I was excited when Fender announced the release of Roadworn versions of their great Vintera series.I was really drawn to the Lake placid blue 60s Strat...that would be my target model to get but I have not come across one yet in person.But I did come across this Firemist gold one and initially I said to myself that I would never buy it...not my color.I did play it and was impressed with it however...nice 60s type neck that fattens up higher up the neck.The body carve on this one is perfect...really rounded on the edges the way a pre-CBS Strat be...very sleek.The overwound pickups sound great...very hot sound...very Stratty but very muscular and bold.The bridge pickup really Rocks with a slightly P90 type bark...no wimpiness there and the neck pickup is really full and sustains nicely...great for SRV and Hendrix type sustained bending.The other 3 pickup positions sound great too when needed.Some Strats have that nice bright twang and jangly sound...not this one.This one with these pickups is very beefy and made to be played with ballsiness...very throaty.The build quality is excellent...a testament to the great workmanship coming out of Fender Mexico these days that holds up to USA Fenders really well.What I have always loved about the Roadworns is that paper thin nitro lacquer finish on the bodies that really gives the acoustic tone a lovely woody and organic resonance.Anyways I did go back to the store and play it a few more times and every time that color started to grow on me.I already have a Lake placid blue classic series 60s Strat anyways so why not change it up?I'm not usually drawn to gold for a Fender guitar but this color is more like a metallic brown really which has a nice funky charm to it and is really different from my other Fenders.The salesguy gave me a ridiculously good discount so I decided to bring her home...I'm happy I did...she is one tough sounding Strat.The playability is great...the strings tension is really slinky where a set of 11s feels like 10s.The Pau Ferro fretboard feels great and from afar could pass for Rosewood and it's color suits the body color nicely.This is such a nice model maybe I would be crazy enough to get the Lake Placid blue one too...never say never!!For someone desiring a vintage feeling nitro finished Strat to be played and gigged regularly this is a god-send in this price range...worth every penny.
Yes...it is raw unfinished wood.After a few months of gigging and heavy sweating it will really be smooth like my other Roadworns have become.
That’s awesome! I love my vintera 60s strat, like really love it! I picked one with a nice dark fretboard as well that could pass for rosewood. I really like the feel of the pao ferro. Congrats!
Congrats! Great looking Strat. It will age well. I've always liked gold as a color. The tint and appointments are spot on.
Pretty good on this one.If I were super picky they could be slightly flatter on the edges but nothing really noticeable once you are playing...no issue for me.The fretwork on the fretboard where the strings play is great.
Great looking guitar Sonny, and agreed on the color. Grows on you and is a great match with the fretboard. Interesting that there isn't a skunk stripe on the back? I'm keen to play one as I'm a big fan of Road Worn series, but as you said, they're hard to find. Congrats!
Traditionally there are no skunk stripes on necks capped with a fretboard, only one-piece maple necks.
The 1960s era Fenders didn't have a skunk stripe...they installed the truss rod from the top before putting on the Rosewood fretboard.Then when they introduced maple necks again in the later 1960s they used the same process with a maple caps as the fretboard with no skunk stripe.Then around 1971(I think) they reintroduced one piece maple necks and brought back the skunk stripe for those.
I've just started a thread asking that very question ... when did the skunk return? So far it looks likely it was sometime 1970 but Fender currently produce a CS '69 with one piece neck.. albeit with a 9.5 radius.
When the 3 bolt neck construction arrived mid '71 everything whether maple or rosewood board got a skunk but it first returned after '59 on one piece necks and these were 4 bolt so certainly they were about by early '71 ... as far as we know the earliest appeared in either '70 or maybe '69 even. PS. To the OP ... beautiful strat sir. HNGD.
