Fender Strat Roadworn Series | The Best MIM Ever Got?
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- Опубликовано: 16 май 2022
- Hi folks, so i finally tracked down a guitar ive wanted to offer for a long time! An Olympic white roadworn series WITH the rosewood fingerboard! I am biased to the olympic white and mint green plate being my absolute favourite look on a strat. But heres my 2 questions:
1 - Is this era of roadworn series the absolute top of the pile of strat models to ever come out of the mexico factory?
2 - Have you ever bought a standalone pickup set that sounded very different from the same model included with another guitar??
#Roadwornseries #Stratocaster #Fender
This Guitar: secondnote.co.uk/product/fend...
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I own a sunburst 50's Road Worn Strat from 2017. It is the Strat of my dreams, I still sit and drool over it and I own it. Every time I take it out of the case is a joyous experience.
Nice think that was about the last year of the proper ones too
Has it worn anymore since buying?
@@aquatichighs I'm not too rough on my guitars as it is but I don't baby it by any means. A little bit of wear and darkening on the fretboard and back of the neck, some dings and light buckle wear. Nothing too major, but it's obvious this one is a well-played guitar and not a new Road Worn. Just the normal scars that come with regular use. It's a really beautiful guitar.
@@bumblefritz thanks for the info
I have an '08/'09 with the rosewood board and it is my favorite guitar. And I've been playing like 30 years.
They are awesome. To get the same spec today new from fender it only exists in the custom shop.
Yea my 08 RW (07-09 are coveted years for RWs) is fire
Yup, I have one of the first ones that came out. 2008 or 09.. totally different what they offered a few years later. Glad I held on to it even though it just sits in the case. It has since I bought it except I out Duncan pups in it. The Tex Mex died all within 3 months. Fender was cool enough to send me a new set but I never liked the pups to begin with.
@@Paul-D Yup and for thousands more.
I'm from the '09 camp as well. Got the Olympic White in late 2014, and has since become my go-to guitar for studio works. It's definitely a keeper.
Great review, thanks man! I've been wanting the sea foam green version for a bit.
Thanks for watching - they arent easy to find tbf! In my neck of woods anyways
These are super nice for sure. Mine is a ‘09 and it is one of the best Strats I’ve ever owned (and I have owned a few of Fender Custom shop & other Boutique makers). Also regarding the Pau Ferro, there’s nothing wrong about them. You can get a very pricey slab of Pau Ferro (my Suhr has it) and also a cheap looking & feeling Rosewood. Don’t write it off!
I would say 80% of all fenders ive had in with pau ferro and believe me ive had a bunch hasnt been particularly nice wood at all. I agree you can get some nice slabs of it and happy days if you happen to get one. But id take this era rosewood boards from mim fender over the current ones any day.
What a wonderful demonstration of the tones this guitar can create. And really an encouragement for me to track one down and buy it. The relic work looks realistic and tastefully done, not overdone. Great video thanks for posting it for the rest of us wanting to understand more about this series.
Thankyou, i still think its the best strat that ever came out of mexico when you weigh up spec, price. There are some they are doing now that are great too but WAY more then these ever was even when you account for inflation.
@@Paul-D In my case, I simply love the looks and tones your video was showing, Paul. I did find one of these from the limited edition FSR batch that Chicago Music Exchange and Andertons UK had. A little more pronounced yellow color, and pau ferro instead of authentic rosewood. But what a fantastic playing and sounding Stratocaster it is. Very encouraged by your tones and playing, and knew I just needed to act on finding one of these. As you said these are fantastic instruments. You are an encouragement to us all!
I have the 2013 version and it’s fantastic. The checking is unreal on mine. Looks, plays and sounds great
I have looked for another recently and the prices just going up and up. Totally see why
Has it worn anymore since buying?
@@Paul-D I paid $500 10 years ago. A steal!
@@aquatichighs Yes it had very little wear when i got it. Just a small spot where you could see the wood where your elbow sits. Very thing lac paint
Nothing not to love about that strat, nice playing too
There well worth digging out. Isnt really a strat like it coming out of mexico anymore
Oh wicked game nice. Great series indeed. Oly white is so cool man
haha oly white is my number 1 on a strat. closely followed by fiesta red, sunburst and sonic blue haha
@@Paul-D great choice. I also love desert sand and olive :)
I do like the greens actually too
I have got a recent Vintera Roadworn in Lake Placid Blue and I like it an lot.
A great guitar for sure, i have one in the shop. But personally given the choice i would always choose rosewood over pau ferro
Love the intro 🙂
such a good starting place to mess about on a loop. shouldve been called wicked song lol
I had one and sold it to fund one of the new MIJ JV series tele’s, the tele is my baby but I really do miss that strat
I bet the tele is lovely though! They are so different its a case of needing both haha
I have this exact model, it's the 60's Roadworn that has Tex-Mex pickups with a mint green pickguard. I actually sold an American Deluxe that I had (which cost hundreds more) to get this guy instead because I loved the neck and how it felt more than the Deluxe. However, I didn't like the bridge pickup so I replaced it with a Seymour Duncan JB. Jr. and now it's my go to guitar these days. 😎 Nice vid!
Nice - The values on these have just gone up and up even since this video (as in the time not because of the video lol!) But anyone who has one of these has a Strat for life far as im concerned. I wonder If fender Mexico will ever offer this spec again for sub £1000..... Or will fender china perhaps take it on.... who knows.
@@Paul-Dyou bet! I'll probably be buried with mine haha. I wonder the same...but as I know you've seen, even the imports are at 1000 or more these days...only time will tell. Happy Friday!
Great video! You should try a MIJ ST62. I just purchased a 1993 ST62 and it's a brilliant guitar. I may change the pickups on it as the one on mine are ceramic vintage style.
Thanks, i did a vid recently on the old MIJ St54 and that was incredible. I thought the ST62 had alnico V staggered pole piece pickups as stock/? The ST62V* or similar name had the flat pole piece ceramic ones. I did a mini resto on one a while ago on the channel
Second Note Yes you’re right they did come with Alnico pickups but only certain models had them. They made quite a few different ST62’s, many have Texas specials as standard, some had US vintage style and some like mine had the Japan Vintage (non staggered) ceramic. I’m thinking about putting a set of tex-mex or early 2000’s US standard strat pickups in mine. Haven’t decided on which yet 😅
I think in particular 85 to say 87 MIJ strats whilst highly collectable and very good - it was kind of a lotto on what parts exactly you got as they had so many parts from when there wasnt any USA fenders being made briefly. Just on my admittedly limited experience with MIJ from that era.
Theres so many choices to face when replacing strat pickups haha. Been there myself a few times. Lots of decent options. the 57/62 set is still my favourite so far after trying dozens!
Second Note Completely agree, some of the MIJ strats made in 80’s and even 90’s were unbelievable quality. Parts were definitely all over the place though haha. Strangely mine has a Nitro finish neck and a normal poly body!
I was actually also considering the 57/62 pickups but most people tend to favour the tex-mex from looking online. What do you prefer about the 57/62’s?
@@piercehyland1559 Glad you asked i did a whole video on it haha ruclips.net/video/-bnci1xAEok/видео.html
I have a 2012 model, Tex Mex PU. I got Custom Shop Tex Mex in there, and it is a difference to the standard Road Worn Tex Mex. The Sound of custom Shop is more output. I would recommend to try Kloppmann 62´ also. In my understanding, they could be the best choice.
Thanks for the tip ive not heard of those ones
I think you mean custom shop Texas specials
@@fndrr42 yeah, its like you say 🤓
Looks great olympic white much nicer than artic white,sounded a bit thin to me though? I put ssl-1 set in a
silver series strat and it sounded similar, wasn't quite as pokey as I thought it should be,still pretty good though.
Interesting i wonder if thats what im hearing that i prefer over the tex mex in my blue one 🤔🤔
@@Paul-D I think your blue one sounds a bit like Billy Corgan
There awesome guitar’s ive got a 2009 white roadworn with a rosewood fretboard
awesome id love to find some more but so so rarely come up
@@Paul-D yeah seems to be more maple necks come up for sale
@@markwright9352 /yeh for sure maybe since they changed to Pau ferro more and more people keep hold of the rosewoods. And maple is..... well maple lol
@@Paul-D yeah totally agree with that, the older guitars with rosewood boards will be highly sought after now
I managed to score a 2009 heavy relic roadworn series with a very nice dark rosewood fretboard! And the guy had it listed with a pau ferr hah so definitely didn’t over charge 😅
I don't think that pao ferro is worse. In fact it was used by Fender already many years ago on the SRV signature model. It feels and sounds good for me. I think it sits in the middle between maple and rosewood, which is a good thing for me. Shurely it is a matter of taste.
For sure its a matter of taste. I do think its funny how everyone who likes it brings up SRV though 😅
For me as ive said on here manyyyy times - its a 60/40 split. 60% of time the pao ferro is smooth, quite dark and actually very nice. But that 40%.... looks and feels like an old biscuit
@@Paul-D
Well, mine has a nice grain.
@@sleepy4x i have a vintera 60s in the shop and the pau ferro on that is totally fine. Would be more then happy with it. But ive seen many that are really not good. And some other brands that chosen Laurel or even Jatoba as an alternative seem a little more consistent. I can see why fender went with pao ferro though - history considered.
Yea but Stevie's number one was Rosewood.
The complaints are usually color based, Rosewood tends to be darker…
Nice chili pepper tattoo!
over a million views on the channel now in total, and your the FIRST to comment on it hahaha
@@Paul-D I have one too. Maybe that’s why 🤷🏽 haha. Yours looks awesome!
Great video. When you say it’s got a bigger neck than your other two guitars, do you mean that it’s got high shoulders, or that the back of the neck has some meat to it? Hope that makes sense.
Makes sense I shouldve been clearer :) I meant it had abit more meat at the back, a fuller carve. As usual these things are in the millimetre but as all players know, the millimetres make the difference haha.
@@Paul-D Haha. They do indeed.
That’s perfect, thanks for that. I was just about to pull the trigger on one, but I just don’t get on with the modern strat neck carve (Modern C). I prefer Gibson necks, as they have a bit more “meat” lol. So that’s great news.
If its one of these and you've found one you're happy at the price with, Id go for it. They are getting harder and harder to find and only getting more expensive every time they come up
@@Paul-D Cheers mate. I will do. I’ll update you on how I’m getting on with it. 👍🏻
@@Paul-D It finally turned up on Thursday, Second Note. Been playing it non-stop since. Your description of the neck was bang on. Because I've got fairly large hands, the modern strat necks are too shallow and it feels like I'm fighting it all the time. But this ones perfect. It's got a slightly different worn finish to yours, but not far off.
Interested in this topic regarding the pick ups, though. Has anyone cleared it up yet?
But thanks for the help, Second Note. Much appreciated. 🤘
Whats the song in the begining?
A little jam on 'wicked game' by Chris Issac
Were these strats a one off thing that Fender done? Because I read that the Road Worn series finished in 2013, and the they came out with the vintera a few years later.
In this specific specification i think it ran for about 4/5 years tops. They still use the roadworn monica today but its a very different guitar and nowhere near as good in my opinion. This spec only exists today in the custom shop. And to think not that long ago it was available to everyone out of mexico lol.
@@Paul-D Thanks, Paul. I bought one of these on your recommendation and love it. So thank you for that. Have you ever found out why these Tex Mex pickups sound better than the standard ones?
Awesome, i wouldve love to of kept this one. But it was business at the time 😪
I didnt ever find a good reason why, but ive found it to hold true on others ive played vs newer off the shelf pickups.
I bought this exact guitar (2015) today at a local used shop. Seemed like a pretty damn good deal for 800 bucks. Came with a tweed case. Was the tweed case standard for these?
They came with a black gig-bag when they were new. Though the quality of guitar was/is SO high alot of dealers probably did upsell them with nice cases.
They are without doubt the best guitars fender ever did £/spec ratio. You can only buy this spec today in the customshop for 4,000 plus. So congrats wish i never had to sell this one when i had a store haha.
@@Paul-D Ahh man, sorry to hear that. I've been there and def let go of some things I wish I could have back now.
Thanks for the info tho, mine needs a good setup and a new nut but overall it's pretty good.
That's weird. What are the two woods? Body and neck
On this? Alder body. Maple neck rosewood fingerboard
Agree. Picked up an ‘11 60s RW for 500 a couple of yrs ago, love it feels amazing. Thought I’d swap the pickups for lollars but it turns out I really like the Tex Mex set. Here is a quick sample, higher gain/fuzz tones in 2nd half of this: ruclips.net/video/8WS6YZSsB7M/видео.html
2009 road worn series showed how great a mim Stratocaster could be in my opinion
It was also Fenders realisation that this spec can only, and does today only exist in the custom shop. Nitro finish, Medium jumbo frets, AA rosewood slab and named pickups.
I had a Jimmie Vaughan signature strat that came with tex mex pickups and they absolutely did not sound as good as your white strat. They were extremely muddy and way too hot.
I can fully believe it too the tex mex seems to be very inconsistent depending on wether you buy them in an old road worn, separate pickup sets or loaded guards, or as you say the jimmy vaughan, its like totally different sets that share the same name lol
Saw one of these for 900€ and I seriously think about grabbing it
There only going up in price. €900 euro is alot like but the equivilent guitar today from fender with this spec is lots more. Grab it if you can 🤘
@@Paul-D thanks! I'll try to ;)
Throw up style of Fender.
No, I think you are wrong and are using your example of this model because it is what you experienced. I don't think you can extrapolate
I've got two Fender Strats from Fender from 2021 and they are impeccable.
"Mexicans" have been making Fender's since Leo started his first facility.
The fact is that Mexico, in general, make more guitars on an annual basis than any other country in the World.
NOT YOU, but on other posts there is a nasty racial quality starting to appear.
Once again one cannot extrapolate from one or two examples a general trend but I have been amazed at the quality of all three Made in Mexico guitars that I do own compared to USA modals (notice I have not suggested "better"). When I looked into it, I came to the conclusion that it was possible that perceptions of Ensenada (it's not very far from Corona as the bird flies) have been affected by Senior decisions on, for example, colors that can be used on guitars by Ensenada. In effect they have made them look duller.... The prevalence of "Butter Cream" (which I quite like) for instance. Yes, they been improving QC steadily over the past 5 years.
The "cheeky" might add that Ensenada are being held back from becoming too popular to protect the USA plant....
Your playing is quite beautiful, by the way! Credit where it's true...
Pete.
Thanks for taking the time -
On my other fender vids ive said a few times i think the difference is MIM and USA is very very minor and agree with the fact its mainly finish options difference between them.
Saying i think this one is the best of them all, isnt to say its the only good one. I own 2 other mims and have about 10 other mims in my shop and all great. Player series in particular great.
As for the racial element, really!? Im shocked there would be racial undertones around guitars from mexico!? Thats the internet for you eh! Its like 100 miles between the plants lol.
That's all very interesting. And the last bit makes sense. You can't let it get better than the American line. We all know that with all guitars I think, especially strats, that are all slightly unique. Lots of factors here. I wondered if the blue strat is alder and the other one is ash or the necks are bolted differently. EVERYTHING affects tones at least a little.
@@AaronEddieHYo funny you say that dude, the blue one is ash and this one alder. Something i hadnt thought off till just now
Oh hell