It doesn't take much to set the guitar-playing public off. But if there is one subject in electric guitar that’s guaranteed to ruin Thanksgiving dinner, it is the idea of relic'ing a guitar.
For some, a pre-worn finish is a crime against humanity, up there with not muting your guitar when tuning up. Others think it looks cool.
Many might argue either way, but isn’t relic'ing just a case of tying a guitar to the back of your car and doing donuts in the carpark?
Certainly not, and in a recent interview with Guitarist, Fender’s Chief Product Officer Max Gutnik explains how there is a lot more to it – revealing it has taken the Big F’s luthiers years to perfect the relic jobs we see on its Custom Shop builds.
“You know, relicing is hard to do. It’s ironic because people think you can just drop it a few times and drag it down the street,” says Gutnik. “But it’s actually a really intensive process that adds a lot of hours to the guitar.”
Making finish wear look natural is the hardest part. After all, we all play the guitar differently. Where one player’s belt buckle might grind down the finish on the back of a guitar might be different to another’s.
Not all guitars age the same. Look at John Frusciante’s Strat and Mike McCready’s, for instance. Also, it’s got to be playable come the end of it.
“Trying to make the relicing not look uniform is really important,” continues Gutnik. “The processes we use have improved so much: you want the feel and the look of a broken-in guitar, but you don’t want anything actually broken! So we just keep improving that process, the lacquer and paint…”
And the factories themselves. One of the biggest Fender stories in the last few years is the evolution and growth of its Ensenada, Mexico facility.
It was historically crucial for Fender’s business plan, allowing it to offer a range of guitars and guitar amps at a cheaper price point. Now, it’s becoming a center of excellence and is driving some of the brand’s most-popular designs.
It is also where Fender’s new Road Worn finishes are developed – lightly aged nitrocellulose that takes some of the sheen off and puts some (artificial) years on the guitar.
“Ensenada has become a real high-end factory. Thirty years ago, the reason for this factory was quite different from what it is today,” says Gutnik. “You can get great guitars out of Indonesia and Korea, whereas in the past you could only get great guitars out of the USA, Japan... Ensenada was, at first, an inexpensive way to drive volume.
“Today, we’re doing some of the most incredible guitars out of there – the George Harrison Rocky, the Jimmy Page Dragon, the Mike McCready – at a level we’ve never been able to do before. The artistry of the Ensenada factory is really incredible.”
Gutnik argues that there is practical element to getting a pre-relic’d guitar. The old romantics can say you’ve got to do the relic job yourself. But many players don’t have that sort of time in their hands.
To get your Stratocaster looking like Gary Moore’s red Strat, or, perish the thought, Rory Gallagher’s Strat – arguable the ne plus ultra of battle-scarred Strats – it might take decades on the road. What if you only play a few dates a year?
A relic job gives you a head start, argues Gutnik, and besides, with the Road Worn lacquer nitro, the effect is pretty subtle. It’s still a blank canvas for your to put your own wear and tear to it.
“It’s like getting a pre-washed pair of jeans: they’re broken in so they’re comfortable right out of the store, but they’ll continue to wear and become your own,” says Gutnik. “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.”
Pick up the latest issue of Guitarist at Magazines Direct to read the full interview with Gutnik.
In regards to guitars that are authentically aged, though, a handful of Fender Masterbuilders recently shared their theory as to why some vintage guitars are so heavily weathered – and it's not because of acidic sweat.
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