A pro friend of mine gigs extensively with his. I have played it and besides the one I used to have can say that you will have a lovely day when it arrives!
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Road Worn Jazz Review
- Thread starter wimpy
- Start date
So how are the views on the Roadworn basses now after all those years? both jazz and P basses? How do they compare to say the AVRI basses? or the USA standards? in terms of sound?
I'm a little late to the party, but I have a Fender 2001 AVRI '62 jazz and a '09 Roadworn jazz. The AVRI is my main player and has been since I bought it new. I have modified it with a badass bridge and a j-retro preamp. I have yet to play any other bass that can match it in tone and playability. Believe me, I've played 100's of basses in the 16 years since I bought it. I've tried Lakeland, Lull, Nash, Sadowski, Fender CS, etc. About 3 years ago I inherited the RW jazz. It kind of just fell in my lap (long story). Anyhow, I have never liked Mexican Fenders and certainly would never have bought one.
When I first played the RW I was surprised at how good it felt. The neck is the same as the AVRI. I refer to it as a medium...it's not thick & it's not thin...it's just right. The action was very smooth. Although, it need a truss rod adjustment. I then noticed the A & D strings would fret out between the 16th & 18th fret and the sound was a little thin. So, I cased it for a couple of years. I decided last summer I would sell it. I had no takers and I was only asking $600 and would have taken a reasonable offer.
So still having the bass, I decided last fall to put some work into it. I had a pro setup and fret dressing done and I put some EMG's in it. Best money I ever spent. The playability is superb and the EMG's give it a good classic jazz bass sound with plenty of punch and midrange growl. It falls short of my AVRI by only a hair. I love this bass now! I'm so glad things worked out the way they did. I use it as a back up to the AVRI and on some smaller gigs I'll use it exclusively. In all, I have about $225 in the bass. I'll never let this one go.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
I don't remember when I got the RW Precision. 2010 or 2011. It was my main player for a number of years, and I still pull it out fairly regularly. It's the usual P with flats, and it has that sound in spades. It's a keeper. I have no interest in parting with it. After all this time, the wear is real.
