My favorite China copy relic guitars
This article is just for the dudes, since as I've said before that "relic" guitars are absolute woman repellent. Let's see what we can get for cheap here.
Before continuing, never pay big money for a "relic" job. Buy cheap and stay cheap when it comes to these things.
I can understand guys who spend big cash for guitars that use exotic woods that have grain patterns, grain lines and so on that really pop that would look right at home in an orchestral setting. But as for the relic stuff, paying big for it is a total waste of cash. So again, buy cheap and stay cheap.
Here are the China copy "relic" guitars that are cheap and actually carry the look fairly well for what they are.
Also, I will provide tips at the end for easy ways to "relic" things yourself.
The paisley pattern on a Strat is just cool and always has been. It also takes very well to distressing as well.
It's interesting to note that even if you were to buy a real Fender with paisley, it's not exactly easy to come by. Aside from the Fender Custom Shop, I have only seen Strats in paisley come from Fender Japan.
For Teles, there is one and only one currently made by Fender at the time I write this, the Brad Paisley Worn Telecaster. But no Strat.
Blue Metallic (Candy Blue) Relic Strat copy
Out of the guitars I'm listing here, this is the best one because it needs the least. You'll notice on most China copy relics that the body is done correct but the neck is not. On these, the neck typically does have distressing on it. It still needs a little work (more on how to do that at the end), but still this is pretty darned good.
And who would have thought that blue heavy metallic would relic so well?
Like the previous guitar, the cool thing about this one is that yes, it does typically have both neck and body distressing.
I dig the fact that most who do these don't go too crazy with it. Some who do relics take off way too much finish, but this one is more reserved, which I consider a good thing.
When you look at these, some are an attempt at a copy of the signature Andy Summers Telecaster. So if you see an oddball electronics layout, that's probably why.
And if you do see that, does the switching work the same as on the real Summers Tele? I highly doubt it. The extra switches might even be there for show and do nothing, with the guitar just having a standard Telecaster wiring setup...
...but it has the look. Somewhat. It mostly carries the look for a relic Tele copy.
Last up, we have a Precision Bass copy.
To those that know basses, yes the pickup covers will most likely be wrong from no pole pieces showing - but as you'll see from listings, the back of the neck is usually distressed, and there's one other thing staring you straight in the face...
...a vintage-correct (mostly) bridge cover.
For those of you that aren't bass players, the fact this is a relic that comes with the correct bridge cover makes this worth buying alone. It's one of those stupid pieces of hardware that completes the look but you always have to pay out the nose for. But not on basses like this. It usually comes with it, and the bass is cheap.
Now let's look at ways to relic for cheap.
How to relic
The general rule of thumb for relic'ing an electric guitar is to burn then oxidize metal parts, and stain plastic parts.
I'll start with staining first.
It's ordinarily true that what you'll be staining will be pick guards and knobs.
To stain both, you use instant coffee - but it takes some experimentation to get it right.
For knobs, pour a mug of water (cold is fine), stir in a small amount of coffee, drop a plastic knob in for 30 seconds and then take it out to see how it looks. If no staining happened, stir in more coffee and try again. If nothing still happens, try staining for longer.
For pick guards, the process is the same but it requires a cookie skeet. Make your mix of coffee first, then pour into a cookie sheet enough to where you can submerse the entire pick guard in there. Then stain the same way you would for the knobs.
Where metal components are concerned, the goal is to make them look tarnished and slightly rusted.
Note before continuing: This is dangerous and you can burn yourself easily. Follow these instructions at your own risk.
One of the easier ways to burn off some finish from a metal component is by using a hibachi style grill. Put in some coals, light them, get them hot, then literally cook your metal until that finish starts coming off.
How much heat is required? I've no idea. You'll have to experiment.
How long will it take? I have no idea because finishing varies from part to part.
The easiest one to test your "cooking" on is a teardrop output jack from a Strat. That's a piece of metal that's thin and should have its finish burned off relatively quickly.
After burning the finish off, it's time to oxidize.
To promote oxidation, the easy way is just to leave the metal part outside and have it rained on a few times.
If you don't have the patience for that, you can promote oxidation pretty much instantly by spraying or dipping the metal part in bleach, salt water or vinegar.
How much tarnishing/rusting is good? That's up to you.
What about the body and neck?
The way to do this right is to sand all the finish off yourself, refinish in your nitro color of choice, let cure, then burn it off. This takes quite a bit of experimentation and time to do.
Could you do it with a urethane coated guitar? Yes, but it won't look right. If you're going to do it, you have to take your time, sand-sand-sand, then repaint-repaint-repaint, cure, burn it and hope for the best. Yes, it is as annoying as it sounds. And there are a million ways to screw it up.
And that's why you just buy a cheap China copy relic in the first place. Buy something where some basic relic'ing has already been done, then just finish up the metal and plastic parts yourself. Much quicker, much easier.
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Published 2019 Feb 15