I went to a Greg Koch guitar clinic a few weeks ago and he played two Road Worn guitars, a Strat and a Tele for the hole clinic. I love the sound he got out of them. I tried them a couple of times and I like the feel of them. The only thing I don't like is that they all look the same but hey they are not Custom Shop guitars. Personally I would wait for a killer rebate and choose a rosewood fretboard because the look alike effect is less important. But the golden rule is always try before you buy doesn't it? You don't like it, put it back try another one.
In his clinic Greg told us that Fender started relicing guitars for musicians who didn't want to travel anymore with their old guitars. Sentimental thing. So they started using clones because they cared about what their fans would think seeing them with unknown guitars. Eventually, the process slid to regular production guitars, MIMs, and today we can buy guitars that we wouldn't be afraid to bring to any gig. I guess.
Last sunday, I went to my regulat guitar center and saw a Relic Blues Junior. I was shocked at first, it was brand new and looked like a piece of junk, but it is the same thing with Road Worn guitars, you don't like, don't buy it.
Claude.

I kind of did a 180 on these gits. They offer different neck profiles, and I do like the vintage beat up look. At first I thought they were stupid, but the models that I messed around with played quite well and sounded very pleasing. My issue is with the pick gaurds. Yes, vintage stratocasters have the single ply guard, but many of these seem to be warped right out of the box, and I am not going to deal with that in a new guitar, reliced or not.

I'm with Martian, I'll put the miles on myself.

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10-4 good buddy, over and out!

Wanting a guitar that looks vintage but is not baffles me...I would be willing to bet that back in the 60's and 70's musicians had new guitars.

Music is in the man, not the instrument. I have a 2008 Strat and take critisism for it being a new guitar? This reminds me of the media and Hollywood trying to make out something that is not.

And to pay more in "pretending" to be vintage? It's either a vintage guitar or it's not.

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American HSS Mahogany Special Stratocaster-Limited Edition 2008
American HSS Special Stratocaster (Black) 2010

Actually the whole "vintage" guitar trend started in the 70's when Fender redesigned the Stratocaster.


Looks aside, I really like the Road Worns, the two I played were fantastic and sounded incredible through the Hot Rod Deluxe and the Super Reverb I used.

I can't really comment too much on the looks, I've never seen a real vintage Strat and the one Custom Shop relic I played looked like an old mistreated guitar. I definitely prefer the Road Worn finish over that particular Custom Shop. Personally I'm not a fan of the nitro finish anyway, it looks like house paint to me. I like the look of a nice shiny poly finish, it looks more professional.

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Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

Not all vintage guitars look beat up. My Strat is over 30 years old and my Supro is 45 and don't have that kind of wear and have been gigged with most of that time. They have some nicks and scratches, bot nothing like the Road Worn series.

I really like the idea of the worn in neck, but the 2 that I tried had really bad fret work.
Hope they up the QC if they continue this series.

Desire for vintage instruments actually started around 67. I saw a hendrix vid years back. He was talking of his strat saying "everyone says their not as good as the old ones but their just as good".

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No no and no

Mike,

First of all welcome to the Forum. There is a lot of opinions about the Road Word Guitars. I can give you my 2 cents as well:

Overall I believe it is an over-priced guitar. MIM (not knocking a MIM guitar) for almost $1000 and no Hard Shell Case...really? The pickups are not to my liking either.

But to each their own and some people like the RW guitars. If you are into the "relic" look, it is a decent guitar.

For the money you are about to put on one, you could get a good MIM Standard, switch the pickups out for the same ones in the RW, and get a HSC.

I do not like my guitars looking "used" when I buy them new, and I want to be the one that puts the first scratch on it. I do not want to pay someone else to do it for me.

RK

2nd go on this thread..

If you're at all into the worn/relic look, and you can't spend £000s on a Custom Shop instrument, then the Road Worn is the only game in town.

Personally, I think nothing looks cooler than a beat-up '60s Strat - they're just so.. rock'n'roll..

And modern poly finishes are never going to age like those real vintage instruments - you'll have trouble 'putting the miles' into a new one. Unless you're into deliberate abuse which is certainly not my thing.

As ever, buy if you like, or leave it on the shelf.

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

I have a friend that is a Luthier but cut his teeth on the production line of several different brands. This was years before Fender's "Road Worn" series was was even a concept. He told me of how they would take a rotary sander, chains and blow torches to make guitars look like something "Vintage". But even in Fender's Road Worn series you can see sanding marks and the fresh wood underneath. And this is clearly apparent in the tiny picture in my web browser! Just like there is a market for Pre-worn jeans, such things are attractive to a segment of a population. But honestly, if we have to pay more for a guitar, shouldn't we prioritize about what's under the hood rather than a fake surface.

Road Worn guitars to me are like face lifts and boob jobs. Something I see too much of here in Hollywood.

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"If I don't see you no more in this world I'll meet you on the next one and don't be late... don't be late." -Jimi Hendrix

I have no problem if people don't like the looks of the Road Worns, they're clearly not for everyone. But some of you are so hung up on the looks along that you're missing the most important part...... the sound and the feel. I've played TONS of Strats through the years and none of them had the tone and the resonance that the Road Worns have. NONE. These feel like a guitar you've had for years, one that's become a part of you.

And about the looks, when you have it on, you're not even seeing it so if you're that concerned about the looks, then your priorities are in the wrong place to begin with.

It's funny, you never hear a fan of the Road Worns bitching and moaning about how 9000 people all have the exact same, sparkling, brand new looking guitar.

The bottom line is, if you find a guitar that inspires you, that makes you want to pick it up time and time again, and one that just feels like it belongs in your hands, then it doesn't matter who made it or what it looks like.

I have 2 and they are, by far, the best Strats I have ever played.

Point taken and I largely agree with it. I myself however like the relic'd look yet utterly despise the roadworns in both appearance and playability. I've tried a few now and they all fell short of my expectations of a £700 guitar. The wear job on em does look like its half done. Like they've left room for you to knock em about a bit. Which in my thinking is a good thing, but initialy a bad thing too. Kind of a double edged sword. Thats just my opinion though and shouldn't matter to anyone outside of my skin.



Guitar is a very personal instrument and its finish and playability should only matter to the person playing it. As far as people slating relic'd guitars simply because of their finish, I have to agree with you. Their being narrow minded. If leo and co had thought like that, we'd all be limited to sunburst precision basses and blonde broadcasters. Theres room for everyones likes and no one should feel the need to derride anyones guitar just because of their choice of finish or hardware. It seems to me to be an action of insecurity.

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No no and no

One thing I can say, I have tried a bunch of the roadworns.I lived in wisconsin when they came out and presently live in ne ohio.I tried them in stores in Rockford ,Ill, Madison , Wi, Cleveland and Akron Ohio and without exception they played like crap.Poorly innotated, fret sprout,warped pickgards, you name it.One of the guitar techs said that not one of them came in ready to play out of the box.For the kind of money they are asking , people should expect a better product.I know alot of people claim they play unbelievably well and feel great, I just wonder where this place is that they send all the good guitars to, because its not in Illinois, Wisconsin or Ohio.

Looks and color really don't matter to me. I have a 57 Dano U1 that came out of a trash can in Philly. So looks or smells for that matter make no difference. I do gig with it too. Road Worns are kind of a poser thing, but that makes no difference either to each their own. It's playability. I have yet to take one off the wall that didn't have serious setup issues. IMHO they're not special sounding or playing. The stock pups are just okay, nothing special though. For the premium price, you should at least get some nice pups. Setup issues can be resolved.