whats the attraction with beat up guitars?

[Tnfiddler]

Don’t slam me for saying this, but it pains me when people buy really nice, new guitars and due to poor playing techniques, beat them to pieces! I have a friend who “whole lower arm” swings while playing rhythm and drags his fingernails back and forth across the top while doing so. He’s already wearing a hole through the top of his guitar which is a 2017 model and one he’s only owned about a year. It’s such a nice guitar and is looking bad already.

[Mark Stone]

I've always taken very good care of my guitars through the years, and when sold, given away or traded are usually in very good condition. But my Yairi classical, which always received the same level of care, is a guitar I've owned since 1978 (41 years) and it is getting pretty beat-up looking. It's simply the result of use and time combined. It's not a "statement" or used to be cool - it's just a fine old instrument I love to play. I think it's not always about the "show".

[byudzai]

this belonged to my friend Don, who played it from the day he bought it till the day he retired from professional playing/singing 40 years later.

so he certainly wasn't a poseur -- but i guess i would be if i gigged with it. i suppose that's why i don't.

not that it would really matter.

[Russ C]

Reading this I deduce that the coolest people in the world are good players who use nice neat new looking affordable guitars .. unless they realise that, then they're posers, and uncool.

[Silly Moustache]

I am an amatuer. My guitars are played out, and get the occasional ding.

My playing style does not cause scratches above the strings or below the pick guard.

There is the "damage" which is called by a thousand dings and dents putting a guitar in/out of its case, standing it on stands, plugging in (if electrified) etc., and there is the damage made by misuse.

I was once insulted by an American "pro" who called me a "Weekend Warrior" - his term fr semi-pros - who e despised, whereas he was a "Road warrior" -pro musician, lived on the road, wrecked his gear through misuse.

someone here say "be a player not a polisher" - I am both, I was brought up to take care of my property, shoes polished, shirts folded etc. We were not poor, but we had to preserve what we had - and i still live like that.

I don't personally see the point of relicing a guitar to project the image that you are something that you aren't.

[AndrewG]

"Think of the stories it could tell". No, it can't, it's made of wood.

[ChrisE]

I like the look of the Pre-War brand guitars. I’d like to have one some day.

In real life, I have three main guitars. The one I’ve had the longest is my Taylor 314ce. I’ve played it at over 100 outdoor oceanfront summer gigs and it still looks like new.

I thought it was starting to show some pick wear near the end of the pickguard, but it turns out it was just finger goo from me dragging my finger when I strum. Maybe in another 10 years it will start showing some wear.

I forgot what my point was...

Oh yeah—I take care of mine and apparently my playing style doesn’t really cause any serious wear on my guitars, but I do think that worn looking guitars look pretty cool.

[cdkrugjr]

Originally Posted by dwasifar

Did he have his mom, a pie, a dog, and a pickup truck onstage with him too?

For a while ZZ Top did...

[MinorKey]

I cringe if I get even a tiny ding on one of my guitars, tho my 15 year old Fender has a few battle scars. But I discovered my Tanglewood has took a bad bash near the end block strap button. No idea how that happened but I can almost push it through.

[Mobile1]

I saw Michael Hedges in 1994 and his 1971 D-28 sounded fabulous but looked like it had never been wiped down.

It was filthy.

I take care of my guitars, they all still look pretty new.

[Slothead56]

Cleaning aside, he was not well known for being gentle on a guitar.

[TDavis]

I appreciate old guitars that look like “old guitars”. They’ve been well played, and (some) well loved as well. I think of all the places they’ve been, how many years have passed by...and guitars like that seem to “have songs in them”. Plus, they sound amazing. I like the treatment Pre-War Guitars give their instruments too...because I know what they aim for, and it’s part of the marketing to have them look as old as they sound.

But...I’m not at all a fan of some of these Fender custom shop Strats & Teles out there that are fake reliced so it looks like the color was painted over a Sunburst or something...and they charge $1000 or more for that. I’d never buy one. It totally looks like fakery to me, and does nothing to improve tone or playability.

Basically I think it just shows you can afford to buy an expensive...but ugly guitar, and you’re somewhat of a poser. Why not spend that on a really cool (and authentic) old guitar?

[Mr. Paul]

I'll never buy 99.99999999999% of the guitars that are available for sale. Never considered being irritated by what someone else likes!

[Texsunburst59]

I got an AMAZING deal on my '76 Mossman Great Plains a few months at a pawnshop because it was bruised and scared with years of playing.

I used the condition of the guitar to get the the crazy price i got.

I don't know if the Mossman would have sounded as amazing as it does if it was in pristine condition,but in it's present condition, it's one of the best acoustic I've ever played.

My '76 Mossman Great Plains.

[CoffeeFan]

Originally Posted by Ozarkpicker

But...I’m not at all a fan of some of these Fender custom shop Strats & Teles out there that are fake reliced so it looks like the color was painted over a Sunburst or something...and they charge $1000 or more for that.

Years ago, I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the Fender factory in Corona, CA. The tour included the Custom Shop

We'd always joked about how the "Relic" guitars, at least in part, were probably made that way by some acne-ridden kid swinging a belt with a bunch of buckles on it, so we were excited to learn how they do that type of aging.

It was an acne-ridden kid swinging a belt with a bunch of buckles on it...