Aged and Worn Finishes

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?

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