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NBD - Fender Road Worn Precision Bass, Fiesta Red


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[b]NBD - Fender Road Worn Precision Bass, Fiesta Red[/b]

I'm sure everyone is familiar with these basses by now. I was intrigued when they first appeared - around 2009 or thereabouts, when the 'relic' controversy was in full flow. I revisited some speculative threads from that time on TalkBass and elsewhere - posted before the Road Worn Series was widely known - and was amused by the outraged view that mass-produced 'wear' could even be [i]considered [/i]- after all, if you haven't put every ding and scrape on your bass yourself then your story is false and you are a poser, right..? As if any punter could care less, or be remotely interested in your 'story'!

Another cause for apoplexy was the price - HOW MUCH for a Mexican Fender? A higher price for actually DAMAGING a perfectly good new bass?? This was before most people had even [i]seen [/i]a Road Worn, let alone played one. But the 'relic/roadworn' issue turned out to be a red herring which drew attention away from the main point, which is this: Road Worn basses are excellent and represent good value, regardless of their 'finish' and regardless of the geographical location of their assembly.

in my view the added value is less about the road wear and more about the selection of components for the series. You only have to play a RW to realise that it is quite unlike a regular Mexican Fender. The neck in particular is excellent - one-piece maple, skunk stripe, truss-rod adjustment at heel, walnut cavity plug, vintage frets, 1.75" (44.45mm) nut width, 7.25" radius, rolled edges. It's also very straight and a low action is possible with flats. The only adjustment I needed to make, if you can call it that, was to 'Scotchbrite' the back of the neck to a satiny smoothness. I do this to all my basses, so it's not a Road Worn issue.

Essentially, it's like a played-in US neck. But the whole bass is lovely and instantly feels great in the hand, like a [insert name of beloved, well-worn comfy object]. I'm not sure about the arm contour 'wear' and the faux headstock fag-burn - these features appear identically on every Road Worn - but the rest of the 'wear' is sensitively executed and very plausible. The ageing of the hardware in particular is excellent. Reverse-vintage tuners, threaded saddles and a period 51-61 spaghetti 'F' decal complete the look, along with a slightly 'worn' 1957-type gold anodized pickguard. There are screw-holes for a tug bar and ashtrays, but these are not supplied.

I want to say it plays like butter - however I'd like to keep a little credibility, so I won't. No fret buzz, no rattles, intonation spot-on all the way up. This is a really good neck, folks. And the bass has 'that' warm, round yet punchy articulate P-Bass tone that everyone's after. Possibly aided by the La Bella 760FS flats I strung it with as soon as it got through the door. The output seems slightly low compared with my other basses, but that's not a problem - my thought is that the pickup is probably not overwound, which may explain the vintage tone. Nevertheless, turning your amp up slightly is a small price to pay for a bass that sounds this good.

I sold my Limelight Dakota Red P and regretted it immediately. Limelight put together very good P basses in my humble opinion, but this Road Worn has a nicer maple neck than the LL examples I've seen. It's light, it's very resonant acoustically, it sounds great, it plays like a popular dairy product and the overall impression it gives is that of a venerable MIA Precision. It feels right. What more could you want?

Given the choice between a new Limelight and a new Road Worn, I'd choose a Limelight every time - you get a LOT of Limelight for new RW money. But if the choice were between a Limelight and a second-hand Road Worn then some hard thinking would be required.

I suspected Road Worns were good and always had underlying GAS for one, but now I actually have one I can say for sure they are great basses and at used prices, almost unbeatable - you can get everything you would expect from a venerated USA P for the price of a new standard MIM. Love it and love everything about it. I have two gigs over the weekend and am very much looking forward to using the RW for both. So I'm a happy bunny... for five minutes. ;)















Edited by discreet
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I don't much care for sunburst. So there. :lol:

For a wild moment I did consider a refin in aged white... but the wisdom of a refin on a roadworn?? :D In any case I'm quickly warming to the colour as the band don't like it, saying it's 'pink'...

...No, it's fiesta red. It's pink. No, it's fiesta red. Repeat until fade... :)

Edited by discreet
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i love these basses. I play a 2009 Road worn PB
In Fiesta Red, they look really great.
With Flats you get the old classic sound as the stock pick up can be compared to the best PUs

As i dig so much this bass, i bought last year a 63' American Reissue rosewood neck. Maple or Rosewood, it gives a wider range, 2 PB in 1

With a reissue white tolex case. It deserves it :)
[url="http://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=407983IMG8744.jpg"][/url]

With a tortoise pick and a rosewood neck
[url="http://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=423679IMG8770.jpg"][/url]
[url="http://www.hostingpics.net/viewer.php?id=482818IMG8790.jpg"][/url]

Edited by Emanew
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[quote name='Emanew' timestamp='1466680656' post='3077822']
As i dig so much this bass, i bought last year a 63' American Reissue rosewood neck.
Maple or Rosewood, it gives a wider range, 2 PB in 1
[/quote]

That's quite a commitment to the Road Worn cause. Impressive. :)

[quote name='Emanew' timestamp='1466680656' post='3077822']
With a reissue white tolex case. It deserves it :)
[/quote]

I like that idea. :)

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[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1466691774' post='3077935']
Great review Mark and superb pictures.
Glad you are liking the bass. A laugh a minute as ever dealing with you.
It will certainly be put to better use in your hands rather than mine.

Cheers bud, enjoy :)
[/quote]

I'm glad Mark took it... because it was tempting me too much!
But now I'm envious :P

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[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1466677748' post='3077788']
What pickups do they use in these?
[/quote]
[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1466678089' post='3077792']
The spec on the Fender site says 'Vintage Split Single-Coil Precision Bass', so your guess is as good as mine. :)
[/quote]

Yet another bass I was leching at before Karl put the CAR Japanese P up for sale. The ad described the pickup as US Vintage - could well be the same unit, as mine too is somewhat lower in output. If anyone has in-depth knowledge of CIJ bass pickups, please weigh in - without derailing the thread of course!

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[quote name='Grahambythesea' timestamp='1466791059' post='3078922']
Sorry but that looks pink to me, fiesta red is more coral.
[/quote]

My camera isn't the best, nor is my computer monitor. I'd say it's too purple if anything. Fiesta red has more red/orange in it in the real world. Coral is a good description. I've checked the colour balance and re-uploaded the pics.

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  • 2 weeks later...

UPDATE: two things: The volume pot became a little iffy, so I took the bass to KiOgon (John) of this parish for sympathetic replacement of the electrics, which included CTS pots, Switchcraft Jack, vintage wiring and a spiffy orange Sprague Pacer 0.1uF cap. Great job by John, as per usual... :)

The other thing is, I gigged the bass again last night. Frantic gig as there were lots of other bands on the bill, so to save on arse pain I went through the PA (using my Diamond BCP-1). The monitoring wasn't all that, so I played some of the set 'blind' so to speak, but in certain numbers I could hear enough to please me. I was told afterwards (by someone I trust) that the FOH bass sound was excellent, so all good.

Needless to say it played incredibly well - very light, very easy low action with flats - and I avoided the usual 'immobility of fretting hand due to humidity and sweat' because I previously sanded the neck to the wood and applied several coats of Tru-Oil, thus making an already-great neck super-slick and satiny-smooth.

I'm going to put my head on the block and say it's definitely a keeper. I may find a better P Bass than this, but it will need to be something very special indeed before I would even consider moving this one on. If you've not played a Road Worn P and you're after a 'vintage' sound and feel, I strongly suggest you get out there and try one. :)

Edited by discreet
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[quote name='Trueno' timestamp='1467547301' post='3084413']
I'm not a huge fan of relicing/road worn... but this bass could change my mind. Just love Fiesta Red.
[/quote]

It's a fantastic bass by any standards. Don't let the 'Road Worn' thing put you off. Like I said in the OP, it's a red herring.

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