CASE QUEEN OR RELIC? 3 REASONS TO RELIC YOUR GUITAR

How do you treat your guitars? Do you prefer a battered workhorse or an unblemished work of art, as fresh as the day it was made?

Keeping a guitar in pristine condition has its advantages if you’re planning on selling it one day, as you’ll get a higher return. Regular maintenance also means it will stay in good working order. You don’t want to be letting your hardware rust, your neck warp or your electrics get all crackly from dust and grime.

But assuming you look after the basics, here’s three good reasons you shouldn’t worry about a few paint cracks, bumps or scratches.

1. It looks cool 

Would Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstrat, with its thrown-together appearance, have been half as cool if it looked like it had come straight from the shop? Or Stevie Ray Vaughan’s iconic number one strat with its worn paintwork? There’s a big market in new guitars that come pre-reliced, as players seek to get some of that mojo from playing a vintage axe, or an exact worn copy of their favourite guitarist’s instrument.

2. The first bump is always the worst 

Your precious baby is no longer perfect. If you’ve just bumped the edge, or knocked the tip of your flying V, it won’t make a blind bit of difference to the sound or playability. After your second and third bump, though, you’ll start worrying a lot less about a few cosmetic blemishes and can finally relax and enjoy your guitar. Get that first bump out of the way and you can start to breathe when you’re playing!

3. You’ll let yourself go more

3. There’s psychological advantages to letting your guitar get a little beaten up. If every time you pick it up, you’re more worried about damaging it, that’s going to stop you feeling free with it. An instrument can be a work of art, but first and foremost it’s an instrument – a tool to be used – a tool with a purpose – and that purpose is to make music. Let yourself go a little while you’re playing if you want to unleash your creativity. Even if you’re not writing or performing your own music, you want to concentrate on your performance and forget anything else that pulls you out of the zone.