• 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 freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Thoughts on Roadworn Fenders

I've tried a great road worn jazz in a local store yesterday.
Tightest neck pocket i've ever seen, nut at the right height, no ski jump at all.
It was lighter than my P, so it had to be in the 8,5lbs range.
Classic J tone. I am even thinking of giving in my US P bass for it. I preferred the tone of that neck pickup to the tone of the split that comes in the '08 American Standard P bass, it had a warmer sound.
Here's the issue though: given that these basses come with a 7,25" radius and pickup poles are not arched, do you find any difference in volume between outer and mid strings?
This could be a deal breaker for me unfortunately.
 
I've tried a great road worn jazz in a local store yesterday.
Tightest neck pocket i've ever seen, nut at the right height, no ski jump at all.
It was lighter than my P, so it had to be in the 8,5lbs range.
Classic J tone. I am even thinking of giving in my US P bass for it. I preferred the tone of that neck pickup to the tone of the split that comes in the '08 American Standard P bass, it had a warmer sound.
Here's the issue though: given that these basses come with a 7,25" radius and pickup poles are not arched, do you find any difference in volume between outer and mid strings?
This could be a deal breaker for me unfortunately.

I did not have any balanced volume problems with the RW jazz that I had.

By the way, I just got rid off of '08 American Standard P bass and keep the RW because it rocks :bassist:
 
I've tried a great road worn jazz in a local store yesterday.
Tightest neck pocket i've ever seen, nut at the right height, no ski jump at all.
It was lighter than my P, so it had to be in the 8,5lbs range.
Classic J tone. I am even thinking of giving in my US P bass for it. I preferred the tone of that neck pickup to the tone of the split that comes in the '08 American Standard P bass, it had a warmer sound.
Here's the issue though: given that these basses come with a 7,25" radius and pickup poles are not arched, do you find any difference in volume between outer and mid strings?
This could be a deal breaker for me unfortunately.

Not quite sure what you mean by " arched " ? Do you mean that the middle two pole pieces are higher ? The reason I ask is that, I once bought a MIM Jazz that had higher pole pieces on the A and D string, and the volume difference was very noticeable, to the point where the E string sounded almost dead. I switched the pups out for the standard Jazz pups found in the MIA basses and the volume was then dead even.

If you mean are the pole pieces not raised at all ( like on the RW ), making an uneven volume balance, then, I would say no. In fact, on my RW Jazz, the volume and tonal balance is very even up and down the neck.
 
Yea i just meant that the pickup poles do not follow the radius of the fingerboard; they are all at the same level :)

PS: On a side note, I've tried also a 2000€ USA RE '75 with matching headstock (I think they are called FSR? It was a special edition anyway). Tone was much different of course, more on the modern side. Not inherently better or worse. Build quality, though, they were perfectly on par, if not a bit better for the road worn.


The RW is a '08, I know for certain it has been in that shop for quite a while (at least 1 year). When I arrived the neck had NO relief at all, I asked then if they could set it up very quickly. If that bass is indeed as good as I've found it to be, I cannot explain why nobody has pulled the trigger before :p
 
I have a Jazz Road Worn now :)
Suffice to say that, despite the questionable setup, I liked it so much that I traded my 08 American Std Pbass for it, PLUS a small amount of money. It was a bad deal from a mere economic standpoint but I can say that it was worth it so far.
GREAT tone. I mean, just great. This is coming from a Precision guy.
Not the lightest RW jazz, still not heavy at all @ 8,8 lbs.
It has Less dead spots than my past graphite-reinforced bass, and a straighter neck (the Pbass had some sky jump at the end of the fretboard).
Low-ish output.
Will do a proper review in 1-2 days. The most time consuming thing was adjusting the pickup height (I'm very picky on that, I also decided to lower the poles on the E and G strings for better consistency string to string).

Will be even better with some good flats...my favourite ones on a Pbass were TI flats, got any better suggestion to complement this particular instrument?
 
I put Alleva Coppolo J pups in my RW jazz.. And today i just wanted to try something different on my RW P bass. I had a set of Fender 62 P pus that i put in teh bass instead. They have ever so slight less top end than the RW P Pup.. And seems to be just a hiar warmer and a little more lows. In a gig situation you would never really hear it.. In sitting down in my studio with the monitors you can..
But i will give it w whirl this week with the new 62 pup and see.
Great basses for the money or not.. And i dont worry about dinging them up.. They just get better
 
Here it is...same as thousands of other Jazz RWs around, but just wanted to share.
Best tone I've ever had yesterday at rehearsals.
Now I just need to get some TI flats for it

WP_20140212_10_17_23_Pro_zps26c87eba.jpg

WP_20140212_10_19_01_Pro_zps3afecb49.jpg

WP_20140214_13_37_46_Pro_zps827d8eb1.jpg

WP_20140214_13_38_08_Pro_zpse8018844.jpg

WP_20140214_13_38_21_Pro_zps6764ed1b.jpg

WP_20140214_13_38_38_Pro_zpsb664c305.jpg

WP_20140214_13_40_07_Pro2_zpsd813a292.jpg

WP_20140214_13_40_39_Pro_zps3be350db.jpg