Fender has brought back the Vintera Road Worn® series, focusing on recreating the vintage sound and style of the ’50s at a price point that’s sure to please those of us who don’t want the price tag of a custom shop or an American series. In this guitar gear review, let’s take a look at the Telecaster model in Vintage Blonde.
With its smooth and inviting playability, and a classic look and feel, we found it to be an unusually impressive Mexico-made Fender. The Road Worn relic treatment is realistically distressed, not overdone, and with the nitro finish, it won’t be long until yours gets its own characteristics and battle scars with color-aging along the way.
The recreated pair of ’50s single-coil Tele pickups are true to the originals except that they have more output, which is exciting because it really pushes the rock tones, but still has that articulate Tele twang. There’s no problem getting a wide variety of warm tones here. It doesn’t have the modern harshness that some reissues have. The tuning stability is also impressive: after bending, plucking, and rocking out on this guitar, we barely had to touch a tuner.
The U-shaped neck is very comfortable with its 7.25 radius. Even though Fender claims it’s “thick,” it isn’t cumbersome. For those who are put off by vintage baseball bat necks, we’d say this is a happy medium between those and the Thinline style.
If you’re looking for playability and versatility at a reasonable price point, we suggest trying out the Fender Vintera Road Worn Tele. It’s well-built, sounds incredible, can tackle a wide variety of music, and it looks cool and stylish. We think it’s a quality guitar made for a wide range of players at any level of musicianship.
For more information and full specifications, visit fender.com. Priced at $1,099.99.