Author Topic: Priistine or road worn? (Read 791 times)

jazzyvee · « **Reply #15 on:** January 08, 2012, 02:17:10 AM »

I try to keep all my instruments in good condition as far as possible. My alembics are immaculate but that's probably more to do with the fact they haven't been gigged heavily. The Orion guitar has been gigged a lot and the matt finish has rubbed into a lovely gloss finish in parts which I really prefer as it brings out the quilted maple more dramatically. I may even take it to Jaydee to get it all buffed to a High gloss finish. I would try hard to keep them all From getting battle scarred but like jimmy says even ferrari's get weathered so I just hope to minimise knocks etc and buckle rash.

I think the coloured ones would show damage more easily than natural wood ones.
Jazzyvee

redcloud · « **Reply #16 on:** January 08, 2012, 05:37:48 AM »

Elwood, now that bass is cool. Any more pics. Who made it?

cozmik_cowboy · « **Reply #17 on:** January 08, 2012, 07:08:07 AM »

My philosophy is that you should do everything you can to keep your instruments pristine - but also that you should use them, which will inevitably leave some marks. The important thing is that said marks are honest wear to a played instrument, which is OK. Buying - and usually even paying a premium for - a pre-damaged new instrument is beyond my comprehension.
As to reusing wood, my grandfather once (some time in the 1st half of the last century) tore down a house that was, then, old and abandoned, and found that the kitchen walls were sheathed with cherry planks. Of course he grabbed a couple, and stuck them in the barn. Many years later (the wood was in Grampa's barn before I can remember, & this was when I was in college) my dad added a fireplace to the house, and extended the raised hearth with benches/storage spaces the length of the room. In order to do this, he got the cherry planks out of the barn & ripped them down to 28 wide! The last few years I've been after him to let me make new ones of cherry plywood, with an eye to (someday) a 12-string Series guitar with one-piece cherry top & back. We don't need no stinkin' BTC! Anyone else like the idea?

Peter

811952 · « **Reply #18 on:** January 08, 2012, 08:25:41 AM »

That's a G&L ASAT bass, made from the Opry floor. Cool. And of course Taylor has their pallet guitars..

As for recovered building materials, in this part of the world there is a lot of oak to be had, but it is some really HARD stuff! I've thought about using some on a few projects. You simply can't buy comparable quality at a lumber yard these days!

To me, road worn is simply a lie, just like autotune and lip-syncing to yourself in concert. Our world has been shaped by marketing to such an extent that kids just assume there is nothing else. *sigh* Now get off my lawn!

Having said that, I can understand not wanting to be the guy with the obviously new instrument when everyone else is playing instrument that have a few years behind them. Heck, I bought my Lakland so that I didn't stick out in an R&B (the old kind, not the modern kind) band playing an obviously modern Conklin or Alembic bass, and I've certainly been guilty of abusing instruments in the past (and probably will be in the future, but not the Alembic).

Ironically, my G&L (which I've shipped to The Bass Emporium to trade) is the most road-worn instrument I have recently owned, but the natural finish completely camouflages the worn spots and finish-checking..

John

elwoodblue · « **Reply #19 on:** January 08, 2012, 01:32:14 PM »

There's one other picture of that ASAT bass about 3/4 of the way down this page:

FenderAvenue.com

G&L's are solid, they seem to take wear well without much complaining

nnek · « **Reply #20 on:** January 08, 2012, 03:01:00 PM »

It seems honest wear takes too long for a lot of people these days... This is a pic of my first series G&L L1000 with a couple decades of gig wear.
I was actually horrified by the wear and at one point put a piece of protective tape over the burn through. The tape then looked worse for the wear so I gave up.... a couple years ago a guitar player remarked about the wear and was amazed that I was the original owner and it was indeed all my own wear from my heavy thumb work while anchoring the fingers on the pickup. (there's a lot more wear on this bass where the finish got thin in the dark burst area from my arm but no buckle rash at all

cozmik_cowboy · « **Reply #21 on:** January 08, 2012, 05:18:39 PM »

Someone - I think Washburn - made a run of accoustic guitars out of oak from the pews they took out when they redid the Ryman after the Oprey moved to Opreyland; each one came with a certificate & a nail from the pew.

Peter

David Houck · « **Reply #22 on:** January 08, 2012, 07:58:27 PM »

Peter; I love your idea of a 12-string Series guitar with one-piece cherry top & back!

cozmik_cowboy · « **Reply #23 on:** January 08, 2012, 09:39:43 PM »

Thanks , Dave; talked to him again today, and he finally seems to be warming to the idea - but either he or I have faulty memory; today he said it was poplar. Still.....

Peter

terryc · « **Reply #24 on:** January 09, 2012, 12:55:26 AM »

The reason I bought an Alembic was for the sound and mine has a couple of surface finish dings but no hard wearing to the instrument. It gets it's regular maintenance twice a year, oil the board, strings etc(just done it all this weekend!)which keeps it looking fine.
Distressed instruments..why?? to satisfy the obsessiveness of someone who thinks he will sound like Jaco if he has his replica bass..I think not!
I mean you wouldn't take a sander or gouges to a old Steinway piano or Stradivarius violin if it was immaculate

eligilam · « **Reply #25 on:** January 09, 2012, 09:21:18 AM »

I bought my Stanley SD new in 2006. I was reeeeally obsessive about keeping it in immaculate, out-of-the-box condition for about 3 years...scuffs and checks simply didn't occur, because I was doing the equivalent of playing it in a Haz-Mat suit.

Eventually, some wear marks developed on the pickups and one of my kids knocked it over and dinged the back of the neck. It actually felt liberating to finally have some mild imperfections on it. After that I was much more lenient on myself when playing. Then, I busted it out at some gigs and shared the glory with the masses.

These days, the Stanley gets even more playing time than when I first got it. Sounds better and better, too.

benson_murrensun · « **Reply #26 on:** January 09, 2012, 11:52:31 AM »

Road worn. Hmmm, I have a Harley, I have an Alembic, I have some rope, I could.... Yeah, right.

sonicus · « **Reply #27 on:** January 09, 2012, 12:00:56 PM »

How about BUG BLASTED Tie the bass to the front end and let the unfortunate insects create a natural work of art , then send it to spray and a nice clear coat to preserve this natural MOJO !

sonicus · « **Reply #28 on:** January 09, 2012, 12:06:31 PM »

WOW , my last post was at HIGH NOON !

smokinbear · « **Reply #29 on:** January 09, 2012, 06:24:28 PM »

High Noon.......Way better than 4:20pm. Who wants to wait that long? Take care to take care when using your instruments but gosh some honest wear ain't no thing. Paying for it ....Crazy.