Django said:
All I saw was the antique cars................
I never bother to look at the so called "vintage" guitar market..... people pay nauseating amounts of money for an axe that was played by some "star"....
In fact, Fender's vintage/distressed Strats and Teles are so grotesque in their pricing that Fender might as well begin cooking up meth in the Custom Shoppe... Although it would mean a sharp drop in their income.
D
Not to rain on your rant, Tim...
Vince Cunetto is a good friend of mine. He's the guy that started doing the 'relics' for Fender back in the '90's. Vince had been 'distressing' guitars for years, for some very high-profile clients.
The Cunetto-era relics still hold their value to this day.
Here's a good one for you, to help you appreciate the relic'd guitars a little:
Sting's favorite P-bass- the one we've all seen in countless videos and live shows- well, there are 4 of them!
And they all look (and play and sound) exactly the same. Sting keeps them in his 4 favorite locations (Italy, UK, NY and LA). This way when he travels, he doesn't have to cart around his prized P-bass.
With your eyeball 1" away from the guitars, there's no way to tell that they are different. You'd swear up and down that they are twins.
Vince does some private relic'ing now (for guys like Keith Richards and his ilk), but mainly is focused on his Vinetto brand of guitars....that come with new paint and clearcoat and un-tarnished hardware.
Like you, I thought "
$12K for a John Cruz-built Fender Custom Shop Strat? You've got to be joking. It can't play any better than a $800 Am. Std. Strat from GuitarCenter."
Oh, how wrong I was.
I was fortunate enough to guitar tech for Gary Hoey on part of his tour this past summer. John Cruz (head builder at the Fender Custom Shop) has made several guitars for Gary, including his #1 'American Flag' Strat.
After re-stringing 'Big Blue' and 'American Flag', I got to play them.
WOW.
If you simply look at the fretboard, it plays the intro to "Layla".
The guitars play like buttah. Given, Gary's setup is a little different than my own, but still....it was smooth as silk.
For a schmoe like me, $12K and a 2+year waiting list is a bit much. For a professional like Gary who's earning a living via the fretboard, it's the way to go.
BTW- I love that Corvette.
Paint it black and I'd park the truck under a tarp. LOL
Oh- and if anyone wants to get me a nice X-mas gift, that Tucker framed stock would be pretty cool.
