RhoadsScholar Posted December 17, 2018 Posted December 17, 2018 I saw this listing recently. https://reverb.com/item/16638140-heritage-custom-shop-aged-h-150-electric-guitar-gold-top I'll save some money and take a new gold-top. Or save even more and buy a gently used gold-top. I was wondering what others thought.
AP515 Posted December 17, 2018 Posted December 17, 2018 Not for me, thanks... If my 150's end up checking then fine, but I'm not going to age them prematurely. I prefer honest wear. Oh, and the price is...well...unmotivating...
HANGAR18 Posted December 17, 2018 Posted December 17, 2018 I would have no problem buying a guitar like that. But I wouldn't go over $800.00 for it.
bolero Posted December 17, 2018 Posted December 17, 2018 I think relic guitars are a waste of time, and money I prefer to age them in realtime, with real use
TalismanRich Posted December 17, 2018 Posted December 17, 2018 Here's a guitar that has real relicing, and it's priced many hundreds lower! The funny thing is, after 30 years of use, it doesn't look like the fake checked lacquer of the gold top above. Maybe it just needs to be left in the trunk of the car a few times this winter to make it crack and craze.
JeffB Posted December 17, 2018 Posted December 17, 2018 My H150 is way more relic'd than that! Its cool the way guitars are worth more the older they look.
tulk1 Posted December 17, 2018 Posted December 17, 2018 USD$4000. 3 pictures. Artificially aged. And whether I'd use it jamming in a basement or performing in arenas, it sure is hard to resist .........
kennyv4 Posted December 17, 2018 Posted December 17, 2018 I'm not a fan of relic guitars. I do like vintage guitars.
HANGAR18 Posted December 17, 2018 Posted December 17, 2018 I think the seller is going to be stuck with that guitar for a long time.
yoslate Posted December 17, 2018 Posted December 17, 2018 Is the crooked high "E" tuner part of the relic job? I could see where an awful lot of a craftsman's time would go into that....
FredZepp Posted December 18, 2018 Posted December 18, 2018 I'd play it. Most of my music equipment is older and I don't need really shiny , new stuff. A more worn in feel is fine with me, I prefer it. The crooked tuner is funny... a nod to their past. My first used H-150 was off of craigslist and I tried to get the guy to lower the price due to a crooked tuner. Then I looked online and pretty much all of the H-150s were like that. I would think that they would have corrected that by now.
HANGAR18 Posted December 18, 2018 Posted December 18, 2018 4 hours ago, FredZepp said: I'd play it. Most of my music equipment is older and I don't need really shiny , new stuff. A more worn in feel is fine with me, I prefer it. The crooked tuner is funny... a nod to their past. My first used H-150 was off of craigslist and I tried to get the guy to lower the price due to a crooked tuner. Then I looked online and pretty much all of the H-150s were like that. I would think that they would have corrected that by now. Play it? Sure. But would you pay $4000.00 for one that was all f'd up like that?
FredZepp Posted December 18, 2018 Posted December 18, 2018 25 minutes ago, HANGAR18 said: Play it? Sure. But would you pay $4000.00 for one that was all f'd up like that? If I was spending that much... would I pick that one over a new shiny one? Possibly.... depends on how the two felt. How much extra would I pay for relicing ? Now that is the question. It's hard to answer, as I'm not in the market for one right now.
jim777 Posted December 20, 2018 Posted December 20, 2018 I don't particularly like the look of that one, but if it is a NAMM one off it is probably very well built. I wouldn't pay that money for it without playing it though.
Spectrum13 Posted December 20, 2018 Posted December 20, 2018 On 12/17/2018 at 5:27 PM, HANGAR18 said: I think the seller is going to be stuck with that guitar for a long time. How does the math work? A new relic 150 costs $1,000 more than a brandy new. If the new owner keeps it for three years and then posts on reverb, will the asking price be more than a mint three year old 150? If the relic gets the crap played out of it will the value increase or decrease and how does the buyer tell?
TalismanRich Posted December 20, 2018 Posted December 20, 2018 The problem that I see is that the relicing is all about the "lacquer checking", then a few dings and stuff, maybe even rub on the neck for "authenicity". Now, I've got a 45 year old Guild S100 with nitro finish and its only got a couple of cracks showing by the edges of the pickup routs, and I've got a 30 year old H140 that hasn't got any checking. Its got dings, and the finish is dulled, but you won't find cracks on the front or back. In no way does it looking like the goldtop above. Its a bit like buying a pair of jeans with rips in the legs and knees. Its not like it gives you street cred, or suddenly makes you a hot guitar player. Its all window dressing. Then again, I saw the Dan Rather interview with Keiffer Sutherland and he was wearing a pair of jeans that looked new except for the two big rips in the knees.
Gitfiddler Posted December 20, 2018 Posted December 20, 2018 I agree that the whole notion of 'aging' or 'relicing' a brand new guitar is ludicrous. There is no way I'd knowingly purchase an artificially aged guitar. Since the early 2000's Gibson's Custom Shop produced a line of their best Reissued Les Pauls, relic'd by Tom Murphy or others at the factory. The whole mystique of buying something that resembled a 50 or 60 year old guitar that has been mistreated, beat up, left out in the cold or drug behind a pickup, escapes me. But then I'm probably more OCD than most guitar buyers. I wipe down my guitars before and after each session, so maybe I need to seek professional help. The brand new aged Heritage 150 Goldtop for sale at Bananas At Large may be special to buyers who dig that relic thing. It looks very much like a Gibson's Custom Shop type of aged finish with the razor blade slicing to the finish, and strategically placed bumps and bruises. As stated by Jimm777 above, this may be a very nice player, especially made for NAMM. Since it is Heritage's very first foray into producing a hand-made relic instrument, maybe there will be a buyer eager to plop down almost $4k for it. Time will tell. I bet the owners will be watching (and reading) about this specific guitar. If it sells quickly, they might view this as a new niche market to expand. If it languishes on the shelves of a long time Heritage dealer like Bananas, then the concept may be scrapped. The same idea was behind their original limited edition uber curly top H157's produced shortly after Bandlab took over Heritage. Those were/are truly beautiful instruments, worthy of a higher entrance fee. But even the most fancy, dressed up guitars Heritage churn out have a much smaller market compared to the typical Heritage buyer. It took a while for even those to sell. And finally, Heritage has always had a few limited edition models, special upgraded instruments, Anniversary models, even a special 'after the fire' run and other one-offs. All of this to keep interest among us GAS afflicted guitar buyers...and to help their bottom line. And for the most part all of the special runs/editions/etc. were sold...eventually. Only time will tell. Stay tuned what other ideas Heritage comes up with to move inventory and keep the doors open.
FredZepp Posted December 21, 2018 Posted December 21, 2018 So, I failed to notice in that original listing that this was aged by Edwin Wilson. He came directly from Gibson's Custom Shop and is admired by many that deal in the high end electric guitar market. Search his name and you'll find many forums talking about him leaving Gibson and how much respect he is given in the industry. When it comes to aged Custom Shop guitars , you'll find they sell in much higher ranges than non-aged in most cases. You can add an extra $2K to that if it is aged by Tom Murphy. Although it doesn't appeal to everyone, it has been a part of the market of guitar selling for quite a while now. Buy a $10K or $20K Custom Shop Les Paul and it's likely to be aged. Possibly a replica of a famous original burst etc... But it's understood , it's not for everybody. So this one was possibly the first Heritage guitar ever aged by Edwin Wilson. Is that worth a premium over a stock production H-150..? I'd say so. Is this a market that Heritage can succeed in? That remains to be seen, but I've got a feeling that the 150 in question is a fine instrument on it's own merits. In any case the listing has ended now....
HANGAR18 Posted December 21, 2018 Posted December 21, 2018 57 minutes ago, FredZepp said: So, I failed to notice in that original listing that this was aged by Edwin Wilson. He came directly from Gibson's Custom Shop and is admired by many that deal in the high end electric guitar market. Search his name and you'll find many forums talking about him leaving Gibson and how much respect he is given in the industry. When it comes to aged Custom Shop guitars , you'll find they sell in much higher ranges than non-aged in most cases. You can add an extra $2K to that if it is aged by Tom Murphy. Although it doesn't appeal to everyone, it has been a part of the market of guitar selling for quite a while now. Buy a $10K or $20K Custom Shop Les Paul and it's likely to be aged. Possibly a replica of a famous original burst etc... But it's understood , it's not for everybody. So this one was possibly the first Heritage guitar ever aged by Edwin Wilson. Is that worth a premium over a stock production H-150..? I'd say so. Is this a market that Heritage can succeed in? That remains to be seen, but I've got a feeling that the 150 in question is a fine instrument on it's own merits. In any case the listing has ended now.... Eureka! THat's how we can get people to pay more for used/pre-owned mint condition Heritage guitars! We'll just get Tom to completely F**K them up and then charge six times what they go for new!
FredZepp Posted December 21, 2018 Posted December 21, 2018 1 hour ago, HANGAR18 said: Eureka! THat's how we can get people to pay more for used/pre-owned mint condition Heritage guitars! We'll just get Tom to completely F**K them up and then charge six times what they go for new! Yeah.. I know. I had thought that maybe with Gibson's success with this vintage relic kick, it may be something that PRS could incorporate. It might be interesting. But then again, vintage isn't really their market, they are kind of known for being flashy and shiny so maybe not.
HANGAR18 Posted December 22, 2018 Posted December 22, 2018 4 hours ago, FredZepp said: Yeah.. I know. I had thought that maybe with Gibson's success with this vintage relic kick, it may be something that PRS could incorporate. It might be interesting. But then again, vintage isn't really their market, they are kind of known for being flashy and shiny so maybe not. Well, PRS's new push these days is compete against the actual vintage instruments of the 1950's and stuff. Not the reproductions that Gibson is making but the actual guitars from the 50's that no one who doesn't have a million dollars in their bank account will ever get a chance to play, but the actual 60+ year old guitars. Paul Reed Smith himself once said that he has played one of Jimi Hendrix's guitars as well as a bunch of other original guitars from the 50's. That is what he says he is competing with when his company builds models like the McCarty 594. All the vintage mojo in a brand new guitar with modern consistency that the original guitars didn't have 60 years ago. Vintage tone? Yes. Relic'd appearance? No.
zguitar71 Posted December 30, 2018 Posted December 30, 2018 Here is some real “relicing.” It didn’t cost anything other than 8 years of great memories, meeting new people and rocking my ass off. There is no way I’d sell it for $4k either, to me it is priceless. This relic job has actually made me money.
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