Relicing a paul reed smith.
 

I know this is a tad off topic since it's not an acoustic guitar but....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1eA5_4gyQw

There's this video on youtube of this luthier going to town on this reasonably new looking PRS (by the sounds of it his client asked him to do this).

I want to know what you guys think? is this the definition of insanity doing this to a PRS? I'm just curious because over here in Australia, even an entry level PRS will easily carry a price tag of around $4,500 AUD.

...just when I thought a PRS couldn't be uglier!

I think it is dumb.

I think relics can look really neat on certain guitars, mainly Strats and Teles. That one doesn’t look very good to be honest. I own a couple relic Teles and the main appeal to me is the neck, they feel already broken in, like it’s a guitar you’ve played a million times the first tome you play it.

I've often thought that myself.... Relic jobs seem to look amazing on Fender Strats and Teles but it doesn't look right on other guitars.... if this luthier was doing this to a fender strat it would seem to make more sense in a weird way. but doing this to a Paul reed it just doesn't seem right (again, in a weird way).

Moronicus, meet Stupidicus.

I don’t like PRS guitars (or amps or pickups) so my suggestion would be to not agonize over the details and do it more quickly by throwing it out the back of your car or truck while driving on the highway. Safety first, though, so be sure there are no cars or pedestrians around. You might consider dragging it on the end of a rope if the ground is loose like with dirt or gravel.

I think this works better on models with bird inlays as opposed to dots.

You can thank me later.

ugh

it doesn't look old because it's still mirror gloss between the damage... it just looks like someone beat it up... I have been playing to 25 years and I have done a single piece of damage anything like the dozens that guitar now has. If I'd owned one guitar all that time it would not look anything like that relic.


I like what Gibson did on my hummingbird vintage (vintage appointments, a thin finish, and some very gentle, very fine grade wire wool to knock back the shine), but beyond that, it's not for me.

I am not into relicing at all, nuff said
BUT honestly I could not help being distracted by his head tattoos :D

I have nothing nice to say

...then I will say it ....

Tony

To me relic-ing is just a finish choice, like sunburst or candy apple red.

That said, what a horrible job of "aging" that (shudder) PRS. In no way does that mimic natural stage use. Just awful.

BTW, I would never call that fellow in the video a luthier, a term that's used too loosely.

not what I'd do by any stretch of the imagination, no matter how much Gin and Tonics I had consumed.

But the beauty is in the eye of the "owner".. it's his money, so have at it..

To my mind, it’s lying. Whoever does this is trying to lie about the age and wear on his guitar, and, by extension, lie about his age and experience as a guitarist. Buy your guitar. Play same. Rinse, repeat for many years. In time, your guitar may take on the look of Glen Hansard’s or of trigger. To try to accelerate the process is falsehood. Others may differ.

My thoughts as well.

In fact, why does your guitar NEED to look old to give you credibility. If Willie Nelson broke down and bought a brand new $20,000 super custom Martin guitar would he be viewed less favorably on stage?

The whole concept is absurd to me.