"Road Worn" Fenders - Sound & Feel? [Archive]

hreaddavis

01-30-2009, 03:30 PM

Played a Road Worn Tele through a Rivera today at a music store, and I loved the feel of the neck. The profile was just the standard modern size for all Mexican teles, but the relic'd neck finish felt great. I thought it felt really good to play. Sound/pickups? Mediocre.

I think it's kinda cool that now the relic guys don't have to spend Custom Shop $ on a relic'd Fender.

XKnight

01-30-2009, 03:38 PM

The few that I tried at GC all had razor sharp fret ends. Other than that they felt and played well.

mototpsychel

01-30-2009, 03:48 PM

Brought one home yesterday. I'm really bonding with it, and it plays nice as hell.

The tall frets don't bother me & no issue with sharp fret ends at all, the radius is fine with me too. So far no flaws.

I will change the pick-ups though, not bad but not for me. I'm also thinking of doing something with the appearance of the fret board, that cookie-cutter wear doesn't quite do it for me, but time might change my opinion.

I DO LOVE not worrying about nicks and bumps like I do with my R9.

I had the black EJ Strat before this, and the RW is a softer, less stiff playing guitar.

Overall I would recommend it to anyone that wants that worn in vibe without putting in the years or spending Custom Shop cash. Me ? I'm 55, & I don't have 30 years to wear it in, and I don't want to drop BooKoo bucks on a CS job. This will do just fine.

If it speaks to you buy it, I think it's a good guitar.

jetydosa

01-30-2009, 04:02 PM

Bought a 60s RW a few weeks ago, absolutely loving it. It feels great, both the neck and the body. Reminds me a lot of my Nashes for considerbly less. Ive owned many dozens of Strats and this one ranks right up there, better than all but a small handful of Custom Shops Ive played/owned.

I dont *LOVE* the pickups but they are not bad. I wish one of the tone knobs was wired to the bridge p/u. The 2/4 positions sound fantastic.

Do a search, there are several threads on them. It seems like the posts are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, love/hate "they were great"/"they were horrible" kinds of posts.

stormin1155

01-30-2009, 05:36 PM

I played one of the 60's strats. It sounded OK... kind of like a MIM strat.... hmmm... Played like crap.. so much fret sprout that you'd shred your hand if you're not careful. Terrible action, about 1/4". I know all of that can be fixed, but if I'm going to pay $900 for a Mexican strat I would expect better. I picked up a couple other RWs and they all felt the same. Like SixString I also thought they felt plasticy. I have an old strat with real road wear, so I guess it's not a fair comparison.

TheTaylorplayer

01-30-2009, 06:19 PM

So far it about 50 / 50, eh? (really like / really don't). I'm Ok with that... for now at least.

I really like this board..... nobody pulls any punches, but everyone here is very civil.

Thanks -

pS -- sharp fret ends are often times an indication of a dry (not properly humidified) guitar... any thoughts on that one? Let's face it, GC's are always known for their quality control factor.

Eric Thomas

01-30-2009, 06:37 PM

Use the search function. Lots of threads on these since they came out.

I played 5 at GC. I liked them, but none of these 5 were good enough to entice me to plug it. You could clearly see that they are three piece bodies on 4 of them (the 5th was a black Strat). Two had sharp fret ends. All 5 needed a good setup. I liked the relicing on the bodies, but not the maple fretboards. That looks hideous. I thought the color of the blonde Tele's looked too yellow.

If you play a few, you'll probably find a good one. Just not in the batch that I tried.

Mike Dresch

01-30-2009, 07:01 PM

I played three strats and a tele today. I hate to say it, but I kind of liked them. All were incredibly light and of near identical weight, which really surprised me. The wear looked more realistic in person than some of the photos I've seen, though I don't care for the yellowing along the edges of the pickguard. That looks pretty fake. I could go on about the relic thing but I won't. At least not now.....

Eric Thomas

01-30-2009, 07:04 PM

Glad you mentioned the weight. All 5 at CG were mid-weight. None were what I would call light weight.

matte

01-30-2009, 07:07 PM

played a few @ gc 2 days ago. they were great guitars!!!! set up well, loved the neck profile on the "50s joint. would happily gig one without reservation.

my hat is off to fender for meeting companies like nash where they live, undercutting them and building a serious quality musical instrument.

guitarcrazy2004

01-30-2009, 09:07 PM

Well i played 2-teles 4-strats and left with a rosewood sunburst-they set it up,..so i believe if they would just set them up,,,they might sell better..............:BEER

alltweed

01-30-2009, 11:13 PM

Still have my 50's Sb and 60's Oly...

I replaced the 60's with CS fat 50's and that made enough of a huge positive difference to keep it. I normally love Tex Mex pup's as on the JV strats, but for some reason they sound different to me on the RW guitars?

Mine are definate players. The 50's is perf at 7.3 IBs and the Oly is a bit heavier at 7.14. I prefer strats right at about 7.5 which is how fat city guitars? specs out their fender custom shop strats. They also get fender to send them with the best relic jobs I have seen for CS strats... Dam sounding like a commercial and I am not sure I have the name right anyway. But, I like how they spec it out with weigth and a less aggressive armware. Just enough so you know its been used.

But - these are nice if you get a good one and you like high action which really lets the guitar sing and ring. Plus, I got a great deal and year to pay so it works for me..I did not want to be looking over my shoulder again. I blew it once by not getting the Hendrix strat. To this day, that guitar(model) had the best in between strat tones I have ever heard in a strat.

Brantleycoker

01-30-2009, 11:38 PM

i work at gc in knoxville and was really looking forward to getting these guitars in after reading about them alot on here, so on my day off they came in so my boss calls me to let me know they were in. i went by the store an hour later looking to buy the white strat with a rosewood board and my boss had already bought it, at first i was mad but i tried the 2 tone sunburst tele and WOW i was super impressed with this one, mine is still by far the best one weve had! i put a lollar 52 set in it with a mullard cap and oh man this thing is amazing. all i need now are some glendale brass saddles and i will have a smoking relic tele for not a whole lot of buck! im for 'em!

Bing James

01-31-2009, 12:15 AM

All 8 I picked up at GC had horribly sharp fret ends. Didn't bother to plug them in because of it. Pathetic QC on this issue.
I have an EJ which is a dream...no comparison.
BTW...the Roadworns are "worn" in "Mejico".

stormin1155

01-31-2009, 05:59 AM

pS -- sharp fret ends are often times an indication of a dry (not properly humidified) guitar... any thoughts on that one? Let's face it, GC's are always known for their quality control factor.

Yes, I experienced the sharp fret ends at GC, and it seems that most others that experience that were at GC as well. I expect that the worn necks (expossed wood) makes them more susceptible to drying out.

Jim S

01-31-2009, 06:10 PM

I played a white strat with RW board.
Sounded decent, felt fine, not too bad except...

....as noted elsewhere on TGP, the frets are a bit sharp as the sticke out of the sides of the fingerboard. Also, the neck pocket is not tight and it was easy for me to shift the neck in it. Granted tightening up the neck bolts might or might not help, but tight is not the word that comes to mind.
.
.

Johnkenn

01-31-2009, 09:07 PM

I bought the 50's strat and I'm really digging it. I tend to like these pickups better than any others at this price point. I love the neck pickup, but I'm actually not crazy about 2 and 4 - missing some punch. I agree about having a tone knob for the brige pickup - would have been nice. I might consider getting a replacement for the bridge pickup.

One negative - I've had some string catching on the B and G strings from the nut (I think). Might have to sand the slots or get some nut grease....Nothing huge though...

EVHindenberg

02-01-2009, 07:40 AM

I got a 60's Strat and as some have said it needed a setup but I really liked the look,tone and feel so it was a no brainer to take it home.Mine is also very light and resonant.The basic setup was decent but I filed the nut slightly and lubed all contact points for the strings and then did the Carl Verheyen setup found here at the bottom of the page. http://www.gitaarnet.nl/magazine/workshops/carlverheyen/carlverheyen.php3
With that done this thing plays and stays in tune awesome.I really do like the stock Tex Mex's too.I also don't have the problem of the fret ends sticking out.I will say however that most people who have complained of this have been on the east coast where it is very cold and very dry this year,much more than previous years.Once the warmer,more humid weather hits,I don't think it will be an issue anymore.It also doesn't take much to file these down.I know a lot of people will say they shouldn't have to do that on a new guitar but don't pass up what is a killer Strat for the money.I honestly like these much better than any of the American made models Fender has right now.

AMSnell

02-01-2009, 07:44 AM

I DO LOVE not worrying about nicks and bumps like I do with my R9.

This! :)

I have a Master Built '58 Telecaster relic, and a Gibson LP custom which are my 2 number 1's. The Telecaster, despite costing 3 times as much, gets much more of a beating because its meant to look well used, whereas the Gibson is babied, lol.

I haven't tried a road worn though, and dont intend on it. MIM for $1000? Absolute joke.

EVHindenberg

02-01-2009, 07:55 AM

Tyler Bryant playing one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFUzyWUnrpU

EVHindenberg

02-01-2009, 08:01 AM

This! :)

I have a Master Built '58 Telecaster relic, and a Gibson LP custom which are my 2 number 1's. The Telecaster, despite costing 3 times as much, gets much more of a beating because its meant to look well used, whereas the Gibson is babied, lol.

I haven't tried a road worn though, and dont intend on it. MIM for $1000? Absolute joke.
I got mine out the door from a local store for $775.And I respect everyone's opinion but mine is that this axe is not leaving my arsenal.

AMSnell

02-01-2009, 08:03 AM

I got mine out the door from a local store for $775.

Aah cool. But still, isn't that about the same as an American standard? And the 08 Standards are great strats, they play, feel and sound way beyond their price, I'd take an 08 standard over a 57 AVRI anyday of the week.

I know the road worn are selling for more in shops than the american standards here.

EVHindenberg

02-01-2009, 08:15 AM

Aah cool. But still, isn't that about the same as an American standard? And the 08 Standards are great strats, they play, feel and sound way beyond their price, I'd take an 08 standard over a 57 AVRI anyday of the week.

I know the road worn are selling for more in shops than the american standards here.
The American Standards are going for $1000 here which is only $50 more than the RW if you're getting it at the price of $950.Like I said I got mine for $775 out the door from a store here in New York so places do discount them you just need to search it out.Also the American Standards are using a Urethane finish while the RW's are using Nitro.Just some food for thought.Yeah they are Mexican made but I really feel that the Mexi made guitars are really great.Sure you will find some duds in any line but when you find a good one you're good to go.

buddastrat

02-01-2009, 09:30 AM

Can somebody comment on the 50's neck? Is it a full soft V feel? Is there a definite V spine to it? I've played a classic player 50's, similar?

I've read the body is thinner than an American body. Don't really care except that if I got a body off ebay I'm wondering if other dimensions will fit. Like the neck pocket on some MIM is wider than USA specs. Also don't want a full steel trem block to stick out of the cavity if the body is indeed cut thinner or something.

Sorry to hijack,
I didn't want to start yet another road worn thread!

buddastrat

02-01-2009, 09:33 AM

The American Standards are going for $1000 here which is only $50 more than the RW if you're getting it at the price of $950.Like I said I got mine for $775 out the door from a store here in New York so places do discount them you just need to search it out.Also the American Standards are using a Urethane finish while the RW's are using Nitro.Just some food for thought.Yeah they are Mexican made but I really feel that the Mexi made guitars are really great.Sure you will find some duds in any line but when you find a good one you're good to go.

Think again on the Amer. stds price! http://www.guitarstop.com/Fender/Amstdstrat.htm

Thank You Fender. disregarding resale value, If given a choice, I'd prefer a Road Worn. Don't like anything about the American Std.

Tallhorses

02-01-2009, 09:34 AM

Checked out 3 at GC and everyone needed to have the frets cleaned up. Sharp edges on the side... etc. I

BadAssBill

02-01-2009, 09:52 AM

I played two this week. Played ok, but some of the relicing seemed off. I was thinking of plugging one in but the pick guard seemed like a piece of plastic they found in the back trash bin. Very thin and cheap looking for a 1k guitar.

jetydosa

02-01-2009, 10:00 AM

I would say the 50s definitely has a soft, but noticable V. I normally hate V necks, but the RW one is not too bad.

The body is the same thickness as other Strats. Cant comment on the neck pocket, altough to me it looks the same as my other strats.

buddastrat

02-01-2009, 10:06 AM

thanks jetydosa. Is the V feel pretty much all the way up the neck or does it turn into a C? Would you say a medium or thinner feel?

jetydosa

02-01-2009, 10:11 AM

Its hard to say as I dont own one, but going by memory Id say V throughout, medium feel. I wish the necks were just slightly thicker in a perfect world.

Sudsysul

02-01-2009, 11:13 AM

I went shopping yesterday for a American Standard Tele. I played a bunch of Am. Std. Teles and Strats and they pretty much all had spikey fret ends and sharp bridge screws. I thought the new standard was supposed to be an improvement, but was greatly disappointed in them.
In the process I grabbed and played a few Road Worn Teles and Strats, and while there were some setup issues on some of them, I was impressed with them much more than their American made counterparts, although I've never thought of myself as owning a distressed axe. I think I'm going to grab one and have a tech set it up.

If you follow the accepted spread between retail and street price, these things should be going for $750 or so when the novelty wears off and perceived demand settles in.

Born2Blues67

02-01-2009, 12:26 PM

I played a couple of them at Willcutt's yesterday. Very impressed with the
" bang for buck " ratio. Sounded great through a Pro Jr.

omni

02-01-2009, 12:59 PM

I bought the Black 50's Strat and I absolutely love it. The feel, the sound, the look.... all of it. It sounds like you might need to try a few to find the right one but I knew immediately I needed to have it. Plays like a dream.

What he said. It took a good setup though but after that I was shocked how well it felt and played. Every bit as good as a CS relic. IMHO.

buddastrat

02-01-2009, 01:32 PM

Not as good as a CS Omni. I heard a few great sounding clips of them, but I wouldn't say as good as CS, at least as far as quality components which matter to some. Sound is most important and I'm sure RW's can hang with some CS guitars. But there's a lot more I want if I'm buying an instrument.

Custom shop comes with:

a two piece body,
steel block- nickel bridge,
Gotoh tuners,
nitro pickguard material that looks properly aged and it ages on it's own,
nitro finish on neck.
oh and a real case!

The pickguards on the RW's look awful, like someone took paint and sprayed around the edges. I'm rough on my gear and those MIM trem arms snap easy. The ping tuners can work fine, but they can crumble apart. I had one do that, and I work at a store and have seen a few here and there fall apart. Never, has a Gotoh kluson tuner given a problem. This stuff is easy to swap out, but you'd be adding a $100 there.

Plus, WHY did Fender do the RW's with poly on the neck? Not a big deal on the rosewood but the maple fretboard looks aged really poor to begin with. And since it's probably won't wear easily like a CS with nitro, so that eventually it'll look good.

I'm thinking of picking up a RW maple neck, but I'm wondering how I'm going to strip the rest of the fretboard. Probably a dremel. Maybe I'll buy a RW guitar but I'm pointing out pros and cons to others.

Plus the finish looks flat, more like a highway finish.

While sound is most important, I'm sure some RW's can sound as good or better than a CS. I like a tough, dependable strat that I can put through hell as well as looks and feels good. Of course, a RW's a lot cheaper, so that may be more important to some.

voodoo364

02-01-2009, 03:27 PM

Yes, I experienced the sharp fret ends at GC, and it seems that most others that experience that were at GC as well. I expect that the worn necks (expossed wood) makes them more susceptible to drying out.

A coupla' days at home(humidity) and a good setup did wonders for my RW. The fret sprout seemed to recede. The fretboard had a wash of some kinda' stain that ended up on my tips and the fingerboard has gotten darker...I guess I'm oily. I love this thing...it is fun to play. I think a lot of the negative comments about the RW's stem from the inherent "fight" and vagaries of the 7.25 radius. The RW's ain't gonna lay down like a 10 or 12 radius ..even a 9.5..The RW's come with a complimentary high action setup from GC, they had mine totally jacked up. I lowered it quite a bit and still kept it high ..personal taste. I think Strats sound better with high action...strings seem to resonate/breathe.

SimonBSinister

02-01-2009, 03:49 PM

I went to Russo Music yesterday with all intentions of buying a USA Std Strat before the Feb 1 price increase..... I played 3 different Fenders Std that were still in the boxes including one in the color of my choice (Sienna burst). I was totally into the maple neck strat... They were all very disappointing to say the least....

I started looking at the Road Worns they had in stock. Even if I was into the RWorns, I would have been more interested in the 50's Strat and Tele.

This all being said; I played a 60's 3 tone burst RW Strat that blew EVERY SINGLE strat they had out the window.... I didn't want this to the the case, as I realize resale wise USA is the way to go ....

But the 60's RW Strat I played and purchased was so beyond what I expected that I had to go with the one that was the best and that was the 60's Road Worn.... I got it for about $200 less than those lame stores like MF and GC....So it was well worth the price I will upgrade the case in the future....

In the meantime I am putting in a Bare Knuckles Sinner PUP an enjoying the guitar....

YMMV

SBS
SBS

MusicMan7

02-01-2009, 04:32 PM

I went to my local guitar store hoping to find one cause I wanted to try one out to see what they were like. They didn't have them though.

omni

02-01-2009, 05:24 PM

Not as good as a CS Omni.

For the $2000 plus price difference it's a no brainer. Upgrades are available from numerous manufactures and still if you do the upgrades you're still way way under the price of a CS.:) I guess if someone has money to burn, sure get the CS.

Kitarist

02-01-2009, 05:28 PM

yep thats true :D :D

buddastrat

02-01-2009, 10:19 PM

For the $2000 plus price difference it's a no brainer. Upgrades are available from numerous manufactures and still if you do the upgrades you're still way way under the price of a CS.:) I guess if someone has money to burn, sure get the CS.

Like I said, the price is a biggie. But if you do all those upgrades, you could end up getting a used CS, and then think of resale value. Both are great options, it's good to have all these choices. I just have seen a lot of quality issues from woods lately and components and the CS stuff has been in a different league. Sure you pay for it, but it holds it's value.

revgsmall

02-01-2009, 10:47 PM

Man I hate chirping in when the thread is four screens long, but I did find a great RW Tele in Colorado Springs and I picked it up. I tried two tele 's at the Denver GC and they were heavy and didn't do much for me at all. The Strats were just as bad.

I popped into the Colorado Springs store and their blond tele was stellar, light weight and sonically great. They also had a 50's version Strat that I thought was great too albeit I am just not a strat guy and have not been for many years. I dang near bought both!!!

The only issue I have with the Tele is that they did not do that great a job on the fret ends. I'll have to have them polished off a bit.

I have not had it out for the live gig test yet but I think it will do just fine. When a piece of gear sounds great from the get-go its frequently a keeper for the live gig.

omni

02-02-2009, 12:32 AM

Like I said, the price is a biggie. But if you do all those upgrades, you could end up getting a used CS, and then think of resale value. Both are great options, it's good to have all these choices. I just have seen a lot of quality issues from woods lately and components and the CS stuff has been in a different league. Sure you pay for it, but it holds it's value.

I would rather pay 800 bucks and do my own setup, which I did, and to think I was gonna lay down 3 grand for basically the same thing..well it did have a custom shop logo on it though. :worried:) Buy what you like is what I say.I would rather loose a couple of hundred if I resold it instead of 1500 or so on a CS relic. My opinion of course. :) The only people that I see complaining are the people that laid down the big bucks for basically the same thing on a CS.

buddastrat

02-02-2009, 06:52 AM

If I had a RW, I'd probably want it refinished (don't care for the highway look for me), strip the poly off the neck, get some good pickups (don't care for tex-mex), steel block and trem, Gotohs, shield the cavity..oh and get an actual case..

--- or buy a used CS for about the same. When I go to sell, I could at least break even on the CS.

if you lose $1500 :messedup on a CS strat, you need to have someone help you with your finances.

I like the RW's for what they are, but I'd be modding them a ton to do what I want.

omni

02-02-2009, 07:07 AM

All I want to do is play it and not worry about all the minor details of poly etc on the back of the neck etc. I'm glad I bought one. Have you checked resale values on Ebay for CS strats? My finances are fine. Thanks for the concern though.:drink

buddastrat

02-02-2009, 07:23 AM

Well i know what I got for my CS a few months ago, and I lost $100 (from buying new)after playing it for four years. Not bad.

But if you're losing $1500, sign me up, because I want to buy when you're selling! ; )

Sargeslide

02-03-2009, 11:27 AM

PLayed one today, Black 50's. Great sounds, light weight, great feel. Not sure it's worth what the are asking for it, and I would have to get the frets done- these all had sprout something feirce. The finish was very realistic, and the way I play, it'll look like my own pretty quick- Hell, I might buy a Black one- put on a Blackguard and have a reliced Dave Gilmour- on the cheap
Sargeslide