I Have a sterling and there awesome for the money , great jazz bass type neck but i do like the Modulus flea better .
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Fender Road Worn Series Basses
- Thread starter bluewine
- Start date
I Have a sterling and there awesome for the money , great jazz bass type neck but i do like the Modulus flea better .
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
Road worn basses some people love them and some hate them ...
As for me I don't think I will ever spend more for a pre-beat-up bass when I can get a nice new one for less. Especially when there is no shortage of used basses that got beat-up the old fashioned way.
As for me I don't think I will ever spend more for a pre-beat-up bass when I can get a nice new one for less. Especially when there is no shortage of used basses that got beat-up the old fashioned way.
The only issue I have with artificially "relic'd" or "road worn" instruments is when people buy them to create the illusuion that THEY paid the dues (time / gigs / blood / sweat / tears) that caused the instruments to look that way. Just doesn't seem right to me.
I'd say this - if you play one of these basses and it's the one you just gotta have, then go for it and enjoy it. Just be honest about what it is and who you are.
I would love it if someone gave me a brand new, shiny, perfect finish Fender P or a J. Same thing with a Strat or a Tele.
I might even buy a MIA P or J one day soon. The Fender bass is the king. However, I would never ever plunk down all the $ Fender is asking for these intentionally worn-looking new guitars. To me, that is ludicrous!
I'll be interested to see to what extent the concept works. I wonder if these new "Beat up" guitars and basses will sell in enough quantities to justify the continuation of their production?
I might even buy a MIA P or J one day soon. The Fender bass is the king. However, I would never ever plunk down all the $ Fender is asking for these intentionally worn-looking new guitars. To me, that is ludicrous!
I'll be interested to see to what extent the concept works. I wonder if these new "Beat up" guitars and basses will sell in enough quantities to justify the continuation of their production?
I finally got a chance to play a road worn bass over the weekend, a sunburst Jazz with tort pickguard and it looked and played more like a vintage Jazz than my actual 1968 Fender Jazz. the bass was excellent, the wear looked authentic, the neck felt broken in and it played and sounded great. I was very surprised at the job they did on this bass. If I played fours more often...
Exactly right.
+1 Nobody gets bent out of shape over a colour, but the moment the relic word is used all hell breaks loose. They're either good or bad basses and you either like the finish or you don't. They are good basses. I don't mind the finish YMMV. Funnily enough I accidently bashed my RW P against some furniture yesterday, I didn't either even bother to check if had been marked. Certainly saved myself a whole bunch of remorse for being clumsy
.
exactly what I think makes a bass "worth it" or not...
Good basses are like good women...as their looks fade, they should feel better
I told this story on another road worn thread but... A music store (Fender dealer) in a town south of me had to carry a few road worns guitars and basses on their floor . They are not a huge Fender dealer but a decent one and long standing. I was playing the road worn P which was pretty nice when the salesman said it was $875.00
I said wow thats cheap! He said ya we have all of the road worns at a little above cost due to people just wont buy into them...they want a new looking guitar 
I told him i understood and the relicing was kinda cheesy. He said that most people dont even look that close they just say why pay so much for a beat up looking guitar.They only had the P bass and a few guitars and had a jazz bass still coming in and i could tell the salesman wasnt to happy they had to carry it also.
I told this story on another road worn thread but... A music store (Fender dealer) in a town south of me had to carry a few road worns guitars and basses on their floor . They are not a huge Fender dealer but a decent one and long standing. I was playing the road worn P which was pretty nice when the salesman said it was $875.00
Yeah, the road worns haven't been moving here either.
The only issue I have with artificially "relic'd" or "road worn" instruments is when people buy them to create the illusuion that THEY paid the dues (time / gigs / blood / sweat / tears) that caused the instruments to look that way. Just doesn't seem right to me.
I'd say this - if you play one of these basses and it's the one you just gotta have, then go for it and enjoy it. Just be honest about what it is and who you are.
great post
I played one this weekend. It fealt & played very nice. I dug the roughness of it, compared a new one. But, @ $1069, for made in Mexico, they can keep it.
I can't understand the hostility and animosity this topic always inspires. If you like them, buy one and, if you don't, don't. Different strokes for different folks. 
I say .... close it anyway. A search will find QUITE a few RW threads,
the pros & cons have already been talked about.
NO offense to anyone.
Since these roadworns aren't selling as good as expected by fender, maybe eventually they will sell them at blow out prices to get rid of them. I bet then that many of these same RW haters that are complaining about the bass now will change their tune and snatch one up
I never understood this whole "pay your dues" mentality about bass wear. If you naturally played in all your dings and scratches on your bass good for you. Does it make you any better of a bassist than the guy who has a RW or other relic? Play what you like! Make some music and stop fretting about the trivial stuff. (pun intended)
I see 70's, 80's and 90's era basses that look pristine in comparison to a RW. Most fender basses that have that look naturally are usually pre CBS fenders that were finished in nitro. I would wager that a big part of the bass playing population doesn't have 6k to spend on vintage gear just to get "the look".
What about all these people that buy vintage gear and haven't "paid their dues" buy wearing in the bass themselves? Wouldn't that make them the same? Whether its 45 years of someone elses wear or a machine in 10 minutes, they didn't "pay their dues"
Just play music and leave the banter behind.
