Distressed finishes: getting out of hand?

[BigJackBrass]

I would never buy the pre-worn out jeans that were popular, and a lot of times their wear is different from legitimately worn out jeans

The late Rick Parfitt, part of the rock band Status Quo, apparently almost always wore secondhand jeans, even going as far as buying a pair from someone who was wearing them at the time because he liked the look of them.

 

[emba]

The late Rick Parfitt, part of the rock band Status Quo, apparently almost always wore secondhand jeans, even going as far as buying a pair from someone who was wearing them at the time because he liked the look of them.

I knew a cowboy who wore a new hat to work in every year, got it sweaty and nasty and beat up, then sold it for more than the price of a new hat to a company (I think, pretty sure it was not an individual) in California.

 

[Yukio]

The "grubby" front looks okay but my first reaction to the belt sander treatment to the laminate back was, "why?" They could have done something better to the back, like scratch it up with a big fancy rodeo belt buckle and a few faux cigarette burns.

 

[Wiggy]

Yukio's mental picture is coming into focus:
All together now,

Well, I was [C] drunk the day my [G] uke got outt-a ins[C]pection
And I [F] went to pick her [G] up in the [C] rain
'fore I [F] got to TUS... in my [C] pickup [Am] truck
[D] She got runned [D7] over by a damned old [G] train [G7]

And I'll [F] hang around... (you know the rest

(RIP DAC)

 

[DJ Mango]

 

[rustydusty]

Now that’s incredible patina!

 

[DJ Mango]

New for 2023 Martin D-18 StreetLegend

The satin-finished top on the new StreetLegend™ includes some visual wear inspired by historic models found in our museum.

https://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/10D18STREETLEGEND.html

 

[DJ Mango]

... and D-28 StreetLegend

 

[badhabits]

Kinda looks like Bryan Tolentino's cedar top Kamaka

 

[UkeOkay]

New for 2023 Martin D-18 StreetLegend

The satin-finished top on the new StreetLegend™ includes some visual wear inspired by historic models found in our museum.

https://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/10D18STREETLEGEND.html

Spouse thought it must be an April Fools joke

 

[dr_mitch]

That’s so ridiculous it becomes funny. It is a joke, right? I mean, I know it’s a genuine instrument, but it must also be a visual joke. Same goes for the other OTT relicked pictures in this thread (the Flight Pathfinder and the first Martin though they’re too expensive for the joke to work properly).

 

[rustydusty]

At least the Martin patina looks real. I’m gonna guess it’s laminate, as nothing in the description says “solid”.
No way I would buy a “beater” looking instrument like that unless it was a genuine oldie and then I would probably refinish it…

 

[Patty]

Never understood this. I want my pants to keep my legs warm. Why would I want them full of holes? Defeats the purpose.

My husband found this video about how jeans are "distressed." Pretty awful what the factory workers go through--lung cancer, anyone?

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

Every now and then I browse the Southern Ukulele Store website to see what's new in their range of soprano. Today it was this laminate model from Flight, the "DUS330 Spruce/Zebrawood Soprano Ukulele - RELIC FINISH".

Here's their photo of the back of the instrument:

View attachment 149551

Is it just me or does it look as if this poor uke got into an argument with a belt sander? The front is OK, mostly looking grubby more than anything , and it has the disappointingly common guitar-style tuners, but the back looks absurd.

Sure, Flight is doing this for perfectly valid commercial reasons, not entirely distant from painting a ukulele pink or staining mahogany dark brown, yet there seems to be a level of clumsy artifice about these distressed finishes that seems silly. Most of the negative comments I've heard about Martin's Streetmaster tenor have been concerned with its seemingly random artificial wear patches. While some people like the fact that it sort of takes the pressure off and makes new scratches and dings less painful to see, others see it as a form of musician cosplay.

My "step up" UKE was an Ohana SK-38 which had what they called a reliced finish—a word I am apparently incapable of reading as other than re-liced—which was a slightly uneven dark stain. I quite liked it, but it was hardly necessary and it did make me conscious of a degree of fakery about the instrument. These heavily distressed finishes though… Ah, maybe I'm just whingeing for no reason. Do they make the difference to you when it comes to buying a particular instrument?

Looks like someone's five year old used it as a skateboard...

 

[JEngle1122]

I remember when "shabby chic" furniture started becoming all the craze. New stuff that was made to look like antiques, as if it had lived a life maybe in a farmhouse. I guess there was a market for that, sure. But after the fashion trickled down, I started seeing things in department stores like these ukes, where they were obviously brushed with power sanders here and there. I remember thinking This isn't "shabby chic" anymore, this style has just become "shabby" and no one noticed or cared. I guess it goes to show that we're being sold ideas much more than we're being sold actual products. The idea is what people buy. And I guess some people want to buy the idea that their uke has lived a storied life? There is some romance to that idea, even though the execution is....well...... dubious.

 

[JEngle1122]

As an antedote, look at this lovely "patina". But it's not distressed........ more like, "I wasn't pampered and I'm comfortable with who I am".

Gold-label Kamaka Baritone Ukulele - perfect for your next luau! | Reverb

This beautiful gold-label Kamaka baritone ukulele just came into our store on consignment. Manufactured sometime between 1954 and 1969, the instrument is in good to very good condition overall. The frets show little wear. There is plenty of honest playwear over the entire body. A minor crack in ...

reverb.com

 

[Mike $]

If you buy this to impress people with how much you use the instrument, know that they will realize your ruse when you pick it up and play. Better come up with a story of the "previous owner" or a good garage sale buy. I say this because anyone who can play worth a dang most likely wouldn't see the need to buy something they probably already have, or can honestly make.

 

[JEngle1122]

If you buy this to impress people with how much you use the instrument, know that they will realize your ruse when you pick it up and play. Better come up with a story of the "previous owner" or a good garage sale buy. I say this because anyone who can play worth a dang most likely wouldn't see the need to buy something they probably already have, or can honestly make.

Presumably true also of the tattered jeans. If one "adventured" enough to actually rip their denims to shreds, they'd just buy new ones when possible and the wearing out of them is simply a byproduct of use. But no one says "hey you're rich and you lead an uneventful, inactive lifestyle, how'd your jeans get so torn?" Everyone knows it's just for style. But for some reason, people like the idea of raggendess, so they buy the already torn jeans. I don't get it. But hey I guess someone's getting those people to willingly separate from their money and is then taking it to the bank, so..... shrug emoji?

 

[Woodsy]

I guess I don't have to worry as much about the scratch my sweatshirt zipper put in the finish of my ukulele. I find the "street legend" trend distressing, but I guess there's a market for everything. I'm always shocked at how good the ukes look in the uu marketplace.

 

[bazmaz]

I think @bazmaz would blow a gasket if he reviewed that…

I've only just seen this - it's hideous. I don't DO relic instruments at the best of times (but know many like them) - so if you are going to make it look worn, make it look worn in the places it would actually wear!!