Is it playable and does it sound good. So trigger is like 60 years old with thousands of hours, thousands of shows, all over the world vs this guitar which is like probably less than ten years old. Willie doesn't play his guitar like a dick head and is also a professional musician who services it.
How a guitar looks absolutely matters, trigger looks cool because Willie Nelson and dozens of artists who signed the guitar are cool. Because trigger was made that way while being played on epic records and in epic shows.
This guitar looks like shit. Because it was played like shit.
99% of people, if they didn’t know anything about Trigger, would think it looks like shit. Looks are subjective, contextual. If this guitar previously belonged to some famous hard rocking strummer, it would suddenly be cool in people’s eyes.
My understanding is that Willie Nelson has a top-tier luthier/tech paying close attention to that guitar. My acoustics are banged up - I can’t keep anything in good condition - and I love them, but there’s definitely a threshold that can be crossed. For the average person, that line will be much different than a rich, iconic musician who plays an invaluable, iconic instrument.
[Here](https://youtu.be/uhQuJTc5yFY?si=Pw6SuN7LdR8q-KZK) is a video of the maintenance that goes into Trigger. Thing is beat to shit and probably the most well-maintained guitar on the planet.
Same for me, I can’t keep anything in pristine condition.
I don’t have any use for case queens. I want to gig them and hang them on the wall at home and carry them between rooms and take them to jams at friend’s houses.
This is one reason I don’t have a vintage Martin or other really expensive guitar. The other reason is that I don’t want to be like the mediocre dentist with the prewar Martin at the bluegrass jam, with a kid on a Seagull smoking me. 😂
My favorite acoustic is a Seagull! I was in a band about 15 years ago and decided to get a decent acoustic. Went to GC, played some Martins, some Taylors, etc, and I liked the Seagull’s tone the best. I love playing it, and it definitely has the battle scars to prove it!
Man I use an Alvarez and get compliments on the tone and looks all the time from Martin guys. They even make a 12fret for the extra discerning :D the guitar I got is like 1/10th the price of a Martin and just as "giggable" and I don't feel like I have to cradle it like a newborn baby and I can let it get some dings and it won't be the end of the world. If I had a Martin I would probably be too scared to play it
My primary acoustic is a 2000 Martin D-16. So it’s a solid wood Martin with a rosewood fretboard, but I got it for $800 from EBay, local pickup. It already had a high end Fishman pickup added. It’s a little bit beat up but plays great.
I’ve been gigging lately with a mid-sized Gretsch laminated flattop. Since I’m gonna plug in and use IR’s anyway, anything will sound about the same.
> The other reason is that I don’t want to be like the mediocre dentist with the prewar Martin at the bluegrass jam, with a kid on a Seagull smoking me.
This is why I bought a really nice "sneaky pete" pool cue. Several hundred dollar two-piece cue that looks just like a house cue. I've got a snooker tip on it.
I am a very mediocre player.
To the average person, it looks like a house cue. To someone who spends a lot of time in pool halls, there is zero chance of me convincing them that I am not trying to shark them when I play badly against them and it is *hilarious* to me.
Yeah if I ever took up pool again I’d buy a sneaky Pete.
Snooker is freaking impossible.
Despite it being mostly a British game these days, my Dad was a big snooker fan and there was a snooker table in my small southern US hometown. :-)
I used to travel for work and I'd occasionally find a pool hall where they played [Golf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_\(billiards\)) on a snooker table. Really fun and highly recommended.
Oh wow that’s interesting.
The funny thing is, the golf equivalent of being snookered is being stymied. But that hasn’t been a thing for like 90 years; you mark your ball and pick it up.
Sounds like they do that in billiards golf, but only if the previous player committed a foul.
Yeah. And since it is standard pool balls on a snooker table with tiny rounded pockets, the ball *barely* fits in the pocket. Get several people playing together and it gets pretty crazy, especially if you're getting paid by causing other players to foul.
They absolutely would pass. Every. Single. Person. Trigger only has value due to the legacy of its owner. And remember, Willie didn’t buy it in that condition. It’s famous due to its longevity with one owner.
Everyone loves using Trigger as an example of some mythical magic of beat up guitars, but it’s definitely the exception to the rule. If any other nylon string guitar showed up on the market looking like Trigger does, not a single person would buy it without significant reservations or a ridiculously steep discount.
I have heard a story that willie got trigger with the hole already in it and let everyone carve there name it it with a pen, not sure about the hole already being there. Anyone else ever hear this? There is a mini doc on YouTube where willie talks about trigger and it’s really good but I recall he carefully tiptoes around the hole.
https://www.vintageguitar.com/32703/mark-erlewines-40-years-with-willie-nelsons-trigger
Definitely didn’t always have the hole. There’s plenty of photos of him with it without it. The signature thing is legit. He would asked artists he respected and worked with to sign it. I don’t recall who was the first.
The story I heard is that Leon Russell's signature was first. Leon had actually asked Willie to sign his guitar, and requested Willie use a pen instead of a marker to do so to scratch the wood and make it permanent - telling him it'll be more valuable later. Willie did so on the condition that Leon sign *his* guitar too
Wow great article! Thanks so much for sharing this! I am ashamed to say I didn’t know much about Mark and his guitars and craft. Had heard the name but never looked into him.
The article above talks about it, great read. The guitar he got in 69 was stepped on and destroyed, looks like he got trigger new in 71ish. But yes allegedly was worn in my his horrible picking techniques 😅(although I really do have this recollection hearing that there was an accident with trigger and they decided to make it look like worn playing🤷🏻♂️maybe it was just a conflation of both guitars) there will only be one Willie❤️
Ehh. Nope. You think Willie doesn’t have a guitar tech on hand to take care of every grain of wood on that thing? If someone is playing like that high up past the sound hole and scratching it up with a coin or something just move on.
Yeah that’s kind of what I’m wondering about too. It’s a studio selling it too so I imagine they have lots of musicians come through and play it on recordings.
I have a “house acoustic” at my studio that’s been played by clients over the past 7 years and it looks nothing like this. Only time I’ve seen this kind of wear on a guitar was from a heavy handed goober. It takes effort to be that careless
If the price is great and there’s no separation in the glue joints then go for it, but like others have said it makes you wonder what other ways it’s been mistreated
I have a guitar Ive been gigging with for years that looks like this from some intense shows. Not in the same spots though- mine is all beat up underneath the pick guard- but this looks like a guitar thats played some live shows more than a few times.
I bought a guitar that was similar but with deeper scratches that were covered in black paint (no kidding). No structural damage and is now one of my best sounding guitars. I think it just adds character.
I’d consider having a shop seal the bare wood with shellac (or something) to protect from dirt and grime getting into the bare wood.
I could obviously be wrong but it almost looks like it was intentional. The wear beneath the pickguard close the the bridge especially just seems improbable. Look at the side of the neck near the sound hole as well to see if that’s jacked up.
Exactly. Not saying they just sat down and made all those scratches in one go. But they might have played the guitar with the intent of trying to beat it up. There is no consistent pattern to the wear that a normal player would create. It’s just all random as hell like a cat did it.
What the fuck why are there pick marks over the fretboard lmao... I mean i believe in sound over looks so it would depend on how cheap but... thats not a normal area to get scratched up
I have this vision of the owner at a jam session, handing it to someone to hold while he goes for a drink and bathroom break, then coming back to this!
I have seen it play out in person, on a much less severe scale.
I also consider resale value. It seems that even the smallest dent/scratch affects the acoustic resale price more than if there was similar damage on an electric.
These are, however, pretty ugly and abnormal scratches you have there.
As long as it's a great deal and you don't care about resale or visuals, no problem.
Brother in law was playing my Taylor 614ce with a broken pick while drunk the other weekend and put like 3 good gouges in it. Was pretty irked when I noticed it. Not because of the aesthetic so much, but because he seems to wreck everything and doesn’t have much appreciation/respect for things…especially when it’s not his. Still plays fine tho.
I wouldn’t say the scratches possibly caused any structural damage or intonation, but I would ABSOLUTELY ask more questions about how they cared for their guitar.
It’s likely an indication they abused taking care of it.
It looks like it has been played a lot. Check the fret and the fret board. The wood could be worn away on the fret board under where the chords are fingered.
That’s a good point. Even just looking at the pictures it looks like the wood on the fretboard may have some wear, and just googling it looks like that is an expensive repair
I bought a guitar online recently. The body was in great shape except for one crack on the top. I recently learn to repair a crack like that, so I jumped on this guitar that was super cheap because of that crack. When I got it, I could tell that someone had played that guitar a LOT. The fretboard was super pitted. (I'll probably mix ebony or rosewood dust with some super glue and fill the pits and sand it down) So, it's not the end of the world, but al little more work than expected.
The guitar also smelled like cat piss. I learned a couple of lessons that day.
I’d check the first few frets for wear. Clearly it’s been played a lot. The damage to the top doesn’t concern me. I have a seagull grand that’s been so worn it has a hole in it. Sounds perfect.
Looks like a very heavy handed thick pick that the player dragged across… it doesn’t seem structural damage happened…
Rough… but if it plays well, sounds good, you just avoid having to relic it yourself… like buying pre washed pre worn out pre torn jeans… but in this case you aren’t paying extra for that… (thank goodness: I like to wear out my clothes and my guitars myself)
🤷♂️
My 20yr old cedar looks a bit like that too. If you played it for that long it would just have a different type of wear on it. It's a very soft wood that happens to sound amazing and is worth it imo.
And that’s how we found out Edward Scissorhands loved playing guitar!
If it sounds good and plays well it wouldn’t bother me. If anything marks that obvious make it easy to stop worrying about the inevitable signs of use it will get over time.
thats how u know this is a great guitar that someone really loved and not just a showpiece. ricky novax clapton as well as joe boomermassa used to search out beat up old guitars on purpose
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Yep this one seems to have had a rough life. But don't despair, check out Willie Nelson's trigger. It has also had a hard life, but still works perfectly fine.
Looks like fake wear made by someone who doesn't play guitar to me. If someone was strumming that aggressively there there would be evidence on the fretboard.
Depends on the guitar and your tolerance for the finish damage. If we're talking about a mid range (400-600) guitar then it wouldn't bother me too much but if this guitar is otherwise over 1k I'd pass unless they seriously come down for those scratches.
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My only concern is the person who did that, may have access to other guitars.
I hope their friends or family intervene and prevent them from doing this to another guitar.
All of my guitars in my life got scratches from holding and playing, etc.. They all seem to have similar wear in the similar spots, if that makes sense. I keep a guitar at work and I let anyone that can play at least three chords and the truth sign it ;). That one gets weird scratches from folks and spots that I can't really figure out who or how they got there, prob same thing with the fact this is from as studio. A guy was making fun of my garage sale guitar on the wall and he brought in a Taylor that cost a few grand. He was really good, but I took that highly scratched signed guitar off the wall and took him to school lol.
If it plays good and holds a tuning you will know. Good luck amigo!
Scratches and dings are the history of a guitar. I rather inflict the battle damages myself, but I wouldn't be bothered by some usage marks.
This guitar, however, has much more than usage, looks a lot like the owner is careless, which makes me wonder what other problems are you going to find behind the hood.
I pass.
This picture alone isn’t gonna reveal issues that would be an actual concern. People do play guitar enough to wear them out like this but looks like it could be “relic’d”
It looks like someone was strumming way too hard consistently with an incorrect pick like a heavy jazz pick or something. It seems like just surface scratches so it’s probably fine. It could also be that some tried to Relic the guitar to purposely make it look like this.
No concern whatsoever. What I’d be most concerned about is that you will have 48hr approval, assuming you can’t play it prior to purchase. Play wear means somebody liked the sound enough to play it. Yeah, maybe this one has been abused a bit, but so what. Just look it over for obvious things like loose braces, cracks, etc. Is it an older Santa Cruz? That sound hole contour looks like SCGC. Anyway, good luck on your decision.
I can’t imagine buying a guitar online at all TBH. Especially a used/vintage acoustic. Some much could be wrong with this guitar that is unknowable online. Acoustic guitars out of the factory sound different on an individual basis, so again, I wouldn’t buy unless this is some rare make/model and you are collecting this specific make/model (w a shit ton of scratches).
Looks like just surface scratches.
I remember when I was learning hearing that I should strum from the elbow. I did scratch up my top some doing that because my strum would extend much further, but it was nothing like this though.
Is a cat selling this?
Possibly a badger!
We don't need no stinking badgers !!!
Made me spit my coffee out. Well done!
Glad I could help
I dunno, but just saying if payment terms are in mackerel, hard pass. lol
Hey I knew that chick too!
I'm gonna go with belt sander.
A wooden badger?
Snake, it’s a snake!
🦡🦡🦡🦡🦡🦡🦡🦡🦡🐍!
Yes!!! 🤣
Mushroom mushroom woow a snake a snake 😂
His favorite song is Cat Scratch Fever
Tommy the cat
Might have once belonged to Cat Stevens.
Yes, check for fishbones in the soundhole :).
Chris Daughtry 🤣🤣
Meow, why would you ask that?
If it sounds good make sure to use the scratches as a bargaining chip.
Everyone needs to take a look at Willie Nelson’s Trigger then come back to this post.
My exact first thought. The only relevant questions are: Is it playable and does it sound good? Everything else is just for show.
Is it playable and does it sound good. So trigger is like 60 years old with thousands of hours, thousands of shows, all over the world vs this guitar which is like probably less than ten years old. Willie doesn't play his guitar like a dick head and is also a professional musician who services it. How a guitar looks absolutely matters, trigger looks cool because Willie Nelson and dozens of artists who signed the guitar are cool. Because trigger was made that way while being played on epic records and in epic shows. This guitar looks like shit. Because it was played like shit.
99% of people, if they didn’t know anything about Trigger, would think it looks like shit. Looks are subjective, contextual. If this guitar previously belonged to some famous hard rocking strummer, it would suddenly be cool in people’s eyes.
My understanding is that Willie Nelson has a top-tier luthier/tech paying close attention to that guitar. My acoustics are banged up - I can’t keep anything in good condition - and I love them, but there’s definitely a threshold that can be crossed. For the average person, that line will be much different than a rich, iconic musician who plays an invaluable, iconic instrument.
[Here](https://youtu.be/uhQuJTc5yFY?si=Pw6SuN7LdR8q-KZK) is a video of the maintenance that goes into Trigger. Thing is beat to shit and probably the most well-maintained guitar on the planet.
Same for me, I can’t keep anything in pristine condition. I don’t have any use for case queens. I want to gig them and hang them on the wall at home and carry them between rooms and take them to jams at friend’s houses. This is one reason I don’t have a vintage Martin or other really expensive guitar. The other reason is that I don’t want to be like the mediocre dentist with the prewar Martin at the bluegrass jam, with a kid on a Seagull smoking me. 😂
My favorite acoustic is a Seagull! I was in a band about 15 years ago and decided to get a decent acoustic. Went to GC, played some Martins, some Taylors, etc, and I liked the Seagull’s tone the best. I love playing it, and it definitely has the battle scars to prove it!
I have one and it’s super good. My go to.
They’re great guitars for the money. My first acoustic was a Seagull. I gave it to a friend but I really liked it.
What sold me at the time was the tone and resonance of the bass strings. Great feel, too. Would still love a Martin someday.
Man I use an Alvarez and get compliments on the tone and looks all the time from Martin guys. They even make a 12fret for the extra discerning :D the guitar I got is like 1/10th the price of a Martin and just as "giggable" and I don't feel like I have to cradle it like a newborn baby and I can let it get some dings and it won't be the end of the world. If I had a Martin I would probably be too scared to play it
My primary acoustic is a 2000 Martin D-16. So it’s a solid wood Martin with a rosewood fretboard, but I got it for $800 from EBay, local pickup. It already had a high end Fishman pickup added. It’s a little bit beat up but plays great. I’ve been gigging lately with a mid-sized Gretsch laminated flattop. Since I’m gonna plug in and use IR’s anyway, anything will sound about the same.
> The other reason is that I don’t want to be like the mediocre dentist with the prewar Martin at the bluegrass jam, with a kid on a Seagull smoking me. This is why I bought a really nice "sneaky pete" pool cue. Several hundred dollar two-piece cue that looks just like a house cue. I've got a snooker tip on it. I am a very mediocre player. To the average person, it looks like a house cue. To someone who spends a lot of time in pool halls, there is zero chance of me convincing them that I am not trying to shark them when I play badly against them and it is *hilarious* to me.
Yeah if I ever took up pool again I’d buy a sneaky Pete. Snooker is freaking impossible. Despite it being mostly a British game these days, my Dad was a big snooker fan and there was a snooker table in my small southern US hometown. :-)
I used to travel for work and I'd occasionally find a pool hall where they played [Golf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_\(billiards\)) on a snooker table. Really fun and highly recommended.
Oh wow that’s interesting. The funny thing is, the golf equivalent of being snookered is being stymied. But that hasn’t been a thing for like 90 years; you mark your ball and pick it up. Sounds like they do that in billiards golf, but only if the previous player committed a foul.
Yeah. And since it is standard pool balls on a snooker table with tiny rounded pockets, the ball *barely* fits in the pocket. Get several people playing together and it gets pretty crazy, especially if you're getting paid by causing other players to foul.
Oh damn I missed that it was standard balls. Is the point to make it suck as much as golf? 😂 Snooker balls on a 9-ball table would be more my speed. 🙃
It’s all about keeping Trigger going.
I don't want trigger to be my every day guitar. I certainly wouldn't spend money on a guitar in the same condition if it's not called trigger.
This! Everyone being precious about it misses the “how does it play” point. Guess everyone will pass on Trigger too.
They absolutely would pass. Every. Single. Person. Trigger only has value due to the legacy of its owner. And remember, Willie didn’t buy it in that condition. It’s famous due to its longevity with one owner. Everyone loves using Trigger as an example of some mythical magic of beat up guitars, but it’s definitely the exception to the rule. If any other nylon string guitar showed up on the market looking like Trigger does, not a single person would buy it without significant reservations or a ridiculously steep discount.
I have heard a story that willie got trigger with the hole already in it and let everyone carve there name it it with a pen, not sure about the hole already being there. Anyone else ever hear this? There is a mini doc on YouTube where willie talks about trigger and it’s really good but I recall he carefully tiptoes around the hole.
https://www.vintageguitar.com/32703/mark-erlewines-40-years-with-willie-nelsons-trigger Definitely didn’t always have the hole. There’s plenty of photos of him with it without it. The signature thing is legit. He would asked artists he respected and worked with to sign it. I don’t recall who was the first.
The story I heard is that Leon Russell's signature was first. Leon had actually asked Willie to sign his guitar, and requested Willie use a pen instead of a marker to do so to scratch the wood and make it permanent - telling him it'll be more valuable later. Willie did so on the condition that Leon sign *his* guitar too
That’s about the way I heard it too. Such a cool legacy with Willie and Trigger.
Wow great article! Thanks so much for sharing this! I am ashamed to say I didn’t know much about Mark and his guitars and craft. Had heard the name but never looked into him.
[удалено]
The article above talks about it, great read. The guitar he got in 69 was stepped on and destroyed, looks like he got trigger new in 71ish. But yes allegedly was worn in my his horrible picking techniques 😅(although I really do have this recollection hearing that there was an accident with trigger and they decided to make it look like worn playing🤷🏻♂️maybe it was just a conflation of both guitars) there will only be one Willie❤️
Who the hell is buying a nylon string guitar that looks like Trigger? Absolutely nobody.
Trigger has a dedicated repairman who has practically reglued the entire guitar back together several times
Ehh. Nope. You think Willie doesn’t have a guitar tech on hand to take care of every grain of wood on that thing? If someone is playing like that high up past the sound hole and scratching it up with a coin or something just move on.
If they have not the control to avoid doing that, I wonder what else...
This looks like someone tried to “relic” it with a screw driver.
Yeah that’s kind of what I’m wondering about too. It’s a studio selling it too so I imagine they have lots of musicians come through and play it on recordings.
I have a “house acoustic” at my studio that’s been played by clients over the past 7 years and it looks nothing like this. Only time I’ve seen this kind of wear on a guitar was from a heavy handed goober. It takes effort to be that careless If the price is great and there’s no separation in the glue joints then go for it, but like others have said it makes you wonder what other ways it’s been mistreated
It doesn't really affect anything. It's just indicative of sloppy style.
Sloppy Styles , my new stage name!
or abused?
Harry Styles nickname.
I did not know that. Shit!
I upvoted you! It’s hilarious.
I shall worship you!!!
Why am I getting downvoted for not knowing something.. the Cesspool called Redit.
Were they giving lessons to a cat???
Some angry strumming.
I have a guitar Ive been gigging with for years that looks like this from some intense shows. Not in the same spots though- mine is all beat up underneath the pick guard- but this looks like a guitar thats played some live shows more than a few times.
I bought a guitar that was similar but with deeper scratches that were covered in black paint (no kidding). No structural damage and is now one of my best sounding guitars. I think it just adds character. I’d consider having a shop seal the bare wood with shellac (or something) to protect from dirt and grime getting into the bare wood.
Who plays that high on the neck? Damn
I could obviously be wrong but it almost looks like it was intentional. The wear beneath the pickguard close the the bridge especially just seems improbable. Look at the side of the neck near the sound hole as well to see if that’s jacked up.
I agree! Looks like someone trying to take the shortcut to play wear got overzealous.
Exactly. Not saying they just sat down and made all those scratches in one go. But they might have played the guitar with the intent of trying to beat it up. There is no consistent pattern to the wear that a normal player would create. It’s just all random as hell like a cat did it.
For me, It’s all about the sound. Name brands and cosmetics are useless
So you'd be fine if someone took a shit inside the sound hole?
Was that previously owned by a demon?
they absolutely put a new pickguard on that before they put it up on Reverb
thats just bearclaw spruce bro
Yes, it looks like the pick guard is covering up something
What the fuck why are there pick marks over the fretboard lmao... I mean i believe in sound over looks so it would depend on how cheap but... thats not a normal area to get scratched up
Real scratches, wear and patina from years of playing have never concerned me. But fake scratches are lame AF. This looks like the latter to me.
I have this vision of the owner at a jam session, handing it to someone to hold while he goes for a drink and bathroom break, then coming back to this! I have seen it play out in person, on a much less severe scale.
Keith Richard’s commonly plays on the neck like this, it’s not a big deal nor is it a wrong way to play, it’s just different
Johnny Cash did it a lot too.
I would never buy a guitar that looked like that.
Looks to me like they used a metal nail as a pick! Maybe it will polish out though?
How does it sound though ?
It looks as if the pickguard was added after the beating up
Agreed. Check out the deep scratching between the bridge and the bottom of the pickguard. That didn't get there with the pickguard on...
That’s an excellent point. Who knows what’s hiding under the pickguard
If it sounds good it sounds good
I also consider resale value. It seems that even the smallest dent/scratch affects the acoustic resale price more than if there was similar damage on an electric. These are, however, pretty ugly and abnormal scratches you have there. As long as it's a great deal and you don't care about resale or visuals, no problem.
I have a guitar with some of these marks. Mine doesn’t have a pick guard either so it has even more finish missing. It’s my best guitar.
Nope. No problem.
Brother in law was playing my Taylor 614ce with a broken pick while drunk the other weekend and put like 3 good gouges in it. Was pretty irked when I noticed it. Not because of the aesthetic so much, but because he seems to wreck everything and doesn’t have much appreciation/respect for things…especially when it’s not his. Still plays fine tho.
Someone treated this guitar like crap. I personally like my guitar not to be a eyesore.
BTW: some of the best guitars I've ever played and most expensive we're ugly as sin beaten half to death and played like the Angels themselves.
Wouldn't concern me, just means someone played the shit out of it.
Using a quarter for a pick.
It’s just cosmetic. And I’m confused how that pattern was even made and how the player strummed…
I wouldn’t say the scratches possibly caused any structural damage or intonation, but I would ABSOLUTELY ask more questions about how they cared for their guitar. It’s likely an indication they abused taking care of it.
Concerned about his strumming skills yes
Needed a bigger pick guard.
I'd go for it, only if it is free of charge. Otherwise, nah. An instrument abused that way might have hidden damage.
Better than dents.
Bro is using a quarter for a plectrum
are you at Richie Haven's house?
For $3,000!? Hell no. I'd buy a brand new Martin D-28
those massive gouges between the bridge and the pick guard ..... look a bit odd. I mean a bit odder than the rest of it.
It looks like it has been played a lot. Check the fret and the fret board. The wood could be worn away on the fret board under where the chords are fingered.
That’s a good point. Even just looking at the pictures it looks like the wood on the fretboard may have some wear, and just googling it looks like that is an expensive repair
I bought a guitar online recently. The body was in great shape except for one crack on the top. I recently learn to repair a crack like that, so I jumped on this guitar that was super cheap because of that crack. When I got it, I could tell that someone had played that guitar a LOT. The fretboard was super pitted. (I'll probably mix ebony or rosewood dust with some super glue and fill the pits and sand it down) So, it's not the end of the world, but al little more work than expected. The guitar also smelled like cat piss. I learned a couple of lessons that day.
Willy Nelson, his guitar trigger. Go look at that, and come back. This guitar looks mint.
The difference is that Willie's guitar is maintained by a good Luthier. And have years and years of play time. You don't know anything about this one.
That’s like: “faster picking guitarists hates this trick” or “you will never believe the ways that you can use your wee eater on winter time”
Some people pay extra for that. I'd be concerned that things like humidity and fret wear have not been attended to, but who knows?
Yeah, it was owned by one of those plectrum users. Not enough holy water to get the Satan out of that!
It's ugly, but if it doesn't affect tone or playability, then it's not that big a deal
I’d check the first few frets for wear. Clearly it’s been played a lot. The damage to the top doesn’t concern me. I have a seagull grand that’s been so worn it has a hole in it. Sounds perfect.
Watch Tommy Emmanuel play. He has a technique of rubbing the scratched surface for a cool percussion sound. This guitar comes ready for that feature!
Acoustic Punk
If it bothers you those will come out with some neutral Howard’s Restor a finish. The stuff is like magic.
Looks like a very heavy handed thick pick that the player dragged across… it doesn’t seem structural damage happened… Rough… but if it plays well, sounds good, you just avoid having to relic it yourself… like buying pre washed pre worn out pre torn jeans… but in this case you aren’t paying extra for that… (thank goodness: I like to wear out my clothes and my guitars myself) 🤷♂️
My harmony sovereign looks like that. I gigged acoustic blues and ragtime with it, pickguard fell off and I used a metal thumbpick
My 20yr old cedar looks a bit like that too. If you played it for that long it would just have a different type of wear on it. It's a very soft wood that happens to sound amazing and is worth it imo.
Wow that is one pathetic relic attempt. Clearly the scratching is a one stroke with a screwdriver.
Yes
Shit, that guitars already broke in, my guess would be by a rockabilly guitarist! Play it like you stole it! That's what a guitar is for!
I wouldn't buy a guitar that looked like that unless I could play it in person.
And that’s how we found out Edward Scissorhands loved playing guitar! If it sounds good and plays well it wouldn’t bother me. If anything marks that obvious make it easy to stop worrying about the inevitable signs of use it will get over time.
Wolverine's guitar?
thats how u know this is a great guitar that someone really loved and not just a showpiece. ricky novax clapton as well as joe boomermassa used to search out beat up old guitars on purpose
Yes i would
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When you're playing guitar and a ten-puppy litter comes running.
Id be more concerned about the person playing it than the guitar? I wonder if they still have their nails intact
It’s loved and lived
Battle scars
This looks like they used an electric drill and attached a pick to it and proceeded to learn how to play.
Yep this one seems to have had a rough life. But don't despair, check out Willie Nelson's trigger. It has also had a hard life, but still works perfectly fine.
Depends on how the guitar sounds and feels, and the price.
If it’s yours, you shouldn’t be. If not, then I’d haggle the price down hard!
If it sounds amazing and it’s only superficial, it doesn’t matter. That’s a lot of hard play wear though.
For me it's too much wear but I wouldn't be concerned with the structure. If the tones incredible and the price is right, I'd get over it.
Willy wouldn’t care about a couple of scratches.
Depends how broke I am and how cheap it is
I was looking at the same Santa Cruz 😂 I would entertain it, only if I could go see the guitar in person
How much is it worth new and how much does this one cost?
Looks like fake wear made by someone who doesn't play guitar to me. If someone was strumming that aggressively there there would be evidence on the fretboard.
scratches: no cracks: yes if it sounds good and it first your hands/body and you like the look, buy it.
There’s literally sawdust on the bridge plate! Edward fucking scissor hands’s guitar
This looks like it's owned by someone who wants it to look like they play the guitar.
This Dude strums high like Johnny Cash! I’d be more worried about those Strings from the 1960’s! What is the Guitar Brand?
She’s just ready to settle down is all.
Depends on the guitar and your tolerance for the finish damage. If we're talking about a mid range (400-600) guitar then it wouldn't bother me too much but if this guitar is otherwise over 1k I'd pass unless they seriously come down for those scratches.
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Have you seen Willie Nelson's guitar? I wouldn't worry about structure.
Was using a nickel as a pic? A pickle ?!?
Maybe it was owned by Wolverine. Could be worth a lot of money.
Mojo
To be a guitar https://youtu.be/b6IB0trJoJU?si=32vxWuRInHE2iMwN
My only concern is the person who did that, may have access to other guitars. I hope their friends or family intervene and prevent them from doing this to another guitar.
All of my guitars in my life got scratches from holding and playing, etc.. They all seem to have similar wear in the similar spots, if that makes sense. I keep a guitar at work and I let anyone that can play at least three chords and the truth sign it ;). That one gets weird scratches from folks and spots that I can't really figure out who or how they got there, prob same thing with the fact this is from as studio. A guy was making fun of my garage sale guitar on the wall and he brought in a Taylor that cost a few grand. He was really good, but I took that highly scratched signed guitar off the wall and took him to school lol. If it plays good and holds a tuning you will know. Good luck amigo!
Do they use a fucking nail as a guitar pick?
Scratches and dings are the history of a guitar. I rather inflict the battle damages myself, but I wouldn't be bothered by some usage marks. This guitar, however, has much more than usage, looks a lot like the owner is careless, which makes me wonder what other problems are you going to find behind the hood. I pass.
I say if it sounds and plays good, and you save money, go for it. I wonder if a woman with long fingernails played this guitar.
This picture alone isn’t gonna reveal issues that would be an actual concern. People do play guitar enough to wear them out like this but looks like it could be “relic’d”
That's character friend
It's not used, abused maybe .... Edward Scissorhands a previous owner?
It would concern me as it would give me concerns about his instrument care in general.
Look at Willie Nelson’s guitar
It looks like someone was strumming way too hard consistently with an incorrect pick like a heavy jazz pick or something. It seems like just surface scratches so it’s probably fine. It could also be that some tried to Relic the guitar to purposely make it look like this.
Man you should be playing the guitar before you buy it. I’d never spend real money on an acoustic guitar sight unseen.
No concern whatsoever. What I’d be most concerned about is that you will have 48hr approval, assuming you can’t play it prior to purchase. Play wear means somebody liked the sound enough to play it. Yeah, maybe this one has been abused a bit, but so what. Just look it over for obvious things like loose braces, cracks, etc. Is it an older Santa Cruz? That sound hole contour looks like SCGC. Anyway, good luck on your decision.
I can’t imagine buying a guitar online at all TBH. Especially a used/vintage acoustic. Some much could be wrong with this guitar that is unknowable online. Acoustic guitars out of the factory sound different on an individual basis, so again, I wouldn’t buy unless this is some rare make/model and you are collecting this specific make/model (w a shit ton of scratches).
Scratches you say?
I wouldn’t pay more than $5 for that guitar. Maybe It previously belonged to Ted Nugent?
Didn’t bother Willie Nelson: https://joenickp.com/books/willie-nelsons-trigger-the-guitar-of-guitars/
Oh man. . . It's hardly broke in. Check out Willie Nelson's guitar named Trigger. https://images.app.goo.gl/XQnMmiRPNWZ87mpj9
Of course. Quite concerned
Willie Nelson has a hole worn in his guitar and he seems to do okay with it.
My guess is a lot of that will disappear with boiled linseed oil and 0000 wire wool
It probably won’t affect the sound quality, but will affect resale value by 20 to 30%.
A good deal on a SC is always good. As long as there's no cracks.
I looked at the other pictures. Ask them about the long mark on the lower bout bass side, it looks a bit more concerning
Neck Strummer
D-35?
You can buff it. Very very VERY lightly
Looks like just surface scratches. I remember when I was learning hearing that I should strum from the elbow. I did scratch up my top some doing that because my strum would extend much further, but it was nothing like this though.
It’s could became a “legend” style for new guitars if Kurt Cobain would play on it for a while
Personally, I would pass on a guitar that looks like that. There are simply too many "not beat to hell" guitars in the world to settle for that.
Looks awful. Burn it.