Fender Road Worn '50s Tele (Blonde) Reviews

4.5/5.0 based on 2 customer reviews

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Customer Reviews

Berto
from Novi, MI
March 11, 2012Music Background:
Weekend Warrior, Semi-Pro

Great Guitar, Great Value, Instant Great Tone

Seriously blown away by this guitar. I am in a gigging band and have always had a thing for Teles but could never keep one. I must have looked at dozens of different versions of this classic. I even bought 2 and returned them after 2 days each, simply could not bond. To make things even "better", I was not a fan of the Road Worn Relic thing. I have US made Fender Strat that is amazing and US PRS that has a finish as perfect as they come and I like my guitars to look good. I also don't buy "mojo". But in the end I figured I'd give one of these a try, it has 6105 Frets which are common in Custom Shop Teles and my go to. They make a neck for me.

Maple neck, which was my requisite since my 2 other giggers have rosewood necks... and I wanted good electronics and hardware. Was looking at Americans but this one kept attracting me. It arrived from Sweetwater and out of the box was in perfect tune with 10s, most Teles come with 9s, which I don't play (use 10s). Action was just the way I like it. Played it unplugged for 20 minutes, sounded and felt so good I forgot about plugging it. The neck could be less "relic", but feels like a neck that has seen some awesome nights in a bar, without the smoke smell. It does feel a little "chunky" compared to Tele necks I've played, but don't quote me on that. Just my feeling. The 6105s, on both my Fenders now are at the top of my list as best frets. Many don't like them, but for my playing style, I would only buy these and the modern US PRS frets that are also "Fat/Jumbo" style. I really dislike vintage and Medium/Jumbo frets. YMMV

Took a bit to check it out and the finish is par with my two other guitars. The neck/body is a perfect fit, the pick guard fit perfectly, frets done right, finish is immaculate, nut is cut properly, tuners hold a tune with me bending like a mad man.

Plugged it in and... WOW... This is true simple guitar that let's you do what you want. No frills, just awesome tone. The pick ups, while I read are not for all, really let you do your own thing. Straight into my tube amps, holy crap this things sounds good. I use pedals to make my tone, and yup, this thing does a nice job working with what I like to use.

It's actually pretty quiet for a single coil guitar with "non american" pickups. I will change nothing on this guitar... Just installed strap locks on it and will play it at my next gig.

The relic thing kind of grew on me now and I like it. Gigging this thing will be fun and I won't worry so much if I nick it, you can't tell if it was meant to be there. This is a great value and these Mexican Fenders are above and beyond what I'd expect.

Try it out, guitars are very personal but this one is built right. Kudos to Fender.

kray
from NEW Mexico USA
June 16, 2011Music Background:
Hobbyist for 26 years

The neck is nice

The 7.25 radius on the neck it just fun to play. The neck is a little chunky too. I love it. The wear pattern looks a little over done on the neck, but it plays so good I don't care. I finish is kinda of a flat gloss which I like. Satin finishes are my favorite, even on acoustic guitars. Because the guitar is beat up already I don't have to be care full with it. It has vintage tuners which are also my favorite because it is easy to string. It has Tex-Mex pick-ups which really aren't "50's" pick-ups. While I like the pick-ups because they sound different than the pick-ups in my other tele's, I think it doesn't make sense to put non-50's pick-ups in a guitar you are advertising as representation of the 50's.