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SMH- Relic-ed OFR


diablo175

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No. Hell no.

For the collector or wanna-be who wants the hardware to match the "vintage vibe" of his overpriced relic-ed guitar: an 86 buck up-charge for this:

Happy holidays from all of us at Floyd Rose Marketing and AP International! Announcing the new limited-edition Relic LTD Original Tremolo, handmade with love using a muriatic acid treatment to give this brand new trem system the vintage vibe. Get yours before they're all gone!
 

https://floydrose.com/products/relic-original-tremolo-system

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If you either a.) actually used the nasty chems needed to get that effect on new guitar hardware, or b.) paid my bench rate to do that to your hardware ... $86 is actually a very fair price.

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I've owned about a half dozen Charvels and Mighty Mite guitars that had the original Floyds without the fine tuners.  None of them ever looked like that.  They were chrome.  My quilt top John Nelson/Eddie Money guitar had an early one.  Peter Fung owns it now (or did).  They don't look like that.

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To what end? I mean, why pay the 86 bucks (even if it's reasonable) to have it look like it's been rode hard and put away wet. F-ck that. If that's your cup of tea, then good on ya. I can think of a lot of other things I'd rather throw away money on... 😂

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If an 80s shredder is actually from the 80s with its truly original OFR, it's likely got not only some pretty nice wear on the body and neck (even polys get dropped and beat up and show wear over time) but also worn knife edges on both the plate and the fulcrum posts, pitting and chipping on the saddle finish and/or fine tuners where the black has worn to the brass. It would be nice to have a new bridge with a headstart on wear to match the body. Then again, I love relics from the idea you don't have to worry about getting that first ding or subsequent ones, OCD polishing and cleaning sessions, going apeshit over belt buckles or jeans rivets and the rash they leave, you just play the thing.

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2 hours ago, Jeff R said:

If an 80s shredder is actually from the 80s with its truly original OFR, it's likely got not only some pretty nice wear on the body and neck (even polys get dropped and beat up and show wear over time) but also worn knife edges on both the plate and the fulcrum posts, pitting and chipping on the saddle finish and/or fine tuners where the black has worn to the brass. It would be nice to have a new bridge with a headstart on wear to match the body. Then again, I love relics from the idea you don't have to worry about getting that first ding or subsequent ones, OCD polishing and cleaning sessions, going apeshit over belt buckles or jeans rivets and the rash they leave, you just play the thing.

Hey, if that 90 extra bucks makes you feel as though your axe is more unified and authentic-looking, then good on ya. I prefer to relic it myself- the old fashioned way- playing for all it's worth. If the dings, scratches and dents come by means of leaving it all on stage, then, to me, it's totally worth it. Just feels a lil' too poser buying one all relic-ed up. YMMV

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I like relics although not a total fan of using chemicals on hardware.   Once had some “aged” tuners not only not work right.   One of em had a metal knob crumble in my hand.    I do like the concept of it looking old but functionally new.    

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On 12/26/2018 at 3:49 PM, The Shark said:

....None of them ever looked like that.  They were chrome.  .......

Agreed. These are waaay over-done. Instead of being pitted, after 6 months you'll wear a shiny spot on it. If you're going to do it, at least try to make it look natural. Add some beer, dead skin and sweat.

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How long until there's pitted, peeling chrome plate over an anodized color to go with those color over color heavy relic bodies that seem to be all the rage lately?

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5 hours ago, Stike said:

How long until there's pitted, peeling chrome plate over an anodized color to go with those color over color heavy relic bodies that seem to be all the rage lately?

...with Ancient Egyptian motif work?

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4 hours ago, cmatthes said:

...with Ancient Egyptian motif work?

I'm not familiar with that, I'm sure it would elicit an eye roll or two though.

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Dating back to the EARLY days of the HFC, there was a seller on eBay who was selling cheap imported, bolt-on Hamers that were chrome-plated...but with Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and graphics engraved on them.  Freaking AWFUL stuff, but priced through the stratosphere.  A joke that I haven't thought about in a while!

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15 hours ago, cmatthes said:

Dating back to the EARLY days of the HFC, there was a seller on eBay who was selling cheap imported, bolt-on Hamers that were chrome-plated...but with Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and graphics engraved on them.  Freaking AWFUL stuff, but priced through the stratosphere.  A joke that I haven't thought about in a while!

 

1 hour ago, Steve Haynie said:

I remember those.  Gosh, they looked bad.

And, considering how expensive they apparently were back then, where are they now?  In somebody's parts box?  Or a landfill?

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On 12/26/2018 at 3:54 PM, Jeff R said:

If an 80s shredder is actually from the 80s with its truly original OFR, it's likely got not only some pretty nice wear on the body and neck (even polys get dropped and beat up and show wear over time) but also worn knife edges on both the plate and the fulcrum posts, pitting and chipping on the saddle finish and/or fine tuners where the black has worn to the brass.

You make a great point. I have an 80's OFR from a Kramer I bought back then which I now use on my Cali. It was still pretty much chrome with slight pitting and well-used vintage tuners definitely would be worn down to brass, which means the guys at FR don't even know what actual wear looks like on a vintage Floyd.

In any case, I don't mind some tarnish on metal, but rust is too much. It just looks bad, not relic'd. There's road wear on a well-used instrument and then there's outright neglect, like allowing your dog to pee on your trem and not bothering either to clean the trem or shoot the dog or both.

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Here's pitting and chipping wear that's more common over time on Floyds than the "new" relicing above. This is the original old skool Floyd on my mid 80s Random Star.

35433275_10216111685925375_8588533805596

You create the wear like on the OP/top bridge by using steel wool to rough up the chrome, then by exposing the bridge to acid vapors. It penetrates everything, including tuner housings, which can brittle them and cause them to crumble or simply not work correctly anymore.

To get the chrome pitting like on my bridge on new hardware, you stand a better shot by chipping the chrome away in places and then using PCB etching solution held on the hardware surfaces with one-ply facial tissues. I did this with @kizanski for his brand new hardware on his early 70s Fender Thinline's "Big Gun" conversion. Kiz, share a pic of the Big Gun repro's tuners :) 

The etching solution is easy to do but it's nasty -- do it outside and have a few sets of latex gloves handy. Like this ...

 

 

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