first little damage to you're reissue

[dorrus]

Hey there
How do you guys deal with the first scratches/dent's in you're reissue?
I have my r9 for a year now and I'm very careful not to harm it.
But I'm a player, and I hit it against a microphone standard- something yesterday
Its only a very small dent, but it sucks because its the first one.
Maybe that’s why they sell Murphy aged Reissues so you won't notice a few scratches more?

 

[b-squared]

Hey there
How do you guys deal with the first scratches/dent's in you're reissue?
I have my r9 for a year now and I'm very careful not to harm it.
But I'm a player, and I hit it against a microphone standard- something yesterday
Its only a very small dent, but it sucks because its the first one.
Maybe that’s why they sell Murphy aged Reissues so you won't notice a few scratches more?

The first scratch is always the worst. It's the same with cars.

At least you put the first dent in it, not some drunk.

BB

 

[loaded six string]

I had a 05 faded standard that I eventually sold because it fell over and put a small nick in the neck, down to bare wood Probably no bigger than your r9, but..I just couldn't live with it. I know it sounds very anal, and looking back I do realize how silly I was, but it was a MAJOR deal at the time. I just got a R8 that I am very careful with now.

 

[Liam]

I always refer to it as "christening" a guitar. It's always an emotionally painful experience, but until you've done it you haven't fully bonded with the guitar.

Small nicks and scratches are generally repairable (stew mac provide some great hints on this) but I always keep them.

One of the reasons I don't understand fake ageing of instruments is that half the reason I like my older guitars is that all the damage is my fault, I deeply regretted it happening at the time, but it all reminds me of where I've been and played with the guitars. How could you fake that?

 

[Joeydego]

would you put your kid up for adoption if he fell and scraped his knee? A player is SUPPOSED to get little nicks here and there, it adds character anyways. Learn to love the knick. It comes with a story thats adds history.

 

[b-squared]

One of the reasons I love having a relic'd R9 is that I don't even think about minor bumps and bruises.

I can focus totally on what I'm doing, and appreciate that my guitar feels like an old friend, not a sticky, new guitar.

My 2 cents.

BB

 

[loaded six string]

I always refer to it as "christening" a guitar. It's always an emotionally painful experience, but until you've done it you haven't fully bonded with the guitar.

Small nicks and scratches are generally repairable (stew mac provide some great hints on this) but I always keep them.

One of the reasons I don't understand fake ageing of instruments is that half the reason I like my older guitars is that all the damage is my fault, I deeply regretted it happening at the time, but it all reminds me of where I've been and played with the guitars. How could you fake that?

You make a great point about that, I could not physically make my self do this http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/historic-reissues/6272-aged-2007-r8.html
to my new re-issue. Granted, it does look good, but It would be hard to beat up a guitar this bad. Mabey it is just the money part, it takes so long to come up with the cash to buy something really nice, and to then beat it up with the possibility of doing permanent severe damage to it.

 

[b-squared]

Like you posted on the referenced link...I think it looks great.

Have you ever seen the Greeny Burst? It's beat to heck. Any 50-year-old player guitar is going to look like that.

That's an awesome looking guitar--I hope it sounds as good as it looks!

BB

 

[dwagar]

I bought my R9 used. It has nicks, scratches and rash on the back. Bonus is I don't worry at all if I put a nick or a scratch on it now.

IMO, all that just means this guitar was meant to be played.

 

[irunnoft]

Hey there
How do you guys deal with the first scratches/dent's in you're reissue?
I have my r9 for a year now and I'm very careful not to harm it.
But I'm a player, and I hit it against a microphone standard- something yesterday
Its only a very small dent, but it sucks because its the first one.
Maybe that’s why they sell Murphy aged Reissues so you won't notice a few scratches more?

Don't sweat it. I know that's easier said than done. I used to be the same way. I had several dobros and banjos that I bought new and I would always be extremely careful not to ding them up. Wiping down and cleaning my instruments became almost ritual-like. Then one day I took a dobro lesson from Nashville superstar Rob Ickes. When he pulled out his Scheerhorn resophonic (I had the same type of guitar), I couldn't help but notice that it had dings all over the face from where he'd dropped the bar (you play a dobro with a steel). His guitar also had a very noticeable long crack from where it had suffered due to lack of humidity in his home. The fact that he'd put it in an instrument stand next to the vents blowing heat in the winter didn't help either. I asked him about his guitar and how he took care of it and his reply was "I change the strings". That's it. He said he didn't wipe it down or polish it or anything like that. He basically rode her hard and put her away wet, so to speak. I had a good lesson with him, but that day my hundred bucks was best spent on learning the lesson about not sweating the small stuff. After that, I never purposely mistreated my guitar or did something intentional to damage it, but I never worried about polishing it again. I just played it. Seemed like I got better, too because I was less concerned about things like bumping it, getting a mark on it or dirtying it and more focused on playing the ever loving fire out of it! When I sold that guitar a few months ago, it looked like a player's instrument and not a museum piece. Honestly, the best thing we can do for our guitars is play the crap out of them. Any guitar that's really getting played regularly is going to show wear and marks. It's part of life. It was a very liberating moment and I've not missed fretting (pun intended) over my finishes any longer.

 

[dorrus]

Thanks for the answers guys, needed that....I'm all wright now.....

 

[LoKi]

I baby my guitars, in the hardware department. All electronics and parts are maintained to the best of my ability. The rest.... Well..

They take a lot of abuse, road wear, scratches, neck and fingerboard wear, buckle rash, you name it... All part of owning and playing a guitar.

I try to avoid finish checking, but with Canadian winters and gigging, its impossible.

 

[Joeydego]

I tried to photograph the nick I put in the headstock, but its so small it wouldnt photograph. guess its baptized now.

 

[thinkvisual]

A well-played LP is like an old catcher's mit...it needs to be broken in...heck we've already got a headstart with our R's...so let''s watch these beauties get better with age. Someday (long time from now) when you're too old to stand in front of that mic stand with your LP...you'll look at that scratch as evidence that you were doing what it is you loved way back when...

 

[fromthebeginning]

It bothered me years ago it doesnt anymore on my electrics (my number one is Murphy, so it's hard to tell if something happed), what did piss me off is when I put a one in my Taylor 914.

 

[TnT~55]

I haven't had any major issues yet. I accidentally dropped a cable on the top and left a very small dent on it. I just sighed, gave myself 30 seconds of cursing and moved on.

 

[Adwex]

I walked into a boom mic stand and it made a divot in the top of my R7. There's a chip of paint missing. Of course it bothered me, but whattya gonna do, shit happens when your guitar gets played. I'm glad I was the one who did it and not someone else. When I had some minor fret work done by a local luthier, I had him put a drop of clear laquer on it so the paint doesn't chip off more.

Betcha it looks alot worse on my goldtop than it does on your R9.

Besides, chicks like guitars that get played. Maybe that dent will get you laid.

 

[bigtoe]

If it took you a year to make the 1st mark, that's unbelievable! Had my R9 for 2 days when I bumped the headstock on a door. Dented the door, headstock was fine...already had rivet worming on it after a couple of days, though. It's like the first dent on a new car, kills you at first, but after a while, you don't really care. You fix it if it bugs you enough...

I'm with Liam on this, after a while, all the bumps and bruises become a roadmap for you life, and THAT is truly irreplaceable!

 

[Blue Fin]

If you want to keep a guitar perfect, don't take it out of the case...otherwise don't worry about it. It won't change the tone.

 

[fromthebeginning]

You make a great point about that, I could not physically make my self do this http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/historic-reissues/6272-aged-2007-r8.html
to my new re-issue. Granted, it does look good, but It would be hard to beat up a guitar this bad. Mabey it is just the money part, it takes so long to come up with the cash to buy something really nice, and to then beat it up with the possibility of doing permanent severe damage to it.

Man if I was capable of doing this type of quality relicing, I would have done mine already.