How to age guitars: Telecasters, Stratocasters, Les Pauls, SG's and more

My Own Aged Pickup

2012-04-08T10:45:00.001-07:00

On my Mexican Telecaster, the bridge pickup has a little rust around the edges of the pole pieces that I thought I'd like to show. The reason why there is rust and oxidation around the pole pieces is because that is where my hand usually is, over the bridge pickup. After a few years of skin cells sweat and grime collecting the pieces started to rust. so I'm going to show how my pickup looks and show what natural or what the beginning of the natural aging process looks like.

Now it's kind of hard to see it, but you can see a little oxidation on the pole pieces and around the pole pieces. Which as I mentioned earlier was caused by sweat skin cells dirt and grime.
Thank you for your time,
Happy Easter and take care everybody!

People Who Have Signature Aged Guitars

2012-04-05T19:52:00.001-07:00

Many people have signature guitar models, but not too many of them have signature aged models. People like Slash, Jeff Beck, Robby Kreiger, Dickey Betts, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Kurt Cobain and many more! Now you may have seen these models in your local guitar shop, online, and music store catalogs.Jeff Beck has come out with a few models from both fender and Gibson as shown here.

Jeff Beck Fender Esquire

1954 Gibson Jeff Beck Les Paul Custom

Slash has many Les Paul's from Gibson and are aged for an extra grand. What's the kicker about them is that they're usually aged by Tom Murphy and you already know about how much I like Tom Murphy from other posts.

Gibson Murphy Aged Slash Les Paul's

The more Recent Slash LP model was the Appetite For Destruction LP, which is also my favorite Slash signature model.

Gibson AFD Slash Les Paul

Robby Kreiger of The Doors only came out with 1 model of SG from Gibson and is probably one of the best SG's true to its vintage character as well as it's aged look.

Robby himself with his SG

Jimmy Page has had about 4 signature aged guitars come out, 3 Les Paul's, and the EDS 1275

Jimmy with his EDS 1275

Gibson Custom Murphy Aged Page Signature

Kurt Cobain has had signature aged models just recently come out. Fender came out with the Kurt Cobain Signature Jaguar and custom Mustang. What i wanna focus on is the Jaguar. It came out about 4 months ago or so so its a very new product. I've heard how it sounds and it sounds divine.

Kurt Cobain Signature Fender Jaguar

If you have comments/questions/suggestions please leave them in the comment box. I hoped you liked this post about people who have signature aged guitars.

Aging Necks: What i've done

2012-03-29T13:15:00.005-07:00

Hello readers! sorry I haven't brought you this sooner. In my last post I said I had done a little aging to my neck and I have pictures to show you what I have done. The neck is from a '04 Fender Mexican Telecaster. Sorry for the quality of the pictures I took the pictures with my phone, if I can get better quality pictures will post them of my neck. As I mentioned before, the neck has some natural aged because the guitar is about 8 years old. The bigger the finish is worn is the work that i have done.

natural age and waring of the neck

"artificial" aging

That is the Natural aging and waring of the finish on the neck

a little artificial waring at the neck joint area

Natural/slightly worked artificial aging of the neck

I hope you enjoyed of what i have been working on and good luck with your work as well.

Aged Necks

2012-03-24T19:35:00.001-07:00

Practically every guitar ages over a period of time. But one of the first things to age is the neck whether it be on the fretboard or the back of the neck.

Heavily aged Fender Strat neck

1957 Reissue Fender Neck

To get that aged look on the back of a Fender neck is really really really easy. You only need very fine sandpaper. It really all depends on where you have your hand most because your hand is going to play a big part in this. What you wanna do is sand down the finish where you place your hand the most. If you really want to you can sand down the whole neck. You then want to play your guitar as you normally do but don't wash your hands. The dirt sweat and grime in your hands will be absorbed into the wood. It's probably the simplest way to age the neck of your guitar. I actually did do a little bit of this method on my Mexican Fender Telecaster and it looks very real. It had already started
the aging progress around the edges. But i sped up the process of it. I will post pictures of my Tele's neck in another post.
please leave a comment or a question

How To Age and Ware Your Finish

2012-03-24T14:33:00.002-07:00

There is always that one point in time where you wanted to take your Strat or Les Paul and ware down the finish on them to show arm ware, buckle rash, and belly ware.

What you're going to need is Sandpaper (medium and fine), very, fine, steel wool and lastly, a steady hand.

What you want to do is sand down the finish off the area you want ware to show with the medium grit sandpaper. Then you want to sand down that same area with the fine sandpaper just to smooth things out. Now if you want to keep it light and show minimal ware use the fine sand paper instead of using the medium grit and transferring to the fine grit. After that you want to dust off your finish and check your work and see if you're happy with it. You then want to take your steel wool and rub it on the rest of the finish. You want to rub in circles because that will get the job quicker and show less scratches on the finish from the steel wool. After that you should be done. But wait! what about the buckle rash? Well, here's my tip to you. You can either play your guitar with a big belt buckle on, or you can do the Tom Murphy method, which is to take your keys and a few other materials made of metal and drop them on the back where the belt buckle would be. This will simulate buckle ware. I hope you succeed with this and Good Luck.

Antiquity Pickups

2012-03-24T14:14:00.001-07:00

Have you ever wanted to have aged pickups, But you didn't want to age them yourself? There are pickup companies that make aged pickups that are new. Companies like Seymour Duncan make these pickups and are sold everywhere like your local guitar shops. These pickups are made for Les Paul's, Strat's, Tele's, and even basses. These pickups have the vintage sound from the 50's and 60's and have the aged look from over the years.

Seymour Duncan's Antiquity Gold Humbuckers

The magnets in the pickups are Alnico II magnets. Though they are a bit pricey, $174, they bring that vintage sound from old 50's and 60's Les Paul's and SG's

Seymour Duncan's JB/Jazz Antiquity Humbuckers

The JB and Jazz antiquity Humbuckers look like they have been worn and played over the course of many years. Their look and sound originates from the 1970's era with it's rich harmonics, clarity, and sustain with the looks of oxidization, dust, and sweat.

Seymour Duncan's Nickle Antiquity Humbucker

Now that you've seen the humbuckers, are you curious about the single coils? Lets start with thir Strat line of pickups.

Seymour Duncan's Antiquity II Custom Bridge, Surfer

Now this pickup is the Antiquity II custom surfer pickup. This pickup was designed for people who want that 60's surfer tone in a strat.

Seymour Duncan's Texas Hot Custom

This pickup is made to sound like a 50's Strat but with an extra punch in the tone. The pickup's image has aged magnets and aged pickup covers.
Next are Telecaster pickups. Some of these pickups come in sets of 2, for both neck and bridge pickups.

Seymour Duncan's Antiquity II Tele Pickups

These pickups were designed to look like they came from a 60's Telecaster. They are also dipped in wax to reduce feedback with more modern effects as well.

Seymour Duncan also makes antiquity pickups for specialized guitars. These pickups are mini humbuckers, both standard and for the Firebird model by Gibson. Pickups for Fender Jaguars, Jazzmasters, and Mustangs are made.The P90 is also produced. The P90's come in both soapbar and in Dog-Ear. There are many more models of pickups and some parts in the Antiquity line but these are only some of what they have. I really do suggest checking them out for that vintage tone and image that you may be looking for. Check them out at seymourduncan.com.

Leave any Comments or questions you may have in the comment box.

Aged and Worn Finishes

2012-03-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

As every guitarist knows, finishes ware down from playing the instrument over time. From Fender to Gibson to PRS to any other guitar company, the guitar finish will ware down over time from playing it. Why does this happen? Well think about it, a persons sweat and grime get on the finish which will eat away at the finish over time. That's why guitar finishes ware down over time. Look at Eddie Van Halen's Franken Strat

EVH Frankenstrat Replica

The exact replica of Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstrat came out in 2009. Notice the slight ware around where the arm would be and the back area where the spring cavity is.
Slash's signature Les Paul's are also aged in the custom shop and show the arm ware and nicks of where slash put his arm.

Gibson Custom Shop Slash Les Paul

Come to mind Neil Young's 1953 Gibson Les Paul has an aged finish. The finish has lost its shine and luster and has arm wear. Why? It's Neil's main axe.

Neil Young's 1953 Gibson Les Paul "Old Black"

There is a lot of ware on this Les Paul. As you can see the ware is where the arm is placed, above the strings and under the strings. The back has a lot of ware as well as you notice in the picture below.

As you can see there is a TREMENDOUS amount of ware on the neck and around the sides of the body. Many musicians have guitars that are aged. Then the company of guitar the person is using will take that guitar and mass produce it. The companies will age it and they will go for thousands of dollars. It's quite the interesting market because many people like Tom Murphy and Gary Moore get paid to age guitars, as I mentioned in a few previous posts.

comments? questions? suggestions?

Yes I am open to suggestions! leave them in the comment box!!!

Rare, aged, and vintage Fender's?

2012-03-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

Much like Gibson guitars many people are also wondering what rare fender guitars are out there and whether they should get them in a aged condition or find one in mint condition.
Everyone loves a Fender guitar whether it be a Stratocaster, Telecaster, Mustang and many others. But what about the RARE models from fender. One of the most rarest Fender guitars is The Fender Coronado

This hollow body guitar came out in 1967. Another rare Fender guitar is The Fender Bass VI.

Though it is a bass, many guitarists play this bass as well as bassists.
Even though this guitar is more recent, many collectors are searching more for it because it is becoming a rare guitar.

The Fender Jag-Stang. This Mustang/Jaguar hybrid was designed by the Grunge legend, Kurt Cobain, this guitar came out in 1993. The value of this is increasing because it's becoming very rare and hard to find.
If you're looking for rare Fender's and you find some of these in a little aged condition or mint, get them if you have the chance. They are great guitars and the playability in these guitars are amazing. There is no question if you should or shouldn't if they're aged or not.

Thank you

comments/questions?

How to Age Pickup Pole Pieces for Telecasters

2012-03-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been working on your Telecaster and wanted you pickup pole pieces to look really old and aged? Well the process for this is quite simple.

All you need is an aluminum oxidizer and a Q-tip.

What yo need to do is take your Q=tip and dip it in the oxidizer

Then rub the oxidizer on the pole pieces.

Now what this will do is make the pole pieces black, which happens a lot on telecaster bridge pickups. You should be done after rubbing them on all 6 pole pieces. Hope this helped you, Good Luck.

leave a comment or a question

Aging Pickups: Humbuckers

2012-03-18T15:49:00.001-07:00

Have you ever wanted your humbucker or humbuckers to look vintage? Reliced? Aged? Weel this post is here to teach you how to get that old vintage look on your humbuckers.

Believe me it's really easy. You only need some steel wool and your hands.

What you need to do is cut a thin strip of steel wool (so you can roughen up the areas between the pole pieces and the strings) The strings are protecting the area that they cover. You can go light or heavy with this, it's all up to you and how you want it to look.

Then lightly ware the finish down with the steel wool why? because it would be too shiny and people will wonder what the hell did you do to your pickups.

Lightly rub the steel wool around the sides to give it the full vintage look.

Lastly rub the steel wool on the pole pieces and you should be done.

please leave any comments or questions you have for me and good luck!

How To Check your Les Paul's Finish like Tom Murphy

2012-03-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

You may have wanted your Les Paul to look aged with checking at some point in your life but didn't know what to do. You wanted to get those lines in your Les Paul finish like this Les Paul

What you are going to need is skill and a razor blade, a very sharp, fine razor blade. To get this cosmetic effect on your guitar is to make fine lines and loops all through out the finish on the top. Do these lines lightly then go harder and deeper but do not cut in the wood. If you cut into the wood, you failed, and this is irreversible. So you need a steady hand, a fine razor blade, skill, patience, and time.

Good Luck, I hope you all succeed with this

drop me a comment or a question about this post

Vintage and Rare Gibson's: Aged or Near Mint Condition?

2012-03-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

Like the SG post you may be wondering about other Gibson's that are vintage and rare.

1958 Gibson Flying V in mint condition

For example that 1958 Flying V up there. That is in mint condition, but what if it was aged? how much would it be? Would it be less? Should i restore it?

1958 Gibson Explorer w/ Bigsby Trem. in mint condition

It's the same situation as the Flying V with this explorer. Well it depends what kind of age there is. If there is minimal wearing down on places where a person's arm is, it's OK. The value of the guitar is still pretty high. If the finish is completely chipped off or close to it a restoration might be in order and lower the value of the guitar.

Original 1952 Gibson Les Paul

Well what about a 1952 Les Paul? What if the finish is really worn, there are nicks every where, the thing looks like a mess. The value of it will still be pretty high. I once read an article about a man who bought a 1952 Les Paul in like 1956 at a pawn shop. It was in OK condition and the guy never picked it up, he left it under his bed for 40 or 50 years. He brought it at a auction for an appraisal and said it was valued to be $20,000-$30,000. The reason why the appraisal was so high was because it was the ORIGINAL finish on and it wasn't restored at all.


1959 Gibson EMS 1235

One of the rarest Gibson's of all time the Gibson EMS 1235. Since this guitar/mandolin has such a limited quantity, it is rare to find this guitar in any way aged except for maybe the white one in the middle of the picture, showing the white finish darkened into a creme.
I hope this informed you just alittle bit more in showing you about gettting mint or aged vintage and rare guitars.

leave a comment or a question

Aged SG's?

2012-03-13T12:46:00.001-07:00

Next to Les Paul's, SG's are a prized possession for many people. It's the age that makes some of the vintage the vintage SG's a real go-getter. You might be wondering what would i need a vintage aged SG for? Well I don't run your life, but this post talks about aged, vintage SG's you might come across and want to purchase in your days to come. The SG came out in 1961 as a redesigned Les Paul.

1961 Gibson Les Paul(SG)

But Then again there are many more models of the SG that you might want from the 1960's to the 1980's. it all depends on what you want, what your looking for, and what sound you want. You may find some rare SG like the 3 Single coil pickups

I hope i helped you by giving you an idea of what to do when encountering a few vintage, aged, and rare Gibson SG's

Fender Road Worn and Reliced series guitars: What's So Special About them?

2012-03-10T09:47:00.000-08:00

Fender Road Worn Series Telecaster

Fender Relic Series Telecaster

Fender Custom Shop 1963 Relic Series Telecaster

Fender Relic Series Stratocaster

Fender Road Worn Series

You may have seen these before in your local music shop, behind the counter, hung up on the wall, but why? They look beat up and old and not very well taken care of, but there so expensive! Why is that? Well those guitars are a part of a special series from Fender called The Road Worn Series and The Fender Relic Series. What's so special about them? The Fender Road Worn series Strat's and Tele's are simulated to look like they were used on the road in gigs and traveling, hence the name "Road Worn". They are made in Mexico and sound great as well as play great for the price. The Road Worn Series has been around for a few years now, I believe they came out in 2010 and are a great buy.
Fender's Relic Series is very different from The Road Worn Series. The Relic Series takes newly made guitars made to have vintage original specs 50's and 60's Strat's and Tele's and age them significantly to simulate years or abuse and ware. These guitars are made in America and are pretty pricey. These guitars have simulated years or dirty and grime in the nooks and cranny's of the pickguard and hardware. If you show your friends a relic series guitar, they will think that you just bought a 60 year old guitar that has seen better days.
I really like the relic series. I think they are great guitars to own if you're looking for the vintage beat up look. I also like the Road Worn series because of the price but if i had to chose I would chose The Relic Series over The Road Worn Series. Why? well here a re my reasons; they are more authentic to aging, they are amazing quality, and it's really like owning a 60 year old guitar thats been beat up. I love The Road Worn Series but i just don't like the look of it. The more newer models are a little more interesting and it looks like you own a 30 year old guitar but I like The Relic Series just a little bit more than The Road Worn Series.

Comments? Questions? Leave them in the box and I'll get back to you

Murphy aged Les Paul's or Moore aged Les Paul's?

2012-03-09T19:58:00.002-08:00

What are Murphy aged Les Paul's? What are Moore aged Les Paul's? You may be wondering the difference between the two. You might think that they are very similar- almost beinng the same. Yes, they are brand new guitars that have been aged, but what is the difference between the two? Tom Murphy and Gary Moore get paid by Gibson to take their guitars and have them aged for signature model guitars for players like Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers, Robby Krieger of The Doors, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and many more. Lets start with Tom Murphy.
Tom Murphy has worked on guitars and aged them for quite some time. He's aged numerous guitars by Gibson, mainly their Les Paul's like this one here

Murphy's Ultra Aged Goldtop Les Paul

Why does Gibson pay Tom so much to age their guitars? Tom Murphy's aging techniques are very unique his checking lines in the finish, simulating years of age in the lacquer, and how gentle to heavy he can age. I, personally, really like Tom Murphy's aging style.

2011 Gibson Custom 1959 reissue Les Paul Murphy aged

Now its time to talk about Gary Moore. Gary Moore worked on guitars such as the Gibson BFG Les Paul and numerous reissues of 1959 Les Paul's and artist signature models of Les Paul's. Gary Moore ages his Les Paul's to look like they have been played frequently on the road from artists.

Moore Aged Gibson Les Paul

Moore aged Gibson Les Paul

They are the best people in Gibson for aging guitars. I like Tom Murphy a little bit more than Gary Moore. Tom Murphy's checking and aging style is more genuine to the aging of the lacquer finish. Don't get me wrong, Gary Moore's style is very nice for a artists signature model but Tom Murphy has more a genuine look to aging even in his signature models.

How to get a VOS (vintage original spec) finish on your guitar (polyurethane finishes only)

2012-03-06T13:24:00.001-08:00

Ever want that kind of dull but somewhat glossy finish on your guitar? Is your guitar too glossy and perfect? What you want is the VOS method of aging your guitar.


1960 Gibson Les Paul VOS

There are five steps to achieve this finish. The supplies you need are:

0000 Steel wool
Planet Waves restore deep cleaning cream polish
Meguiars step 2 deep crystal polish
Dunlop 65 cream of carnauba wax
Polish cloth

Clean your guitar finish off completely and Here's what you want to do:

Take your 0000 Steel wool and rub it on your current finish till it looks dull (leave the steel wool dust on finish for next step. DO NOT DUST IT OFF)
Put the Planet Waves restore on and rub it on with the steel wool dust
Put the Meguiars 2 step on (it's simple wax on, wax off)
Then put the Dunlop wax on to remove the swirls from the steel wool
If swirls are not completely gone start again from the 2nd step up to the 4th step

That will give you the VOS look you've always wanted.

Leave comments and questions.

Good Luck

Aging your Hardware: Telecasters, Stratocasters, Les Pauls and SGs

2012-03-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

Aging hardware can be a hassle if you don't really know what you are doing. I'm here to teach you how. When a guitar's hardware ages, the metal pieces loose there shine and luster.


Notice how the tailpeice has almost completely lost its shine on this 1956 Gibson Les Paul TV Special.

Why does this happen? Hardware ages because of the wearing down of layers on the hardware.

Aged 1959 Gibson Les Paul

This 1952 Fender Telecaster has suffered from heavy aging and abuse on every bit of it, just notice how the bridge plate, control plate, bridge screws and regular screws have rusted and oxidized.

I'm going to give you a few methods for aging hardware like this, maybe not as bad as the Tele, but more like the two Les Pauls up top. There are a lot of ways for aging hardware but the TWO best ways to age hardware are with chemicals and a little abuse for nicks and scratches. What needs to be done with chemicals is easy but dangerous, so take the right precautions.

You need two tupper wear( Glad or Rubbermaid containers, one large and the other small. You also need Muriatic acid (a concrete cleaner sold in hardware stores).

Only pour very little of the acid in the large container, there doesn't need to be much poured, only 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch should be poured in.

Take your bridge plate, tail piece, ABR & Tune O Matic bridges, ashtray bridge covers, tuners, metal knobs, pots, etc.. in the smaller container and place it inside of the large container.

Seal up the large container and wait 20 minutes, *monitor what is going on* (also depends on the material of the hardware. Nickle ages nice and short, while chrome rakes more time to age during the chemical action)

Take out the hardware you placed in and inspect it to check if it's up to YOUR standards

Next take your hardware (except bridge plates, tailpieces, ABR & Tune O Matic bridges) and place them in a bag and seal that bag

Place that bag in a bog and close the box and shake it, SHAKE THE HELL OUT OF IT but don't over do it.

Check to see if your shaking made your hardware up to your standards.

Place hardware back in your guitar

** For added effect use steel wool and rub those spots that you hit the most to make it age even more**

That should be it, the methods you don't want to use for aging is using. Do not use pcb etching agent because that will striptoo much of the plating on your hardware unless you want your hardware to look like that of the Trussart Steelcaster

Good Luck and leave a comment if your have questions and suggestions or to seek further help.

Telecasters and Stratocasters Aging Process: Pickguards

2012-02-29T13:01:00.004-08:00

Pickguards age in numerous ways. White Fender Strat and Tele pickguards can turn into a yellowish-amber color or a nice light brown creme kind of color as shown here on these Strats and Teles


The brownish creme color on the pickguard of this 1965 Fender Strat

The slight discoloration of the white pickguard on this 1957 Fender Telecaster

Black Tele pickguards age in a different way. The pickguard shows its age with pick scratches, a little ware, and a little discoloration of a dark grey from the ware.


1952 Fender Telecaster black pickguard aged

What you're probably wondering is how do i age a brand new pickguard on my Tele or Strat. Here are your options, play that mother everyday of your life in gigs and everything till it looks like that, or wait years with playing it a lot. Well you can do that, but you don't have the patience or the time to do that. Believe me Neither would I. The steps that I'm going to give to you have been used plenty of times by numerous people. Some other methods i will give are what not to do to age your Fender Tele or Strat pickguard. These methods are for aging white pickguards. There are many methods to age white pickguards. I've heard of people using brown shoe polish, rubbing coffee grounds on the pickguard, soaking the pickguard in old cold coffee for a few days. Some people also use tea. I personally like the old coffee method. I will teach you the method by following these steps:

Take off your white pickguard or use a newly purchased pickguard (optional, you don't need to buy a new pickguard)
Get a plastic tub or bin, just big enough to fit the pickguard
Make a pot of coffee and wait till it gets cold.
Pour the cold coffee into the pin and then place the pickgaurd desired to age
Wait 2 days (if you want to seal the bin you can just so its a little cleaner and nothing spills if the bin is tipped over)
Lastly you wanna take out the pickguard dry it off and inspect it. Then put it back on your guitar.

The coffee method gives it a nice light brown color found on a lot of 50's and 60's Strats and Teles. The reason why the plastic turns brown is because of the pores in the plastic. Yes, plastic has pores, these pores allow coffee to soak in the plastic over time, thus giving it the light brown look. The shoe polish and tea method involves the same science principles of having it be soaked in the plastic. The plastic can come out to be brown or yellow depending on the color of polish you use.

Aging a black pickgaurd is very different. There is no soaking of anything in everything. Since it's black there is no way to make it yellow-amber or light brown. People use scuffing pads and razors to age black pickguards. These steps are completely different than aging a white pickguard:

Take off your black pickguard or use a newly purchased pickguard (optional, you don't need to buy a new pickguard)
Get really fine sand paper, scuffing pads, or steel wool.
Scuff off the shine of the plastic.
For added effect use the razor blade and and light and thin lines around the area where you would have your pick. (this gives the effect of pick scratches
For added effect use the razor blade again to scratch the pickgaurd screw holes to make a fine hair thin crack
dust off your pickguard and place it back in your guitar.

**Note: this black pickguard aging process is found in Telecasters, not Strats**

These are the best methods for aging your Strat or Tele pickguards.

Good luck.

Telecasters and Stratocasters

2012-02-28T14:53:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder how you can get you telecaster to look like Keith Richard's Tele? or get your Strat to look like Stevie Ray Vaughn's? Well at one point in time they were bought new. Over the years their playing has caused the aging process to the instruments.

Stevie's Fender Stratocaster also known as "One

Stevie posing with his Fender Stratocaster referred to as "One or "Number One"

Keith Richards with his Aged Fender Telecaster

Keith Richard's aged 5 string Fender Telecaster

introduction

2012-02-28T13:54:00.001-08:00

Hello,
This blog is about aging your guitar. This site will show the dos and the don'ts of aging or adding the aging effect to your guitar. These methods are simple but can be complicated based on the techniques you use. That's right! You! the Reader! So if you have a guitar you want to age and give the age effect ENJOY!! ******Posts are already posted*******