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I’ve an early 60’s strat from the first year which is my favourite strat I’ve owned (had about half a dozen USA standards that have come and gone).
Recently picked up one of the Andertons special run Mischief Maker strats with a tele neck and ‘59 pickups. The neck on this is very close to the BP.
I agree with the general consensus that the roadworn range is right at the sweet spot for quality/value, especially as mine were all picked up used.
The vintage radius and larger frets work well. The hardware is fine and the pickups work well.
As with all guitars, find a good one and enjoy it.
https://www.projectmusic.net/fender-vintera-road-worn-60s-stratocaster-lake-placid-blue-31673-p.asp
Fit, feel & finish:
- Let's be really clear here: this is a seriously good feeling and playing instrument.
- The setup on collection is flawless, personal preferences on string guage and action aside. The frets are very highly polished, no sharp ends or flat-spots, and no issues with the nut-work either. Some of the filing and shaping on the nut could be a little cleaner but that's nothing that affects the playability or setup at all. If I'm perfectly honest, I'm wondering if Project Music have already had a crack at refining the setup as it has no right to be this good out of the box.
- The neck is a medium C profile, with a hint more shoulder than a typical Standard Stratocaster would have. It's a very familiar shape, and won't offend anyone. The taper is smooth, and the transitions have been blended to a decent level as well, though still sharp enough to keep their definition in the 'right' places. The fingerboard edges on mine feel fairly well rolled already too which is a nice surprise, as I'd expected to take the factory finish further myself. I've played it for a couple of hours this evening and haven't had any (realistic) issues with fret-choking either, except when taking the piss to see when it would set in.
- Yes, the relic treatment could be better, but the lacquer itself is nicely applied and very thin - I have no doubt that it's going to age on it's own without much trouble, in a good way. Some/most of the dings and wear is far too uniform (e.g. around the jackplate), but that's easily remedied with a bit of care and BDSM play.
- The finish on the back of the neck is decent, but as others have said already, it wouldn't hurt from a (very) light go with some 0000 wire wool which I'll do this weekend.
- This one weighs in at a very comfortable Goldilocks-level 7lbs 8oz. I don't know how much of that is down to good timber selection, or from the thinner finish, but whatever reason it is I'm very grateful for it.
Tones:- It's a strat.
- There is absolutely no mistaking what guitar this is when it's plugged in. It nails those classic tones full of jangle chime and quack.
- While my initial thoughts were that the bridge pickup might be the weak link, I simply raised the height a smidge and, boom, there's the power and bass that was lacking. At this rate I don't think I'm going to bother changing any of them at all.
- I tend to dial my strats in using the middle pickup wide-open and set the amp's EQ from there, allowing me to go darker or brighter with the neck and bridge pickups respectively. This middle pickup is bloody marvellous, and I'm going to be using it quite a bit.
- The neck pickup has that utterly superb woody and throaty tone that I love in spades.
- The in-between settings sound as they should - though the neck/middle combo might be a smidge woolly for my tastes - I'll play around with the pickup heights some more and see if that's a factor.
Initial verdict: 4.5/5P.s. @dindude - yep, you should have ordered this one! #SorryNotSorry
P.s. any news @dindude ?
I agree re the relicing - the cluster of dings around the jack socket on these models is particularly silly. Fortunately I have actually managed to put my own unique genuine accidental dings on there already!
First impressions and your comments are pretty spot on. I’d add:
I like the fact the hardware isn’t rusty, just slightly dulled, always hated knackered metal on relics.
Plastics are excellent, just the right tonal colours.
Pau Ferro better than expected (darker than my Mex player mustang bass) and fingerboard edges lightly rolled.
Vintage radius and smaller frets feel great, was a little worried here but feels good to be outside comfort zone.
Haven’t had to tune it yet after several hours of playing, a good sign.
Neck pocket fit is perfect.
Pickups are very decent, quite hot with a potent midrange.
Mine is 7lb 10oz so a decent Strat type weight, lighter than my Custom Shop Strat…..
Oh yes, I have a 60-ish NOS CS Strat here as a comparison. Reason for buying this is that since I picked up an American Pro II Pine Tele in January, my Strat has fallen from first position, can’t justify having it around, so likely going to sell, but do want a decent Strat still.
Compared to the CS, being NOS and CS it feels more refined than the RW, and it sounds a bit cleaner. But the RW has a great vibe, great neck shape, better weight, and sounds very good.