Fender masterbuilders on why relic’d guitars aren’t about “stolen valour”: “Those who like it aren’t thinking, ‘I want this instrument to look like I’ve played it for 60 years.’ They just think it’s cool”
Relicing has long been one of the most divisive topics in the guitar world. Some players adore the worn-in look and feel, while others can’t stand the idea of a brand-new instrument looking decades old, dismissing it as disingenuous.
Fender masterbuilders Andy Hicks and Austin MacNutt know just how heated this debate can get. In a recent conversation with Guitarist, the pair break down why some players are drawn to the beaten-up aesthetic, why others recoil at it – and why, at the end of the day, it all comes down to personal taste.
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“There are people who want an instrument that looks like it’s straight out of the early ‘50s, and then there are other people who see [relicing] as another aesthetic part of the guitar,” says Hicks.
“In just the same way as people have their favorite colors, they also tend to have their favorite relicing level. And it’s not about, ‘Does it look like it actually happened to the instrument?’ Something that you’ll hear a lot of is that relicing is like ‘stolen valour’ – like, ‘Oh, you didn’t earn that relicing.’ But I think people who like it are not thinking of it like that,” he explains.
“They’re not thinking, ‘I want this instrument to look like I’ve played it for 60 years.’ They just think it’s cool.”
Hicks stresses that his role isn’t to police taste but to build the guitar the customer wants. Whether it’s a one-off for a local player or a Custom Shop model for Iron Maiden’s Dave Murray, the philosophy stays the same.
“I always tell people there’s nothing stopping you from ordering a NOS [non-relic] guitar,” MacNutt laughs. “I’m more than happy to not beat it up – so you can have both.”
Despite how they look, relic’ing doesn’t mean simply smashing guitars or beating them up indiscriminately (though Andrew Belew and Seymour Duncan might beg to differ) There’s a surprising amount of care and craftsmanship behind the process, as Fender Chief Product Officer Max Gutnik explains.
Take Fender’s Road Worn models, for instance. Built at the company’s Ensenada, Mexico factory, they’re designed to give players that ‘played-in’ feel straight out of the box, replicating the gradual wear of decades of playing.
“It’s like getting a pre-washed pair of jeans,” Gutnik says. “They’re broken in so they’re comfortable right out of the store, but they’ll continue to wear and become your own.”
“That’s what’s so great about nitrocellulose lacquer. If you have to wait 25 years to get to that place, I mean, you might not get there! So starting that process and having the guitar feel super comfortable out of the gate is what we’re aiming for.”
The post Fender masterbuilders on why relic’d guitars aren’t about “stolen valour”: “Those who like it aren’t thinking, ‘I want this instrument to look like I’ve played it for 60 years.’ They just think it’s cool” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
