The October 2021 issue of Guitar Magazine is out now! What are you doing here? So we got to know each other, and we stayed in touch. To make his replicas complete, however, Cunetto needed the name on the headstock, and with his experience in the advertising world and inside connections to the art department, he knew how to get them. Luckily, there are various options to choose from. A chrome neck-joint plate bearing the Custom Shop stamp is actually the only item on this guitar that looks new. The small bone nut has also been carefully fitted and smoothed so that no sharp corners can be felt. Cunetto still builds the occasional Vinetto guitar, but has been slowed by what he calls a weird auto-immune disease that was diagnosed five or six years ago. Upon bringing the operation back home to Fender in California, Eldred refreshed the line-up, introducing the popular Time Machine Series, which presented 50s maple board and 60s rosewood board Telecasters and Stratocasters in three different levels of distress: Relic, Closet Classic (gently aged), and New Old Stock (or NOS, vintage-style, but non-aged). Again, these are what you think they are; signature models made to the specification of a particular artist. He looked at [the Relics], and he was like, Hell yeah, were going to do this! Online orders dispatching as normal. You can further texturize tones with the blend knob by rolling in some neck pickup and softening the bridge pickups bite, or by using it to create a big three-pickup tone on the second position, thereby completely changing its character. So I was doing that and kind of selling them at guitar shows, and it got out that I was the guy making them. Meanwhile, Fender had expanded its own facilities and secured its ability to spray nitrocellulose lacquer. Cunetto describes himself as having been, One of those kids who always liked to take things apart, and although he had never worked full time as a guitar maker he was in fact well employed in the broadcast side of the advertising industry when he and JW Black first bumped into each other hed already had a long and deep passion for creating vintage-style electric guitars by the time the seeds of Fenders Relic project were planted. Ok, so imagine a guitar that has made its way from the 50s or 60s, having been played quite sparingly by a loving owner, mostly around the house but maybe also at a gig or two. Thank you for signing up to The Pick. An advancement of the previous finish. These guitars look brand new and have no relicing. At any rate, with the selector in the bridge position, the blend knob lets you add the neck pickup in any proportion, while the bridge/middle setting allows you to blend-in the neck pickup to change the tone of that combination. From an artistic standpoint, I can really appreciate when a guitar is relic-ed in a realistic way, because it's difficult to pull it off and make it look right. We found ourselves playing it for long stretches without feeling the need to plug in. But they want guitars that look and feel as old and worn as possible. The Fall Film, This Ultrarare 1963 Reverse Firebird I Could Be the Only One Gibson Ever Made in Kerry Green, I Was Doing Things With My Fingers That I Couldn't Do With a Pick: Mark Knopfler on His World-Famous Picking Technique. Already have an account? Its one of the most divisive and debated aspects of modern guitar building, but whether you hate it or love it, nobody has done more to popularise the concept of artificially aged guitars than the Fender Custom Shop. Its a cool system that lets you easily access lots of sounds on the fly, while the guitar still functions as normal for the neck, middle-plus-neck and middle positions. A guitar that has been gigged over decades and has the battle scars to prove it. I got hit with the bug to have a vintage Telecaster of my own, but I couldnt afford any of the ones I was trading myself, so I started farting around with trying to age guitars in the mid-80s doing a lot of research into Teles and blueprinting them., JW Black (left) and fellow former Master Builder John Page with some of their early Fender Custom Shop creations. You could take this guitar at any time on any stage and put it in somebodys hand, and theyd say, Yeah, Ill play that! Still, he had no call to put it into practice with Fender until a couple years later, when an artist requested that he do precisely that. Its interesting how one can totally get the sense of playing a vintage guitar while knowing full well that its an entirely modern creation. The Fender Custom Shop Artisan range uses woods that might not normally be associated with Fender walnut, maple and mahogany for example. Black shipped him boxes of Fender bodies, necks and parts, and they got to work. You will receive a verification email shortly. A battle-hardened workhorse. Around the late 2000s and early 2010s, some custom-orders and short-runs began to be aged to what was termed Heavy Relic and Ultra Relic condition, adding increasing levels of distress to the existing gradations. You need an account to post a reply. As a fan of chunky neck profiles, I have slightly fallen for the 1956 Strat the 10/56 V neck shape is probably the most comfortable Ive played on a Strat, and the sound, delivered by the hand wound pickups, is to die for! Maybe they pump out relics inthe down time between actual Custom orders? With its non-contoured body, age-checked finish and 1/2 Blender wiring, this Guitar Center collaboration is in a class of its own. Fender have taken all the best bits of the Strat from the last 60 years and put it into one guitar; same with the Tele. That said, most of the ones that I see are not very realistic looking at all. For the first year or so, Cunetto would receive huge shipping boxes with parts for 20 guitars, and his team would prep them hand-sanding out the orbital-sander marks and so forth paint and age the bodies and necks, age the parts, and on Friday, set them all out and match up and tag the ones that looked like they should go together. Guitar.com is the worlds leading authority and resource for all things guitar. Think scratches, dings, finish checking, but no major overall damage. I just can't get my head around why anyone would pay for an aged guitar. The closer you look at the Journeyman, the better it gets. We didnt know how many we were going to sell or anything, but we just wanted a good sample of each one to show. The differences between these models can be as subtle as a slightly different neck profile to a different set of pickups and a wholly different feel. This was Cunettos first foray into contract work for the Fender Custom Shop, making period-correct logo decals for one-offs and short runs, and he also supplied aged parts on occasion, such as a distressed Bakelite pickguard, which Black had used to restore Ron Woods vintage blackguard Telecaster. All the parts and finish on the guitar were aged and patinad to look like an authentic vintage instrument. Would you consider this overplaying the bass line? It was very convincing, and was on the cusp of being a counterfeit. 2021 Reidys Home of Music. But, yeah, I had to close the shop and get rid of all the people, and thats never any fun. The Postmodern guitars draw inspiration from past models to create something thats suitable for any modern player whilst keeping that classic edge. Luxurious and arty, but still very much Fender. I've had a few. Yeah, they have checking and a few specs of relic-work but nothing major like a relic model. By December of 1994 Cunetto had completed five or six acceptable prototypes displaying different levels of wear. He had a new bass and wanted to know if we could beat up or distress the instrument so it wouldnt look like new sneakers on the playground.. Get an old guitar if you want an old guitar. We provide insight and opinion about gear, artists, technique and the guitar industry for all genres and skill levels. By Click here to login, The ability to reply to and create new discussions, Access to members-only giveaways & competitions, Interact with VIP industry experts in our guest Q&As, Access to members-only sub forum discussions, Get INSTANT ACCESS to the world's best private pro audio, Promote your eBay auctions and Reverb.com listings for free. And as big as pre-aged guitars have become in the guitar world of today, its amazing to note that according to the two prime movers in the creation of Fenders original Relics JW Black and Vince Cunetto the story of how it all came about has never been told fully, or accurately. New York, Visit Guitar Center (opens in new tab) for more information. Heres a clip of the Ancho Poblano pickups that are fitted in many of the 2016 Postmodern Strats. This can't be real? JW Black now lives and works in Oregon, where he specialises in repairs to vintage Fenders and other guitars, and also makes and sells his own F-style guitars. The gold/white theme looks very classy in a 50s sort of way, and the light aging of the plastic parts is apparent in the three-ply pickguard, knobs, pickup covers and switch tip. True story: I had a guy come up to me at a gig saying 'This is a Relic, right? Pretty self-explanatory. Art Thompson Many dealers just laughed at them, Black recalls, And some could not sell them in the beginning. I figured out the process of duplicating decals from actual photographs, getting them scaled correctly, and making these really dead-nuts decals, Cunneto tells us. 2021 Guitar.com is part of NME Networks. Heres a clip of us and guitar legend, Jerry Donahue, putting a Custom Shop 1961 Strat against an original model from 1962. I believe many of the iconic guitars were used/pawn shop guitars in the first place. flat-sided) and trimmed front-and-back in white binding. My recollection, says Cunetto, Is that it started off with that pickguard. We decided to use Vince to make a couple of prototypes for the [winter 1995] NAMM Show: a 1950s Nocaster in aged Butterscotch Blonde, and an aged 57 Stratocaster in Two-tone Sunburst. But, as Cunetto recalls being told by Black, Page insisted, Dont tell anybody! It was and it wasnt. ?. There will be a few marks and scratches no major knocks but you can tell that its seen a bit of action. By the time we did the NAMM samples, says Cunetto, we knew we were going to do it. He had two glass display cases made up with gold plaques, and all it said on it was 50s Relic Nocaster and 50s Relic Stratocaster. While some guitar dealers couldnt be convinced of the Relics viability as a concept, others embraced them immediately. A well-cared-for electric guitar that shows the patina of age, with finish checking, oxidation on the metal parts, and discoloration of the plastic.. Both great guitars, outside of the fact that they were beat up in that strange way that doesn't look or feel old, and doesn't look or feel new. However, customization extends here too, as Fender uses whats called 1/2 Blender wiring, which turns the second tone control into a blend pot when the five-way selector is in positions one and two (i.e. ', The first two Relic prototypes that were exhibited at the Winter NAMM Show in 1995, We initially intend to do the guitars in-house, Black recalls, But also during this time we had the threat of no longer being able to spray lacquer at Fender due to EPA restrictions. The combination of a roasted neck (which drives out tone-killing moisture) and top-quality body wood and solid hardware not to mention that the bridge is adjusted to lay flat against the top gives the Journeyman excellent resonance and sustain. Prior to the introduction of the Relic Series in 1995, fake ageing and playing wear was applied to guitars either to help repairs made to valuable old instruments match the look of the rest of the original, or to create forgeries. GuitarPlayer is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. There was a problem. Create a username and password below and an account will be created and your post entered. Based on a 1960 Strat, the Journeyman is a showpiece. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, And I showed up at the NAMM show, because J said, Youre gonna want to be here for this! And we hung them up, and people were saying, Wow, thats really cool that youre paying an homage to your history with these old guitars! And the reps were like, Yeah, theyre new guitars. The November 2021 issue of Guitar Magazine is out now! Thank you for your support! Fender Custom Shop signature models include David Gilmour, Michael Landau and Eric Clapton and are the perfect way to nail the tone of your favourite player. Yamaha Clavinova CLP-745 vs CLP-775: Whats The Difference? Hired in 1989 by the head of the Custom Shop, John Page, Black had been a Master Builder for several years by the time the notion took hold in the early 90s that there might be some mileage in selling pre-aged guitars. The Fender Custom Shop Heavy Relic finish gives the illusion of a guitar that has been extensively toured for many years by a player who doesnt hold back. Now, building a guitar with actual distressed wood, etc is another thing. Bonnie Raitt was nominated and he was her producer, and they were going to perform. GuitarPlayer is supported by its audience. NY 10036. This is precisely the spirit in which Fender and Guitar Center (opens in new tab) have collaborated on the Limited-Edition Double-Bound Stratocaster Journeyman Relic, a guitar that has been carefully massaged to walk the line between custom and vintage. Yamaha Clavinova CLP-735 vs CLP-745: Whats The Difference? The September 2021 issue of Guitar Magazine is out now. Whatever turns the buyer on, but IMHO most relics..whether "out of the box" or "DIY" do not look like real wear on a players guitar, even a heavy player. But I had, in the years before, all the classic paint numbers for those Custom Colours, so we were painting them with DuPont colours just like they did originally. John and I never had a contract, we just shook hands and said, Okay, lets do it until we dont. Thats the way it was., I took a lot of risk, and it paid off. Because many of the guitars within the Fender Custom Shop range are based on old guitars, a lot of people want them to look as if they have made it from the 50s or 60s to the modern day i.e. This was prior to Fender moving and putting in a $5 million spray facility that included an afterburner that would be compliant with the regs Fender is still spraying lacquer today., Cunetto adds: I was supposed to go out there and just consult with them, and relay the techniques and so forth, but they just werent set up for it. For Sale: Bass Guitar Strings and Accessories, The TB Bazaar: Gear For Sale from our Sponsors, For Sale: Double Bass Amps, Strings & Accessories, Wanted: Bass Guitars, Amps, and Accessories, Wanted: Double Basses, Amps & Accessories, Wildwood 10 Relic-Ready 1957 Precision Bass | Bass Guitars, Bass Guitars, Custom Shop Bass, Relic-Ready | Wildwood Guitars, Cosmo Music - Fender Custom Shop Classic NOS Jazz Bass - 3-Tone Sunburst, (You must log in or sign up to reply here.). I posted here to get responses from people. Toward the end of the decade, however, several changes signalled the writing on the wall for the end of what would come to be known as the Cunetto Era of Fender Relics. Here is our list of the Fender Custom Shop names and what they mean. By about April of 1995 Cunetto had established a 2,000 square-foot facility in Springfield with spray booths and the necessary tools and work stations, and hired a small crew that hed trained to do the work. How many do you want? And that was it. I've never owned a relic of any sort. The chrome on the vintage-style vibrato bridge looks decades old, with its softly dulled sheen, as do the jack plate and strap buttons. But my wife at the time, her family was from north of Springfield, Missouri, and I figured, No one is going to be watching anything down there, and I can probably find some labour. The NOS finish is the one to go for if you want that shiny, brand new guitar look. We cant tell them no., I was living in Estes Park, Colorado, and there was no way to find a place to do it there. I was checking out another outstanding 1960 Custom Shop Jazz and I just wondered if the Custom Shop ever makes shiny, pretty new basses? Based on a 1960 Strat, the Journeyman is a showpiece, with an Aged Aztek Gold nitrocellulose-lacquer finish thats been convincingly weather-checked to exude the appearance of having been carried from clubs to freezing cold vans for years. The December 2021 issue of Guitar Magazine is out now! Until now. In 2015, Mike Eldred departed the Custom Shop, to be replaced at the head of the operation by Mike Lewis, who further expanded the Time Machine offerings. We are talking about pickups, wood selection etc. Thank you Gearspace.com members for 20 years! bridge and middle, which some call positions four and five). The Custom Shop Signature models are also sometimes modelled on an artists extremely rare vintage Fender, so this way you can get as close to an original as possible, without shelling out the small fortune it costs to acquire one. Its well made and has a superb neck with excellent fretwork, and its tones embody everything that people dig about early 60s Strats. Get the latest news, reviews and product advice straight to your inbox. Cunetto was able to accurately recreate the classic Custom Colour finishes before Fender worked with DuPont to colour match the original vintage hues. This three-tiered series had a long and successful run although the Relics always sold in the greatest numbers and has further evolved in recent years.