Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

Doesn't seem like many people like these - nor played one.

I’ve been playing electric guitar for 30 years - a vintage telecaster for many of them. Nothing quite compares to my vintage tele ('67), but i bought a Roadworn series tele (mainly as a touring guitar) same day i played one. it totally rocks. As a professional, i could honestly give a FF about the actual cash vintage value of mine - it’s the time put in and feel of it that really matters. this lil mexi tele gets a lot closer to that feel than any of the ‘new’ reissues i’ve played. It’s got great neck shape and a thin NITRO finish worn-off behind the neck and frets as i like it. I may yet put in some Antiquity's (all time fave), but the stock ones are top quality (a bit more mid and a bit less ring on top) as are the audio taper pots. I was planning on buying a certain G&L Asat Classic (and still probably will), but am completely happy w/ this guitar.
 
Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

Tried some of them(Tele, Strat)....tested them against some CS strats(very good ones too)...they held to their own very well...
So I think they are great guitars....
I want one in white:D
 
Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

We have 5 in the store. I always hear "A grand? For a Mexican guitar? No way!". They might be fine instruments but they are overpriced. At $600, they would fly out of the door. At $1000, there is just too much competition out there.
Oh, I think the 'template' they use to relic them (the wear isn't exactly the same on each, but in the same place), has wear in strange places. Of course, if there was only wear under your fingers and forearm, the audience couldn't see how cool it looks, and by proxy, how long you have been playing and how cool you must be.
 
Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

Mincer said:
We have 5 in the store. I always hear "A grand? For a Mexican guitar? No way!". They might be fine instruments but they are overpriced. At $600, they would fly out of the door. At $1000, there is just too much competition out there.
Oh, I think the 'template' they use to relic them (the wear isn't exactly the same on each, but in the same place), has wear in strange places. Of course, if there was only wear under your fingers and forearm, the audience couldn't see how cool it looks, and by proxy, how long you have been playing and how cool you must be.
Click to expand...

a grand is way too much.

hey mincer where do you work exactly?
 
Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

i teach in a store about 30 miles N of Tampa, Fl. I don't sell stuff there, I just rent a room to teach in, so I get a chance to talk to people who come in, as well as play a bunch of different guitars.
 
Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

I gotta disagree with everybody. I think they are a real cool idea. I've seen them. They simply look cool. And it's another model being offered to the consumer. Nothing wrong with that. And if you don't know what you're doing your homemade relic job isn't gonna look as good as what Fender can do.
 
Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

well, that is the problem, i don't think it looks good. i think much of the wear is in the wrong places. it isn't a case of looking cool or not (I think it looks pretty fake close up, but I also think the whole relic idea is silly), it is a case of it being too expensive for what it is. A Mexican Strat, with a price more than doubled because of a not-so-authentic looking relic job.
 
Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

9finger said:
I"m going to start buying those cheap Rondo strats for $89 and just whoop the living dog poo out of them. Then I'm going to sell them for double the cost. Cheap relic crap for all!
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not a bad idea. Get 10.

I just sold an SX with a floyd to a guy for 90 bucks. He ripped the paint off, and did 10 coats of red, white and black EVH style. Cut up the pickguard, added an ESP humbucker (mounted it to the wood). Added chain strap, and voila - a frankenstrat. According to him, he sold it for $600, for a $510 dollar profit (minus paint, time and tools).

He might be telling the truth or not. (He doesn't show the headstock in the pics) The floyd and neck color looks like the SX though ...





 
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Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

What looks bad is the EVH guitars. The Road Worn simply look cool. To each his own though.
 
Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

No one has said it, so I will:

If I wanted a s****y looking beat-up guitar, then I'd destroy mine, not buy one that's pre-f***ed.
 
Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

I actually saw those the other day at GC here and I thought that they sounded pretty darn good.
You guys know that I dont dig relicing at all, but the truth is that I saw a bunch of 'regular' american strats and they had this INSANE thick finish on the maple necks. It was like glass or something. You could see it built up against the frets.
So that is what draw me near the road worn ones.
I think that I am gonna go tomorrow and try a couple just for the heck of it.

What kills me more about strats nowadays is the cheapo trems. They almost look like plastic or something. WTF is that about???

So they were pretty resonant with hardly any finish on them.
They are made in Mexico??
What is the story behind these??
 
Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

tone? said:
I actually saw those the other day at GC here and I thought that they sounded pretty darn good.
You guys know that I dont dig relicing at all, but the truth is that I saw a bunch of 'regular' american strats and they had this INSANE thick finish on the maple necks. It was like glass or something. You could see it built up against the frets.
So that is what draw me near the road worn ones.
I think that I am gonna go tomorrow and try a couple just for the heck of it.

What kills me more about strats nowadays is the cheapo trems. They almost look like plastic or something. WTF is that about???

So they were pretty resonant with hardly any finish on them.
They are made in Mexico??
What is the story behind these??
Click to expand...

yup... basicly they are MIM 50's and 60's reissues with a few changes... they have neck shapes based more on the era they are copied from... the 50's V strat neck has always been a fav of mine and these RAW feeling V necks i love!!!

they are basicly a MIM version of the USA Custom Shop relics... at about a 1/4 of the price these days of the USA versions

they are finnished thin skin like a HWY1 and then beat to snot by the workers sandpapers and other toys....

the few that first came into my local store were great sounding and feeling... Now the batch they seem to have now are awful build quality... the bridge and necks are lined up in such a way the High E is falling off the higher frets and the low E has lots of room.... yet you can't shift the neck over to move the strings to a better postion as the neck pocket is nice and tight! One of the few cases a tight neck pocket pisses you off... ha ha ha... i've seen the same string issue on some MIM Standard Strats lately too....

the store guys have told me they have had to send a lot of Fenders back for the same sloppy string alinement issues this spring... but it's worse with the Road Worn series as they really put a too steep of an angle on the fret end bevels, and that cuts back on the playing surface of the fret crown, and then add a wide string spaced Vintage style Strat trem... it's real easy to have the strings falling off the neck and can't really be played that well... and it is way worse when the bridge or neck pocket is not mounted in the correct postion
 
Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

The two I picked up had horrible fret edges, totally dug into my hands. At that price point, it is inexcusable. I have no issue with the look, as some folks dig it, and who am I to say otherwise, but for a grand it better play perfect. My Squier classic vibe does that at under 300.00 along with my Epis....
 
Re: Wow. Fender Road Worn Guitars!

I was kinda/sorta looking at a Road Worn 50's Tele. Then I saw the pickups. Okay, if you're (Fender) gonna try and pass something off as vintage or something, at least use a fiber-bobbin bridge pickup. Don't use the modern plastic that comes on the Tex-Mex. At that price point, they could have easily done a set of upgraded pickups.

Let's do the math. I want a reliced Tele.

On one hand - The Fender Road Worn 50's Tele at $949 from MF. A decent guitar but not that great.

On the other hand - The Fender CS 51 Nocaster at $2999 from MF (I wouldn't pay that though). Fit/finish, playability, tone, and overall quality - it's not even a comparison between the two....
 
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