Fender Road Worn '50s Telecaster

Basic telecaster. but important to note that it has the modern wiring set up which most of us consider 'normal' for a telecaster.

The beauty of the telecaster of course is it's versatility. With less features you can do more stuff and its more reliable: win, win.

Good. The pick ups are punchy and bright without taking your head off. Tone control is very responsive and you can get a very nice jazz sound with the neck pickup. Flip to the bridge and its crisp and articulate - great for pop/rock/blues/ etc. Middle position is also nice.

Im playing this through either a stock Pro Junior or a 1979 Silverface Pro Reverb. Very tasty. The guitar complements both amps well. For overdrive I add a Digitech Bad Monkey or an Boss SD-1. Both sound good.

Coming from a PRS Custom 22 Artist Pack guitar, I actually prefer this sound. The PRS has an identity crisis: like an underpowered les paul and those half n half positions are **** excuses for a single coil sound. whereas, this guitar won't ******** you.

Plus you look like such a **** with a PRS! Its like driving a Lamborghini to sainsburys to do the weekly shop!? And then you're worried about any little dent you get in the finish...nah **** that. I'd rather have a guitar I could smack the **** out of and not care.

Good. Only problem ive noticed is a slightly sticky nut.

Oh and the sunburst one is like a satin-y finish!? YUK.

Put some of them 50s pin up decals on though and it looks MINT with all the fake relicing.

You can see how thin the nitro finish is, which is great, because 1. it will let the wood resonate better, 2. it makes the guitar a bit lighter and 3. It will look good when I chip and dent it myself.

The frets are a bit weird but still good - tall and thin. Stuck some d'addario 10s on. great!

Despite the Mexican origins I would say this as well put together as an american tele. Fender make good value, reliable instruments in my experience. Because it is a tele there isn't a lot to break on the instrument too.

Probably ****, but the shops that sell fender, of which there are many, tend to have good communications with them.

To summarise:

This is a good sounding, good looking, cheapish telecaster. Comes with a fairly good gigbag and looks very solid. If you are worried about the relicing looking cheesy or fake, well, it does a little bit - especially on the sunburst one. But go and try one at least before you make up your mind. The neck is fantastic. You can shred on his thing if you want it's that fast.

For my needs this is perfect. My gigging/rehearsal rig now consists of this road worn tele, a line 6 M9 and a fender pro junior. Its almost so perfect I want to cry! Just need to tweak the tele with some copper shielding and upgrade the pro junior and then THATS IT! I WILL BE CONTENT WITH MY RIG! HALLELUJAH! and i dont look like a **** on stage with a PRS!

Pretty basic on the features. As others have stated, check out the fender website for specs and features on the beauty. I will mention the nitrocellulose finish that gives it a really golden tone. Came with a gig bag which I thought should really have been a vintage tweed.

The sound to me is incredible! I was lucky enough to pick up my blonde finish RW at a "Dent and Scratch" discount so got it for a steal! Talk about an oxy moron! I don't know, maybe it's all in my head, but the blues riffs and smooth leads to just seem to flow out of this guitar! I honestly feel like I play with a bit more soul on this then my other axes! Gorgeous Tele Twang, nice sustain, and silky harmonics. This neck/ fret combo is a winner. Pure joy to play.

Being that I got a "Dent and Scratch" perhaps the original purchaser did some work before returning it, because the set up was amazing out of the box. Action is spot on. Intonation could use a slight tweak, but not something urgent. The finish is gorgeous. I'm a big fan of the relic look. I actually wish it had a bit more "aging" on the hardware. I've seen some that were really weathered. Lots of rust and corrosion. Mine was minimal :(. But being an artist I did some aging of my own and it actually looks great, if not better than the factory stuff. The body is beautiful. Love the blonde and lacquer. Sure, they all have the same "basic" look being assembly line weathered, but are you really going to be standing next to another Road Worn somewhere?! Come on folks. It looks authentic and Fender did an amazing job.

Built like a tank! No worries here.

Called them twice and both times got a live person and they were very helpful.

Been playing about 15 years. Mostly blues. My only other guitar is an Ibanez "shredder" which is going up on Craigslist. This Tele is a dream to play. I can't put it down!

2009, Made in Mexico. Road Worn finish that looks like the other Road Worn Telecasters, worn in exactly the same places. Mine is the blonde one, ash, excellent weight and balance. The white pickguard bothered me. There were few 5-hole single ply white pickguards on Telecasters that I've seen. Same with the steel barrel saddles. They did a good job of putting age and tobacco stains on the pickguard, but it's still a white pickguard. Tex-Mex pickups, so I've been told. I didn't get a case, but I had a great Fender hard shell case from an American. The frets are wide ones, almost identical to those on my Gibson SG.

I use this guitar with an all-tube AC-15 Vox and a Boss Compressor, nothing else. The guitar is noisy on full volume setting using the compressor, but back it down a hair and it's fine. Using the same settings without touching the guitar or amp, I can go from a convincing acoustic tone to a harmonic-rich growl using only the timbre of the pick and attack. I can control a wide spectrum of sounds with my right hand. I can't say which pickup I prefer, neck, bridge or both. They're both outstanding. Most bridge pickups sound angry. This one can also whisper. I had done Custom Shop Texas Specials in another Tele, but this one has the better tone, to my ears. It's a bit raw compared to Gibson humbuckers, but it's got the tonal spectrum covered better, in my opinion.

I loved the neck the first time I played it. I still love it. This is how a Telecaster ought to feel. The bridge sucked, the intonation was so-so, the tuners wouldn't hold a tune. I replaced the steel bridge saddles with brass ones, like the original Teles. In doing so, I got the intonation zeroed in as well as the string height, and I put on a fresh set of .10s instead of the worn out store demo strings on it. The tuning problems went away, so did the intonation problems. I like the meaty fretwire, a very Gibsonish thing for a Tele, and it's great for digging in and for fast movement. I had to change to a 5-screw black single ply pickguard, although I do admire their work on the white one. I placed the guitar next to a large photo I had of a genuine '52 Telecaster in a book, and now there is virtually no visual difference. That matters to me. It looks right now.

This is a Telecaster. No guitar is simpler or proven more rugged. I'd never play without a backup. I don't think, save for string breakage, that I'd ever need to use a backup with this thing, but I once had another guitar crap out on me during a set with no backup, and the club owner got really pissed. I always use a backup.

I just don't know.

I've played over 40 years, semi-pro. I own a Gibson SG and a Gibson J-200 as well as this Telecaster. I wish I had bought this guitar earlier. The whole idea of a pre-worn guitar hasn't been appealing to me, but no other guitar in the catalog came closest to what I wanted. Changing the pick guard to black and putting on brass saddles hit my mark, for much less than the Custom Shop '52, and the Custom Shop '52 doesn't have the fretwire or pickups I wanted. This one does. I've had other Teles over many years, but this one is what I feel to be perfect, the sum of everything good about them all. I'd do it again in a heartbeat if this one were lost or stolen. I'm stuck in the Jimmy Paige/Jeff Beck era of Telecaster sound. I can go softer or raunchier than that with this one guitar. It's cruder than the American Standards and any Strat, but I think it's the most useful electric guitar ever made. Not as creamy as a Gibson, but more useful if you play it right. Ugly looks, but authentic.

I bought the Blonde ash body. You probably know all the specs already, so I won't bore you. If you don't, Fenders website can explain it far better that I can. As far as features I its everything I hoped it would be, vintage look and feel. The think that struck me right away when I picked it up in the store is how light it is... lighted electric guitar I think I've ever owned. Good quality. The relicing is a little overdone for my personal taste, and of course they all look very similar if not identical. This is one of those guitars thats just fun to own and play.

Sound is great, resonants a ton, and smooth fast neck. I play mostly rock, jam band stuff, but this tele has driven me to expand my playing in to blues and country too because it just does it so well. I love the neck pu on this tele. Tele's to me are very versitile. I like it better than my MIM Strat. Whether playing clean or dirty or through effects it holds its own just like a tele should. To me its a really fun guitar to play, and I have trouble putting it down... I think about playing it all day and can't wait to get home at night and plug it in... if nothing more than just warming up with scales and such.

Overall I think the action and fit was pretty good. The only problem I have is that the intonation was off and is in bad need of a professional set-up. I have plans to take it in to a tech as soon as I can. Its acceptable, but it could be a lot better. The finish is good, but like I said before the relicing is a little much for my liking. I bought one that didn't have as much rusting and tarnishing on the metal parts... some of them have more than others.

Seems plenty strong to me... no different than any other tele or strat I've played.

N/A

I have been playing for about 15 years. I've played in the bands in college and such, now that I'm a little older I mostly play for own enjoyment and ocassionally I hook up with friends. Currently, I own a MIM Strat, Jackson, Epiphone Dot (highly modified to make it not suck)... in the past I owned a number of strats, couple of teles & a les paul. I realy like this guitar. It is a dream to play and is fun, which is the most important thing to me. Once it gets a pro set-up it will be much better, probably then the best tele I've played. Its cool to own a vintage looking guitar, and especially this kind of quality for the price. I am really glad fender did a relic guitar that normal working people can afford. I bought a nice gator tweed case for it and sometimes I just liek to open the case and look at it. If it were lost or stolen I would replace without a second thought.

's2009 50's roadworn tele. c neck 21 frets tex mex pu's. ONLY 6 POUNDS 3 OUNCES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thing is near mythical weight for a tele. I have heard rumors of 6 pound tele's out there but had never felt anything close!

I am no country player I play electric folk/blues/ and rock and this is no country guitar. Originally I was looking for my spanky guitar to add to the collection. When I found this though I had to have it it is so full and luscious through any amp I have played it through. (so a fender deluxe, my valve junior, swart AST, and beavertone brown sugar. All tube amps)

Factory set up was pretty whack because the climate is so dry out in the arizona desert. action was high the middle (of three) saddles was too high. But any guitar freshly bought needs set up anyway. the roadworn finish is not favorite by any means. I vintage my guitars by myself usually through playing and rough housing and it has its own unique style where as the roadworns all have the same fading. I will correct that with some of my own touchs. but the guitar just fits me like a glove it is just me in a can!

This is a live guitar for sure although I always bring a back up no matter what. I have questions about the hardware but don't want to change it unless I have to because I am in love with the sound.

Fender is fender to big to be the best but my local shop Guitars Etc. has been plenty helpful.

I have been playing for ten years and have had my fair share of guitars I love this one this is instantly my main guitar. replacing my 72 thinline. although not completely. I am a fan of switching up but my favorite sounds come from this road worn tele.

Blonde ash body/thinskin nitro finish with no poly undercoat,relic job/Worn maple neck with soft v like profile/aged hardware and pickguard/Tall frets on 7.25 radius neck/Tex mex pick ups

I love this Tele...it is the best one I've ever owned.It is quite light and very resonant when strummed acoustically.Pure Tele twang that is accentuated by the very woody tone due to the thinskin nitro finish.Maybe there are better pickups out there but these pickups are really good.The bridge pickup delivers true Tele ballsy twang and the neck pickup is quite clear and articulate compared to others I've tried.I can easily get a convincing Keith Richard tone when I play it through my 57 tweed twin reissue.I own two 52 reissue Teles.Those are great but this one has a little moreof that twang reminiscent of the classic Tele tone we all hear in our heads.

The factory setup was ok but I immediateley set it up with 11-49 strings and set the action to my liking.Because the frets are taller,you have to compensate a little with the action to avoid fretting out in certain spots.But it plays great now once I found the sweet spot for it(like any guitar of course!).I also raised the pickups to get a hotter,ballsier tone in all 3 postions.

Teles are probably the toughest guitars made.Obviously the nitro finsh will continue to wear with more playing but that is the whole point of these guitars...to feel road worn!!!It stays in tune well too.

no experience to report

I'm amazed how much guitar you are getting for a fraction of a custom shop model.I honestly prefer this one to those!!!This seems to have more of a vibe.After playing it for a few months steadily,it is starting to acquire its own vibe as it soaks up my sweat and continues to wear out.The only oddity is how the neck is worn out everywhere except nothing between frets 9 to 12.That makes it look a little fake but with a little sandpaper,I can match the wear evenly to suit the rest of the neck...no big deal.I changed the white pickguard to a black single ply one and now it really looks like a true old early 50s Tele.The yellow blonde finish really looks authentic and the tranparency is a little less than the U.S. 52 reissues(which are very grainy).Most old Teles that I have seen are usually more like this.I love the 52 reissue but you can spot it a mile away and know it is not a real one(they are sometimes more orange than blonde).The roadworn really looks and feels like the real thing at a very affordable price.

I found one that is light-weight alder ( 6 lb 14 oz ) 2008 mfr date- serial MZ826740X ???
( wanted to find an early one ??? I always figure they work harder and are more careful with the first few they turn out - and tend to use better cuts of wood ) in an independent store in redwood city, CA ??? the three road worn ash ( blonde ) ones that I tried were all north of 8 lbs and the one other alder one was almost 8. This is the 6th tele I have owned over 40 years and I was on a mission to find a 50s maple neck ??? under 7 lbs with low output spanky PUs. Every guitar I have owned more than about 7 1/2 lb makes my shoulders unhappy after 3 hours. It???s 50s style ??? 21 fret ??? maple neck ??? full C sized 7.25??? radius with narrow 6105 frets ??? tex-mex PU ??? Don???t look for birdseye or tiger maple anyplace here. came with only a gig bag ( which is nice ??? the last thing I need is another guitar case banging around in my closet that I paid extra for ) has the dome knobs ??? vintage tuners and a ???synthetic bone nut??? ( huh? ) Surprisingly tight neck pocket ( impressive for less than 1000 )

Resonant ??? lots of acoustic ring unplugged ??? I didn???t know anything about tex mex PUs before this ??? they are nice low output classic tele style ??? bridge PU is strong, distorts well but not ice-picky. The overdrive from this bridge PU straight into my cranked EL84 7.5 watt amp ( no pedals ) is really grindy and chimes. The Neck Pu is very useable ??? throaty and strong. Both PU together has the tele jangle, In the past couple of years I learned the magic of low output ( less than 10 watts ) EL84 based amps. I don???t know anything about recording, plugging into computers, etc. But I do know about live guitar sound unmicked in small ??? medium bars and clubs. The magic sound lies in power tube distortion and not little boxes on the floor driving preamp tubes. I do this : guitar >> bixonic expandora ( rarely on ??? solos only ) >> amp ( turned up to 3/4 full ??? my favorite is a 9 year old Gibson GA 15 RVT on triode ??? 7.5 watts mode. With this telecaster + guitar volume turned down) you get that wonderful wood sounding spanky sound. This has an acceptable amount of noise at high volume ( guitars with no noise usually also have no character ) This alder sunburst one will move into nice sustained controllable feedback with correct distance from my amp. I am happy that the saddles are stainless ??? brass does not give teles the right sound ??? too much sustain usually.- again fender did this right. The bridge and both PU positions have a tremendous growl when cranked that I usually only hear on P90 guitars or Rics

As it was set up in the store the intonation was WAY off ??? but that???s not an issue because I have my way of intonating. I needed to move the saddles back a full 1/4 inch ??? then the ends of the saddle adjustment screws were up higher than the strings ??? kind of rough with palm muting. If I was a skilled person I could hack saw the ends ??? but I put a gob of super glue on the end of all three screws??? so edges are smooth ??? end of problem. It has a high cut nut ??? I actually prefer this ??? it???s part of the classic tele sound ??? because it is cut high there???s more spring in the tone. I use telecasters as mostly a rock-roll/ funk / R+B rhythm instrument ??? ( sixties ??? Kinks ??? Townnsend ??? Rascalls . No country bending, steely, twanging happening here. A great tele like this proves how the BEST tone from a guitar is when there is as LITTLE sustain as possible. ( bolt on + maple + alder etc ) No pedal steel sounds for my ears ??? in fact I took a vow to NEVER bend the 4th up to the 5th on the G string ever again on this planet. My leads are rhythmic ( not shred, etc ) - after I set this one up correctly it intonates beautifully all over the fretboard. ???. I spent an hour dialing this in and then it was nice. I like slightly high action on teles and this is what I wanted. The huge plus of this particular tele is the 7.25??? radius neck combined with 6105 narrow jumbo frets ( whoever, put this combo together at Fender is brilliant ) To my knowledge this is the only telecaster with this combination. The string bending and vibrato control is absolutely the best of any tele ( or other guitar ) I have had my hands on. I could rave for days about this ??? I mean it ??? you bend the 2nd string up a whole step and hold the vibrato AND IT IS SO NICE. It is buttery - With 10s you feel like you are playing 9s. String spacing is right on ??? perfect distance from fretboard edge ??? outstanding tuning stability. Behind the nut bends work well ??? I use Teflon lube on the nut and bridge ??? this goes right back into tune even after 2 1/2 step bends. Some parts of the neck ??? up high on the high strings fret out with 1 1/2 step bends but who cares? Also the range of the tone control is just right for wah stuff ??? ditto on the volume knob for volume swells

Solid - I am still in the honeymoon ( "this is the best guitar in the universe") phase. Only two 4 hr gigs so far.

I don't know.

I have played forty years ??? past 10 in cover band ??? all the goofy stuff people like to dance to ??? I love my Ric 360 with the EL84 amp but this tele is special . The only thing I would change is that there???s no reason to ugly it up like they did ( ???relic??? ??? huh? ??? I know this is a pretty successful marketing thing. ( but it adds to cost and is kind of lame ) However, I REALLY like the aging on the fretboard ??? not for looks but for playability. If I had it my way the entire front of the fretboard would be down to wood and you can skip the banging up the rest of the guitar. I can compare this in HUGE detail to other teles ??? the closest thing in the shop on the day I bought this was a custom shop relic 50s ??? the action was very close BUT the custom shop bridge PU was icy in the trebles AND it cost three times as much AND it weighed almost 8 pounds AND I would have another big clunky fender case in my closet. My most recent other tele was a beautiful HEAVY 9 pounder with bigsby that had texas specials and vintage frets ??? the texas specials are too high in output ??? you lose the subtle tones. It was a beauty tho ??? so the photos on ebay brought in good dollars ??? when I was 16 I had 64 slab-board ??? but I was too young to appreciate it ??? so can???t compare. I owned a John Page masterbuilt visually gorgeous 60s re-issue for awhile ??? amazing visually ??? incredible birdseye, etc ??? another 8.5 pound battleship with dead acoustic sounds that sat in my closet ???til I unloaded it and ate a $1500 loss. huge neck ??? vintage frets + 7.25 ( not so good) My most dreadful tele ownership ever was a 1991 American standard ( the dark years at fender )- it had the six separate saddle bridge ??? I don???t know why but these six saddle bridges never have the real telecaster tone or feel. ??? about 9 pounds ??? no character ??? no true tele sound or feel - fortunately I was chemically altered a bit in the early 90s so I wouldn???t have known the difference between a good tele and a ham sandwich anyway??? 9.5 radius necks are not for me ??? let alone 12s ( I owned a 12??? neck once ??? E. Johnson strat - similar ebay fate??? ??? also medium jumbo frets are too much ??? also I don???t like U necks. All of the $3000 custom shope relics have U necks ??? not for me. Fender nailed this one with the beefy C neck + 7.25??? + 6105 frets. A lot of teles are out there with 9.5 necks ??? I can???t make these work for me. I like to bring my thumb over the top to catch the root of moveable E chords ??? to leave out the 5th on the A string ( Townsend ) and this neck truly is perfect for my hands. If lost I would want to replace it ??? but would have trouble ??? because this was the only one I found ( three stores ) that was under 7 pounds. I know me and anything over 7 is out the door in 6 months. I was less impressed with the blonde ash versions ??? alder is better in teles. Anyway I didn???t buy this for the looks.( it???s kind of ugly actually ) but the feel and tone is absolutely superb. 3 out of 4 of the guitars I have picked up in the past 10 years have wound up at a tech getting set-up, plastic nuts replaced with bone, etc. Not this tele ??? I don???t know what synthetic bone means BUT I know this nut is just right. And I have not had to spend any money or time on it getting set up by a tech. All it needed was some attention to intonation which I like to do myself. You can still find excellent workmanship in Fender guitars today as long as you???re willing to look toward the southern horizon past the Rio Grand. Absolutely outstanding fly-weight vintage style tele !

Featherweight 6lbs 11oz, relic neck, vintage 50's vibe and feel. Hey it's a tele--for it's purpose--it's great.

2nd review: I BOUGHT THE ASH BLONDE the day they hit the store. I can't speak for the tone of the alder.

For the tele tones I like--this is a find. Robben Ford, Joe Bonomassa, Brad Paisley, Jimmy Page, and most classic rock tele sounds.

It cuts through the mix with depth, spank, sparkle, and character. The dynamics are superior to other teles I have played--the tex mex pickups are very responsive. I have used many types and these pickups surpised me.

Tone is #1 to me. I have owned several high end PRS, Hamers, Strats, LPs, etc... This guitar is in the pocket for the sound I am shooting for. I have played 35 years and also love the distorted tones I get from my original Tube Screamer and Tube King.

My friend--a luthier and one of the best in the state just bought the ash blonde like mine--he said he wished he would have known about this tele ten thousand dollars worth of teles ago. His band agrees.

I have a hard time putting this guitar down. My Les Pauls standard was handpicked as was my John Mayer strat--this guitar really has me intrigued with the tones I am getting.

Relic neck, featherweight. Hey I don't really care about the relic body--I like the color alot

NP with fender for 35 years--except my original Bandmaster I bought in 1968.

Depends on the person and your needs. I have had great and not so great. I have called fender on the RW 50 tele, GC, and other places. Consistently people rave about it--I know, it's part of the sales pitch. But remember, I was also asking about the custom shop and other tele models.

Looks and plays exactly like a 50's strat.

Tex Mex pick-ups are awesome.

Right from the factory was great. I just tightened the float down by tightening the springs in back.

Built incredably well.

I ordered this for my boy and I was just blown away by the detail that has gone into this thing. Yeah, Mexican made.....oh well. This guitar is a piece of art. No kidding. I wish it had come with a hardshell case insted of a gay gig bag.
Check out my 15 year old boy on you tube. User name: biged374

OK, you know the specs, ash body, maple neck, klusons, etc. It's your basic 50's style tele but with a relic finish courtesy of Fender's Mexican factory. I would give a 10 here as I believe basic tele features are just about the best you can get as long as the components are good. My only niggle is that I wasn't in love with the bridge pup, though it did sound very good.

I should mention that I don't own this guitar, just spent about a half hour with it at my local shop. I wanted to write this review to counter what I read in one of the few reviews here. In my opinion, this thing sounds fantastic. I was totally surprised.

In general, I think relicing anything, furniture, guitars, whatever, is terrifically lame. I guess it's an authenticity thing. However, picking up this guitar changed my mind a bit. It's extremely resonant unplugged and plugged in, the sounds were wonderful and very distinct in each postion.

The neck pup was round and warm but could also be ballsy and articulate. The bridge pup was raw and agressive - more on the Keef side of things than Buck Owens. Combined, the sound was a nice middle ground. If I bought the guitar, I might swap out the bridge pup for something a little more vintage sounding, but that's because I like Country.

Again, the 9 is for the bridge pup, and that's based on my own taste.

I'm a little lost on trying to evaluate this category. On the one hand, I was really impressed considering that this is a MIM tele, and the quality of the components seemed relatively high from the tuners to the bridge and pickups, etc.

As I said before, I think relicing is silly, and this guitar clearly isn't a vintage instrument - I doubt you would fool anyone that was closer than 10 feet away. However, the relic finish really seems to have a wonderful effect on the sound and feel of the guitar, which surprised me. I've played countless Fenders including MIM, MIJ and MIA. In general, the Japanese Fenders have always impressed me as the most consistent in terms of high quality construction, . . . but the thick finish is usually off-putting. This guitar just felt right to me.

Obviously I can't comment on reliability, but I CAN say that everything felt solid and I was very impressed. This is in strict contrast to about 3 other MIM Fender guitars I picked up in the same session, which all seemed to have weak components from the pick-ups to the pots, switches and tuners. Night and Day difference in my opinion.

No comment.

Overall, this telecaster really impressed me. As I said before, this guitar just feels and sounds right to me. It's the kind of guitar you pick up and just don't want to put down. To me, that's a rare find, . . . and I was extremely surprised to find this quality in a MIM relic instrument. This guitar did change my mind a bit about relicing, and for that, I say "Thank You" to Fender as I always like to open my mind a bit more.

Try one out before you disregard it, . . . you may end up being pleasantly surprised! I'm off like Will Ray to watch ebay like a hawk and try to score one cheap - HA!