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Fender MIM road worn 60' J bass

I have seen them and, according to the Fender Rep who happened to be in the store when I saw the Strats, the wear is done using templates...and they look it.

I'm sure over time each one will age according the use/abuse it receives from its series of owners but when new, on the wall in the store, a bunch of them hanging next to each other look like some sort of bizarre relic parade review.

The ones I have seen were not identical--similar, yes. Identical, no.

I love a parade--have you seen the one of the truly identical 3tsb p-basses? :D
 
The ones I have seen were not identical--similar, yes. Identical, no.

I love a parade--have you seen the one of the truly identical 3tsb p-basses? :D

One of the features of a naturally worn instrument is that that the wear is unique to each insturment. The close similarity of the manufactured wear on the Road Worns throws that uniqueness out the window and it just looks comical with several on the wall together.

In your example of the TSB P, it's expected they all look nearly identical, and I wonder what potential customers would think if they weren't? If there's a scratch in the finish of a new bass they immediately tries to wrangle a discount due to the "imperfection". By comparison the Road Worn finishes are mostly "imperfections" ... and yet they cost more too.

Like I said before, over time each will age according to the use/abuse of it's series of owners but that would be the same with any nitro finished instrument including the identical TSBs you mention (provided they're finished in nitro).
 
Wow, just think Sting,Clapton, John Mayer and Pino Paladino are all posers with their CS guitars and bass's. All copy's of the instruments they own. I know when I have played out my 59 CS p-bass, people in the crowd demanded that I put it a way and play only my new American standard P. This of course was while I was posing in my faded jeans, my road worn cowboy shirt and worn out boots. And that Harley I rode in.....total poser! But I' m from Los Angeles We are all Posers, Hollywood baby!
Just ordered my Road Worn 50's p-bass last week......I'll never work in this town again.
 
The one thing that perplexes me, is even if you were into this sort of thing, wouldn't it be cheaper just to buy a normal '60 J Bass and add superficial damage to it yourself?

Don't the other "era" basses that are made in Mexico (50s, 60s, et al) have poly finishes? That doesn't lend itself to the whole relic thing very well. The Highway 1 stuff would work a lot better.
 
I am offering my services to anyone who wants a road worn bass.

Send me your bass...any bass. Send me your modulus' and your Foderas and your Ricks.

I promise that I will chain them to the back of my car and make them all nice and road worn. You will look so cool!
 
I wonder if any of the people calling relic owners posers have any tattoos? If so, what are they pretending to be? I'm sure they didn't come into the world that way? Really its just decoration, right? What's the difference?
 
Ask Brett of Vintaged Guitar's how easy it is to produce a good relic finish. I wish I had one of his finishes. They are beautiful, IMHO.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the relic work he's displayed here.

From wht I've seen of relic'd instruments in photos and in real life, there are very few who can relic an instrument so it doesn't look like it was relic'd. That's where the art of creating a relic lies, IMO.
 
I... I can't see paying over a grand for a bass that's not American made, plain and simple.:rollno:

Above and beyond the whole "road worn" silliness, this is a key point for me - $1200 for a bass made where labor/environmental laws are "Cheap"? No thanks. I just bought a brand new, hand made $1200 five string Clement, and while it won't have the "cool" factor that this bass will (at a distance), it will be a more useful bass made of higher quality parts.

Heck, thinking on it - I wouldn't pay $1200 for a US made Fender, unless it was actually old...
 
I am always amazed by basses with paint completely worn off where your forearms sits. The amount of hours that takes is incredible.

I wonder if it would take longer these days...are the top coats on basses harder than they used to be?
 
I dont know how i feel about the road worn basses.. all i know is that the 2 tone sunburst one with tanned pickguard and maple fretboard is beautiful looking to me. Id take one without the road worn relic stuff.

can u still buy 2 tone sunburst p-basses?