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VERY nice! - so whats the story - looks a bit like a relic'd RHH??
You nailed it, rockabilly-rebel...
It took some cajones, but I thought I'd have a go at a bling-reduction on the RHH, which was too "new-and-shiny" for my taste...
Glad I did, as it's a whole lot more friendly under the hands than before...
And it definitely sounds better, although I attribute a lot of that to the Compton bridge.....
The lacquer cracked nicely, and I stayed away from the neck-joint area, so it should be fine....
I love the subtle look of crazed lacquer on an old 6120. It's hard to see in person, and a whole lot harder to photograph as the light has to hit the finish just right....
The TVs came out looking nice and old too, which was a concern...
I think you've done an amazing job man, - the attention to detail is outstanding - if you lived in England - I'd be sending you my DSW for the same treatment!
cajones - I would say so - I could not have done that. I love the result, but I could not have started. The rub down on the neck to maple. I am in awe.
As a favour can you give us a shot from the side showing a square on profile for the bridge and the neck so I can see the break angle and the action you have? Looking at a Comptom myself.
As a favour can you give us a shot from the side showing a square on profile for the bridge and the neck so I can see the break angle and the action you have? Looking at a Comptom myself.
It's all the same as stock (hell, I don't even think I re-adjusted the thumbscrews!), except that it's a Compton under there instead of the Adjusto-matic bridge....
Nice looking guitar, but I could never understand the trashing your own guitar just so it looks old. I'm letting mine relic the old fashioned way... by playing them out all the time.
Well I admire your guts for doing that and the fact you are happy with it is all that matters. It certainly looks old, cracked, blemished, tarnished and well used. While I admire your courage and skill I would not let you within a mile of my Country Club
Good job we are all different but I am glad you didn't post a before and after shot
I can appreciate one doing this to their guitar, but I'm exactly the opposite. I take old vintage guitars and make them like new again, new lacquer, plating and new parts if they are worn. Either way the collectors and vintage crazy guys would frown on either technique. Last year, I finished a badly treated 1965 Gibson SG Jr. The comments I've gotten is where did I find a Mint '65 to, When did Gibson start making the reissue's?
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Tone is like Art: Your opinion is valid. Listen, learn, have fun, draw your own conclusions.
Good job we are all different but I am glad you didn't post a before and after shot.
I thought I did...
(See post #8).
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankieSixxxgun
Nice looking guitar, but I could never understand the trashing your own guitar just so it looks old. I'm letting mine relic the old fashioned way... by playing them out all the time.
I can appreciate one doing this to their guitar, but I'm exactly the opposite. I take old vintage guitars and make them like new again, new lacquer, plating and new parts if they are worn. Either way the collectors and vintage crazy guys would frown on either technique. Last year, I finished a badly treated 1965 Gibson SG Jr. The comments I've gotten is where did I find a Mint '65 to, When did Gibson start making the reissue's?
Really interesting thread this one. People with new guitars making them old. People with old guitars making them new. When you own it I guess you do what you want. No one elses opinion matters so long as you have what you want in the instrument.
Really interesting thread this one. People with new guitars making them old. People with old guitars making them new. When you own it I guess you do what you want. No one elses opinion matters so long as you have what you want in the instrument.
Yep, get what you like. Here's a before and after pic of the '65 SG Jr. There were so many tuning machine changes on the headstock it was starting to come apart. The previous owner has stripped the finish and stained it walnut and put a off brand pickup on it. They also had another pot added in a strange location. The neck was straight and sound, no probs. there. I felt sorry for this little one. I researched the correct lacquer finish in "Polaris White" and went to town. Put in new Pigtail steel studs and a Pigtail compensated wrap around bridge and a Gibson P-90 Pup and correct tuners. She's like new now!
Before:
After:
__________________
Tone is like Art: Your opinion is valid. Listen, learn, have fun, draw your own conclusions.
I researched the correct lacquer finish in "Polaris White" and went to town. Put in new Pigtail steel studs and a Pigtail compensated wrap around bridge and a Gibson P-90 Pup and correct tuners. She's like new now!
That looks amazing. The positive thing about such a project is you get vintage (if thats your thing) you restore it and you get a playing experience of new or correctly set up if it needed work. I like vintage to play so any work that needs to be done to make it play perfectly gets done. I personally do not hold with the idea leave it alone as you will affect the value. I try not to refinish, but if I needed a repair and it required a refininsh I would get it done just by someonme who knows how to work vintage. Having vintage to me is not as important as playing vintage. It was built to be played and it will be played till it can play no more. Congrats on your SG. Looks amazing!
Thanks, this one was the most extensive restoration I had to do. The serial number was almost gone when I got it and it's completely gone now. I had to plug all the holes with mahogany including the tuner holes. I put a new piece of mahogany on the front and back of the headstock. It was glued soild in clamps. I created a new blank headstock and redrilled all the holes. The grain was sealed and a new lacquer finish and decal was applied. So, basically it's a player now, but it was really bad when I bought it. It sounds like a vintage SG and that's the most important to me. Resale value is probably not much, but this is the guitar I wanted. A decent shape Polaris white is fetching in the $6500 range, so restoring my own to play was the way to go.
Sorry, to get off topic since this is about the 6120. I think if you have a guitar that really needs restoration, then work is needed. I still have my '70 Martin D12-35 (bought new in 1970) that had really bad finish checking. I completely stripped it and finished it in Nitro lacquer and she looks good as new as a vintage guitar. I used ambered clear to get the aging thing going. The guitar didn't even have so much as a dent in it, but the finish looked like a broken pane of glass before I refinished it. All is well now
__________________
Tone is like Art: Your opinion is valid. Listen, learn, have fun, draw your own conclusions.
lovely amp! just lovely, I want one, how does it sound?
it looks like a Supro model...
futile to mention how beutiful is your axe, we all love gretsch guitars here.
This is one of the better relic jobs. Part of me has always thought relicing was lame, but part of me is just jealous and thinks it looks awesome. Yes, it's phony as hell, but old guitars look great. Well done. To each his own.
I'll tell ya, what looks "phony as hell" is the shiny, bright-chromey vibe of a new RHH....
The clear guard didn't help either...
I can't imagine a new 6120 looking like that in '56, but I guess they probably did, no?...
Quote:
Originally Posted by JC higgy
I think you'd have a much harder job doing this on a poly coated DSW!
Yeah, no kidding...!
I wanted lacquer (obviously), and the lacquer on the 5-year-old RHH checked beautifully...
Lots of nice spider-webbing...
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikante
lovely amp! just lovely, I want one, how does it sound?
Ya know, not as good as I had hoped...
I'm thinking the Rolex oval speaker isn't cutting it, but I need to dink around with plugging it in to other cabs to make sure...
Ya know, violin folks have been doing this for well over 150 years, and many say much longer than that...
So there is a track record and tradition to all of this, with the guitar world only recently (relatively speaking) picking up the ball....
True, but you don't see many violinists doing windmill strums or playing out in the rain or any other abuse that guitarists throw at their instruments. I'm not knocking your guitar, it's gorgeous, I'm just not the biggest fan of making a guitar look old before its time. I mean, you don't wear out the suspension, bald out the tires, and fade the paint of brand new car so it looks old.
It makes me want to just grab it and strap it on.Just keep it strapped on whether I'm playing it or not.Only take it off for those obvious things,you know.
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True, but you don't see many violinists doing windmill strums or playing out in the rain or any other abuse that guitarists throw at their instruments.
I dunno....
Those old wooden cases were brutal on the backs of just about all those old fiddles...
Beard-wear on the lower bout before chinrests came into vogue...
Bow wear on the C-bouts...
Etc. etc., plus we're dealing with 300 years of that kind of "abuse" compared to the measly 50+ years of electric guitar wear...
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankieSixxxgun
Yeah, I totally hate when my stuff comes brand new and it's bright, shiny, and well finished. How phony!
Yeah, "phony" is a poor choice of words...
"Cheesy" would be more like it...
What can I say?
The blingy new lacquered Gretsches look and-more importantly feel--cheesy to me...
And a knock-down on the shiny finish and chrome looks "right" to my eyes...
And feels even better...
Obviously, YMMV...
Hey, to each his own at the end of the day. Like I said, your guitar looks great, and if you like how it feels more power to you. Me, I'd personally cry if someone started taking a chemical bath to my Falcon or something.
My 6120...
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