Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

I actually had a similar experience with the Road Worn guitars too. I saw them in the store from far away (i'm blind as a bat) and I'm like ooooo new fender guitars?! Then I get closer and see that they're relic'ed (what else is new) and that they're pretty sad and I pretty much Lol'ed. Not the worst that I've seen for relic jobs, but pretty bad. Saw that they were MIM and had Tex-Mex pickups....NEXT. I called my brother over and he just goes, "o wow, that what people are buying now?"
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

hmmm... so basicly a HWY1 will look the same after a few years of gigging eh...

Kind of. Just checked Fender's site and they have the thin Nitro finish, so the natural wearing/aging of that over time will look a hell of a lot better than a factory-worn poly axe that probably wont wear much further. I'm a musician-worn guitar fan, these "road"-worn guitars turn me off.

And if you buy one you better build your chops fast because with that much wear on that many frets, people are gonna be expecting you to be dynamite.
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

I agree man, it is about the music. Personally, as I havn't made this clear since starting this thread, I am into the concept of ''loved'' instruments. What I mean by this is that I buy guitars new, with no abuse on them, and then play them normally under which ever condition comes my way. What happens to the guitar is then just a consequence of me using that tool to make music.

This applies to all my guitars, including my PRS. She's starting to have a few marks from my pick during intense shows, and I'm pretty sure she has a few little nicks near the bottom. Eventually the finish will start to dull where my arm is rubbing against it.

As far as your hate of chrome, I don't care either way. Looking at my prs at the moment, the bridge is tarnished where my hand rests on it when I palm mute. It's cool, caus when you look at the guitar overall, you can see exactly what happened when you look at the marks.

I don't believe in furniture guitars, or in relics. I believe that a guitar goes through stages, just like people. Right now my guitar looks new-ish, and eventually it's going to look old and busted, probably to the point where it will need to retire. That's the nature of guitars.

This doesn't mean I only see guitars as generic tools. I have great attachment, even emotional at this point with my PRS. I look forward to growing along with the guitar.

That is how I think relics should happen, and how I think over-baby-ing a guitar also seems strange to me. Every guitar is a story, and in my mind it's not as fun if it lies. Usually, people will tell if your guitar is a lie. But when a guitar has plenty of great stories behind it, then it becomes something special to me.


I am 100% with you on this. A guitar that is naturally worn is so much cooler. Like my Gretsch BST-1000, it was made in the late 60's, and it's incredibly worn, you know it's been loved and played, and beat to hell. It's got a neck repair, the back of the neck is dirty and worn, the original pickups that I changed out of it were scratched and rusted too. The guitar has history, and it's cool to see how a played guitar really looks like after 40 years.
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

And if you buy one you better build your chops fast because with that much wear on that many frets, people are gonna be expecting you to be dynamite.



That comment got me thinking in a bit of a different direction.

Perhaps the reason some people like relics is that it allows them to have a guitar that has the looks of an older instrument they like, but avoid the issues of having to be refretted, or avoiding other issues they might not like such as neck radius.


I think a worn 62 strat is just a thing of beauty but I'd never own one because I dont think I'm ever going to have $30,000 or more to drop on one.

But even if I did, I'd be getting a guitar that has a neck radius I dont really like. I like a 12" radius.

Probably the original neck would need a refret as well, and on a $30K instrument I'd really be reluctant to do that.

So a solution ? Perhaps put a new neck on it, with modern frets and radius if thats what you, but keep the original body and electronics. Keep the old neck safe as well.


But a brand new neck is going to look weird on a vintage guitar, so why not relic that neck a bit to asthetically match the old neck you took off ?
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

If you strum with a turned on belt sander with 80 grit sand paper, yeah it will.



ya that does happen....


i was looking at my 10 year old MIM Standard strat... that thick superglue like poly has held up so well... that guitar was bought used in 2002 i think, it has been gigged by me both in high heat and freezing cold places, it has been tossed in the air and bounced off the floor/stage a few times at the end of shows, it has had beer spilled on it, it's been modded a few times, has never been in a case at home for many years in the sunlight, and it gets played almost every day even for a little bit of strumming while i fall asleep and drop the dam thing on the floor...

in the end it still looks kind of new... there is 2 not so noticeable dings/dents, the frets could do with a dress soon, and the neck and white body finnish is aging a slightly little yellowish, but other then that so far i could sell it almost Like New after a dret dress.....
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

i was looking at my 10 year old MIM Standard strat... that thick superglue like poly has held up so well... that guitar was bought used in 2002 i think, it has been gigged by me both in high heat and freezing cold places, it has been tossed in the air and bounced off the floor/stage a few times at the end of shows, it has had beer spilled on it, it's been modded a few times, has never been in a case at home for many years in the sunlight, and it gets played almost every day even for a little bit of strumming while i fall asleep and drop the dam thing on the floor...in the end it still looks kind of new.

Obviously not "road worn" enough. You have to stop pampering that guitar. Get out the power tools and put some real wear on it.
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

Only power tool you need is a heat gun to get rid of all the darn poly, then respray it to taste.

nice thing for most of us doing our own repainting is that we dont have the skills to get a showroom finish so just by trying to do the best job we can, we end up with a finish that looks a bit more satin rather than high gloss and you've got a guitar that looks pretty played as is.

Maybe use a little reranch tinted clearcoat as well to speed up the effects of the nitro yellowing with age, buff down the finish a little more were its going to wear and you've got a great starting point.

Play it yourself for a few yeas or take some other speed to speed up the process

Either way though, no poly coated guitar is ever going to make a good relic.


Aging poly is like trying to crank a digital amp and expect it to saturate, it doesn't, it just clips with digital distoriton. Poly acts the same way

You want powertube distortion ? Get a tube amp

You want a finish that will wear realistically like a true older instrument ? get a nitro finish and apply it according the the same specs as the factory used to.
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

Obviously not "road worn" enough. You have to stop pampering that guitar. Get out the power tools and put some real wear on it.

concidering what that axe has been thru it's amazing that so far all i've had to do is dust it off and it's ready to go again...
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

Only power tool you need is a heat gun to get rid of all the darn poly, then respray it to taste.

nice thing for most of us doing our own repainting is that we dont have the skills to get a showroom finish so just by trying to do the best job we can, we end up with a finish that looks a bit more satin rather than high gloss and you've got a guitar that looks pretty played as is.

Maybe use a little reranch tinted clearcoat as well to speed up the effects of the nitro yellowing with age, buff down the finish a little more were its going to wear and you've got a great starting point.

Play it yourself for a few yeas or take some other speed to speed up the process

Either way though, no poly coated guitar is ever going to make a good relic.


Aging poly is like trying to crank a digital amp and expect it to saturate, it doesn't, it just clips with digital distoriton. Poly acts the same way

You want powertube distortion ? Get a tube amp

You want a finish that will wear realistically like a true older instrument ? get a nitro finish and apply it according the the same specs as the factory used to.

back in 1995 i had a guitar maker nitro finnish a Warmoth neck for me with a vintage tint to it... at the time it was kind of darker then i would of liked... but today that finnish is turning into coffee dark!!!
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

I just had a thought.....


Do you suppose that the people that pay nearly a grand for these new guitars, will wipe them down and take good care of them??



Oxymoron: man goes to guitar center and buys Road Worn strat, hardshell case, polish and a cloth...

hmmm... so basicly a HWY1 will look the same after a few years of gigging eh...

If you strum with a turned on belt sander with 80 grit sand paper, yeah it will.

your being too lenient on fender, it's more like 60 grit;)

I actually had a similar experience with the Road Worn guitars too. I saw them in the store from far away (i'm blind as a bat) and I'm like ooooo new fender guitars?! Then I get closer and see that they're relic'ed (what else is new) and that they're pretty sad and I pretty much Lol'ed. Not the worst that I've seen for relic jobs, but pretty bad. Saw that they were MIM and had Tex-Mex pickups....NEXT. I called my brother over and he just goes, "o wow, that what people are buying now?"

:lmao:
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

srsly though, if fender had smaller wear spots on these things, used nitro, then went on to refinish the guitar by wetsanding it(maybe around 1200grit) with the smaller wear spots, then finish in a very thin yellowed clearcoat(smokey/sweaty lookin') that had been lightly sanded(probably around 600 grit for that skuffed-ish look), and also lighten up on the fake rust, i'd buy it. but come on, wear spots on the neck that are grey?:wrf:
 
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Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

the pre-worn guitars new from factory concept is just idiotic, put simply, and this "Road Worn" strat is no exception. These are, IMO, just blues lawyer instrument. No one that has ever done their homework before hand and is a working musician would buy these in their right mind.



I hate relics. But Lincoln Brewster is a pro, and very good at playing and owns a roadworn Strat and two custom shop relics at least. And plays them all the time.

So good for him!
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

Have you shopped for blue jeans lately. Same thing already faded, dang near worn out. I bet some of you are wearing some now. I see shirts that are prefaded & worn. I just played a road worn strat neck felt good - me personally I would not buy a guitar based on appearance - IF a road worn knocked me out I'd get it, if a MIM knocked me out, if a MIA if a MIK..etc. I could careless what a guitar looks like or where it is made or what brand..etc

I am a player not a model who poses with a guitar.
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

wear spots on the neck that are grey?:wrf:

I haven't seen the road worn strats in person but I can say that maple does get a kind of greyish look to it when it's dirty. This is more common on a thin oil finished maple neck though, I'm not sure you'd wear through a thick Fender neck finish. We could look at Wahwah's strat to compare. From what I remember of his it looks like the tint has just darkened considerably.
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

I played a ash RW tele (blonde one) and it freaking ruled IMO. I would play a SpongeBob Squarepants guitar if it sounded like the RW Tele I played.
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

Have you shopped for blue jeans lately. Same thing already faded, dang near worn out. I bet some of you are wearing some now. I see shirts that are prefaded & worn. I just played a road worn strat neck felt good - me personally I would not buy a guitar based on appearance - IF a road worn knocked me out I'd get it, if a MIM knocked me out, if a MIA if a MIK..etc. I could careless what a guitar looks like or where it is made or what brand..etc

I am a player not a model who poses with a guitar.

Epic thread necromancy.

The topic seems to be modified somewhat now, since they have been on the shelf for a little while, and some people enjoy the way they feel and play.

The comparison with jeans and clothing being worn can be made, but you are kinda proving that people will pay more money for something that serves the same purpose as a ''new'' one, simply for looks, which is what the RW series seem to be.

I agree with your point that if a guitar plays well you should buy it, but I will question how logical that is, when you can do the same with a highway one, where you will probably eventually find a guitar that speaks to you, while saving you a few hundred dollars, and eventually produce a real road worn guitar, instead of an imitation.

Anyways, to each his own, it really doesn't matter, since it's all about the playing, not the gear. :)

Carry on.

sp.jpg
 
Re: Just played a road worn strat! LMAO!

I forget who suggested it originally, but I heard that the best way to age and relic your neck is to stick your left hand into a bag os Lays Chips before you play. Get it nice and greasy.
 
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