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Road worn 50's P Bass

#21
I think you could paint with aresenic in Mexico (or China).
I understand that the Corona factory has a VERY elaborate spray booth filtration system and is capable of shotting most any finish legaly; the air that leaves the booth is supposedly cleaner than the air entering!

Have heard that one of the bigger secrets at Fender is how they age the metal work on the relic instruments.
 
#22
Jim Carr said:
But you gotta earn that resonance! If it just sounds good without riding in the back of 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!
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Nice :D
 
#23
Jim C said:
I think you could paint with aresenic in Mexico (or China).
I understand that the Corona factory has a VERY elaborate spray booth filtration system and is capable of shotting most any finish legaly; the air that leaves the booth is supposedly cleaner than the air entering!

Have heard that one of the bigger secrets at Fender is how they age the metal work on the relic instruments.
Click to expand...

I think the metal work (relicing) on RW is weak. The bridges on most look new and the tuners just kind of dull. My 80's squier and 73 tele.... now that's reliced..naturally.
 
#24
WildTrkey said:
The 50's Classic Precision is a much better value, IMO. Same exact bass aside from the nitro.
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The hardware is different between the two, not sure about the pickups. Also, I don't think you'd ever find a '50s Classic as lightweight as a Road Worn. I never have. For better or worse, I think the wood for the RWs is more "hand-picked".

I have played some nice '50s Classics though, but none of them pushed their way into my collection. If they were truly the same as the RWs, I would rather have the Classic...even at the same price.
 
#25
I played two RW P basses in Austin last week. each about $1000 or so... I also played a very nice REAL 58 Pbass at Bass Emporium. Exquisite bass! And i piece fo history. It spoke loudly, was light and punchy and felt like a warm glove on your hand. It was $10,000

But i will admit that i dont think the real 58 sounds , plays or feel 10 times better as to the price spread... The RW was really very good, just as light, and very punchy...In fact i want to get one.. And i would not have to worry about nicking like i do with all my basses...
 
#27
PDavyduck said:
well, I sold my main MusicMan of the past 5+ years as well as another bass so that I could buy a RoadWorn P which is now my main bass.

such a great instrument.

...and hopefully this time next year I'll have a CS Pino on the way :D


dang P-Bass obsession... :bawl:


:bassist::bassist:
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NOOOOOOOOOOOO:bawl: It's because of you, I bought my Bongo;) Still got my P bass though, and am building 2 more as we speak......welcome to the club.
 
#31
Yes I have one now. I was considering an American Deluxe P and tried this and knew straight away I wanted one - awesome bass, great feel, nice tone. I have swapped out the pickups for better aftermarket (Dimarzios) to improve the sound. I like the fact that its not precious... I take it to practice without a gig bag. People are saying its way betterb than most MEX offerings. Some dont like the relic thing but buy it anyway for sheer playability. There's been discussion its too much for a MEX bass but I think its a bargain. I like it more than basses 3x the price.
 

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#33
Jason Brown said:
The hardware is different between the two, not sure about the pickups. Also, I don't think you'd ever find a '50s Classic as lightweight as a Road Worn. I never have. For better or worse, I think the wood for the RWs is more "hand-picked".

I have played some nice '50s Classics though, but none of them pushed their way into my collection. If they were truly the same as the RWs, I would rather have the Classic...even at the same price.
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Guess what ? I own both the '50's Classic and The Road Worn. Both are about the same weight (lite),both have the same hardware (tuners,pick up,bridge). Both are nice three piece alder bodies. I really don't notice anything different between the two models other than the finish.
 
#36
p-bass said:
Guess what ? I own both the '50's Classic and The Road Worn. Both are about the same weight (lite),both have the same hardware (tuners,pick up,bridge). Both are nice three piece alder bodies. I really don't notice anything different between the two models other than the finish.
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Hmmm...I stand corrected about the hardware. I'm not sure how I convinced myself they were different from each other.

Weight has never been a deal breaker for me, but I've always liked lighter better. It's cool you got a light classic. If I could find one that sounded as good as my RW, I'd replace it in an instant.
 
#37
I grabbed a RW P at a special low $$$ as it'd been a shop demo. I LOVE it. I just put a set of Fender Nylon Tapewounds on her & she's AMAZING!!! Yeah!! I'd like to know what pups they put in 'em too. They sound fine, but..... 'tis easy modding a P. I also love the fact I don't have to worry about knocking it on the drums etc on small stages :-)
 
#39
I really like my pre RW it sounds great, stays in tune forever and is light and balanced at the neck joint. Life is good,one of my favorite basses. I play my Sterling quite a bit but when you need that woodsy sound............Ahhhh . Now the Jazz RW on the other hand, that I first tried, was a piss off when I couldn't replace the pups with Fralins because the cut outs where to small, So back to the store it went and the rest is history. I'm sure this bass will be around for awhile and be a pain in the ass for the custom shop for years to come. Great bang for your buck!
 
#40
bassbully said:
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!.
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Yeah... what he said. First thing I noticed is the cigarette burn is on the wrong side of the headstock. That's an easy fix though. :D ...I'm still interested in these. If I got one I would defintely make it a point to "personalize" the relic job.
 

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