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New Fender Roadworn guitars


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Well, I got the chance to play and fondle the new batch of roadworks that just came into my local shop. I'll just start by saying how i'm not going to hold back any punches on this one. 

Stratocasters:( Four of them to be exact),

The GOOD: Pao Ferarro boards are nice, they were all a decent weight and that is about it. 

The Not Good: Out of the boxes, the fret ends are sticking out enough to break the skin if you are not careful, boards are all dry, the paint is a step above a light coat of dull spray paint, the aging is to calculated. Every wear spot was in the same place included the # of dimple near the input jack to simulate the end of the cable being slung around and hitting the guitar. The Rub marks are done with something like paint remover, so it feels like you just wiped the paint from places here and there. Zero Checking, non aged hardware on an aged guitar. Frets were not polished and were rough when bending strings. 

$1150. and i'm sorry I didn't ask, but I believe that no case is included. 

Telecasters: The 50's Tele was pretty much like the Strats, but the Tele Custom actually had a hit of shine to it, a skinny neck and a large headstock. Amazingly enough it was lighter than the Stratocasters. 

I was tipped off by a guy that I whole heartedly trust, that the guitars are leaving the factory and have not been dried all the way down to manufacturing specs. They are close, but that is why all the fret ends are popping before they leave the stores. Fret levels and reseats are not uncommon on a new guitar. 

Two Thumbs Down

I would look for the early version of these guitars from the mid 2000's. Those were definitely better and used they are the same price as the new ones. I think they will continue to climb.

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I checked a few of Johnson Thinline strats a while back. The necks where horrible, like they where dipped in epoxy! 

The Squire necks felt better!

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I got this bass from DGS Madison in late 2019, not long before The Pandemic hit...MIM 'Road Worn' relic'd '60's Jazz Bass Alder body with a MIM Standard Fretless Jazz Bass neck.  The body is supposedly finished in a thin layer of nitrocelluose paint (no weatherchecking that I can see on the finish), there's a worn area where my right arm would hit, plus multiple 'scrapes' on the edges of the bass, that look liked they were 'kissed' with the rough side of a steel file or a rasp.  What raw wood is showing looks kinda 'aged' (not fresh), and they even went so far to put a small hole in the body on either side of the bridge, to mimic where the bridge cover would originally be attached (DGS mentioned the cover was 'missing' in the description; but truth is that I don't think it came with either the metal bridge/neck P/U covers or the thumb rest, and AFAIK the same goes for the rest of the MIM 'Road Worn' Jazz Basses).  The chrome metal parts on the body do have some 'relic'd' pitting and tarnish (BTW, the chrome tuners are bright and shiny, because the neck's not 'relic'd'), and the pickguard has a slightly cloudy, aged patina.  The wear 'patterns' on the body appear to have been done to a specific pattern with not much variation, so if you compare two or more of the same model instruments within the same 'Road Worn' model range, you'll probably find that the 'wear' is duplicated in the same places on those guitars.

I couldn't speak about how the frets are finished on mine, because Look Ma, no frets!  It came strung with flatwounds, the total weight (body and neck) comes out to approximately 8 lbs. 4 oz., there's no neck dive as far as I can tell, and the fretboard is the earlier pre-2017 Indian Rosewood with fret lines.  It's fun to play; and, 'parts' bass or not, it's definitely a keeper!  B)

https://reverb.com/item/30948571-fender-parts-fretless-bass

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19 hours ago, Dutchman said:

I checked a few of Johnson Thinline strats a while back. The necks where horrible, like they where dipped in epoxy!

That is disappointing. I have an EJ neck on my '80s Am Strat. The beefy V profile is their best neck IMO.

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4 hours ago, atomicwash said:

That is disappointing. I have an EJ neck on my '80s Am Strat. The beefy V profile is their best neck IMO.

So...  what you’re saying is that you love how the big Johnson feels in your hand...

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The original 2000’s ones had the same fret sprout as well.     I thought the newer ones had a nicer finish than the older ones.      I’ll bet fender re released them once they saw that the diy scene (Mjt etc) sell a ton of stuff.   

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20 hours ago, Travis said:

So...  what you’re saying is that you love how the big Johnson feels in your hand...

"One must know the weapon before one deploys the weapon." - sumdumfuk 3rd cen.

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