Pristine or well traveled?

[Mark Stone]

Originally Posted by rllink

Do you like your guitars to look played and well travelled or do you try to keep them polished and pristine?

Both. My 814ce that I've had for 2 years has yet to receive its first scratch - but my 110e is getting pretty beat-up. The 814 is my primary gigger.

[hubcapsc]

I got my first good guitar new 20 years ago... here's a recent picture:



Mostly, I just want a guitar to be good...



-Mike

[Russ C]

Dings that I can feel while I’m playing - like the back of the neck - are just not ok for me. Others serve to remind me of when I was careless, or when someone else was and I do not like them for that reason - or for resale.
So pristine except for playing wear is my goal.
I’ve learned to walk more carefully holding a valuable guitar in front of me where I can see all of it, checking shoulder straps before trusting them and taking care to rest a guitar where it’s safe.
That said, a working guitar is still very likely to meet with accidents because stages are not safe.

[gfspencer]

If I buy a new guitar I try to keep it looking new. If I buy an old guitar I just try to keep it cleaned up.

[bufflehead]

I learned a lot from my first guitar, where my attitude was not to fret the dings but use it a a travel guitar, campfire guitar, gigging guitar, et cetera. I beat the heck out of it for thirty-some years, and in the end it became unplayable.

I've taken much better care of its replacement. You can see that it has acquired some personality, but it doesn't look beat up. And now I have travel guitars to take camping, boating, et cetera.

[Pdubs76]

I try to keep my higher end guitars in pristine condition in case I decide to move them on to the next person. I have a 2010 814ce that I bought a year ago, and it looks like it just came out of the factory, so I appreciate that the previous owner took such great care of it. My less expensive guitars have a few nicks and dings which doesn’t concern me too much because I know they wouldn’t sell for very much even if they were in mint condition.

[Kerbie]

Originally Posted by L20A

I do all that I can to keep my guitars pristine as possible.

Agreed....

[Wooden Music]

I try to keep guitars looking tidy, but I take them to pubs to play at folk nights, so I accept that they will collect a few marks along the way. That's the price of enjoying taking them out and using them.

[rllink]

I have two guitars. I've had my GS Mini for three years, I've played the heck out of it, hauled it on a month long, 5000 mile road trip, and played it in the mountains, on beaches, street corners and at bon fires. It isn't abused, but it looks used. My other is a Guild dreadnaught that has gone to a couple bluegrass festivals and workshops. It is almost new and it looks like it has hardly been played. I don't particularly like the sound or playability of the Mini over the Guild. But every time I go to play the Guild I grab the Mini instead. I contemplated that a bit this morning before I posted the thread and concluded that I like the well travelled look and that it has a more friendly and inviting look to it. The Guild has sort of a sterile uninteresting vibe. So I just thought I would get a discussion going.

[jschmitz54]

As a relative newbie,3.5 years playing, all the guitars I have bought have either been new or less than a year old. I haven’t bought any that weren’t in mint condition. Some have traveled from Minnesota to Arizona for the winter and back again in the spring but even then I’ve wrapped the case in a sheet for the trip. I know that’s a bit over the top.
As you can tell I like my guitars unblemished if possible but as life does to us and things they have gotten some minor nicks or dings. I’m not happy when it happens but in the end it is what it is and we move on. Not much else one can do.
They are just so darn pretty and I try to keep them that way.

[b1j]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

I have some of both. The scars on the 1979 guitar bother me a lot less than on the 2017 one.

I'm with Brooklyn Bob. In 1977 I did not treat my shiny new rosewood Gurian like a museum piece. I was a new adult. I played it, hitchhiked with it in the heat of the summer, camped with it outside in humidity, took it to the snow, bumped it into things, and gave it a hearty case of belt rash. Even dropped it once or twice. One time it landed on something hard and sharp that took a 1/4-inch gouge out of the finish on the top.

Now, my two-month-old J-45 is a different story. I'm settled (I should hope so, right?), it's inside in its Humidipaked case, and I handle it with the shine cloth. I polish the neck a little every four or five playings. No buttons on my shirts when I play. I pull an old cut-off sock over my right arm if I'm wearing a tee shirt. Fanatic? Maybe. Probably. Yeah, I guess so.

It's funny. I really love my Gurian: dings, gouges, scratches and all. None of it has affected the playability or sound. But I want to keep the J-45 pristine, so I'll keep trying. I'll take it out for the first time to an open mic soon, so we'll see how it does in the wild.

Related to this discussion is something I just heard of for the first time here in the forum: the Pre War guitar. Honestly, I don't see the appeal, but if you want a dinged up guitar, you can easily make that happen yourself, with the advantage that they'll be dings YOU caused. What am I missing?

[Lawren]

While it's not what I'd prefer, the headstock of my best guitar—a Santa Cruz H Model—has some battle scars. Bought it new 15 years ago and took it everywhere, played it everywhere. No regrets! As I get older and more responsible though I have been seriously considering having the face plate of the headstock refinished. Scratches and dings there don't quite have the romantic "mojo" of honest wear on the top, of which there isn't much so far. Maybe in another 15 years.

[tonyo]

Definitely well traveled for me. When I'm 80 and sitting in my rocking chair, I won't care if it's pristine, I'll take the happy memories that come with well traveled.

[Bridgepin]

I do my best to take care of my guitars but I don't go over board. I use them but don't abuse them.

[Tnfiddler]

The tops on my my D41 and Bourgeois are still In perfect shape, but I wear pearl snap shirts all the time, so the backs have some scratches and wear. At one time, I would’ve freaked out over that, but as I get older, I realize that I’m not taking them with me and I’m going to play them every opportunity I get and they’re gonna get some wear and tear, along the way.