Natural Relic

Bridgehouse

So, your pride and joy.. your “never sell” guitar.. you play it the most and you gig it when you can. It’s almost part of you after all this time. 

Inevitably it gets wear, dings, scratches, knocks and other assorted natural relic marks.. 

Does it intensely irritate you, or do you embrace the wear and tear and love it just as much?

Bridgehouse

So none of you care if it stays pristine or gets bashed and beaten then?

TA22GT

It doesn't bother me either way as long as it keeps playing well.

Bridgehouse

TA22GT said:

It doesn't bother me either way as long as it keeps playing well.

I thought there were a lot more folks on here who liked ding free.. 

Got to say I’m with you, but I thought it would be an interesting question - a Guitar you know is a never-sell - do you play it and risk the dents and dings or try to keep it pristine....?

TA22GT

Personally I have to play it if it is a good instrument.
Otherwise it is like the  china tea set we have in a glass cabinet that's for best but never gets used! Pointless.

Jack_

Bridgehouse said:

So none of you care if it stays pristine or gets bashed and beaten then?

Are we still talking about guitars?

Bridgehouse

TA22GT said:

Personally I have to play it if it is a good instrument.
Otherwise it is like the  china tea set we have in a glass cabinet that's for best but never gets used! Pointless.

Indeed - I honestly thought there would be a queue of people in the “I have real hang ups about dinging my brilliant [guitar] so don’t gig it”

Bridgehouse

Jack_ said:

Bridgehouse said:

So none of you care if it stays pristine or gets bashed and beaten then?

Are we still talking about guitars?

Take yer smut to off topic

merlin

Ding dong. 

jonnyburgo

This is the reason I never buy new, some look better than others reliced -  Imagine a quilted top blue £3000 PRS getting donked on the side of a 4x12. I mean it looks shit to start with (IMO) but would look terrible with a big flake of paint knocked out of it.

Fenders and Gibsons look better a bit weathered.

thegummy

TA22GT said:

Personally I have to play it if it is a good instrument.
Otherwise it is like the  china tea set we have in a glass cabinet that's for best but never gets used! Pointless.

Good analogy!

Personally I would much prefer if my guitars stay free from any serious dings or other damage as long as possible (and find it bizarre that people pay extra to get it all messed up on purpose) but I hate the thought of someone having a fancy guitar hidden away in its case, only brought out occasionally to gently polish. It's an instrument and meant to be played so I'd rather take the inevitable damage to actually play my guitars every day than have an object that's still perfect and shiny in 20 years time.

skunkwerx

I have an ltd explorer, and being a home player only I’d kept it absolutely pristine for a couple years, before it fell on the pedal board and recieved a chip on one of its horns. 

I always liked the fact it was so clean, as many pointy shapes arent.. but, after its earvana nut replacement and a new jack, its got some character now, so I guess I’ll embrace it! 

I wouldnt ever sell it, but again being a home player, its natural wear is impeccably slow, which is kind of annoying, as now it just has one shitty little chip, so it doesnt exactly look worn in or naturally aged.. just a bit wank!

Boromedic

It's like humans, the wear and tear tells a story of the guitars life, if you've owned it from new as well you know the whole story. My number one is a Gibson Les Paul Standard I've owned from new, and it looks better with the various marks and usage it's had.

I didnt always feel like that though! Once at rehearsal I opened the case in a cold rehearsal room and then went outside to get something else from the car. The two cold blasts of icy air through the door crazed the headstock lacquer around the name and tuners and I was well annoyed. I've since grown to love this feature! Hahaha

p90fool

Two pics of mine, a couple of hundred gigs apart. If you saw it in real life both times you'd say it was pretty battered now, but as the photos show, once you're a few feet away from it the wear is barely noticeable. 

People make too big a deal out of little imperfections IMO. 

http://i60.tinypic.com/w0j2bn.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/s3liyp.jpg

Dominic

Wish I had Faeries living in my garden

mrkb

p90fool said:

Two pics of mine, a couple of hundred gigs apart. If you saw it in real life both times you'd say it was pretty battered now, but as the photos show, once you're a few feet away from it the wear is barely noticeable. 

People make too big a deal out of little imperfections IMO. 

http://i60.tinypic.com/w0j2bn.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/s3liyp.jpg

That bridge pickup is so battered all the chrome has fallen off!!  And it distorted the cover!

TA22GT

Ujonnyburgo said:

This is the reason I never buy new, some look better than others reliced -  Imagine a quilted top blue £3000 PRS getting donked on the side of a 4x12. I mean it looks shit to start with (IMO) but would look terrible with a big flake of paint knocked out of it.

Fenders and Gibsons look better a bit weathered.

Maybe there is something in this. I said earlier it doesn't bother me either way but that's not strictly true.
I have a flawless Prs Bernie Marsden Se and I find when I have finished playing I carefully prop it up against my speaker cab whilst carefully avoiding the edge of my pedalboard with the lower bout so as not to scratch it.
I just seem to prop up my Gibson/Fenders without thinking about it.
I caught myself doing it after I posted earlier.
Maybe it's just because its new and sub-consciously I am protecting it.
I even polish it. Now I'm worried!

TA22GT

Dominic said:

Wish I had Faeries living in my garden

WHAT? Doesn't everyone?

meltedbuzzbox

I look after mine as best as I can but I am happy to accept changes in wear and tear. I don't intentionally seek them out though

paganskins

Dings to the neck bother me but that’s more tactile rather than aesthetic. 

My LP Classic is remarkably unmarked considering it’s my most gigged guitar, just a couple of minor dings to the top from dropping leads onto it and light buckle dash to the back. 

BloodEagle

With my never leaving, never going to sell guitars I couldn’t care less about wear and tear, dings or bumps etc - as long as it still plays and sounds the same it’s irrelevant, the same way getting a few marks on a drill through use wouldn’t bother me. If I’ve got an eye of moving something on at some point in the future I will generally try and keep it in good condition, however - I agree people make to big a deal out of small things though - from 2 ft away you probably can’t even notice most stuff