Opinions on Relic'd look from the factory? - Eastman SB59

[Bert]

My 59' LG3 that I sold in Jan. Real, actual relic... at it's finest:

[perhapss]

Get one unrelic`d and relic it yourself the real way, with YOUR life and playing experience.
Then it will be a personalized instrument.

[Lukew]

I am late to this discussion, again!  Nevertheless, I love the look of the antique varnish and it was one of the things that drew me to Eastman guitars in the first place. It set them apart from the rest.  I know it is relicing, but I don't see it that way.  To me it reinforces the hand made process that is not only aesthetically pleasing but gives each guitar a look and personality of its own and that should be what it is all about. It is a craft. 

The subtle cosmetic differences between each new Eastman guitar, including the wood grain of course, mean that no two guitars are the same.  They will still continue to age too, which will only add to their appeal, abuse aside.

I get the anti-relic point of view and there is definitely something to be said about a guitar that is genuinely worn from use, but I don't see it as an issue, both versions look good. The fact is though, that there is no difference in buying a genuinely reliced guitar to an artificially reliced guitar.  The story starts from the day you get it and your personal relationship with your guitar can never really be understood by anyone else, no matter what it looks like.

[Pura Vida]

Luke, completely agree with everything you said.  Eastman's relic'd guitars are done in a unique and artistic way, and each one is just a little bit different.  When I was picking out my E10SS/v, LA Guitar Sales had two guitars in stock.  I purposely withheld my opinions, so I could get Ted's thoughts on sound, and whether he thought either one looked better in person (since the photos don't always tell the story).  As it turned out, they sounded equal, and he picked the same one for looks that I thought looked best in the photos.  Signed, sealed, delivered.

It's funny.  I try not to completely baby my guitars, but I do take very good care of them and avoid dings, scratches, etc. (although accidents happen, so I tell myself I won't overreact when the inevitable happens).  But since this guitar was already relic'd, I still take care of it, but I feel just slightly more comfortable playing it b/c it already looks and feels like a road warrior.  Between that and the amazing responsiveness, it's my favorite Mahogany guitar I've ever owned (although my new E6D may give it some competition).

[Chris Pile]

I think patina should be earned, not applied. Relicing is basically a lie.

[Zeiss]

It's again is one of the subjective subjects like tone.
I personally sent back a Eastman hollow body because I thought the relic made it look like an Ibanez artcore. Cheap looking because they finished over the relicing job.
The guitar sounded ok but it didn't feel played in .
I haven't seen any relative guitars that I had to have yet . I did get lucky and played a custom shop left-handed fender strat that was slightly relic, nice in everyway . I'm not a strat fan per se , if it had been a telly it would have had a new home though .
I figured if a guy in his 60's like me has a hot convertible sports car and a girlfriend half his age , hey more power to him . But it's not me lol. I case my GUITARS and wipe them down after playing . I actually get 3 or 4 out at a time and rarely leave any out when I'm done.
But thinking about putting together a Joe bonamassa telecaster with a slight worn in look but not relic . You never know I could be taking sandpaper to the rest of them after ?

[Rad]

Relic fad, can’t escape it. Cars, motorcycles, furniture and even clothing.  Yup, you can buy jeans for hundreds of dollars that come with big rips in them.  Pretty silly really.  The closest I can remember to this is buying pre faded jeans decades ago.

As for guitars, no thanks.  I will say Eastmans take on the fad is the most tasteful and beautiful but I would still take a standard finish over the relic finish.

I do have a “reliced” Strat and Tele, but those relic dings all came about honestly.  Ok, more like carelessness on my part.  I like the looks of an old guitar that has aged.  That is different than pretend aging.

If only the relic fad included people, I could really have the in looks if that were the case......Being the old man that I am. 

[AlanSam]

Guitars are inanimate artifacts that are either attractive or less than attractive to varying degrees. They are neither honest nor dishonest. Representing a relic'd guitar as something else is dishonest. Representing a 1993 reproduction Gibson L-1 as a 1926 original is dishonest. I have seen many ugly relic'd guitars, including some Fenders with chunks deliberately knocked out of them - the ugliest of the lot. But not 'dishonest'. YMMV

[Jswr450]

I prefer a non relic guitar but ended up buying an SB59V that is relic'd because I wanted what I viewed as upgraded pickups. I think it looks pretty good and is a great instrument. That said, I would prefer the non relic model with the same pickups. I'm pretty against the relic finishes, but I've come to admit that it's really nothing more than a fancy paint job. Heard some say that cracks in the finish can contribute to resonance, which may or may not be true. I can say that I've played resonant guitars and guitars that are dead, and, to me, there is certainly a difference between the two...I'd like to see the violin finish that's not relic'd (maybe they already do that, don't know).

[Pura Vida]

I think they added one or two models at Winter NAMM, which were varnish finish without any relic aging.  I don't recall the details, but remember seeing a couple of videos.  It was encouraging that they were able to do that with electric guitars, and maybe they could do the same with acoustic models.