Do dents you get in your guitars bother you?

[purpledc]

I know guys always use the terms "character" and "beauty" when describing nicks and dents. Me? I say "fucking maddening". I cant stand it. Its seriously a complex that I know I need to get over but I just cant seem to do it. I have a guitar that I barely ever play. And its because I put a ding in the finish in a area no one will ever see and it bugs me. On the flip side I have another guitar I barely play because im afraid of the same thing happening. Im that way with almost everything. New car? great. It gets a scratch and I want to trade it in and stop washing it. New shirt? well now that it has a stain its destined for goodwill. Its quite moronic and I will openly admit it makes no sense. This is why I LOVE buying used guitars. Because nicks and scratches dont bother me if i buy it with them. And new ones dont drive me shitty. But new custom built guitars that get their first ding? Id rather get kicked full tilt in the stones.

 

[xxvicarious]

Just put a 3 inch scratch on the front of my Iceman yesterday...
Now it sits in its hardcase, in the back of the closet.

I'm waaay to fuckin' pissed to even LOOK at it right now.

 

[Fenriswolf]

On one of my guitars the straplock ripped out of the body and bounced off stage and took a chunk out of the headstock...that was kind of a holy shit moment, but then I jumped down and started rocking it like an upright bass. So no, after that dents don't really bother me, even on my $2k Les Paul, and I have no idea how half of em even got there.

but if I had djents in my guitar that would bother me...I can't stand djent

 

[Rook]

Play wear I like, scratches and surface damage I can about live with, chips drive me insane.

My Mayones looks nicely worn in, it feels like mine and nobody else's, my Rhoads until recently had a big gash out of it and I quickly got that resolved...

 

[Valserp]

If the dents were made by me - they don't bother me at all.
If it's a second hand, which is mint-ish and has like 2 small dents on it... I try not to look at them at all

A few years ago I bought a Peavey Vortex(cheap rhoads knockoff) and managed to carelessly bump my ass into it, so it fell on the ground and a chunk of it's lower horn broke off....... on the DAY IT ARRIVED! Small paint chip's can't even touch me emotionally since

 

[Nag]

a guitar with dents is a guitar that has been played. if it has been played, it's most likely a good guitar, and someone enjoyed rocking the shit out of it. I used to be all pissy about dents but what's the point in spending 2k on a good guitar, and never use it, spend 10 hours a day cleaning it and always put it back in its case, so you never even see it? fuck no

 

[TankJon666]

I try to look after my gear but if you play a lot live, at home, studio or wherever they will get dents and scratches. I think they add character ...not like the "fake" relic'd stuff.

Massive chunks missing though would annoy me.

 

[Uno Mas]

I have read a few posts where people don't mind dents or scratches as long as they are the ones who put them there. When I was a teenager my best friend who was always dead broke got a nice Fender bass as a gift, his first serious gear. He let me borrow it and while I was warming up another band member wanted me to pass along I believe it was pedal. Instead of walking over to get it I asked them to toss it to me, well I didn't catch it and it hit my friends bass taking a nice chunk of paint and wood. Of course he was really mad at me, I didn't have much money but I promised to pay for the damage. He turned the offer down and never brought it up again.

 

[StevenC]

Dents annoy me, but then I forget about them and go back to playing after a while.

Once, a friend was holding my SG and it dived for the floor, putting a big dent in the headstock. I haven't spoken to that friend in a few years now...

 

[abadonae]

The first dent/scratch always pisses me off, but the rest don't bother me.

This.

Whenever my guitars develop their first dent its the end of the world. After that it just seems to happen and it doesn't bother me.

 

[DoomJazz]

When I got my first real guitar, I thought about how I wanted to keep it perfect forever. I thought about how I'd want people to be super careful with it when they touched it. Then, I thought about those who are super stingy about letting people try their instruments. I didn't want to be like that. They're instruments, they're meant to be played. They're meant to be abused, especially if you're using them on stage.

Chicks dig battle scars, and a perfect guitar doesn't make a perfect player.

I'm totally fine with the scratches and dents that my git fiddles got. I still love the shit out of it and it plays better than any other stringer I've ever picked up.

 

[stonevibe]

I don't mind dents at all. Plus I tend to buy used guitars which come pre-dented so that means I save money and don't have to worry about scratching it etc

So I can just get on with playing it and enjoying it.

Collectors worry about dents, players play their instruments.

 

[WillDfx]

Luckily none of my special guitars have been damaged *knock on wood". But I'm literally ridiculous when it comes to caring for my instruments. Even on stage I make sure I have plenty of room to scoot around if need be. But there are a few of my older Ibanez' that have been beaten before my ownership, therefore I'm not as crazy about keeping them out of harms way.

 

[kerska]

I prefer some knicks and dinks and what not in mine. I think it gives it character. I have a LTD SC-607B I took on tour and think is beat to all hell and I think it looks better beat up than brand new. I've never been one to be all careful with my instruments while playing.