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Fender MIM road worn 60' J bass

#121
Spinal Tapper said:
Has anyone mentioned you can't purchase a Fiesta Red anywhere else but it's a primary Road Worn exclusive? (at least to my knowledge)

I think that's a plus side - Fiesta Red jazz basses are bad@ss - still wouldn't pay over $500 for one though
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The Fender '50s or is it '60s P-bass imposters come in Fiesta Red. There's a MIM one at Moonlight Music for 600. Pup and Bridge guard included. Since it’s MIM it’s probably not a bad deal.

Now, if only the Squier lineup had one of these I’d be all over it!

If Fender is anything like Ford it takes 3-5 years getting from paper to the manufacturing line. I’m sure they’d admit with the economy the way it is they made a poor decision with the whole “road worn” series. But right now we all wish we had the economic crystal ball!!
 
#125
#126
sean.1986 said:
I'm not bothered what people think about my opinion, but isn't a forum an open invitation to voice one's opinion? And isn't this the thread to do it in with regards to what's been said?

I have no intention of continually revoicing my opinion, either. I can't help it if other members choose to quote me.

For me the issue was never style or posiness. Everybody poses when they think they look cool. All I said was that for me, personally, the concept itself is lame, not cool. I have no intention of pressing the issue.

Sorry if I offended anyone, too. As I said, I never meant to flame or troll.
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Fair enough, but I should clarify. I wasn't referring to your (or anyone elses') opinion in this thread. I was saying that if you think someone who buys these instruments is a "poser", you first have to assume that they value another's opinion of how they look with the instrument and that they have this in mind when they make a purchase.

I'm saying it is, at the least, an assumption that can't really be verified to the point of making the blanket "poser" accusation and at the worst, ironically egotistical.

To sum up: you're free to voice whatever you want here, my post was aimed at the idea that purchasers consider other's opinions and weigh them in the decision. I don't believe image will be the driving force behind the majority of these purchases. I (and I believe most people) buy basses that play well and, if I'm lucky, are aesthetically pleasing to me. How "cool" I look to others is a distant memory of highschool.

Mike
 
#128
I bet when Fender changes the logo in MIA who could tell the difference between a Custom Shop Relic and a road worn??? Can you?? (I can't and I own several CS basses incl. a Pino)
I also own a 50s Road Worn Precision but let met tell you it is worth the $ every cent......

It's light and has tone..........

Theo:bassist:
DSC_1267_resize.jpg
 
#131
I haven't owned any reliced instruments, but I can understand why some people might like them. I played older instruments that had the necks and frets worn smooth and the binding yellowed and the hardware aged naturally. They played and sounded very good. The one I owned was a mid-late 60's Mosrite Celebrity hollowbody bass that I bought used from my highschool bass instructor. It had a very comfortable "broken in" feel to it.

These "Road Worn" instruments offer the same thing but cost a fraction of what a good original would cost. The nitro finish versus thick poly and the aged hardware add to the cost, but look attractive to me. I personally would prefer the closet classic "light relic" look, but I don't see anything outrageous about the pricing of the "Road Worn" series. (except that I'm broke at the moment :()
 
#132
Yeah, so I have to agree that a fake relicing is kind of silly...but I've played the road worn teles and strats and they sounded AMAZING. Really, IMHO, much better than the MIA guitars. They just had that "thing" that a lot of vintage instruments have. It seemed like they breathed and were just fuller. Less finish, more wood, I suppose. Or maybe just nice pickups?

Even though the relic is "fake" I still think it looks cooler than some shiny new modern thing that looks like a toy to me.

Plus the bare wood on the neck feels great!

I think if you can get one for at a discount somehow they are a steal.

I own two vintage fenders and love them, but don't really want to take them on the road anymore. A road worn instrument that sounds great and feels nice, and doesn't have that annoying shiny new poly finish sounds like a good thing to me. Plus, they really aren't *that* much...although a bit overpriced compared to a Nash probably.

If they were $650 they would be flying off the shelves.

Also, I did notice that between any group of the guitars about 2 out of 5 were great, and they rest just didn't have it.

And they are pretty light (the guitars -- haven't tried the basses).
 
#135
I tried a Road Worn P today. The local store finally got one in and I and spent about 45 minutes with it.

First off, it ain't light. Contrary to what others have experienced, this one was quite heavy, too heavy for me to be interested.

The relic-ing looks very similar to that in Theo-cantor-'s picture. Looks like it's a case of seen one, seen 'em all.

Close similarity to other RWs aside it does have an appealing look (as do the Strats and Teles they had). Much nicer than the CS J bass relic I played several weeks ago.

One thing that I didn't like was that, "worn" as it was, the finish was rather sticky on the neck and body.

The neck on this particular instrument was HUGE, not just big but "bigger than my '68 Tele bass neck which I thought was the biggest 4 string neck ever made" huge.

Good news is it sounded very very very good. They even had a PV TKO-65 on consignment which I also tried it through and the combination brought me back to Ye Olde Garage Band days.

Better news is the price is under $1000 USD.
 
#136
sean.1986 said:
This ain't a flame, but am I the only one that finds the idea of "road worn" basses totally cringeworthy? Is the idea that you pretend that you're a bigtime bassist and you and your bass have seen loads of action up and down the country? I mean, come on...
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I saw 2 Strats at a local store. One looked pretty authentic, the other not so much. I too, think that you should put your own road wear on an instrument.

I did try to "relic" a MIM jazz myself once and I think my home-made job looked a lot better than these. I took off all the stuff, kicked the body around the garage, took a hammer to it, etc. It looked more "real" that the shop done ones to me.

To each their own, right?
 
#137
You pretty much nailed it in the OP imo. I never understood Fenders "relic" and "closet classic" models personally, and this is supposed to be a more economical version of those. However, for those that like the look of a vintage instrument and can't be bothered to find one the "Road Worn" series may seem pretty cool until you see the price tag. I really don't know what fender is thinking tbh. :scowl:
 
#138
El Beardo said:
...I never understood Fenders "relic" and "closet classic" models personally...for those that like the look of a vintage instrument and can't be bothered to find one the "Road Worn" series may seem pretty cool until you see the price tag. I really don't know what fender is thinking tbh. :scowl:
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They are thinking of making money by selling basses to those people who "can't be bothered to find" a vintage 1957 P-bass for under $1200, but would still like to have one. That's OK, IMHO. :p
 
#139
I think Fender thinks musicians are not educated consumers. $1,400 Canadian plus tax (no case) for a beat up Mexican Jazz. It's great for Fender they don't have to worry about "factory second" finish who would know! Relic basses remind me of cheap costume jewelry, trying to imitate the real thing...they look fake.
 
#140
Mr. Ray said:
I think Fender thinks musicians are not educated consumers. $1,400 Canadian plus tax (no case) for a beat up Mexican Jazz. It's great for Fender they don't have to worry about "factory second" finish who would know! Relic basses remind me of cheap costume jewelry, trying to imitate the real thing...they look fake.
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They ARE fake, but actually beat up? No. Cheap? I wish--but sometimes isn't the girl with the fake jewels the one you REALLY want? ;) ;) ;)

Gonna play one or more RW basses this weekend, I hope. I'll reserve judgement until I've played a few, and A/B-ed them with some familiar instruments.

I'd bet Fender has very few finish seconds, no matter what finish, but I am just guessing. All IMHO. :cool:
 

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