has a P Bass from that series, and while I think it looks incredibly fake the neck feels incredibly good in my hands. Plus, over time the finish (or lack thereof) becomes more convincing, although I still very much dislike the "relicing" and a "head start" on it. I just like the feel, mainly. With my eyes closed it's all gravy.

 

[bagman67]

I'm not down with relicing, as much as I like a vintage guitar aesthetic. With all the Nitro bodies I've gotten, I've done it myself, over a long time.

That being said, I REALLY like the "Fender Road Worn" series. Not for aesthetic, but they just feel good to me. My friend Chris has a P Bass from that series, and while I think it looks incredibly fake the neck feels incredibly good in my hands. Plus, over time the finish (or lack thereof) becomes more convincing, although I still very much dislike the "relicing" and a "head start" on it. I just like the feel, mainly. With my eyes closed it's all gravy.

Couldn't agree more.  The Fender Road-worn series exemplifies a completely candy-@ss aesthetic - except that every one I've pickedup  (probably a dozen specimens of strats and telecasters)  has played and sounded as good as I could hope for a mass-produced guitar.  Seriously, they really are nice to play. 

That said - it really seems as though they should put the money into making the shiny new guitars play that good instead of (or, more properly, in addition to)  the very limited-appeal beat-up-looking ones.

Peace

Bagman

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

I don't find a single thing appealing about  a fake "road-worn" guitar, aside from the fact that I probably wouldn't care much if I turned and crashed into a microphone stand or a wall.

I wouldn't buy a brand new guitar with chips and dents in it, like I wouldn't buy a new car with dings, dents, and scratches all over it (unless it was a used classic).

When I purchase a brand new guitar, I want a brand new guitar without a single scratch or fingerprint on it.