I recently got some relic'ing done for a few Strat rosewood necks that I needed for some projects. By way of coincidence I ended up going with two separate relic artists (that's what happens when you unexpectedly win an eBay bid). Anyway, I thought I would take the time here to compare the two so anyone reading can get more info. I guess I should mention (if it wasn't already obvious) that I am not affiliated to any of these outfits and have paid for all items purchased from them.
First, some background on the two outfits:
MJT
Website: http://mjtagedfinishes.com/
Based out of Missouri, USA, they are run by Mark and Matt Jenny. I'm not sure how big their operation is but they have an eBay store that puts out relic'd bodies, necks, hardware and plastics regularly. On all parts you can choose the 'level' of relic'ing that you desire, or just buy off the shelf on their eBay store.
GearsUnited
I think these guys are based out of Miami - well the package was delivered from there anyway. They also regularly produce bodies and necks (with tuners and a bone nut), but I have not seen much plastics or hardware up for sale. As with MJT, they come up with different levels of relic'ing to suit your wants.
MJT
We'll start with MJT. At this point in time I've got 2 MJT bodies and one of their necks. It should be noted that they do not manufacture their own bodies/necks, but will source from a third party or relic one that you provide. As a result of this, I'm not judging the quality of the neck or the frets - just purely the finish and the relic job.
Besides the above, I have also purchased some hardware and plastics from them (Gotoh bridge with aged plastic trem tip). They do a pretty decent job on the H/W in my opinion. It looks tarnished but not overly abused. When I got the neck it came with tuners and the first thing I did was check if the tuners were still smooth - they were (but I oiled them anyway). Whatever technique they use to age the tuners does not seem to affect their operation, in the short term anyway.
If I had one complaint, it would be on their plastics. The trem tip that I received was not that well done IMO - I felt that the surface was too rough. I don't think an old trem tip would get that sort of roughness on general play alone. I suspect (may be wrong here) that they used lacquer over the plastic, which is quite popular in relic jobs. Whatever it was, the simulated dirt and grime seemed to accentuate the mold line in the plastic. If I were to do it myself I would remove that line before any wear simulation but of course that would take more time and result in a higher cost to be borne by the customer. To be fair, I do not own plastics from other relic artists to compare to.
I was very pleased with the finish on both bodies. They both exhibit different patterns of finish checking – I always find it interesting how guitars have different checking patterns and wonder what the factors that will cause a particular pattern are. Some guitars check lengthways (i.e. from strap button to strap button – I’ve seen this a lot in older Gibson R7s), some check widthways (from upper horn to lower horn), some just have that cracked eggshell look with no long lines running in any particular direction. Fascinating.
The finishes on both bodies were dulled convincingly, at least to my eyes. Definitely not showroom quality Fender gloss finish here. I feel it will only get more convincing as these guitars get more play under their belt.
On to the neck: I should focus more on the neck as this is the only area where I can actually compare the job that they did against Gears United's work. Again, the tuners were great and I could not fault them. The headstock was clean…there are no uneven finish spots. The medium relic job that I asked for was very subtly done, with some checking on the back of the headstock.
When you ask MJT to relic a neck for you, they will direct you to their website to choose the look and level of wear that you want. They have numerous photos on their website and can simulate many different looks. I went for an overspray look, with a smoother transition between the wear area and the lacquered area. Overspray, in a real-world non-simulated scenario, simply means the guitar player has worn off the finish on the back of the neck and went to his luthier to spray a coat of lacquer over it so that the wood can be protected. Hence, the wear and discolouration is there however there’s a coat of lacquer that protects the wood. Being a rosewood neck there was no finish on the fretboard. I was very pleased with the quality of the finish. I have played Fender CS relics as well as Nash relics, and some really old beat up 70s and 80s strats…I have to say this neck feels how I want it to feel which is worn but smooth and well looked after. Hard to describe so hopefully the photos will be more helpful.
Gears United
Man these guys can take some wicked photos. I’ve seen some truly drool worthy photos on some of their auctions. Kudos to whoever does the photography because I truly believe it wins them a lot of business.
So let me elaborate on the neck I purchased from them. At the time of purchase they only offer Allparts necks that have been finished, relic’d, had a bone nut added, edges rolled in and presumably a fret dress done by them. If you think about it, this is quite a lot of work (even though you’d probably have to do the fret dress again if you’re pedantic like me). Their auctions go from between $250 and $350 for one of these necks and I was very lucky to snap one up at the lower end of that spectrum. I believe for $250-$275 you’re getting a good deal on everything advertised, if done well.
So how well have they done these jobs?
Finish: Overall I am quite pleased with the finish however there are a few problems. There is some finish pooling at the bottom of the headstock (where the curve is – pictured left) and there are what I believe are finger prints on some parts of the headstock (pretty sure that’s not supposed to be simulated wear).
Their finished look appears a little more 'gritty' than MJT's job, maybe they've used a particular stain technique to accentuate the grain. I don't mind the look, I don't really have a preference for this one over the more subtle look that the MJT has though.
Frets: Not as good as I expect coming out of a fret job. I haven’t checked for level (won’t do that till it’s time to do a fret job) but from a quick inspection I can see that they’re not buffed clean and actually appear to have some finish stuck on the sides of the frets (they wouldn’t have lacquered the rosewood fretboard so maybe this is some residual spray from their workshop? Pictured left). It doesn’t bother me, I’ll do a full fret dress anyway.
Fretboard: It seems to me that they have gotten some spray onto the rosewood fretboard in the area around the first fret and the headstock. I didn't think that this is normal (it's not present on the MJT nor any other rosewood board I've played in my life). This, coupled with the points made above about the finish pooling and frets, gives me the impression that they are a little less careful with the lacquer than say MJT would be.
Bone nut: I like this. It appears to me as though they’ve used unbleached bone which I am a real fan of aesthetically. I may have to refit the slots to my string gauge later but I don’t expect I will need to do much.
Rolled in edges: I don’t really have a strong opinion on these…I don’t remember edges on a guitar ever bothering me to the point where I've consciously thought about it. I’ve included shots so you can see if it was a good job if you’re an edge roll connoisseur.
Tuners: These looked great in my opinion, definitely comparable to MJT hardware. They were a little harder to turn compared to the ones on MJT, but I’m not even sure if these are from the same company as it is not specified in the sale, so it may not be a fair comparison. I put some oil in them and they’re fine now.
All in all I would say I am very pleased with the product and would purchase again from them. There are problems but they are all fixable or forgiveable, at least by someone with access to tools and techniques. This may not be the case for other people. At this price point I think it works, but their pieces keep climbing in price so I think it is getting less and less worth it.
Verdict
Quality of Goods/Services: MJT
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with my Gears United neck and I’m sure that it will make a great guitar once I’m done with the project. But I am judging based on the finish problems stated in the earlier section – I feel that MJT takes more care in their work and it shows.
Customer service: MJT
In this regard, MJT rocks. I dealt with Matt the whole time and he is an absolute pleasure to deal with. If you have any questions he’s happy to answer them. More importantly, they keep you up to date with the build process and post the item as soon as it’s done.
Gears United aren’t BAD in this area – they’re just not that great. The biggest complaint would probably be the slow shipping. I’m not talking about the time it takes for the delivery company to deliver the item; I’m talking about the time it takes for the item to be picked up from their end. They’ll send in a shipping docket immediately after you win an item, but from my experience it never moves from that state until 2 weeks later. So be prepared to sit there and stare at the “Shipping label created” state for a while. After winning the auction they’ll send you a mail through eBay requesting for a 5 star rating (which I did give to them since I got what I paid for with little fuss).
Price: Gears United
This can be a little hard to score because the price of a particular item depends on who else is bidding. I find that generally the MJT items are a little more expensive (at my time of purchase), however that could soon be changing since I’ve seen Gears United items go for a lot of money lately.
I’m merely giving this one to Gears United because for the comparable item, theirs was the cheaper transaction by quite a bit. You could argue that you get what you pay for I guess.
MJT
Quality: ★★★★★
Service: ★★★★★
Price: ★★★★☆
Gears United
Quality: ★★★☆☆
Service: ★★★★☆
Price: ★★★★★
And that concludes my review....must be tough running a business and having judgement placed on your services/products by chumps like me. Honestly though, I am happy with both of these guys and would purchase from them both again, if I was in the market. Hopefully the photos will help you decide where to put your hard earned cash if you were deciding between the two.
Until next time!
Alex
MJT aged body and hardware
MJT aged body and hardware
MJT aged body and hardware
MJT aged body, hardware unknown