Ethan Smith's recent Wall Street Journal piece - "The Easy Way to Hard Rock: 'Distressed' Guitars", does a great job exposing the relic phenomenon to mainstream attention. It could also be a windfall for independent builder & humorist, Bill Nash (one of my fave relic guys), whose comments are featured in the article. Also mentioned is Tom Murphy, who designs aged model formats for Gibson.
The article pretty much includes all viewpoints and guitar industry sectors. Ya gotta read it!
excerpt:
The article pretty much includes all viewpoints and guitar industry sectors. Ya gotta read it!
excerpt:
"...For most people who buy relics, the idea is simply to own a cool-looking guitar. "A lot of the guys we sell to are dentists or lawyers or whatever," says Dave Rogers, owner of Dave's Guitars in La Crosse, Wis., where Fender's Relic line accounts for more than 12% of its $5 million annual sales. "They're never going to put in the wear and tear to make it look like a real one."
"I always use the pre-faded blue jean analogy," says Tom Murphy, whose Guitar Preservation Inc. does antiquing work for Fender's main competitor, the Gibson Guitar Corp. "We know what that's all about: Why wait? Just buy 'em like that."
Some relics are so painstakingly aged that the end result is scratch-for-scratch copies of legendary guitars owned by real rock stars. This even appeals to the rock stars themselves, who have put in decades of sweat equity to create the real thing. As their prized vintage instruments have become increasingly valuable and fragile, some have begun using replicas of their famous guitars, especially on long tours..."
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