Fender Road Worn Series: Well-worn or Worn-out?

[role65]

NOt Just Fender

I own an LTD EC 256, but it has more of a satin finish and was cheaper then the full gloss. it was a whim on vacation it has suprisingly ballsy tone with a neck that's friendly to us fender guys ( unlike Gibson).

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/LSP-LTD-EC256-Electric-Guitar?sku=521009

the look was cool, but looks take back seat to feel and tone for me. IT seems crazy that fender is getting $950... Absurd, I have a mexi from 92 that i LOVE have went through 2 g&l and 2 USA strats and still none compare. prolly needs fretted and finished soon.

I am astonished that people pay $500 extra for a dude to hook it up to the forklift and drag it around the shop for scuffs and nicks... just crazy!!!!!

 

[darrin_h2000]

What a joke, a beat up junkie strat made in Mexico that sounds thin and bright a real hunk of junk. They are for Want-a-bees that spend most of their time playing Guitar Hero.

I agree completely...all the pros play "Rockband"

 

[Light]

Worn lacquer...
Distressed metal...
Aged pickguard...

Looks good and old to me...

Except the lacquer isn't "worn," its sanded; and the metal on a real old guitar isn't "distressed," it's old and rusted and probably needs to be replaced; and the pickguards on those things are "aged" they are yellowed. The wood is too smooth and clean, the finish doesn't even begin to look old (not yellow enough, and the weather checking is all wrong, among other things), and of course the fingerboards and the frets aren't worn in - they have the same square edges that everything else Fender makes has, which sucks! One of the best things about old guitars is the way the edge of the fingerboard has rounded off and become comfortable to play.

5) These Road Worn axes are not just pre-aged; you could say they are “pre-disastered.” You won’t throw a conniption fit when you bang it up as you would when the first ding appears on a freshly minted, shiny new guitar.

Wanna bet? I've received, in the last year, a call from a guy asking me if we could touch up his relic'd guitar. No shit. He'd put a scratch in it, and wanted to know if we could get rid of his REAL wear, and recreate the FAKE wear the factory had put on the guitar.

I told him no.

Road worn=artificial coolness

Manufactured mojo is for posers.

And then, of course, there is that. Remember how stupid pre-ripped blue jeans were in the 1980's? Well, same thing here.

But whatever - if you think they are cool, go ahead and get one. You're wrong, but go ahead. Just don't try to tell me they actually look like the real thing.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Lt. Bob]

But whatever - if you think they are cool, go ahead and get one. You're wrong, but go ahead.

no he's not wrong. The ONLY person that can say what looks cool to him is him!
I think they're stupid but that's for me only.
And on something like this your expertise on guitars means nothing. People like what they like and it's not a factual thing that you can rebut.
There's no such thing as a rule that says this is cool and that's not.
It's all arbitrary.

 

[Zaphod B]

I've received, in the last year, a call from a guy asking me if we could touch up his relic'd guitar. No shit. He'd put a scratch in it, and wanted to know if we could get rid of his REAL wear, and recreate the FAKE wear the factory had put on the guitar.

Beautiful!

 

[DrewPeterson7]

one neat thing about the Road-Worn is if a drunk friend knocks over your axe, during the break at a bar gig,
it wouldn't matter!! ..just let it lay there?

Um, why would that be a problem? You wanted an old, beat-up looking guitar, right? If it gets knocked over during a break at a par gig, isn't that a GOOD thing?


Confession - I have a "relic" strat. I bought it brand new back in '98. It's taken me damned near 11 years, but it's starting to look pretty sweet - some scratches and nicks, an indentation or two, a few chips in the tinted clear on the neck, and a little bit of discoloring. It also has this black mark across the back from when a buddy of mine was playing it VERY drunk and fell backwards into a 4x12, but while I could probably buff it out I think it's so funny I haven't yet.

I can't wait to see what it looks like in another 10 years, especially if I can get a band back together again and get it back on stage where all the REAL abuse happens. Just the other day I watched a video of SRV playing with his main guitar on the ground, shaking it by the whammy bar - I've GOT to try that on some concrete bar stage, I bet it'd look fucking awesome afterwards.



(check me if I'm wrong, but wasn't 357mag involved in some other equally stupid debate not so long ago?)

 

[357mag]

People love to debate. That's all they do on the web there Drew. Many find the Road Worn series guitars a dumb joke. The person that originally started this thread this obviously wanted to start some discussion on them.

Others love the Road Worn series guitars. I think Fender came up with a clever idea that obviously appeals to many. Nothing wrong with that. They're a business after all.

You have confessed to buying a relic Strat which you probably paid big bucks for. Probably more than a Road Worn sells for.

So I guess that makes you the dumbest of all...

 

[DrewPeterson7]

You have confessed to buying a relic Strat which you probably paid big bucks for. Probably more than a Road Worn sells for.

So I guess that makes you the dumbest of all...

Holy shit, you totally missed my joke.

The point was I "relic'd" it myself the hard way, by playing it for eleven years. It was brand spankin' new, sparkly and pristine, when I got my hands on it, and I've just let years of play take their toll.

 

[Light]

no he's not wrong. The ONLY person that can say what looks cool to him is him!
I think they're stupid but that's for me only.
And on something like this your expertise on guitars means nothing. People like what they like and it's not a factual thing that you can rebut.
There's no such thing as a rule that says this is cool and that's not.
It's all arbitrary.

Do I need to start using a {sarcasim} {/sarcasim} tag?


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Lt. Bob]

Do I need to start using a {sarcasim} {/sarcasim} tag?


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

maybe so ...... note my age. I don't think that well anymore.