New Fender 'Roadworn' Series

[PVTele]

[quote name='stevie' post='372104' date='Jan 6 2009, 03:36 PM']Very nice to meet another resident of God's beautiful county. I'm a newcomer myself, but I love it here.[/quote]

God's beautiful county indeed!

When did you move to Dorchester? Where from?

I've been here near 15 years now - around half in Kimmeridge, half here in Wool...

[Jono Bolton]

I was trying new Precisions at the weekend and in one store I was told that these were to be a replacement for the Highway 1, so I took it to mean that they were MIA. Can't understand why they would get rid of the Highway 1s though, I tried a few on Saturday and they were all excellent.

[Beedster]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='372063' date='Jan 6 2009, 02:59 PM']If you want one buy a new one and send it to me to "relic" for a reasonable fee [/quote]

LOL, a few gigs at the Beercart Arms should do it mate!

I was in my local muso shop the other day and half the guitars and basses in there were reliced, which makes me wonder whether the new trend will be towards immaculately clean and new instruments?

If so, I am about to become very unhip

[waynepunkdude]

I don't like my basses getting scratched or chipped, at the end of the day I have worked hard for them so why would I deliberately damage them?

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='Jase' post='371795' date='Jan 6 2009, 11:44 AM']Try reinventing the wheel.[/quote]

(For those of us who'll see it) Just wait until 2051, 2057, 2060 and 2062.
Think I got my years right!
[u]Centenary models of[/u]
Original single coil P
1957 Split P
Original (Dual concentric) Jazz
1962 Jazz Revision (2v,1t)

Though I doubt the model line-up will have changed enough for anyone to be able to tell them apart from the last century's worth.
Not knocking (I own a lovely MIA Jazz) but they're not the most [i]progressive[/i] company, are they?

[casapete]

Road worn prices- P.Bass $1200, Jazz $1250.
Are they having a laugh or what!

[Bay Splayer]

[quote name='Leowasright' post='371663' date='Jan 6 2009, 09:49 AM']I cannot understand why people do not just buy new one and wear it out themselves over 20 years.[/quote]

some people get nostalgic over battered fenders









but nostalgia aint what it used to be


**ba toom ssshh**

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

[quote name='molan' post='371647' date='Jan 6 2009, 09:34 AM']Anyone seen these yet?

[url="http://www.fender.com/roadworn/site.php?language=uk_english"]http://www.fender.com/roadworn/site.php?language=uk_english[/url] (skip the intro it's rubbish!)

Relic style '60's Jazz & '50's Precision. I think they are MIM rather than MIA but Fender site isn't clear (unless I'm missing it somewhere).

Here's a Jazz:



and a P:



Both also come in Fiesta Red:





Opening price from UK dealers seems to be around the £950 mark so maybe they are MIA after all - or just very expensive MIM?[/quote]
The necks on these things look too new. Because of that,the result is very shoddy.
If I was gonna relic something, Id at least make sure the whole bass looked in the same state.
They look crap anyway(my opinion)

[Sandmann]

not sure if that has been mentioned before: the road-worn instruments have a nitro-finish which makes them a lot more expensive.

on the pictures they look quite nice (especially the dakota red ones ...) imo. i wonder how they look and feel compared to my old and battered ´73 p.

sandmann

[Tee]

Isn't it the case that nitro is a cheaper finish to manufacture? (less time consuming process than the paint, Poly/gloss finish) eg Highway ones and Gibsons cheaper nitro finish guitars (SGs Vs and LPs)

Edited January 9, 2009 by Tee

[DirkThrust]

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' post='374559' date='Jan 8 2009, 10:42 PM']The necks on these things look too new. Because of that,the result is very shoddy.
If I was gonna relic something, Id at least make sure the whole bass looked in the same state.
They look crap anyway(my opinion) [/quote]


I'm not a fan of relicking but part of the point of it seems to be that it accurately replicates actual playing wear so it gives the neck a worn in feel which some people prefer. From this POV it does seem to have a practical purpose.

If they are just beating the crap out of the body and leaving the neck as new it does seem like a blatant ripoff when you consider these things are nearly twice the price ofthe re-issues they are based on.

But OTOH

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='372058' date='Jan 6 2009, 02:56 PM']If people want them they will buy them. If people dont want them dont buy them.[/quote]

THe buyer determines the price, not the seller.

[NancyJohnson]

Bucking the trend here, I do like the look of old basses, or more to the point, basses that look like they've been dragged along behind the van and/or have some history.

That said, when I saw the prices (Andertons, Guildford were quoting £899 for the Jazz), I was pretty shocked. Also, one thing I didn't like at all on the ones I've seen is that the relicing is all the same - through to the wood in the same places. Have a look.

Remember at the end of the day, this is all about reinvention; the Fender company have a core of may less than ten models - basses...Jazz/Precision/Jaguar and guitars...Jaguar/Jazzmaster/Telecaster/Stratocaster/Mustang - and they've been making most of these for over for 40 years, so they can't be going too far wrong.

Fender know the market reasonably well and they are after all in business to make money, rather than trying to please everyone. So what if a new SKU has some dinks in it...if you don't like them, then move along the bus. You'll find lots of shiny new ones elsewhere.

P

[NancyJohnson]

[quote name='AndyMartin' post='375033' date='Jan 9 2009, 12:54 PM']The buyer determines the price, not the seller.[/quote]

I'm sorry? Fender (like every company) will have a RSRP - a recommended sale retail price - that they give to the retailer. It's really down to the retailer what they want to sell it for, but the retailer will also need to operate within Fenders suggested level of discount.

The buyer can haggle, but the retailer knows full well what they can go down to pricewise.

P

[DirkThrust]

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='375077' date='Jan 9 2009, 01:36 PM']I'm sorry? Fender (like every company) will have a RSRP - a recommended sale retail price - that they give to the retailer. It's really down to the retailer what they want to sell it for, but the retailer will also need to operate within Fenders suggested level of discount.

The buyer can haggle, but the retailer knows full well what they can go down to pricewise.

P[/quote]

Then don't buy it.

Obviously you're not going to get one for less than it costs to put in the shop, but if you're determined to have the latest offering from Fender then you will have to pay what the shop is asking. Wait around 6 months until there are more in the country then you can shop around and the price will be discounted. You can be sure they won't remain at that price.

I've been eying an ESP in a local shop. It's been there for nearly 8 months without selling and the shop has just dropped the price by £350.

Edited January 9, 2009 by AndyMartin

[Hoppo75]

I was out looking at basses earlier this week, with one store having quite a wide selection of the road worn series, and I have to be honest.....They're awful!!!
They look totally false and not 'aged or weathered' at all, more battered and 'bruised'. In fact, a couple of the guitars I checked out looked as though they had some kind of sticker/transfer, as opposed to genuine wear and tear. I take the point that the weathered look is extremely popular at the moment, but people, do yourselves a favour and buy a boggo Jazz or Prec and get your nearest luthier to weather it for you....it'll be cheaper and it'll look a lot more real than the roadworn effort.

Edited January 9, 2009 by Hoppo75

[NancyJohnson]

[quote name='AndyMartin' post='375177' date='Jan 9 2009, 02:27 PM']Then don't buy it.

Obviously you're not going to get one for less than it costs to put in the shop, but if you're determined to have the latest offering from Fender then you will have to pay what the shop is asking. Wait around 6 months until there are more in the country then you can shop around and the price will be discounted. You can be sure they won't remain at that price.

I've been eying an ESP in a local shop. It's been there for nearly 8 months without selling and the shop has just dropped the price by £350.[/quote]

Andy
I work in retail and figure I've got a reasonably good handle on the way things are in my specific area, and that broadly follows trends for any saleable commodity.

First, let's get one thing very clear. I'm not buying one of these basses. I was merely answering your claim that the buyer determines price, not the seller.

Second, I notice that your original post just said 'then don't buy it'...the other two paragraphs followed [much] later.

Third, to address your original comment, in business a retailer signs an application with a wholesaler to sell their products. Generally this contracts the retailer to abide within the terms and conditions set out by the wholesaler. The wholesaler will suggest a selling price for each SKU (stock keeping unit) to which the retailer should adhere. This means that, to a degree, the wholesaler can control the retail price, which can be deemed as being able to keep the retail price artificially high. This also means that you will not find any great bargains as product will be priced by the technical terms of: 'there or thereabouts'. The retailer will be given leave to discount product, or, in the case of your ESP, perhaps to recover the cost price of the product if it doesn't sell; this could be in form of sale or return of product for credit, or agreement to discount the product to recover the cost price (as maybe the ESP wholesaler wouldn't deem it worth the bother to have the product returned, booked back into stock, then credited/refunded to the retailer). This isn't rocket science. It's business.

Guitars do sit on racks for yonks...a store near me still had a red Charvel on sale some twelve years after I saw it for the first time. If you've, as you have said, been eyeing up a guitar for eight months and now it's drastically reduced, then go for it, young sir. I look forward to seeing your purchase in the porn section on Sunday.

P

[DirkThrust]

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='375687' date='Jan 9 2009, 10:10 PM']Andy

Second, I notice that your original post just said 'then don't buy it'...the other two paragraphs followed [much] later.

Third, to address your original comment, in business a retailer signs an application with a wholesaler to sell their products. Generally this contracts the retailer to abide within the terms and conditions set out by the wholesaler. The wholesaler will suggest a selling price for each SKU (stock keeping unit) to which the retailer should adhere. This means that, to a degree, the wholesaler can control the retail price, which can be deemed as being able to keep the retail price artificially high. This also means that you will not find any great bargains as product will be priced by the technical terms of: 'there or thereabouts'. The retailer will be given leave to discount product, or, in the case of your ESP, perhaps to recover the cost price of the product if it doesn't sell; this could be in form of sale or return of product for credit, or agreement to discount the product to recover the cost price (as maybe the ESP wholesaler wouldn't deem it worth the bother to have the product returned, booked back into stock, then credited/refunded to the retailer). This isn't rocket science. It's business.[/quote]

If I'm at work I don't always have time to type long posts. Is this relevant?

While I'm sure the pricing of items in shops is a fascinating subject I was speaking in very general terms.

Fender will sell these things for what the market will bear. If the surprise expressed in this thread about the high price of them is reflected across the general bass buying public they probably won't shift very many.

The advertised price of these will come down. If it doesn't you can resurrect this thread in six months and tell me I'm wrong.

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='375687' date='Jan 9 2009, 10:10 PM']Andy
I work in retail ...etc....back into stock, then credited/refunded to the retailer).[/quote]

That's an interesting perspective on this pricing stuff - I always wondered how it worked... naively assumed retailers bought stuff at a price and then decided for themselves what to charge the end-user.

re: The relicing thing - while it's a bonkers concept - if it's well done, then not a problem. But most relicing isn't well-executed, even at 'Custom Shop' level - e.g. Rory Gallagher Strats.

And I love the cheek of Vintage (the mfr) chopping out reliced cheapies for a £200-300 quid

[MB1]

[quote name='molan' post='371647' date='Jan 6 2009, 09:34 AM']Anyone seen these yet?

[url="http://www.fender.com/roadworn/site.php?language=uk_english"]http://www.fender.com/roadworn/site.php?language=uk_english[/url] (skip the intro it's rubbish!)

Relic style '60's Jazz & '50's Precision. I think they are MIM rather than MIA but Fender site isn't clear (unless I'm missing it somewhere).

Here's a Jazz:



and a P:



Both also come in Fiesta Red:





Opening price from UK dealers seems to be around the £950 mark so maybe they are MIA after all - or just very expensive MIM?[/quote]

MB1.
Funnily Enough Crag42 is selling a Roadworn Trace Elliot GP11 4X10 Combo if you want to complement your "Just fell out the back of the van look!"

[leschirons]

Not really worth the extra in my opinion. I had a Squire jazz in sunburst (defretted) and relic'd it myself in about 6 hours. Punters thought I'd managed to get one of Jaco's and I sold it for a huge profit in France and was quite honest about what it was. Get a cheapy and do it yourself.

Edited January 10, 2009 by leschirons

[Dr.Dave]

I have a reliced P

It was fine when I got it but I've dragged it around the circuit for 30 years and now it's buckle rashed , chips out of it , worn through where my forearm and ribs go etc.

I wish these had been around when I bought mine. All that fun and memories , not to mention all the money I made - I could have saved myself all that bother and sat at home watching the telly.

[MB1]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='376814' date='Jan 11 2009, 02:52 PM']I have a reliced P

It was fine when I got it but I've dragged it around the circuit for 30 years and now it's buckle rashed , chips out of it , worn through where my forearm and ribs go etc.

I wish these had been around when I bought mine. All that fun and memories , not to mention all the money I made - I could have saved myself all that bother and sat at home watching the telly. [/quote]

MB1.
Top one Dave!
...I dont get it either!
.

[Norris]

[quote name='Leowasright' post='371663' date='Jan 6 2009, 10:49 AM']I cannot understand why people do not just buy new one and wear it out themselves over 20 years.[/quote]

+1 on that!

[markytbass]

It's not just Fender, Sandberg and ESP have distressed/aged finishes, there may be others. I personally don't care either way, its how it sounds and plays, just my 2p.

[Pookus]

Its like buying a new pair of jeans with rips in. Bogus.