Fender Road Worn Player Strat
The Road Worn Player Strat feels so good that playing it feels faintly like cheating on a loved one if you already own a favourite Strat!
tetanus every time you play it) and black aged plastic parts and it’s all really
rather cool and authentic,
unless you happen to be a real vintage buff, that is! The only question mark regarding
the Road Worn Player is it’s slightly ambiguous heritage: the dark two-tone sunburst finish and black plastic parts very firmly puts one in mind of a late 1970s Stratocaster, whilst the small headstock with it’s distinctive ‘spaghetti’ Fender logo could be from a modern Strat. Does it really matter? We’d say that you’d have to be pretty fussy to find fault with the Road Worn Player’s appearance, OK it may not be a vintage reissue in the strictest sense but neither does it claim to be. The point is that it works pretty convincingly as a cohesive guitar; it has a great neck, isn’t too heavy (which couldn’t be said for the majority of late 70s Fenders) and looks genuinely cool in a surprisingly understated way.
Worn to run So, apart from visual reasons, why would you pick the Player version of the Road Worn over previous Fender Road Worn models? Well, the clue is in the name. Eschewing some of the vintage aspirations present on many relic model guitars works in the Player’s favour. Indeed the neck is especially worthy of mention given just how good it feels. The profile falls smoothly into your hand in a manner so familiar it feels faintly like cheating on a loved one if you already own a favourite Strat! The gently worn playing surface adds another level of intimacy, feeling absolutely spot on and utterly delicious. The 21 well finished medium jumbo frets help to lend the guitar yet another head start over vintage instruments for a more forgiving contemporary feel, you grab a little less fret board with each note, it feels like you are gliding around the neck rather than stomping in hobnail boots! In an ideal world we would have liked to have seen 22 frets on here but perhaps that would have tilted things a little too far towards the modern side of things for the target audience.
The contoured alder body is pretty
much business as usual; traditional contouring is allied to a sensible weight and a hardware array that includes three single coil Texas Special pickups, a vintage style vibrato bridge, two rotary tones and one volume control and the standard Strat five-way pickup selector switch. The whole affair adds up to a pleasant and straightforward Stratocaster experience. On the strap the guitar balances perfectly, as with any good Strat, and few guitars ever manage to feel so right when you’re playing, which most likely explains the fact we’re still so enthusiastic about the design after more than 50 years in the public eye.
Special brew The Texas Special single coils have a slightly hotter output compared to traditional Strat pickups and their popularity is well founded, in our opinion. Texas Specials seem to deliver all of the normal Strat tones but you also get a fraction more of everything: more top end sparkle, a punchy warm low end and enough extra bite in the midrange to push the guitar prominently up in the mix. The bridge pickup retains the
traditional Strat character but the slight midrange hump helps to roll off some of the Strat’s traditional wiry treble – not enough to kill the vibe; it’s still just as sharp and cutting as you like but with a touch more body and ‘oomph’. Clean tones shimmer with a winning jangle, the chiming highs and warm – if not terribly strong – lower mid range covers everything from shimmering, arpeggiated chords through to rapid stabbing double stops and wiry leads. Adding some gain to the mix sees the bridge pickup shake off any pretension of politeness in favour of a snarling dog of a tone; all shiny teeth and sharp edges yet it’s never anything less than organic and musical. You might find this tone a bit too wiry for heavy metal but for rock rhythms and leads it is a delight, a raw Strat character with noticeably improved sustain and punch. We like it a lot! Position 2 on the five-way switch brings the funk in a most satisfying manner, adding just a touch of grit and toughness
to this perennial favourite Strat tone. Before you know it you’re quacking out all manner of choppy rhythms to the point you’re keeping an eye out for Da Mothership! You might be forgiven for expecting position four on the switch to offer a similarly satisfying scooped tone yet we felt that this particular sound was a bit underwhelming. In hindsight it does seem as if the balance of the in-between sound sees the neck pickup predominating a little too much, which takes away some of the hollow ‘quack’ that we normally associate with this sound on the Strat? However, switching to the neck
pickup instantly saw the hairs on the back of our necks stand on end. Imagine your ideal tough Strat neck tone, plus! Rich and organic as sack
of fresh compost (but not nearly as smelly!) the neck pickup has a transparency that lets you practically hear the wood and wire throbbing in the midst of the sound, every clatter of string against fret adding to the percussive elements that are so important to the classic Strat tone. It’s all here, and in spades. Clean, it absolutely oozes character, add some power amp drive and the tone is tough enough to chew on without ever becoming woolly or indistinct, maintaining the unmistakable wiry charm. Dial in a little more gain and Malmsteen’esque tones are there for the taking should you wish to get your neoclassical mojo working! Even with plenty of gain the Texas Special pickups avoid too much in the way of harsh feedback, the only measurable effect of adding more gain is really just the width of your grin widening in conjunction with your gain pot. Certainly 60 cycle mains hum is present at high gain levels but it wouldn’t be entirely incorrect to say the noise issues of single coil pickups are very much a part of the tone and character and making them hum cancelling can all to often result in some of the much loved character being lost. PM
The Road Worn Player Strat has a transparency that lets you practically hear the wood and wire throbbing with every note…
SHOULD I BUY ONE?
The Road Worn Player Strat is an excellent addition to the impressive roster of fine instruments currently emanating from Fender’s Mexican facility. The whole so-called ‘relic’ ethos still stirs up plenty of controversy among those who either ‘get it’ and love it or those that hate it, full stop. In this instance there is no arguing just how good this particular Strat sounds and plays; there really is a genuine sense of this guitar being a much-loved old friend that’s been hammered – and loved – for many years. The price might seem a little steep for a Mexican built guitar but take into account that the actual street price should be more competitive, plus consider that you get a really great Strat for what is still not a stupid amount of money then the price seems to make more sense, just! When all is said and done Fender’s Mexican facility is currently producing some of the legendary brands most exciting and bold guitars, proving that you don’t necessarily have to shell out big bucks to enjoy a decent slice of Fender’s unique prestige.
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