This is a great scenario where a relic makes sense. It's an old guitar that he did a lot of work to, why would you want it to look like a modern Fender? He did a tasteful job in making it look its age.
I mean the value on this body was already shot. I wouldn't have personally but a little dent after a repair like this doesn't hurt my soul as much as knowing that some idiot routed for a tremelo previously.
@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 No. It's fine. If he set it on fire and let it burn to ashes, _then_ it's ruined. Dan did it to match the neck, so it still looks as worn as the neck. Otherwise, the owner's open to people who think he has a 1 year old body with a 60+ year old neck.
@@JENDALL714 I don’t know if your kidding or what but my answer is this: I wouldn’t use a rock or rocks to do any relic work on my jobs. Dan has his own way of doing things as do I. Everyone does. I enjoy his videos. I don’t always agree with his methods but you can’t deny how well his work turns out. He is an awesome Luthier. It’s the best job in the world if you enjoy it. And I do !!✌🏻🇺🇸
@@Waveluth see i want to be in that kind of work i did a carpentry course and i didn't pass but i still want to do it how did you start out any advice for this 18 year old haha
I watch a lot of woodworkers on RU-vid, and this is my first time seeing this guy. Anyone can teach you how to use a router but this guy had countless tricks he suggested throughout the video, that could only come with true wisdom and experience. Those are some real trade techniques, no fluff.
..yeah, I don't care for that much, either...then again, I don't care for the "patina" thing on old vehicles, leaving them rusty and clearcoating rust and old paint...faking patina on old furniture, "antiquing", etc. ,either.....
I've been a full time Luthier since 1980 (and I stopped being a regular studio musician) building, and repairing / restoring vintage instruments. I have to say this Stewart McDonald Luthier is the Albert Einstein of the Vintage Guitar world. A glass raised to 3 cheers to your craft!!
Dan Erlewine, right? Austin guru back in the 80s, brings back memories...haven't watched video, already afraid to watch the relic-ing part. Probly do like you guys and shut it off early
You can get that $900 Stewmac stone on amazon for 3 dollars... Oh, wait! No way!!! I just found one outside FOR FREE!!!! Seriously though, I think it would be SUPER interesting to do a scientific study to determine the maximum IQ of a person who wants their new guitar relic'ed.
I'm not a fan of "relicing" either, but as a guitar repairman (or a master luthier in Dan's case), it's about what the customer wants. Sometimes these guys find themselves doing modifications or repairs in ways that they wouldn't do if it was their own personal instrument.
That is some really excellent work. Dan's a master. The quick glimpse of the bare wood was beautiful, too bad the customer didn't want a clear finish, especially with that patch done so well - SO impressive. And I so do not like relicing, I think it's cheesy. But what the customer wants, the customer must get. Great one, Dan!
agreed....i simply don't understand why a person wouldn't want a beautiful finish on a great old guitar...just makes no sense. The owner already knows Dan made that magnificent patch so why not honour it with a great paint scheme?
@@krimpoo I agree, I guess that's the difference between people who like old stuff just for being vintage, and people who enjoy keeping care of it and see how long you can make something last. If you're the first, there's no point in having an old guitar that looks brand spanking new. If you're the latter, you'd see the refinish as a good service and let it age on its own from there on. I guess for me, relicing a guitar will always feel the same as scratching the paint on a restored Mustang or 300SL.
i worked with a couple of guys when i was a young man that were wood carvers and were really skilled at their craft. Watching this makes me smile. This is a true art and skill to do this kind of work.
Snouter Agreed. We haven't seen the neck, but hopefully it was in better shape than the body. I'd guess the relicing makes the overall look consistent.
I'm OK with a bit of light sanding back the finish on the edges, but that stone thing was just plain wrong. For me artificial ageing should look like artificial ageing, so the guitar looks good, but honest.
I'm pretty sure it lost its value the minute someone routed it for a Bigsby. It's a player's guitar so I wouldn't worry about it. As long as the customer is happy, it's all good.
"you know what? My paint guy is world class, but since you did a great job restoring the body I'll let you do the painting" "I'm gonna use spray cans and then beat the guitar with rocks and knives" "what have I done"
@@brettduffin8412 Not idiocy, it's art. You may not like it but a lot of people do. It's not stupid, it doesn't danger people or break anything. It's just a visual style. It's a 1953 guitar and he wants it to look like one.
Your craftmanship with guitars is one of a kind art. I love your videos and your knowledge of almost everything of guitars. I really wish I could be a guitar woodworker but Im really allergic to dust. I hope you have teached someone everything you know for us later generations. Best of everything to you.
I bought your book a few years ago and I learned so much about luthier work...it really made a difference! Glad to see your RU-vid channel...a real treat!
@@pattistilwell7424 doing fairly well, all things considered. You, on the other hand, seem to have the edge considering the unusual number of subscribers in spite of a total lack of content.....fare well.
I actually enjoyed that relic tutorial. I laughed out loud when he started to grind it against a giant boulder outside. Makes for great unintentional comedy.
I stopped at the middle of the video just to say this before watching the rest , THIS IS NOT ABOUT MUSIC OR WOOD OR ANYTHING ELSE, THIS ABOUT LOVE AND ART, AND THIS MAN IS ARTIST.
I don't understand why people like their guitars beat up. I have one which I've dropped countless times and it makes me sad because it's so beat up. Still plays like the day I got it, but it just looks unloved. Which is kind of what I see when I see a guitar that's had the relic treatment done to it,
I understand where you're coming from but it's just lacquer after all. If the owner ever wanted it to look mint he could just sand it and paint it again. You could do it ten times if you wanted.
Pure artistry! ;) The way you matched up the grain on that plug was masterful. BTW, I received my StewMac ebony replacement bridge pins today for my new (used) Waterloo WL-S, and they fit perfectly! Glad you guys are around to supply these oddball items, as I could not find the correct ones locally, and you even had the correct catalog-numbered ones that Waterloo recommended to me when I called them up. (I recently bought the guitar used online and it came with a weird set of metal! bridge pins that were totally wrong for a 1920s slot-head Stella parlor recreation.
Alexander - it's people throwing them around roughly and being in a hurry that does a shitty relic job, and the very good ones are hard to tell from real wear. I think that this finishing detail deserves more respect than something like my Nash T52 light relic I got for 1300, Bill Nash is making a great sounding comfortable guitar to just play, not a historical treatment like this 53.
The man is an artist and a surgeon but that "relic" abuse on that masterful and beautiful craftsmanship just makes my stomach turn. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
That perfectly refinished body would've looked weird and totally out of place with the original worn neck and hardware. A good repair is an undetectable repair. A perfect looking body with a worn neck is not an undetectable repair.
@@MonkyMonk729 It makes perfect sense when you have a *Vintage* guitar that you *want* to match with *its own parts.* You want someone to be confused and ask why you matched up a 53 Tele neck with a Squier body, even though it's not a Squier?
Because most mint-looking guitars are pretty boring looking. The ageing gives it some character. It's a much more interesting look. And, most players aren't dragging their guitars all over the world for decades playing bars, theaters and arenas where that happens naturally. I have a few guitars I've had for 20 years that look like new. But, as I've built or bought newer ones, I always go for the relic. It's no more "fake" than buying a re-issue guitar because no way in Hell can you afford an original.
@G. V. Q Going out of your way to destroy your guitar is odd. But to each their own xD I play my guitar enough to where i accidentally "relic" them. Sounds like some OCD thing, i dont think having old and new parts would bother me.
Magnus Kloppenborg I think what Jim Stewart Cohen is referring to is the term "hangover". It also means how you feel the next morning after drinking too much.
Having to be honest, I have no clue how to make a single chord on a guitar. That said, I have watched so many of these videos, simply because of the craftsmanship and attention to detail you guys have. You keep making these and I will keep watching these.
A Squire body is basswood which is a very soft (cheap) wood! This 53' Tele body is ash! Very BIG difference and anyone who knows guitars and woods would be able to SEE the difference!
lol, he's a funny guy. I enjoyed this video and his sense of humor. UPDATE: Just came to revisit this classic video. Well, at least I think it's one of those videos that we can watch forever and ever.
WOW nice job. My Dad bought a guitar when you was a teenager. It was a Gibson Hollow Body Electric/Acoustic and he played that for ever. Then he switched to a Martin guitar. I had an old Kaye Acoustic guitar that my Dad bought me at an auction. I only had 3 strings on it and it was beet up but man I loved that guitar.
Great video Dan, this is one of the best ones yet. I used to relic unfinished violins imported from Germany. Take 'em outside, lean them up against the side of the building and toss a few handfuls of gravel at 'em, use a palette knife to add a few nicks and stain the indentations with either black or brown stain then varnish. First time doing it was difficult... kind of goes against the repairman/luthier's code of adding no further damage to an instrument.
Very interest. I do have a gripe though. As an analogy if someone was restoring an old classic car, lets say a 1954 Ford Mustang would they, after it was completely restored and painted, think that....Hay, this looks too new and then take a hammer to it and bang in some "vintage dents, add a few key sratches, parking dings, some greasy leaky oil spots and then scrape some paint off to get it to rust a bit. I really think not. So, why in the world do it to a beautifully restored guitar. The whole idea of restoration is to bring the item back to its original preteen condition. As for me, I prefere to put my own battle scars on my instrument. A few years of gigs and it will be honestly reliced.
I agree, I'm not a fan of artificially "relicked" instruments either. But, in this case, that's what the customer wanted, and Dan did a good job of it.
I kind of wince when I see it done as well, but here's the thing. Even when in better than new condition, a classic car is still obviously a classic car. When a Tele looks brand new it could be of any age whatsoever. So, I think some people want their vintage Teles to look old, if only so other people notice them. Then a lot of people will ask, and they can proudly say how old their guitars are. After all, what is the fun of having a vintage Tele if no one else knows what it is? Also, we haven't seen the neck. In my opinion at least, a shiny, perfect body would look out of place with a neck and fretboard that show years of wear.
That's the difference between vintage cars and vintage guitars though. Scratches and dents on a vintage car are seen as flaws. They aren't flaws on a vintage guitar. So part of repair and restoration work is, paradoxically, damaging it. Otherwise it won't match the old hardware and neck.
gives both the player and guitar instant (artificial) credibility. I dont agree with it either. if it took 60 years to build up its battle scars why restore them overnight.
Harpotos So I guess you would have put the new looking body with the old neck? lol The would look so bad. Its a real vintage guitar. The body need to mach the neck.
Joe Bramblett - refinishing and restoring the neck and hardware like new would be silly, and destroy several thousand dollars value in the partial originality. This careful relic treatment serves the aim of keeping the guitar as much like a 53 as possible. It's a hell of a job even matching the face grain of the wood plug, that restoration will serve the guitar well and
Harpotos I think your assessment underestimates who this man is. He's spending a full DAY making the wear look quite real and his time is quite valuable. I'd hang out just to learn from what he's doing.
"Partial originality?" It had that with the wrong bridge and pickup. If I go get some 1965 Stingray lug nuts for a 1995 Saturn, then beat up the paint a bit does it become a "partially original" Corvette?
There's nothing like watching a true Craftsman work! I think in almost all professions that's coming to an end because everybody goes to digital instructions. This man is a body work. And as older Generations retire and leave us I'm concerned that real art will leave us as well. Well done!
Loved the video, I especially enjoyed your relic process, it really shows how a bit of creative tool improvisation can go a long way and have stunning results! I’m not a fan of relic-ed NEW guitars, but people need to remember that this is a 53’ tele and in my opinion, as a result, the relic process is NECESSARY for it to look right. If I had one or was going to buy one, I would NOT want my 53’ tele to look like a new reissue, it’s simply not natural to me.
I could not agree with you more. You relic by playing it. Otherwise your a poser. If it's a famous restoration from water damage ok I guess. Just play it and beat it up.
Very interesting. I would never have known how to go about doing a repair like that. Thanks for sharing your talents with us and showing us how to do a proper repair! Cheers from the Midwest (USA)
Good to see you Don have had serious health issues these last 8 years haven’t been doing my guitar work I miss it and hope to get strong enough to start again. Guitar work has never been a “JOB “ to me. It’s how I relax love watching your magic. Take care Mark Schuster
I know that it's a restoration job and you have to reroute a clean opening to fill in a wood slab to restore the original body platform but man does it still look painful to see that drill just sawing away all that original material off that tele body like that!
This luthier, Dan, is the BEST and a nice guy as well. His , high level, skills has not made him arrogant.. (that often happens). A gem in this world..
You have to respect the skills required to take a valuable, highly collectable vintage guitar and make it worth MORE after your modifications. You are an amazing luthier!
I really dislike the idea of 'relicing' guitars, mostly because it is so blatantly dishonest and ego driven. However, if there is one reason that relicising a guitar is acceptable, it is restoring an obviously vintage/veteran instrument. Great restore. Masterclass.
things like this where he saves these sad-story totally unsavable guitars really show how much a fucking artist he is. absolutely beautiful work every single time!
I get painting the front to mask the patch, but, ... I would have been remorse to paint over the nice wood grain on the backside. You Sir, are pure talent in your craft!
I don"t understand the "relic" thing. I have 35 year-old guitars that still look relatively new. I have played them hard in bars, frat parties, etc., but besides a few dings here and there, they don't have any of the excessive "beat up" look that seems to be the rage these days. Not for me.
Randy McRae I take care of my stuff too - it's not that difficult. I've always wondered how some old guitars wind up looking so bad - you really have to be pretty negligent to get it all scraped up like that.
It depends on the owner of the instrument, some vintage guitars are beaten pretty badly and some are in near pristine condition. If the owner wanted it to look like it was used and kept relatively alright it would have some dings in it and scratches. My guitar was made in 2016 and has a few dings in it and a scratch on the headstock, I take care of it but if it gets a dent I probably won’t care.
I know. It's absolutely retarded. "Hey everybody! Look at my vintage guitar. It's vintage. It's vintage and its mine. And it's brand new! I'm so cool! See all this damage? Vintage. That's how you know its vintage. It's a 2019 vintage Telecaster. Hey, don't touch it!"
I will admit I relic-ed my guitar case. I just took a file and went around the sides a bit....Yeah I'm a poser...so what? I also put a bunch of stickers on it.
06:10 Hahahaa! I did the same thing with my raincoat when I was doing an outdoor shoot and needed to cover my new $4000 camcorder. Dan, I love watching you work… I could never get anywhere close to what you do, but it's a joy to watch somebody who can.
Most likely this Tele was beaten up before he started with removing paint and sanding. So this beating up again was meant to put the old guitar as it was before. For me it is ok since it is original '53 and not a 201X guitar. So please stop that hatred, he did a great job!
I don't even like teles really...but this video hurt my soul. What madman does that to a vintage guitar? This guy is clearly a master to have fixed that
