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Road worn 50's P Bass

#2
i've played two of them so far (same model, different store) and both were splendid instruments. i've never been a P bass kinda guy at all, but this one just feels very comfortable to me (and well, worn in, i guess...). seems to play great and has the typical P bass body and growl you'd expect.. even the god awful pink color is starting to grow on me :eek:.

anyways, although kinda pricey for a MIM p bass, i think it's worth it......

...... enter the relic-haters :hiding: haha!
 
#3
I have one - swapped out the pup for a Fralin right away. Nice weight, nice neck, nice sound. Adding aged Bridge cover, shielding and a rout for a J pup (on-order Fralin 10% overwound) when it gets here. But, I'm a hopeless modder, never happy... go figure. :hmm:
 
#5
I'm a hard core P bass guy, and always have been.

I was pretty sceptical the first time I tried a Road Worn, but found myself REALLY liking it a lot.

I've now played a few, and found them to be excellent basses. Not a big fan of the "artificial wear" but there is NO DENYING that these are very good Precisions.

They play, sound and feel great (required IMO) ... and I say this as the owner of a "genuine" road worn Pre CBS Fender Precision.
 
#7
I chose a RW over all the other basses they had in a big store here is Australia - I started out thinking I wanted an American Deluxe. But I just loved the tone, feel and look of the RW. I thought it might be a custom and asked where it was made and they said Mexico. The price was quite good compared with other American ones. Its a third the cost of my other bass and I way prefer it. I dont care where its made it sounds great. I think all you get buying American is an increased labour cost. What? Fender cant send someone to Mexico to show them how to make a nice relic? Of course they can and they did. I play my new Road Worn every day and I just love the feel of it. I think they have well-captured what an old bass is like. .
 
#10
Bought my RW P bass in preference to a more expensive Lakland Skyline Bob Glaub and a cheaper Fender MIM 50's reissue, it just sounded and played better that the other 2 IMO. The aesthetics are what tends to divide opinion mostly, I would have preferred a pristine bass, but that was 3rd in my list of priorities. The MIM appears to be an issue which I don't really get as no one complains about Lakland Skylines being made offshore, but are still expensive. In short I (and many others) like 'em YMMV.
 
#11
Ezbass said:
The MIM appears to be an issue which I don't really get as no one complains about Lakland Skylines being made offshore, but are still expensive.
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I would assume the issue is because of what we're used to from Fender Mexico, i.e. ~$400 basses. It is quite the jump in price to the Road Worn series, but I'm one of those who justified it after playing one. These are clearly not the same instruments.

I haven't seen it discussed, but I wonder if the MIM has anything to do with California laws and the use of nitrocellulose.
 
#14
Spleenface92 said:
I love how they feel...but IDK. I'd feel kinda odd buying one after I've told people I want an old looking bass to actually be old. (that having been said, once I move away from my area, I'm buying one and telling everyone it's a 1967...after I put an old neck on it)
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The neck is one of the best things about the RW's (required IMO) They feel like a nice worn in neck.

Can't say the same of the RW guitars . For some reason those come off feeling like they were attacked with sand paper, while the RW basses just feel pretty much "right".
 
#16
No, RW wont fool bass players or others who know the look of a RW. The relicing is stamped out so to speak. I could justify the cost and look more if they would of randomly reliced each bass like say a Nash. I wouldn't want to be at a gig with other bands etc and see another bass palyer with an exact RW like mine...that would be weird!.
 
#17
The 50's Classic Precision is a much better value, IMO. Same exact bass aside from the nitro. I don't recall if the pups were RI also or just stock MIM (blah). You may be able to find a 50's CL from early 2006 or so...those were equipped with US American Vintage split coils.
 
#19
But you gotta earn that resonance! If it just sounds good without riding in the back of your Ford F-150 without a case and the right balance of goats and chickens for at least 25 years, it has no actual tone mojo. You can't just spray that stuff on, ya know!
 
#20
Jason Brown said:
I would assume the issue is because of what we're used to from Fender Mexico, i.e. ~$400 basses. It is quite the jump in price to the Road Worn series, but I'm one of those who justified it after playing one. These are clearly not the same instruments.

I haven't seen it discussed, but I wonder if the MIM has anything to do with California laws and the use of nitrocellulose.
Click to expand...

I thought shooting nitro has been illegal in the states for some time now, but the custom shop basses and the mia ri instruments have nitro and are supposed to be made in the us. But then again, I spoke to some guys at the mim factory (before the RW, this was some 5 years ago) and they made comments about how they hit bodies and necks with metal rods, and how they buried stuff to age it artificially. Back then I thought "wait a minute, you mean the corona factory, right??" But nope, this was all getting done at ensenada back then. The ensenada factory is massive as well. I wouldnt be surprised if everything nitro has been shot in mexico for the last 10 years...
 

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