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When is a Road Worn not a Road Worn?

timmus

timmus

Just a Stranger Passing Through
Supporting Member
Apr 2, 2009
2,500
6,276
South Central Missouri
#1
Hey all,

I must be a knuckle head but I can't seem to figure out if Fender makes a bass model that is exactly like a Road Worn except there are no wear marks on it....fit/form/function but no hits with chains and sandpaper.

Am I looking for something that's not there? :confused:

Thanks!
 
#2
There is the cheaper MIM Classic line that is essentially the same but with a poly finish. They generally seem a bit heavier from user feedback on this site. Then there is the US Reissue line which is much more similar but also more money. So the short answer is no.
 
#3
The 60s Classic series boasts all the same features as the Road Worn on the website, but owning both, I can say that the neck profiles are not the same (at least on the Jazz Basses). The Road Worn neck is VERY reminiscent of a pre-CBS bass, almost identical in fact. The 60s Classic neck is a bit beefier. They both sound great, but not the same. The Road Worns really are something special. If you dig everything about the Road Worns except for the wear, I would suggest getting a used one and swapping the body for an aftermarket version. Heck, you might even find a nitro Highway One body that fits the bill.
 
#4
Johnny Alien said:
There is the cheaper MIM Classic line that is essentially the same but with a poly finish. They generally seem a bit heavier from user feedback on this site. Then there is the US Reissue line which is much more similar but also more money. So the short answer is no.
Click to expand...


Well, the reissue is a bit pricey but not as bad as I thought it would be...I need to try one somewhere. I love the feel, weight and playability of the Road Worn series, but I can't get over the idea that it wasn't worn "naturally" if you catch my drift....kinda tacky. I've actually considered buying one and repainting the body as new. I have a friend that's a luthier with a spray booth. He would do it for the cost of the nitro paint + a case of beer (I'd give him the beer after he paints it :)).
 
#5
New Road Worn series basses are available for under $900 US. Bassist/reviewer Ed Friedland asserts that the bodies and necks are selected higher grade wood. The hardware is period accurate Fender vintage-style. The builders in Mexico were trained in the Fender Custom Shop. Bob Willcutt, noted Kentucky Luthier told me the wood felt unusual. "It feels baked," he said to me one evening while I was comparing a roadworn J to a MIM '60s classic Jazz. The RW bodies are thinner. The classics are great, too, but the roadworns feel and sound different from them. None of them are perfect.
 
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#8
Rip Topaz said:
Kinda makes me wanna buy a RoadWorn and repaint it, like you said. Fake wear is just... Fake.
Click to expand...

I have found the nitro wears pretty quickly, both on the neck and the body. I worry less about who or what did the wear, and more about the music, LOL! :bassist:

Road_Wear.jpg
 
#10
Surprising that a faux-aged paint job can still get people's goat. Fashion can provoke. Reminds me of "Hey you! Get a haircut!" "What do you think you are, a girl or a Beatle?," "Hey Queer, gonna beat your head!" "Are you a beatnik, a hippy, or a girl?" etc. LOL! :D :D :D
 
#12
Rip Topaz said:
Kinda makes me wanna buy a RoadWorn and repaint it, like you said. Fake wear is just... Fake.
Click to expand...

Actually any wood with a finish is just fake. That's why old basses were made to look like this, which is obviously more "natural" and thus less fake:

sad55mojo.jpg


than the "fake unnatural paint" on this:

body9.jpg


:D :D :D
 
#13
It makes me laugh.... the people here who moan and whine about the "tacky relic'd" finish. I had a 1964 L series jazz, and a 72 Jazz, both aged through natural useage, and if I had those two plus a Roadworn on stage no-one would have been able to pick the Roadworn other than the obvious, such as blockmarkers in the 72. I had a Roadworn and it was just as good as my L series. Only reason I sold it was I have reverted to a P bass.
So all you nay-sayers out there, if ya dont like them, keep your opinions to yourself. There's plenty of people (the ones that actually own them) that think they are the best thing since sliced bread.
 
#16
Every Road Worn that I've played has been such a nice bass I really don't care about the relicing.

Given the choice though (if someone from Fender was paying attention) I'd prefer one without the wear, but it's gotta be the exact same bass and for whatever reason they don't want to offer that.
 
#17
RE: 3 points made in the last 2 pages:
1. Someone already posted pics of his RW P with a light touch up on the sanded bits he hit with a light shot of black Nitro paint. (available in a spray can from reranch.com) And he touched some sanding wear up making it not a complete refin but just a bit less RW'ed if you will. This is in one of the other bigger RW threads.
2. My RW-P, as I have stated before, I just went home and put more wear on it as I don't like the fact they all are the same, Now mine isn't the same. I took more fin. off the already great neck, better yet! Also more wear all over.I also put the dents on the bottom around the strap peg. Just like all my old basses have. Banged it on the pavement a couple of times. Very strange feeling the first time.
3. Mine has the cigarette burn on the headstock.

Honestly I think you'd be hard pressed to find this good let alone a better playing, better feeling or more "vintagey" for lack of a better word, Fender type Instrument anywhere at this price.
OH forgot to mention I bought a real 57 RI at the same time. It has less than 2 hrs on it after a year. The RW is that good and really better. IMO etc.

And for the record my Jerzy Drozed and Elrick, And several other imacculate basses I own are not going to get a beating.

And Finally I am so sick of all the "that terrible fake fin, that phony this or that, i wouldn't own commentaters should really just move along there is NOTHING here for you, that YOU want to see.

STOP TROLLING! people who like 'em like 'em OK so go away.
Oh and mine is 8lbs even and easy on my back. And it took me 40 years to put a REAL RW fin on my REAL 57-P.

Rant over.


peace and love ya'll Kirk
 
#18
Moderator warning:

A reliced finish is no more abusive or fake than a standard painted one. Some people love a worn look to a bass. It is plain stupid to suggest that someone should wait 30 years for their bass to have the appearance they want now. And unless they are purposefully clutzy with their bass, that appearance may never even happen. It takes a huge ego to think someone else should avoid playing what they like because they don't like the same thing.

Everyone needs to keep this in mind as they post- relic/relic-owner bashing is not allowed here, yet it turns up in nearly every relic thread. We don't allow hate thread/posts here.
 
#20
timmus said:
Hey all,

I must be a knuckle head but I can't seem to figure out if Fender makes a bass model that is exactly like a Road Worn except there are no wear marks on it....fit/form/function but no hits with chains and sandpaper.

Am I looking for something that's not there? :confused:

Thanks!
Click to expand...

It's there ->Invalid Link Removed

When You're Readytm​
 

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