Relic acoustics - The Session King

[nkforster]

Ever get sick of trying to make a perfect finish? Well I do... I had an idea earlier this year to make a new student model, a guitar folk could take to the pub and not worry about.

On the outside these look like rough old beaters but on the inside they're as good as any of my much more expensive guitars. I have to say it's a real blast making them not worrying about dings and imperfections. As a result they're much quicker and cheaper than my regular guitars. And a lot less stressful - highly recommended!!!









Make a guitar, spray it in nitro, then take it in the back yard for a good hiding - easy!

[Nick]

I actually like that Nigel . I've seen the electrics being relic'ed but just never thought of doing it to an acoustic!

[RobDyball]

Looks fantastic! Can you run us through some of the techniques?

[kiwigeo]

What the hell's been going on with that headstock???.......looks like the guitar got left next to a bored 2 year old with a Stanley knife.

[nkforster]

What the hell's been going on with that headstock???.......looks like the guitar got left next to a bored 2 year old with a Stanley knife.

Ha! That's the natural checking of certain nitro lacquers.

The techniques vary and the kit is simple enough, the main thing is looking at genuine old guitars and seeing where they wear and replicating it.

The basic kit it this:

Nitro lacquer
Freezer
Sand blaster
bunch of keys
bike chain
concrete floor
carpet square
Acetone
Etching fluid

The electric forums have loads of posts on the subject. In the end, it's about making a new guitar and adding 50 years - you don't make and old guitar and polish it if you catch my drift.

Also not every nitro "checks" some do, some don't. Nitro on Rosewood checks better than on mahogany, and nitro over wood with colour checks better than wood without. It's all quite interesting and you have to experiment, but it's fun.

[kiwigeo]

You left the concrete mixer full of marbles off the list

Reminds me of my teen years and the time I spent a week trying to wash my new denims so they wouldnt look new....

[Kamusur]

All the way down to the faux belt buckle/zipper and button scratches on the back, very nicely done Nigel

[Jeremy D]

That is way cool

[nkforster]

Tell you what's really nice - is not worrying about it when you take it out. I've taken these to the pub for the local students to try out and apart from knowing they'll come back at the end of the night with dead strings, there's nothing much can go wrong. I've seen fellers with nice shiny new guitars spend the whole night tense because they're worried something might happen to their new baby, but this just doesn't apply to the Session King.

Here's what they sound like too -


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[Ormsby Guitars]

Oh man, doing distressed finishes are the best. No stress. Fun. No stress. And a lot less stress.



Anodised aluminium top

[Steve.Toscano]

I made a "relic'd" uku awhile back, and i must say it was probably the funnest build ive ever done.