Fender Road Worn "growl"?

ThingsAbove · #1 09-03-2011, 07:04 AM

I was in Sam Ash yesterday looking for a Jazz bass. I played an American Standard, a Geddy Lee and a Road Worn. I liked the neck on the Road Worn far better than the other two. It just felt comfortable. But I couldn't get the "growl" out of it that I could with the other two basses. Is this due to the "vintage" wound pickups?

If I replaced the pups with Seymour Duncan Antiquity pups would it regain the traditional sound? Or is it just a matter of modern pups vs vintage with the vintage being warmer and less growly?

Shortly after I started playing 6 years ago I switched to "modern" tone, active basses but since getting my Mustang a couple months back I've realized what I was missing in the passive, single coil world. I'm finding out that I love single coil tones and the variability that I can get using just my fingers with single coils that I couldn't with active electronic basses.

I have small hands and find the 7.25" jazz neck on the RW feels great compared to other jazz necks i played but it sounds a little dull. I don't want to spend the dough if I can't get the "growl".

ThingsAbove · #2 09-05-2011, 12:51 PM

Can someone offer an opinion on how the Duncan Antiquity pickups will sound compared to the stock Road Work pickups based on my question above?

BassDudeSA · #3 09-05-2011, 01:03 PM

All I would say is that everytime I judge the sound of a bass in a music store, it ends of being totally different than the real world scenario. People walk in to music stores all the time to try out basses. Sure you can tell how it feels, but considering volume restraints and other variables, everything changes when you bring it out to a rehearsal or gig with your own system, full volume and make your tweaks. In otherwords, growl or no growl, I would never trust a music store audition. I have learned that in my 35 years of playing bass. It is better than nothing, but not much.

WilliamSandoval · #4 09-05-2011, 01:09 PM

If you want the typical Jazz growl, why not get typical Fender Replacement pups?

jasper383 · #5 09-05-2011, 01:19 PM

I think the problem here was pickup height, and not the pickups themselves. The Roadworn basses have very nice Fender Jazz pickups in them, and will growl as well as any other 60s spacing bass will if the setup is a good one.

SubSectorSucker · #6 09-05-2011, 02:05 PM

Pickup height, dead strings.. Could be a bunch of things.

Mojo-Man · #7 09-05-2011, 02:12 PM

I have a Roadworn Jazz.
I love the feel, weight, and playability of this bass.
I just changed pickups to a set of 60's Lollar Jazz pickups..
Bass now kicks major ass.

Hyssar · #8 09-05-2011, 02:19 PM

The default strings on new basses are usually lifeless to start with and often dead (as in really old) on top of that.

ThingsAbove · #9 09-05-2011, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WilliamSandoval

If you want the typical Jazz growl, why not get typical Fender Replacement pups?

I guess I'm vain enough that I want the replacement pickups to match the "road worn" look of the bass. The Antiquity II pickups look "well used".

WilliamSandoval · #10 09-05-2011, 02:24 PM

Are the RW pup covers altered to look old? You could probably just switch the covers.

ThingsAbove · #11 09-05-2011, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WilliamSandoval

Are the RW pup covers altered to look old? You could probably just switch the covers.

The covers are "worn" and the pole pieces are very tarnished. The particular bass I was looking at had the most tastefully done relic job of the ones I've seen. The armrest wear doesn't just looked sanded down like others but truly worn. I ended up purchasing this bass yesterday. I need to upgrade my TB membership so I can post pics.

Spinal Tapper · #12 09-06-2011, 12:38 PM

I bet it was the strings...or the setup.

godofthunder59 · #13 09-06-2011, 03:45 PM

Don't stone me please. I have always found Fender basses don't have enough output. I use Whirlwinds "The Bomb" pedal to boost the out put of my Fenders to match the level of my 60's Thunderbirds. Works great no need to mod your bass. The Bomb - Catalog - Whirlwind Btw I own many vintage Fenders and I also own a RW Jazz........................ great bass beats the pants off the American Standard I had and sound and plays alot like a good '60's Jazz........................... scary good.

**ShoeManiac** · #14 09-06-2011, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mojo-Man

I have a Roadworn Jazz.
I love the feel, weight, and playability of this bass.
I just changed pickups to a set of 60's Lollar Jazz pickups..
Bass now kicks major ass.

I did the same thing with my Road worn Jazz. Those Lollars sound AMAZING in that bass.

mr.mow · #15 09-06-2011, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassDudeSA

All I would say is that everytime I judge the sound of a bass in a music store, it ends of being totally different than the real world scenario. People walk in to music stores all the time to try out basses. Sure you can tell how it feels, but considering volume restraints and other variables, everything changes when you bring it out to a rehearsal or gig with your own system, full volume and make your tweaks. In otherwords, growl or no growl, I would never trust a music store audition. I have learned that in my 35 years of playing bass. It is better than nothing, but not much.

This is why I never even bother plugging them in.. if they FEEL good to play, i'm all good, sound is so easy to change via electrics, amp, blah.. but its gotta FEEL good!

BassDudeSA · #16 09-06-2011, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.mow

This is why I never even bother plugging them in.. if they FEEL good to play, i'm all good, sound is so easy to change via electrics, amp, blah.. but its gotta FEEL good!

+1!

It astounds me how people judge the sound of an instrument through a music store audition, video or any other brief non-real world scenario. I have brought home basses in the past that I thought just rocked. Then I have brought them out to use with the band only to find out THEN that it is a dud. I've had the opposite happen as well, not expecting much, then WOW!

The only TRUE way to audition a bass is to use it in the real world, any other method is just guessing. With that said..... I love both my Road Worn P and J and can dial in or out as much or as little "growl" as I want to depending on how I play it, how I setup my amps and pedals, and how I have the action set on the bass.

tykus · #17 09-21-2011, 08:03 AM

Hi guys. I know that I am not on the topic here but can any of you Road Worn Jazz owners measure and give me the distance from the bridge to the holes for bridge cover. I know they come with pre-drilled holes from the factory. I wanted to do it myself but the stores around me have only RW Precision. Thanks

KenP · #18 01-14-2012, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SubSectorSucker

Pickup height, dead strings.. Could be a bunch of things.

How will the height of the PUPs change the growl? And, how to I get the growl I want from my PUPs?

Bongolation · #19 01-14-2012, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThingsAbove

Can someone offer an opinion on how the Duncan Antiquity pickups will sound compared to the stock Road Work pickups based on my question above?

I'm told that the Duncan Antiquities are made intentionally inconsistent to duplicate the vintage absence of standards and QC in the old handwound days. This sounds insane to me, but who knows? If true, it would make any blanket statements about them meaningless.

I believe the Roadworn uses the 58358/9 set and the GL supposedly uses OVs.

I recently did some bench time and testing with these two sets and did not find any really significant difference in controlled DI digital test tracks on the same bass with the same pole/string distance when using 9050ML flatwounds. The DCR is slightly lower with the 58358/9 set and the magnets are flush. There's probably some difference that would be more apparent with rounds, but my take is that if I have to strain to hear a difference between test tracks, the difference is negligible.

The GL has a BAII, which has a much more drastic effect on perceived tone than the small difference in these pickups.