We’ve already done a Fender Road Worn review and there’s been a lot of talk about how they compare with other relic jobs. Well, we’re lucky enough to have not only the Road Worn, but a real 1958 Fender Telecaster and the new Seuf OF-20 in the store at the moment and we couldn’t help but throw them all in the ring together for a battle royale and see how they compared. We’re a Nash dealer too, but we haven’t got any in stock today. We played each of the guitars through a Dr. Z Carmen Ghia and Eric, John, Jason and shop manager Mike went a round with each guitar. The winner? Well, depends on who you ask.

L to R: Fender Road Worn 50s Tele, '58 Fender Tele, Seuf OF-20

1958 Fender Telecaster $20, 499.

The vintage 1958 Tele

Note – this tele’s bridge pickup was rewound at some point by Charlie Davis one of ‘the’ Fender guys who probably wound it when it was made in the ’50s.

Jason: The sound on this is the best of all three – the bridge pickup…it has the most body, most bite. The neck pickup is Continue reading

It took us a while to choose our picks for January – we were, uh, taking down holiday decorations….

Eric Mardis – Eastman AC320

Eastman AC320!

Anyone who hasn’t picked up on the value of Eastman guitars needs to pull their head out of the sand. Â This is a handmade all solid wood dreadnaught, with full gloss (lacquer) and Continue reading

Fender Road Worn 50s Tele in Two-Tone Sunburst

After a few years of others “cashing in” on the popularity of Fender designs being “relic’d” and offered at a much cheaper price than the Fender Custom Shop equivalents, Fender is now offering the Road Worn Series, a new 2009 series of relic’d guitars and basses made in Mexico that sell for $949 (basses start at $1200). Christened the “Road Worn” series, they sport a distressed look, Tex-Mex pickups, and a thin Nitrocellulose Lacquer finish, and they give the more expensive (by at least $500) Nash guitars a serious run for their money in terms of quality, playability, sound, and vibe.

However, as the saying goes, There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. The only drawback to this slashing of price, is the slashing of options. Where for around $1500 one can purchase a number of Nash models with a plethora of available customizable options and aging levels, the Fender Road Worn series offers a straight up 50s Strat in two colors (Black and 2 Color Sunburst), a 60s Strat in two colors (3 Color Sunburst and Olympic White), and a 50s Tele in two colors (2 Color Sunburst and Blonde) with a relatively congruent ageing pattern throughout the different models.

In short, there is a warranted price disparity in regards to options and the Fender Road Worn series provides a relatively affordable, full sounding, nicely relic’d instrument for the guitar player with an eye on the past.

I would buy THIS…

As most of you should know, the 40th anniversary of the release of the Beatles landmark album “The Beatles” (universally known as “The White Album”) is tomorrow (Nov. 22nd). The album proved to be a stark contrast aesthetically to the psychedelic look of its predecessor “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, and featured a plain white cover embossed with only two words, The Beatles. The first pressings of the album featured Continue reading

Coming soon to Mass Street Music,

The new Line 6 LD15 bass practice amp is an affordable, yet tonally powerful practice amp for bass players who want professional tone…even during practice. It includes three effects (Filter, Octave, Chorus) that you can utilize one at a time, and a myriad of compatible ins and outs which allow for not only headphone usage, but an auxiliary 1/8″ line in for simultaneous CD or mp3 player usage. A must have for beginners, I believe the LD15 is going to take the entry-level bass amp world by storm, just as it’s guitar predecessor has in recent years. We have half a dozen due to arrive any day, and I’m excited! WEHOO!