Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Isn't this a little bit like paying somebody a lot of money to beat you up,.... oh, wait a minute, there's people that like that too! There's all kinds of people spinning around on this little rock.....

Whoa, take a look at the back ... YIKES!

Maybe the guitar is like the one mentioned HERE

That would justify the price.

Now that's a guitar that's worth it's weight in...

Ick.... it's a disgrace. It just blows my mind that people would even consider paying ridiculous sums of money to buy a new guitar that has had the snot pre-beaten out of it. It's not like it's the REAL Blackie (which WOULD be worth it, to somebody).... I simply do not understand the "relicking" concept at all--nothing like fake mojo! Blecccccch.

The whole concept is ridiculous IMO

The whole relic thing always opens up a spirited debate. I've owned several including a Fender Nocaster that I thought was pretty lame. I have owned several relics built and "aged" by Bill Nash..I like them..they have that favorite old pair of jeans feel to them plus he loads them up with the best electronics lately with Lollar pups that are wound special for him ..also a lot less $ than the Fenders.

In the mid 70's when John English(FenderMaster Builder) worked for Music Man, I had the chance to see and handle "Blackie". It was a well played refinish/refretted Alder Body Strat that at that time was Eric's #1 Guitar. It looks as though it hasn't changed over the years, so be it that Fender makes Vintage Replicas and people with tremendous amounts of money are able to buy these to fulfill their dreams.. More power to them I say...A lot of these go to collectors in Japan and Germany, pre-ordered and paid for.

My bottom line is this:

Commercial success bears little (if any) relationship to creative or artistic merit. This is true in music (Britney Spears), in art (Thomas Kincaid), in electronic media (Dukes of Hazzard), and it's true in the design and manufacture of all sorts of consumer goods. (All the **** seems to come out around Christmas, too!)

Fender's early success was tied to commercial savvy AND revolutionary design and engineering. Not so any more.

I often wonder if Fender's Custom Shop (nice choice of words. Conjures up visions of a small factory with a half-dozen very creative trolls producing lovely and special instruments...) isn't the size of the state of Rhode Island.

Suffice it to say, at least for me, I'm glad Rickenbacker replicated Lennon's 325 and Harrison's 360. I'm also glad they didn't attempt to charge 24K.

And built them well, with no fake "mojo" or other such nonsense, and charged a fair price, and...

Yeah, I would have been hacked if I had bought my Hamburg only to find out they had spray painted it black with Rustoleum.

And Rickenbacker didn't throw them down a flight of stairs before selling them, which was also very nice of them (IMO.)

Going back to a previous thread, I believe in the free market, but also believe that at the extreme this goes into bizzaroworld, where PT Barnums find their one born every minute.

A concise way of putting it into perspective, Mark.

I must admit, as I'm sure Paul's aware from my earlier comments re Fenders, that I have absolutely no problem with the concept at all, although it's no so much related to owning a guitar like so-and-so, as just liking a guitar that looks and feels a particular way. The only thing that bothers me is the price....but I guess if you've got the money, and that's what you want, it's up to you. Personally I think I'd buy a regular Japanese Strat and drag it round the garden for a while instead and spend the money I'd saved on several holidays, a vintage Ric or two and another Alembic...