Vintage steels.....

A. J. Schobert · From: Cincinnati, Ohio,

Have you ever looked at the Fender Custom shop and see what those guys are doing? Wow! Of course the price is very steep, but I think that the market could stand if a builder would offer a "vintage" model steel, it could look bet-up, worn-out, yet still be reliable and all modren parts yet they look like they have 30yrs of age on 'em.

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

It would take a complete mechanical redesign and probably not be profitable.

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

I bought a couple of re-issue Emmons p/p's and got what you are talking about. The cabinets are 30 years old with a few battle scars but the rest of the machine is brand new. Very Happy

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

There's little, if any, market for professionally re-created "beat up" steels. Steel players are a breed apart from rehabbed ex-rockers and bucks-up left and right coast collectors who love beat-up old guitars. What they call "valuable originals", we call "parts guitars".

They (straight-guitar fanatics) will buy a P.O.S. guitar, and pay top dollar (or some outrageous figure) for it.

We won't.

Personally, I'm glad that particular dimensia hasn't infected us.

Marc Stone · From: Louisiana, USA

Hey now, I'm a life long six stringer and I never fell for that bull. and I'll beat up my own equipment, thank you very much.
Did probably 1/3 of my money making work as an electric player with a MIM tele with a $200 worth of upgrades. Great guitar.

John Poston · From: Albuquerque, NM, USA

Mainly, I'm just glad there are people out there with the skill and knowledge to keep the old guitars in great playing shape. Thanks to their efforts, many guitars have been rescused from the parts box and are in the hands of people who love them.

A. J. Schobert · From: Cincinnati, Ohio,

Kevin I don't think you really have to "completely" redesign the mechanics to make a modern steel look vintage, it could be an all pull guitar, now the ageing proccess I have got no idea on that! You are right to say that it may not be profitable, it would probably reach out to only a select few who could afford it and thus a company may only build one of these guitars a year if that. I would guess a good marketing tool maybe?

Stu Schulman · From: Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)

I have a friend who was one of the "Master Builders" at the Fender Custom Shop,What I couldn't believe was the "Relic" guitars,they would beat the crap out of the parts..cigarette burns,tarnishing metal,It looked like they put a bunch of parts in the Psycho ward funny stuff,except for the price.
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Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

I agree with Donny.

I have and play vintage horns, but I've either restored or refurbished them, with the exception of refinishing. And they were in good to excellent shape when I got them. I value condition, condition, condition.
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Mark Eaton · Posted 6 Mar 2007 2:45 pm

I still can't fathom the Vintage Shop new guitar/beat-to-crap look replica program. I respect the mileage on Stevie Ray Vaughan's beat up Strat, and the history therein-I just have zero desire to own a replica of the thing.

A friend of mine recently purchased a new Les Paul Standard Honeyburst. Despite the heat Gibson has taken for some shoddy work in recent years, this guitar is something to behold.

I just wouldn't get the same pleasure in looking at it if it were a beat up looking replica of something Jimmy Page played 35 years ago.

If I'm buying a new steel guitar or a regular guitar-I want that sucker to look new.

I still think Fender should re-introduce an American-built Stringmaster, but that is another subject all together...
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Dennis Schell · From: Shingletown, Shasta county, Kalifornia

Joe A. Camacho · Posted 6 Mar 2007 4:04 pm

It's some what of a catch-22 with me. I own two Sho-Buds 69 and a 73 and two ZBs 68 and a 69, luckily all four are in great condition, which I like. I also own a Fender Relic Nocaster, which is a little beat up, which I like. I guess I don't like the feel of new six-strings, but like my steels to be clean. Madonna/whore complex? You decide.

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

Players have different tastes.

I don't care for the feel of slickly-finished, new, six strings, nor do I like modern neck profiles or jumbo frets. To me, a lightweight, well-done relic has the feel of just what it's supposed to be...and players who like that feel are the ones who buy and play those guitars (also those who own originals but don't want to play a $50k axe at a bar gig). I have a '54 relic, a '60...and they both work...for me. A MIM Tele to me is a disposable guitar with a knife-edged neck, and plays/sounds like what the price reflects. Same thing with a lot of modern amps - in the process of "neating up" manufacturing, reliability, and cost controls, a lot of tone was lost along the way in many cases.

I play old Fender steels - they have a tone/feel that's not duplicated by anything else. That's something that may someday (if prices keep rising) be ripe for a reissue, but there's a LOT of tooling involved, and Fender's original tooling shop (Race & Olmstead) is long gone. It'd be quite an investment and tough to sell them at anything other than collector prices.

It's a matter of personal taste. There are relics because there's a market for them. There's nothing "wrong" with it - it just *is*.
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Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

Those "Relic" guitars are a ripoff IMO. I trade and deal in guitars a lot and a while back I obtained a relic 1965 Strat that was all factory beat up with tarnished gold hardware and all. I went to Guitar Center and looked at their stock and the same guitar was going for over $2,600. As far as playability, the guitar was OK I guess but I have a MIM Strat that beats it all to pieces in the playability and sound department. I've since traded that Strat for a nice Telecaster. I think people are nuts to pay those big bucks for something that looks old. My old BMI steel was looking bad on the front apron which was black mica so I took it off and got a piece of oak veneer and stained and finished it and glued it on the front of the guitar, now it looks great. When a person is on stage I think they should look as good as they can to their audience and those old beat up instruments just don't do it for me.......JH in Va.
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Brint Hannay · From: Maryland, USA

I think in this regard six-string and steel are different animals.

There are a host of things that put wear and tear on an electric guitar, even if the player is reasonably careful, resulting from the hands-on nature of the instrument (neck wear from the hand itself, belt buckle or jeans stud wear, pick scratches from exuberant strums, etc.) and the fact of its mobility. By mobility, I mean things like the guitar falling off the strap, falling off a guitar stand when somebody trips on the cord on a crowded stage, knocking into something while the player is taking it off, headstock hitting a cymbal stand when the player turns to cue the drummer, etc.

With a brand new shiny guitar, it's hard to relax and just play music, because you're paranoid about getting a mark on it. Once you've gotten that first scratch or ding, that burden is lifted. I think that's one reason guitar players like a guitar that's already beat up.

Steel, on the other hand, is stationary and not hand-held, so apart from drunks knocking mike stands into it, there's little reason for it to suffer cosmetic wear and tear. So there's less market for a "relic'ed" steel.

On the other hand, I think some effort is made to replicate the choice of materials and aging of the wood in the relic guitars, which some believe affects the tone in a good way. And a lot of steel players also value older steels for their sound.

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

Chris LeDrew · From: Canada

Good post as usual, Brint.
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