Distressed Guitars Versus Vintage Originals

Every guitar player wants to rock and look good while doing it; but not every guitar player has the time, energy, commitment, or playing prowess, to allow their instrument to reflect years of love and abuse. The prized instruments of famous rock guitar gods like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and others, are weather-beaten and worn from many years and many miles of touring and playing. These instruments, nearly as famous as their owners, have retained their mojo, their spirit or soul, the intangible prowess and feel that has allowed them to spawn some of the singularly memorable riffs and grooves that have made their owners famous and wealthy. In the last decade, a new phenomenon has become a major player in the worldwide guitar market. An idea originated in Fender Musical Instrument’s Fullerton, California, Custom Shop, has really taken off. Newly manufactured guitars are intentionally distressed, stripped, and weathered, or broken in, in order to (hopefully) look like and play like the original vintage instruments they are modeled after. While the amounts paid for these instruments are high, $2000 and more for some, their prices are nowhere near the amount one would shell out for the original vintage instruments they are patterned after, with true vintage instruments often fetching $250,000 or more.

Who buys these guitars that have been artificially aged? The same people who enjoy retro-styled motorcycles, broken in jeans, and other similarly antiqued items. What could be better than a guitar that looks and feels like it has been played and loved for many years, but is essentially new, possessing the electronic advances that make newer instruments less prone to unwanted electronic buzzes, hums, or feedback, that often plague their vintage counterparts. Many rock stars have actually purchased these relic imitations to take on tour, allowing them to leave their original treasured instruments at home, protected and safe.

The distressing process entails everything from whipping the instrument’s bodies with belt buckles, administering industrial solvents to the paint, and taking sandpaper to the fretboards. Some, like the replica of Clapton’s “Blackie”, are even burned to replicate cigarette burns from the original. The value of these artificially distressed replicas keep going up, with collectors buying them as quickly as they are produced. Whether a vintage original or a replica is what you desire, local guitar shops like Austin’s Strait Music Company stock many options for those looking for a new or “new-to-you” axe that will provide years of enjoyment and opportunity to add one’s own “mojo” into to the mix.

About the Author: Clint Strait is a third generation owner and assistant manager of the Strait Music, Austin Music Stores, providing the best selection of electric guitars and accessories to Austin and the surrounding area for over forty years. For more information please visit www.straitmusic.com.