Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Roadworn Basses Opinions
- Thread starter Bassist30
- Start date
Ya, like what I Like and the rest of this is noise.
Do however find it useful when I learn something here like how to quickly learn the tone settings on my Streamliner or properties of various strings and cabinets.
Again, who really cares if someone you don't know or will ever meet dislikes your taste
Do however find it useful when I learn something here like how to quickly learn the tone settings on my Streamliner or properties of various strings and cabinets.
Again, who really cares if someone you don't know or will ever meet dislikes your taste
Oh, well good.
Right. One of the reasons I want a roadworn Jazz is for how light they tend to be, and the broken in feel. Since my poly finished American standard looks as new as the day I got it minus the paint chips, I don't think that it'll get to the point of feeling like that. If there were a thin coat nitro finish bass (that way it would wear into that worn feel quickly) that had a un tarnished finish at the same price point as these I'd get it. Since there isn't these aren't far off, and after some legitimate RHAPAW use it probably won't even resemble a factory roadworn.Keep in mind that one BIG reason people buy the Road Worn Fenders is because the feel of the neck...the worn in, light lacquer, "woody" feel.... you won't get that with the Classic 50's.
My opinion.
If that happens I think I should post it for sale here as a one of a kind class d hybrid relic finish. It'll become the new hot thing like the hybrid class D heads that had tubes for a pre and solid state power sections.
Also, somebody mentioned that being able to find these qualities in other basses without this finish was possible. I agree that most of these qualities, weight in particular, could be found elsewhere. However, why go through stuff looking for something when a product already has a decent reputation for satisfying what a lot of us look for in an instrument. A paint job seems like a pretty minor reason to pass up quicker satisfactionof what it is you need in an instrument. Call me crazy, but I plan to play these things for the music and don't weigh heavily on the looks of the instrument. Of course, wearing where I play is a nice bonus, but it's hardly a major factor in purchase.
For the price point, there is nothing that can compare to the feel of a Road Worn out there. The closest thing in terms of feel costs way more (Custom Shop). RWs are a good affordable alternative for people who like the feel of a worn-in guitar. I could honestly care less about the relic'ing (which isn't nearly as good as the CS's work or shops like MJT who distress guitars anyways). If was really just all about the looks, I would go for a much more authentic looking CS or a custom build (like my MJT '60 J, '55 P, and '71 J relic'd clones that I have built for myself). It's the feel of these basses for the price that makes them such awesome basses. If you can't see past the finish and you think there are other basses that feel like them for around the same price, then it's pretty obvious to me and all the other people that have owned RWs, that you haven't actually played one. Now, I'm not saying you should prefer the feel of a RW, that's personal preference.. but to deny that there is a difference is just ill informed.
The Classic series is the most similar to the RWs (they even offer the Classics with nitro lacquer finish now), but I've owned both. The Classics don't have the same feel.. at all. The fretwork is better on the RWs (rolled fret ends and fretboard edges make a gigantic difference), and the finish on the back of the neck on the RW is a lot thinner and it's also taken down a bit so it's not nearly as sticky as the Classics. The RWs also consistenly weigh less than the Classics.. by a 1-2 lbs usually. The "feel" of a guitar is mostly in the neck, so I suggest you go out and try a RW side by side with a Classic Series and you will see for yourself. Then go and compare them to a Custom Shop for 5xs the price, and tell me honestly if there is another guitar that feels closer to a Custom Shop than a RW. Then you might get why so many of us think they're the bees knees.
The finish is definitely different. The base Classic 50's Precision features the poly finish, although there is Invalid Link Removed. However, that instrument is finished in black nitrocellulose lacquer. The Roadworn 50's Precision is only available in 2TSB and Fiesta Red. And then there are the more subtle differences between the Classic series and the Roadworn series. Those differences include:
-Different grades of wood
-Additional kiln drying of the body and neck wood to replicate the natural aging and drying process
-Fret work
-Wear patterns on the neck and body
-Relic treatment of the finish and hardware
The neck of the RW Jazz is also constructed with a thick slab of rosewood, very much like the early 60's necks. I don't know if any other Fenders (other than the early 60's reissues) have a neck constructed like this. It even has the truss rod located in the same place as the early 60's - something you won't get with an aftermarket early 60's neck. I really like the way this feels - very different from later jazz basses. One of the reasons I did not keep my NOS 64 Custom Shop Jazz is that I did not really like the neck profile as much as the RW.
And I have a CS Relic as well - a '55 Pbass. I wasn't really looking for a relic, but this one came along at the right price so I bought it. I would have paid over $1000 more for a NOS CS version at the time, so buying it was a no brainer for silly ol' me. Plus it is very light, and sounds the way a single coil Pbass should.
I understand that some people wouldn't have one for any $$, and that is OK by me. I am not in the habit of criticizing the instrument choices of others.
RW basses are great instruments in my opinion. I love the relic look of my Fiesta Red Jazz and it is wearing nicely. I'm noticing that it no longer looks like every other one, it doesn't take long. I never even consider that somebody may think I'm a poser as long as I'm playing like I mean it.
They're quality instruments, regardless of the look. I have a 50's P, and it was nice and light compared to most Precisions I've played, with excellent tone as well.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
So, here's a question. If you take a RW and play it for five or ten years, the finish will be truly distressed. Not fake wear, but the real thing, since the finish on them is thin and wears away. There will be dents. There will be holes in the finish. If it is like my bass, there is a genuine cigarette burn on the headstock where a guy who smokes let his cigarette burn down too far, just like back when. (More pose, perhaps, but the burn is real and is a real oopsie) Then, if you refinish it and make it look like a non-relic bass, what does that make it? If you do that, are you a poser, retentive, or just kinda nuts? The mind boggles at the possiblities!
This is going to sound like I'm angry, but I'm not, as I didn't make this rule (and personally I'm a modern bass guy)...but, TalkBass is a privately owned site with rules of membership. One rule is respecting other members, which includes not putting down people that like relics. This has been a reoccurring issue for several years, which is why it was added as a rule in the Basses forum.
Please get back on topic.
I love every one I've played. RWs are the best Fender value out here IMO. All of this poser stuff is silly; how many of those leveling poser accusations have a tattoo? How many with the tattoos are actually in bike gangs or the navy? Everyone is posing a bit, but the RWs kick butt regardless of the look.
To sum it up again for me:
My road worn Jazz was a solidly built bass that I should have kept. It had great full-sounding pups, a comfy neck profile and feel, and a beautifully checked body and neck. It really did everything well, and covered all bases.
My current Nate Mendel P bass is also solidly built. It's a little heavier than my American Special P bass, with a different neck profile and radius. The relicing on this bass is far less than my jazz had. This bass also has different body contouring than my American Special (deeper tummy cut), Seymour Duncan SPB-3 pups and a Badass II Bridge. It also has Schaller straplock pins installed standard. This bass definitely has grind to spare. Sounds great fingerstyle or picked. It makes me want to work harder on my pickstyle playing, just because of the sound. I have it strung with Rotosound Jazz 66 strings (my other P is setup with Chrome XL's). It does have the heel truss adjustment as well as a nitro lacquered neck and body. I love this bass.
My road worn Jazz was a solidly built bass that I should have kept. It had great full-sounding pups, a comfy neck profile and feel, and a beautifully checked body and neck. It really did everything well, and covered all bases.
My current Nate Mendel P bass is also solidly built. It's a little heavier than my American Special P bass, with a different neck profile and radius. The relicing on this bass is far less than my jazz had. This bass also has different body contouring than my American Special (deeper tummy cut), Seymour Duncan SPB-3 pups and a Badass II Bridge. It also has Schaller straplock pins installed standard. This bass definitely has grind to spare. Sounds great fingerstyle or picked. It makes me want to work harder on my pickstyle playing, just because of the sound. I have it strung with Rotosound Jazz 66 strings (my other P is setup with Chrome XL's). It does have the heel truss adjustment as well as a nitro lacquered neck and body. I love this bass.
As a footnote to this, the Nate Mendel P is a roadworn (yuk!) artist series (yuk!) bass. But...it has a different neck profile than (I think) is available on any other Fender P bass. If you like that particular neck, the Mendel P is the only place to get it. Unfortunately, that neck comes with some headstock dings and a fake Sharpee signature on the back. I say "yuk" and "unfortunately" with a grain of salt; I don't mind either, but some people do. When I did a show with BOC last year, Kasim Sulton had a Geddy neck on his P bass. He put gaff tape over Geddy's fake signature. I mention this because a) some people don't like sig basses, and b) the Geddy is similar to the Mendel in that, if you like the neck profile, that is the only bass that has it.
On a random note, the Mendel P no longer comes with a Badass II. It has the Fender version of that bridge. Rumor is the Geddy bass is making the switch, too.
I think this may be the best post of this thread. Vanity is silly, but it also makes the bass world thrive. If we didn't have color preferences, body shape preferences, wood preferences, etc. that are largely related to the visual aspects of the instrument, there wouldn't be a market for all the different brands, models and price points that we currently enjoy.
To me the "a tort pickguard is always the best choice" is far more of an issue than a road worn finish. To my eye, tort only works of a very small range of finishes. (sunburst, natural, white) All basses can get dents and dings over time, and when and how they happened isn't really relevant to the instrument's current appearance.
I'm lucky, because mine has the Badass II on it (2013 model). Good to know that it has been changed, though.
EDIT: The Nate Mendel sig also has a spec set that is unavailable anywhere else in their lineup at that price point. The roadworn treatment was not a deciding factor when I purchased it.
Last edited:
Bit of a thread hijack here, but...... Does anyone know where to get or how to make a distressed finished bridge cover that would not look out of place on a Fender RoadWorn?
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
Exactly, it's all about aesthetics and what's beautiful to me may not be beautiful to someone else. Play on it, don't hate on it.
the ones i played were pretty good compared to the 62 re or the classic 60. i played ab 5
good quality basses and usually pretty light too, i just don't like as much the relic thing ...
but the nitro is a very good option. as an owner of a real 62 i can say that the feeling is not as far,
the tone yes, there are some obvious differences, but the rw are very good basses in my opinion. ;-)
good quality basses and usually pretty light too, i just don't like as much the relic thing ...
but the nitro is a very good option. as an owner of a real 62 i can say that the feeling is not as far,
the tone yes, there are some obvious differences, but the rw are very good basses in my opinion. ;-)
