Do you care when your strat gets beat up?

[sarNz]

My strat was pretty immaculate... until it slid off my bed onto the rock solid linoleum floor in my dorm room... It landed as if I were holding it by the neck and dropped it. Luckily though, it didn't hit the strap button at all. It was a bit further down the body and chipped off about an inch long of paint and put a hefty reshape dent in the wood. Knocked it out of tune, and for some reason my aftermarket pickup that came with it got knocked out of the cover. And I can't figure out how in the world it was in there in the first place. So now I just taped it to hold it on.

It sounds worse than it really is though. It fell about 2 and a half feet and theres just a big dent and decent sized paint chip. But I don't really mind for some reason. Maybe cus this is my favorite guitar, one I'll keep forever. **** happens, and I guess it's now reflected in it! But it's ok, I got a new black pickguard and nice matte silver locking tuners on the way. Like giving her an ice cream after she fell and scraped her knee. Lol

[S. Rock]

as a general rule, I've always taken care of my guitars. they're so old now that they are worth something. the two that I'm talking about is a '59 Gretsch and a '73 Les Paul. I do have one guitar, it's not a Strat, that did receive some damage once. it happened when I was stationed in Germany. I had been down town and I was walking back up the hill to my barracks. it was cold and I had the guitar slung across my back with my hands in my pockets. it was late and so I was walking in the middle of a little farm road. the next thing that I knew the bottom strap peg came out. it was dark and I couldn't see. when I got inside I saw that the body had cracked right where the side and top join. I got some good ole Elmers glue and glued it back together and used some wide adhesive tape to hold it over night. it's still holding. I still have the old guitar, too. good thread !

[sarNz]

Cool story! Was it an acoustic guitar that happened to? I'd be very sad if it was something big, like damage on the neck, or cracking the headstock. But some dents and chips in the body ain't much to me!

[thaus]

As long as you don't do any structural damage, your guitar should be fine and heck, it is on it's way to being reliced!!

[S. Rock]

Originally Posted by sarNz

Cool story! Was it an acoustic guitar that happened to? I'd be very sad if it was something big, like damage on the neck, or cracking the headstock. But some dents and chips in the body ain't much to me!

yep, it's an accoustic. I bought it in the Post Exchange (PX) in 1972 for $30.00. I've still got it, too. the neck on my little Strat reminds me alot of the neck on the old Framus. it doesn't have a big sound, but when you're in the middle of nowhere a guitar of any kind sure helps.

[sarNz]

Originally Posted by thaus

As long as you don't do any structural damage, your guitar should be fine and heck, it is on it's way to being reliced!!

The way my friend put it :

Just remember, that's YOUR chunk of paint that got knocked out of the guitar.

[Zman]

All I can say is that it drives me nuts! My guitars are all prisitine (16) electrics, and I am extremely careful with them. I recently sent one in for a set up and when I got it back it had a chip in the front. I immediately called the store and they said it was like that when it came in. I am a very good customer and told them in no uncertain terms that it did not leave my house that way. I was pissed but I decided to fix it myself. I went out to about a dozen hobby stores and found a perfect match to the pearl white color. Using techniques that I perfected with the paint chips on my Muscle cars I touched it up and you could barely see the chip. A day later the shop called and said they had a brand new replacement guitar already set up for me if I wanted to exchange it. I did the swap with them because I knew there was a chip in it.
Don't get me wrong I do like a naturally reliced guitar, and would buy a vintage model if offered but I could not do it myself. I am just that way!

[sarNz]

It's definitely good to be careful... I am a little too careless with them. But I can't help it! I put it on my bed for one second to pull the strap off another guitar, and BOOM! it hit the floor. I guess the reason I don't really mind is I plan on keeping this guitar forever and expect it to happen sooner or later, though I would rather have it happen later than sooner!

[stonevibe]

I have a couple all cased up and in great condition, almost showroom state. Then I have the guitars that I play everyday and go out with me live...

They are all beat up and road warriors. They sound great and look loved.

[Orlando Mike]

I was at my local GC yesterday, and saw a Gibson Robot Les Paul that a customer had knocked over, set back upright and left the scene...the headstock was 90% sheared.....gotta take care of your stuff if you want it to last, I guess. I went straight home and took all of my guitars off the stands and put them where they belong...in the cases....from now on, only 1 guitar out of the case at a time for me!

[raf66]

I take excellent care of my guitars as both of them are fairly high-priced items. I never play in public so there's not much chance of beating them around at a bar. Whatever aging and relic'ing they go through they'll do it with grace.

[Papa Joe]

I try to take good care of all my gear,but some of my guitars and amps have been subjected to less than ideal conditions,in and out of cars,wild rough slop chutes,and drunken friends..But since I've quit gigging it's much easier to keep them safe..PJ...

[bchaffin72]

I try to be careful with mine, but things happen and I'm no stranger to doing some minor repairs and scratch removal. Does it bother me? Yes. Do I cry over it? No.

Now if I had a rare, valuable model, I'm sure I'd feel differently but if I had one, it would probably spend alot of time in a nice, safe location.

[softmonkey]

The older I get the more of a routine I get into about making sure I don't ding or harm my guitars. When I was younger I'd leave a guitar resting against an amp or chair or whatever. The idea is to look at it like it's a newborn baby. With some people, the way their guitars get damaged, the infant would be dead, its fontanel completely caved in. I am forever mystified how people can drop a guitar or let them fall when they would not let that happen with, say, a tray of food bought at a ball game. I have one guitar I don't care about dinging. I got it beat up 20 years ago and I leave it out and don't wash my hands or wipe it down when I play it. My nice guitars are always in their cases until I pull them out. Hands clean. And I treat them like newborn infants. Knock on wood, I have not as much as bumped a guitar that's important to me going on 16 years. One thing to watch out for: when playing onstage, some crazy dude might make a sudden move and swing his headstock into yours. That's happened a couple of times.

[StratmanNick]

Always been really annoyed when I've doinked a new or newish guitar. It's inevtable though, going to happen at some point.

Oddly enough once this has happened to the guitar the following doinks it gets aren't half as irritating, guess once its had one then its not in showroom condition anymore.

Worst one I've had happened to my dear old Fender Squier. It was in its cheap but hard case in the boot of the car when the car was written off in a motor accident. The trem was attached and in the accident had been compressed against the top of the body in a few places. I was pretty hacked off initially but over the years and with more wear and tear of gigs etc it's now become all part of its character.

[macwhisper]

When I was ten years old I got my first pair of glasses. The first thing my father told me as we were leaving the optometrists office was "on your face or in the case". I do the same thing with my guitars. Doesn't mean they will never get a ding but it sure helps.

[johnreardon]

My guitars are tools for making music. I expect DIY tools to show damage over age, likewise with guitars. Never worry about it. Obviously would be a bit angry if I broke a neck or headstock

[Shades of Blue]

I'm kinda on the same page as Zman. All of my 12 guitars are in perfect shape. I don't really gig so it's easy for me to be careful.

However, I do play at my church and I don't hold back. I'd prefer they stay perfect, but if something did happen then that is part of the guitar's story ya know.

The only wear and tear I really like in a guitar are those inevitable marks like where the arm rubs away paint, the back of the neck all faded, the scratches from the pick...you know that years of use look.

I'd hate to look at my strats 30 years down the road and see no wear...people would think I couldn't play!

[thaus]

I still do some gigging (but mostly recording) so I do take care of my guitars but am not as anal with them as I used to be!! I have a couple of relics and I never worry if they get another ding or two!! (just increases the relic factor!!). Still, they are instruments and deserve some care and cleaning. One thing I do is to regularly dust them since I hate dust on guitars!!

[JimiBryant]

I try to take care of my gear but my bass player and my girlfriend are both prone to tripping over and/or knocking over guitars and such that I've left laying around..
I figure if it's important enough to keep nice, then guitars
of particular value stay IN THE CASE whenever I'm not physically playing them. I've certainly made my share of dings and paint chips, though, and I reckon it's pretty much inevitable something will occur in a gig situation
eventually.. I like to PLAY my instruments, and stuff happens!!

I've found that, since I've cut back on my booze consumption, things don't tend to get messed up
as much as they used to!!

[Radspin]

Here's a story I'll bet no one else can tell. I have a '94 Strat that's been my main gig guitar. I've been taking good care of it. Last June we played an outdoor show, and the lighting guy also had a bubble machine. He turned it on for a few songs, and the wind blew a lot of the bubbles back onto the stage. As I was playing I could see the bubbles hitting my guitar. Well, the bubbles left little round marks in the finish that won't polish out--they ate right into the lacquer!

[Durockrolly]

I have been a gigging blues guitarist for 25+ years. I have a half dozen guitars that I use in rotation regularly. Over the years they have aquired a bit of road rash. It just comes with the territory. On the other hand I also own 9 guitars that never leave the home studio.

[dagenhamjim]

It still baffles me that People not only want there brand new Strats/Teles beat up, they actually pay The 'Fender custom shop' loads of money to do it for them!

[johnreardon]

Originally Posted by dagenhamjim

It still baffles me that People not only want there brand new Strats/Teles beat up, they actually pay The 'Fender custom shop' loads of money to do it for them!

Nothing baffling to me. They might just pay the 'Fender custom shop' loads of money to do it for them because they are great sounding and playing guitars.

I would pay the same money for ones that looked brand spanking new if they were as good. Unfortunately most of them are not.

[cherokee747]

Wear is inevitable if your playin the hell out of it.I love the character they show as the years go by. Dings and such? I don't care.

[vicious7]

I got mine used, so it's got some dings on it. I would have preferred to have an immaculate example, but at least I can identify my ax in a sea of axes.

[Alex Wong]

I love the body dents and scratches and hate the ones on the back of the neck, but Strat's to me lend themselves to a very physical way of playing and the vibe of the guitar is very much of a workmans tool, unlike your flamed topped Les Pauls and PRS's, the Strat is a raw and simple axe designed to be used. The dents and scratches are all part of that vibe. My Strat is starting to look beaten up but it's still my favourite guitar and suspect it always will be. The PRS and Les Paul I have are just a bit too prissy for me!

[BlueDog]

I don't get the relic'd craze. I use my guitars as much as possible. If they get dinged, I curse and get over it. But to buy a custom shop model for $4k or so that looks like it was beat to death is something that I don't get. If there is a war story to go with the chips and dents, it can be kind of cool. But I don't get the look unless its earned...

It seems to be biggest in the Fender group too. So can someone else explain it to me?

[Auriemma]

Do you care when your strat gets beat up?

Of course I do. Whether its my Strat, Mustang, LPC or Ovations... It doesn't matter.
Its call having pride in your gear.

[johnreardon]

Originally Posted by BlueDog

I..

It seems to be biggest in the Fender group too. So can someone else explain it to me?

This has been covered in various places numerous times.

Best advice I can offer is to just consider them as great sounding and playing guitars. If you are overly concerned about looks then forget it.

The two relics I have were bought because they were the best guitars for playability and sound in the shop at the time, not because they were relics. I couldn't care less how they look

[Bloodtoes]

Custom shop wear and tear is a matter of taste. Some believe it affects the tone, so to each their own really. If you don't like it, you don't have to buy it.

As for when my strat gets nicks and dings.. well, I prefer to try and keep the guitar looking shiny and new, but there's a phrase that comes to mind here, and that's "Chicks dig scars."

[Bangbang]

Just found a small nick in the neck of my Epi g400. Ughhhhhh! But who cares this is a Fender site.

[MildlyGuitarded]

one of my strats is beat to hell and one is brand new in pristine condition......as long as they sound good thats what's important...