Fender Roadworn Strat
Ever since Fender announced the new Roadworn Series of guitars, I’ve been lurking the gear forums and googling for information about them and trying to get a feel for what people think about them. It’s still early in the game, but not surprisingly, opinions are fairly evenly split. Lots of people like them, lots of people don’t. I’m part of the latter crowd.
From my point of view, if I was going to play a beat-up-looking, “roadworn” guitar that’s broken in, I’d rather have done the breaking in myself, or have had it done by someone else – like my first electric guitar that my little brother gave me. It was an Ibanez Strat copy and it looked like a piece of shit! The paint was cracked and flaking in areas, the electronics were completely screwed up due to the jury-rigged wiring jobs my brother did on it. But when I had it working, that little bad boy could sing! Even my brother inherited from one his band mates. In other words, this guitar has a history, and it plays and feels like it has a history.
My problem with the Fender Roadworn series is that these are brand new guitars that are made to look like they have a history, but they’re fresh off a friggin’ production line! They have no history! Oh yeah, I can hear a Fender rep saying, “We ‘wore out’ some of the most common areas where guitars get worn, and added some other cosmetic blemishes to produce a guitar that looks and feels like its been played for 20 years.’” What a crock of shit! Sorry, not buying the rationale, nor the guitars. Besides, to me, it’s how the guitar sounds and plays whether it’s new or used that counts.
I suppose if you have to have a replica of a famous guitarists axe, hey! More power to you! But in the end, you’re the one playing it, and you ain’t gonna sound like the guitarist whom which the guitar was modeled.
Guitar Gear 
very very true. I love worn guitars, too, but I’d rather buy a used guitar that had history or a new one to wear out myself than pay a grand for a standard strat that’s been sandpapered…
I like relics and the roadworn series looks to be interesting. I’m a huge fan of the worn necks in particular, but I’ll be holding off judgement until I can actually play one. Like I said, I like relics because they make for very comfortable guitars, but I definitely won’t blindly say I like ALL relics.
I have to agree that it’s a cool vibe… but a grand for a chipped and nicked guitar just ain’t my cup of tea…
I think it’s a smart move for Fender to release these; this relic trend is growing into full-blown madness. I personally won’t be going anywhere near one.
First of all, they are all worn identically, meaning every kid who picks up one of these hoping to look authentically “worn” will look like exactly what he is: a kid who paid a premium for someone else to beat up his guitar, just like every other “beat up” guitar.
What bothers me most is the price. A thousand dollars for a Mexican Strat is absurd. You could buy three Mexican Strats for that amount of money, drag two of them behind your car at the end of a length of chain, and have two relics and one nice, shiny guitar for the same amount of money.
“a kid who paid a premium for someone else to beat up his guitar, just like every other “beat up” guitar.”
HAHAHAHAHA!!! Love it!
I was shocked at the price. I agree, from a business standpoint, Fender made a good move. But on the other hand, a grand for a MIM Strat is ridiculous. And you can actually get three of ’em when they go on sale. I believe Musicians Friend had them on sale for something like $329 recently. So while it might be a smart business move, it’s a ripoff.
The road worn guitars are actually very nice quality guitars with fine frets and excellent pickups with most of the guitar having US made parts. The finishing of the bodies are done in Mexico and possibly the assembly and that is why it will say made in Mexico on the guitars. The higher end Mexican Fenders are nice guitars.
I don’t dispute that. I think my problem always has been, and probably always will be the artificial relicking of the guitars. Some people dig it, it just does nothing for me, so my perception is that a relicked guitar is somehow diminished.
Such a ripoff…
For the price of one Road Worn Strat, I got my MIM Strat HSS in beautiful Sage Green Metallic, and a lovely Arctic White Roadhouse Strat with Texas Specials… I’ll take two wonderful guitars over one equally priced mediocre guitar anyday.
While they aren’t for me, Fender is simply responding to what is becoming quite a fad in the industry. I looked these things over and played them at NAMM earlier this month and they are decent guitars. The artificially worn necks are really smooth, and while it’s easy to do this yourself, a lot of people are either afraid or too lazy to tackle the job. Previously, people who are into the relic guitar look had to spend thousands for a custom shop model. Fender is now reaching down to the masses. I think the guitar will sell pretty well (and no, I’m not a Fender dealer or affiliated with Fender in any way).
The relic debate aside, I’ve tried four of these and really wanted to like them. I really dig the looks of the black with the rosewood board. But the sharp fret ends were just way too much for me to even plug the things in… They’re doing a really poor job of properly drying the neck woods on these. I understand seasonal fluctuations in humidity can cause some effect, but not this pronounced. IMO…just really really bad….And thats a shame because I really wanted to like these.
I swear I don’t know what it is about Fenders and neck shrinkage but they have always had this problem, not just with the Roadworn series. I have over 200 guitars in my rental inventory and I naturally have humidifiers at all of our locations maintaining the environment. But if something happens and the humidity drops, the Fenders are ALWAYS the first, and often only, guitars to show a problem with the necks contracting. This is true with my MIM strats as well as with the multi-thousand dollar custom shop series guitars. It’s so bizarre to see all these custom shop strats have problems, and right next to them the inexpensive korean-made Saint Blues and chinese-made Brazens are still perfect.
Anyway, regarding the Roadword guitars, the ones I played at NAMM played fantastic – very smooth and silky – but they may have had extra care for the show. There’s absolutely no excuse for guitars having issues like sharp fret ends, and the stores also share the blame for not caring about the condition of their instruments on display.
Sharp fret ends are usually due to neck shrinkage but this is a problem easily corrected by a luthier doing a nice setup and smoothing the fret ends out.
Agreed. Especially on a thousand dollar axe.
One more thing: I was really concerned about the fact that the road worn guitars used jumbo frets (looked like 6150s, but I may be wrong), while still maintaining the vintage 7.5 radius on the fret board. Can anyone confirm this? It seems wrong to me to combine the two- and it seems like low action without fretting out in bends would be problematic.
You hit the nail rght on the head. I purchased a Stratocaster Road Worn Series guitar; the 1950’s version. It has the original 1950’s radius neck with the jumbo frets. The things plays very well; actually better than any guitar I have ever played. Only when you play above the 12th fret. As soon as you hit the 12th fret and beyond; the thing frets out like no other guitar I have ever played. But, like I said above the 12th fret is incredible. I have been playing for over 25 years and I have owned ever guitar out there; from $3000 Gibsons to $150 no name guitars. This is the best playing guitar above the 12th I have ever played; that is why I bought it. If I could get rid of the fretting out problem I have with the higher frets; then I would have my ultimate guitar. But, I do not know if it is possible to get rid of the fretting out problem I have raised the strings as high as they can go and it still frets out.
They did not feel like jumbos to me. Also, while I don’t know that I’ve ever installed jumbos on a vintage type radius, I’m not sure that I see the theoretical problem. As long as the frets are leveled properly, the fret type shouldn’t have a huge amount of impact. The vibrating string will still have the same curvature to it relative to the contact point on the fret being fretted.
The fret type has a huge amount of impact… the higher the fret, the easier to bent up, with a low/fast action. Remember the fretless wonder from Gibson?? Terrible! So the (medium)jumbo fret has every advantege. My only problem are the pickups: to much high espessialy the bridge PU… and rollin down the volume will roll down the tone to. I wonder which pu I could replace for the bridge??? anyone?
I’ve got Kinman Hx pickups in my Strat. These are by far the best-sounding pickups I’ve heard on a Strat. The bridge pup has the highs you expect, but it also is a lot fatter than a standard Strat bridge pickup. They’re also noiseless.
I agree with you. -Maybe I worded my last point incorrectly. I should have said that the reason for using larger frets is to make bending easier. That being the case, they should have also used a flatter radius which is also more appropriate for good bending. It seems to me the use of a vintage radius, and then adding bigger frets, seems counterintuitive.
I looked it up…. The strat had 6105s (medium jumbo’s) and the radius was 7.25″
This combo seems silly on a new guitar. The radius should have been at least 9.5″ if not larger.
It’s another price point. An interesting one at that. Now for the first time we’re seeing an MIM model overlapping the price point of the basic USA models. Call it crack spackle!
That’s why I came up with Squier Relic “RUG BURN” series, which would price point an Indonesian product just over the standard MIM.
The road to the Custom Shop is paved with crack spackle!
I agree (if I’m interpreting your message correctly) that we are entering a new era of guitar manufacturing where “Made in the USA” no long implies that it’s the best quality guitar on the rack. I believe the transition will be similar to what the auto industry went through, only I think it will happen a lot faster. The MIJ strats are still increasing in popularity and the MIMs are fine guitars.
I remember being at a PRS event where Paul said “If the Chinese ever start making guitars of this quality, we’re in real trouble.” Now, Brazen is making high end guitars in China that play and sound every bit as good as a PRS (and I’m a PRS lover), complete with Brazilian Patagonian Rosewood necks. The terms “high end tonewoods” and “Chinese” used to be mutually exclusive, but no more.
I wonder if the government will spend $75 billion to save the US guitar industry?
The best Strats are still made in the USA anyway (just not by Fender…)
Don Grosh
Tom Anderson
Don’t forget G & L. The Legacy is incredible! And with the Tribute series, you have the high quality of a G & L that was assembled in Korea. PRS does the SE’s in Korea as well, and as I own one, I can attest to the their high quality. While I’m a patriot, and believe in buying Made in the USA as much as possible, I simply can’t deny that if the quality is high, there’s no reason not to buy stuff assembled out of the country.
Agreed, I love the stock p/ups on the G&Ls – they sound phenominal. John Suhr makes some pretty impressive axes too.
Interesting, all valid points. It is however time to address the 800 pound gorilla in the room. I own a custom shop relic 63 tele that is amazing.I just bought the road worn series tele in blonde two weeks ago right off the show room floor @ guitar center. I had to spend some time getting the road worn guitar to be gigable but after changing the saddles to brass cutting the nut in properly and a proper fret dress, this guitar kicks ass. The tex mex pickups are certainly usable and the guitar rings like a bell.
In comparison with my custom shop, this road worn tele can hold its own. It is a great guitar. As far as the relic aspect I think you just have to make it your own. How cool is it to have a head start on the process? The price does reflect the workmanship and the quality. Its nitro, 6105,s what else do you really need? For what I paid for my custom shop I could own 3 of these and be just as happy. I am not a huge fender fan but this just might change my mind.
The point that bigradiorocks makes isn’t lost on me, but I guess I just have a problem with the buyer having to re-cut the nut, re-dress the frets, and change the saddles to make a thousand dollar guitar gigable. To me, that is sheer arrogance on the part of BOTH the manufacturer and the store.
It’s kind of like buying a car and having to put a new set of wheels, axels, and steering mechansim in to get the guitar to drive straight.
In the old days, when stores cared about their customers, they made customer-ready adjustments like this when the guitars came from the manufacturers. Now they just take whatever piece of crap comes out of the box and throw it on the wall. In my opinion, it’s shameful. The fact that bigradiorocks now has a guitar s/he’s happy with is great, but not everyone can make those modifications and I don’t think they should be required to for a guitar at that price point.
Excellent point here, Jim… which is the reason I only deal with the smaller shops. Even the MIM Strat I got for under $400 on sale was set up for gigging right off the rack, because as a small shop, the way they compete with the Guitar Centers of the world is perhaps a slightly higher price on some things, but also making sure that the stuff they sell is ready to use.
I took my Strat into a repair/setup shop about a month after I had been playing it to make some action tweaks, lower the frets a bit, and to get a different nut, but it surely wasn’t because the initial setup was bad. I merely had to play it awhile to find what adjustments I wanted. If I hadn’t had the work done, the guitar was still very playable, and that’s a testament to the care a small shop gives to their merchandise – and especially their customers!
Precisely my point. Sounds like you have found yourself a really great shop. I wish I felt comfortable saying that all small shops provided that level of service, but they don’t. Once you find one, let them know that their efforts are appreciated and stick with them. That’s the only thing that will make the others take notice and start caring about their customers.
I agree, besides, who is to say that a guitar that is old and has been used a lot has to look like this? Some of my axes are now more than 20 years old have been around the block (and half the world for that matter). They don’t look anything like those “vintage” or vintage-pretender guitars – because I take care of my expensive gear!
Some of the “worn” patterns seem rather weird as they don’t really appear on real well-played guitars. Discolorations? Yes. Nicks, scratches, dings and paint coming off in certain spots? Yes. But these shaved off armrests? Give me a break. That does not really happen unless you wear sandpaper bracelets or there was something wrong with the paint job.
Im sorry, i have to disagree, after reading alot of the negative comments , your not realizing one important fact!! Who can affford a real classic vintage strat?? Priced one lately? Collectors have pushed the price into a catagory in which the average guitar playing person can only dream of having one!! Fender has made it possible to let an average working class person live a dream. What i thought Fender did wrong is make them all the same. They should of made each one unique!!! Then it would be more like the real thing and special. You all know that the MIM is made right around the corner from the american made strat in Corona ,Ca And some of the same people work on them at each shop dont you? Go figure!!
The theory is that if you want a unique one, you go to the Custom Shop to get it. As I said in my first post, I don’t really get the whole vibe thing, but I have had customers ask me to relic their strats, so it is a real phenomenon. I hate doing it, and I won’t do it for someone I don’t know, but if it’s a loyal customer, then it’s my job to make them happy.
To 7enderBender’s comment, the paint actually does wear off over time on the contoured part of the body where the arm rests, with the old finishes that is. I don’t think you’d ever wear down a modern finish. Just to get those to check I have to bake them at 550 and then flash-freeze them. Why anyone would want to do that to a guitar is beyond me.
These aren’t vintage Strats. They’re new Strats made to look old, and worn down by a machine, not from thousands of hours of playing. It takes a few to several years for a guitar to finally settle into its tone, and for the wood to really settle. For instance, I have an Ovation that I got 15 years ago that has finally settled in the last few years from regular gigging, and it now sounds fantastic – much better than when I bought it, and I bought it practically new (previous owner only had it for a couple of months).
The same goes for my Squier Strat, which is about 25 years old now. It was cheap, it’s old, and it sounds way better than a lot of guitars I’ve played that cost ten to twenty times as much as the original price of the guitar (<$200). The point is that real use and time are what make vintage guitars sound good. The roadworns are still new wood. Like all new guitars, they’ll need time break in.
But don’t let the negative feedback stop you. If that’s your thing, more power to you. It’s definitely not for me.
I would have to agree with you about wanting a guitar to have a real history to it. It’s true the battle scars should be earned. I would never have bought a relic before because the whole idea of a new guitar with factory wear and tear seemed ridiculous to me. I do however have a serious love for nitro finish, as well as 7.25 inch radius fretboards. I have been strat shopping for about a year and before the road worn guitars came out, i was dead set on either a Highway One or an American Standard. My max price range was $1000. When I first heard about the road worns, I scoffed. I thought it was a ridiculous price for a mexican strat. I did however, get curious enough to play a few…and personally, I liked them more than both the AM STD and the H1. I ended up buying a road worn 60’s in my favorite color, 3 tone sunburst. The tone is killer. The Tex Mex PU’s are a perfect match and the body is light and resonant. It may not be what everyone is looking for, and you certainly shouldn’t buy an instrument just because you think it looks cool, but I found the road worn 60’s strat to be a phenominal instrument aside from the dishonest wear.
Matt, that’s what it’s all about. If it feels and sounds great to you, then congrats on your purchase! I actually swear by MIM Strats now. They’re much less expensive than American Strats, and if you look carefully and play a bunch, you’ll find some real gems. I’ve got one of those 60th Diamond Anniversary Strats in Blizzard Pearl finish with Tex Mex pickups, and it’s my go to guitar! I love it! She just sings to me. 🙂
I’d take one of these over most USA strats. You guys need to get over the stigma of MIM.
I like that the finish is thin, and worn away. It will continue to keep aging and develop real wear much faster than a thick finished guitar. I can’t stand shiny, new guitars and never could even years ago. too bling bling for me. Give me one of these with a thin finish, raw neck, and let me play the snot out of it, putting my own wear on it.
Amen brother! I got rid of my American Strat for one of these. I could not stand the gloss on the U.S. made Strat; Nitro finish is where it’s at. I swear to God I feel like I am playing Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar every time I pick this guitar up; I never got that feeling from my American. It is like the right girl; the one for you might not be the prettiest in the room. But, when you are doing your thing with her no other woman in the world means anything to you at that point in time. There is a magic that only you and her can feel.
Well, I am not one to usually buy the Fender brand the last guitar a bought was a Tyler, so I do like the strat style. I just don’t usually find Fender’s even the custom shop stuff is really worth it to me. But…. every once and a while I have found a few magical Fender strats out there. When they are good they are great! So like most trips to Guitar Center I pick up strats and usually put them down real quick with grimace and a bad taste in my mouth, but I still go though the ones I might like just in case. Last week I went in to “The Center” and did my usual but when I picked up this one road worn black strat with maple board I just didn’t want to put it down! It was light and lively with a nice tight neck pocket and was just one of those special guitars you always hope to find but never do! I don’t give a rats ass about this new relic trend. I am one of those people that would rather beat up my own guitar by playing out with it for years, but when you find a good guitar you just got to go for it. It may be a mexican it may be beat to hell already it may not have the perfect pickups and it may need a Plek job but I don’t care. I don’t care cause when the body and neck sound like this why should I? So I don’t know if any of the others are like this the other 4 or 5 in the store were not, but I just thought I would let some people know about it. The only thing I’m not totally happy about is the radius. I been know to like to bend up high sometimes but for the most part even thats not that bad and the action is fairly low. After I put some 11’s on it and set up myself a little I’m way happy. I will get it Pleked soon and then I should have one of the nicest strats I’ve ever played.
I’m with goofydawg on this one. I don’t get it. Here’s my take on it from my blog.
Excerpt: Fender apparently thinks they can get a premium for taking a brand new guitar and scuffing it up with an orbital sander. What’s up with that? I mean really, this is getting ridiculous.
I just played a 60s road worn strat at the local music store, and the sound and especially the feel of the thing was amazing, for people who are talktin shit about them because of the way they look, maybe you should go out and try playing one cause they are awesome. Definetly going to be buying one as soon as possible.
Fender can KISS MY ASS!!!
Yeah, the roadworn’s are cool. But a grand for a MIM guitar? I don’t think so.
You’re certainly not alone in that. 🙂
You are one of the few people who actually admit that a $1,000 is a lot of money for these guitars. The whole marketing behind the Road Worn Series is; ‘they are relic guitars at an incredibly afforable price’ – as if they are giving them away. Affordable? To me $1,000 is a lot of money. I have one and I like it, but do not call it inexpensive. If it went for $400; then call it cheap. But, Fender’s rationale is that; compared to the Custom Shop relic guitars it is cheap. But those guitars are so ver-priced it should be a crime.
I was turned off by the concept of artificially worn guitars with inflated price-tags, but I test drove a P- bass and a J, I must say, they felt, played, and sounded really good!, light and resonant!. however the neck pockets were not snug, and it seems there are QC issues like this with the MIM guitars and basses, which is unexceptable for a $1000- $1200 bass.
[…] in case you missed all the excitement, I had written an article about the Fender Roadworn series awhile back. I basically said in the article that I just really don’t get the relic thing, and that […]
AMEN brother! I agree with everething you said. good thinking @
[…] sorry folks, this is the same issue that I had with the Fender Roadworn series of guitars. I’m not really in to reliced guitars, but there’s no way I could justify paying $999 […]
These guitars are not Mexican Standards. They are essentially the Classic 50’s and 60’s Mexican Strats. Those are up around $700 dollars now. I agree paying $250 extra dollars for them to beat it up is a bit much. They are typically great guitars though. I do think they should have used the original type of frets . Everything about this guitar should be as close to the original era as possible. That being said, mine plays and sounds great. it does fret out on bends as do most vintage radius necks. MY GUITAR GUY CAN EASILY FIX THAT WITH A LITTLE FRET WORK. I’ve owned countless 50’s strats and he always gets them to play at 3/64″ treble side and 1/16″ bass side action. I go into all guitar purchases expecting it needs a setup and fret work. They shouldn’t , but I’ve never owned a guitar that didn’t ; and I’ve owned just about everything.
What I appreciate is that the Road Worn bodies have a nearly thin-skin nitro finish. I don’t believe it’s nitro over urethane like the AVRIs, but just plain nitro. That’s not typical for any other MIM Fender. The necks have a light satin urethane over a very etched and sanded neck, and on the 50’s necks it makes a big difference in how good they feel. Those 2 factors justify part of the premium over the classic 50’s and classic 60’s models, in my mind.
Great insight, guys. I’ve actually played several of these, and they play great. I’m not really into the relic thing, but I do see your point about better finish materials.
Who cares where its made?
Does it feel good?
Do you like (luv) the sound?
Does the guitar do what you want it to do?
Does it make you say YES! inside when you play it?
If so, take it home with you.
If not, put it back on the hanger.
Done.
In most cases, I agree with what you’re saying. But it’s not about where it’s made. It’s about how much MIM Strats costed just a couple of years ago.
When the MIM strats first glutted the walls at my local Guitar Center, (late 90s?) They were all standard strats- tagged at about $325 and they were crap. I’d never buy one. But after about 5 or 6 years, they started putting out some (upper line?) MIMs in the $500-$600 range. I didn’t think these were all that bad! I liked them.
However, the “MIM” stigma kinda stuck. I don’t see those $325 guitars around anymore. I bought a 60s reissue MIM jazz bass-$500. good tone! Dropped some rio grande j-bass pickups in, and it’s a life time keeper. Total cost about $700.(Keep in mind I’ve been playing over 30 yrs and am extremely picky about tone)
There was also this powerhouse strat a few years back, which was that gaudy yellow, they had it marked down to $300(from $500) cause NO ONE would buy this poor thing. It was a good player, had good natural tone. so I bought it with the plan of painting it and putting in new pickups.
Its now surf green, and has Texas specials in the neck and middle, and a hot rail in the bridge. (talk about the best of both worlds) I LOVE this guitar. Rocks like a cow in the wind.
I recently tryed out the road worn strats and was kinda impressed. Good tone to my ears. The only thing that scares me is that small neck radius cause I’m always doing triple fret bents above the 12th fret.
These guitars are tagged at $800 at the Guitar Center close to me.Its that too much for this guitar?
My vote is no.
I got one from the second run, and I’ve kept it completely stock (though I’ll probably change out the bridge pickup for a darker one – maybe a single-coil-size ‘bucker. But other than that, I love it, and for me, I’ll always have her. Got it for $385. Admittedly though, I had to play several before I found this one.
I own a 50s RW in sunburst.After a dozen or so Fenders both MIM and MIUSA,Charvel,4 Gibsons,this is the one.I took it to a trusted extremely competent tech friend for a thorough set-up and going over,intonation is spot on, bends are no prob.I put in Seymour Duncans only to lose the hum,the stock TexMex ‘s are very nice.But to each his or her own.I also thought the factory relic’ing was a bit bogus but I could not put the thing down when I tried it out,now it’s mine.
Terry, in the end, it boils down to the guitar(s) you bond with, and if you’ve found a great guitar, that’s awesome!
As Stratoblogster said above, it’s an interesting price point. Frankly, I’d buy a Squier Classic Vibe Tele over one of the roadworn series – I’m actually going to get one pretty soon.
I have a fender highway one which is the same price and my favorite part is its made a the real fender facatory made in america
Before anyone passes judgment on these road worn guitars, they should play one. I’ve owned 1950’s Strats, 1950’s Teles, and 1960’s Strats. These are as close as you get feel and sound wise.
I don’t care if they’re made in Mexico….when I pick up a guitar and play it in a shop, it has to respond and speak to me. I’ve tried all kinds of strats – american, chinese, mexican…you name it….but this guitar was just perfect…great feel and sound…it sounds like a good strat has to sound….period. I bought it and don’t regret it.
I’ve played one. It played quite nicely. But I’d rather get a Chinese-made Squier Classic Vibe guitar that’s less than half the price. I have the CV Tele 50’s, and THAT is a guitar that plays and sounds great and I paid $300 for it!
@Dieter- I agree. These Road Worns are pretty contraversial and bring out all the relic dislikers. For me, I liken it more to a pre-worn baseball glove than a relic’d car or whatever (I’ve read all kinds of bad analogies). I would love to put my own wear on a quitar but being 44 yr old casual player, and with the typical bullet-proof poly finishes on any of the strat models I can afford, it’d never happen in my lifetime. But most of the negativity is about the price they are charging for a MIM guitar. That really seems to drive a lot of people nuts. I understand that. But again, it’s not just a std mim. It has Tex Mex pups and thin-skin Nitro finish on a vintage repro. Bottom line is I found one I really enjoy playing, and it sounds great- I would love a REAL vintage Strat but this, for the $825 I paid, is as close as I’ll ever get to living the dream.
Syd, I’ll give you the nitro finish and work to ding up the finish, but the Tex Mex pickups are not uncommon, and even with my special edition MIM 60th Diamond Anniversary Strat, I paid $385 for that guitar a year before these came out. I could justify paying $500, but not $800+.
But I guess my biggest problem with the roadworn series is the same problem I have with relic guitars in general: They’re not at all for me. My buddy had a Nash Telecaster that I tried out. I loved how it felt and played, but I just couldn’t get over the relic finish. It wasn’t that it was really heavy, it’s just that I like a shiny guitar myself.
That said, I actually have a lightly reclicked guitar in my custom ’59 Les Paul replica. And by light, I mean really light. The roadworn guitars a lot more heavy than my tastes allow. But hey! To each their own, and if you bond with your instrument, then it’s all good!
Agreed, $800 for a mim is too high. I could have saved a few hundred dollars and had everything except the thin-skin. Std mim’s are around $550-ish where I am (in Canada). For just a few hundred more then my RW I could have got an American strat. But I actually like the feel of the worn necks on the RWs and would not have the guts to do it myself (with scotch pads or whatever), and I kinda like that I don’t have to worry about scratching it or banging it into something (I’m pretty clumsy, plus have two little brats that get into everything). But I also am finding that I really like the 7.25″ neck radius, high frets, and wider saddle/string spacing at the bridge, which are things I doubt I would have ended up with on any other strat in the under $1K price range (along with the nitro).
And the other day at the local guitar shop they had a RW Tele sitting near a nice looking real American Tele that was a few hundred bucks more, and I just couldn’t get over how much more fun it was to play the RW.
It is really too bad Fender didn’t back off on the relic-ing a bit and hit the market at only $100 – $200 premium over the standard mim’s.
YOU GUYS ARE REALLY MISSING THE POINT!!!…FENDER GUITARS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN BUILT BY A MIXTURE OF AMERICANS AND MEXICANS!… WHERE DID LEO START HIS PLANT???… NOT TO FAR AWAY…HOW MANY NAMES ON THE ENDS OF THE VINTAGE NECKS HAD THE INSPECTOR NAME OF T.GOMEZ!!!… I HAVE 5 STRATS… I BOUGHT THE VINTAGE ONES WHEN NOBODY WANTED STRATOCASTERS… REMEMBER TRYING TO PLAY UNDER THE FLORESENT LIGHTS???… REMEMBER THOSE SINGLE COILS NOT ENOUGHT POWER TO DRIVE THE EFFECTS???… REMEMBER THE NECK MOVING AND GOING OUT OF TUNE???…NOW WHEN YOU SEE A DESCRIPTION OF AND OLD STRAT YOU HEAR PHRASES LIKE “TONE FROM THE GODS!”… WHAT A CROCK!!!…STRATOCASTERS WERE THEN AND STILL ARE A CHEAP GUITAR… I BELIEVE THE BOLT ON NECK WAS A HUGE COST SAVING STEP AND WAS NEVER INTENDED TO COMPETE WITH THE LIKES OF GIBSON AND OTHER HIGH END GUITARS… AND IT WAS ALMOST DISCONTINUED, EXCEPT OF THE USE BY HENDERIX…GET REAL GUYS, FENDERS ARE STILL BEING BUILT BY A COMBINATION OF AMERICANS AND MEXICANS… IF YOU LIKE THE DAMN GUITAR PLAY IT!!!… ALL THAT BEING SAID, I HAVE 58 STRAT, A 59 STRAT, 60 STRAT, 72 STRAT, 09 ROAD WORN STRAT… AFTER PROPER SET UP, THE 09 STRAT PLAYS BETTER THAN ANY OF THEM… SOUND WISE, THEY ALL SOUND GREAT… I HAVE ALWAYS PLAYED A STRAT, AND ALWAYS WILL, BUT I MAKE NO OUTRAGEOUS CLAIMS AS TO WHAT THE GUITAR IS…
Nice… 🙂
Tried a RW recently. It’s a shame that they are beat up cause they are not standard MIM’s at all.
The J bass I tried was very light and felt and sounded in its own way just like my 68 “RW” P bass…lol!
Pick up and play a Mex guitar and then a RW..you’ll be amazed how different they are.
The other thing that new UV cured Poly will never do is age like nitro unless you treat it very badly, and if your doing that then the guitar is probably gonna be physically wrecked anyway.
Point well taken about artificial relicing. Just to be the devil’s advocate for a moment, I see some value in this. I bought a roadworn tele because the neck was so damn nice and worn in. It just felt great, and thats what sold me on it. Problem is, you have to match the rest of the guitar or it migjht look odd having a worn neck with a new body. There is also a certain comfort level playing a bashed up guitar versus agonizing over nicks and scratches on a “new” guitar.
I get it But I actually don’t mind getting nicks and scratches on my axes. I just want to do it myself. 🙂
I’m fairly excited about the fact that you can now find cheap, used RW guitars. I find that most of them are light and resonant, and the nitro paint might not be pretty to some, but it does the job and feels good. The Necks at least on some of the 60’s strat versions are amazing. I prefer the neck to most custom shop necks I’ve tried!
Just slap on new pickups (and a pickguard that suits your aesthetics), tusq saddles and tusq bridge. Frets need to be dressed. I prefer to block the trem. Setup to suit me.
I shopped around for a while and found a good Olympic white 60’s Strat that i then modded.
Plays well; Sounds clear as a bell and sustains like…a good strat 😉
For me this is a real alternative to high end guitars such as Tom Anderson, Suhr or any other for that matter. I got to choose just the parts I like.
And with all the wear, who can tell if I bought it new or used 😉
u couldn’t be more wrong. Out of my 8 strats of all price ranges and MIA, + being a former employee of Fender in my opinion The Road Worn® series is one of the best to come out in 10 years.
Sure I replaced the pickups in my 2008 Black 50’s Strat® w/ Custom Shop 54’s, it is my #1 strat still to this day 2014. Just one mans and a lot of Fender employees opinions, especially the Custom Shop guys.
And mine looks nothing like when I bought it, maple neck is dirty, new chips,dings, play marks on the pickguard. But mostly it’s the balance in the neck & body woods! Light AND extremely resonant. Tone is 100%.
And I played Daniel Lanois ’54 Strat on my record in New Orleans, and my Road Worn would hang right in there track to track.
Leo knew.
I just tried out few fenders at my local music store and I must say that RoadWorn was amazing, very resonant and great neck. I can’t say the same about Fenders with double or triple value, they sound dull acoustically next to roadworn, i guess its because of thick paint on their bodys.
Althou I agree with OP and i think perfect guitar would be unworn version roadworn :D, not sure if they do something like that.
Wow! Was I really that impetuous when I wrote that article? 🙂 Oh well… I’ve played several of these over the last few years. They sound and play amazing. But I’m still not sold on relic-ing in general. Like I said, I like to relic my guitars myself. But that’s a completely personal preference.
I am actually grateful to the holder of this website who has shared this impressive paragraph at here…