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This is a great telecaster, mine actually doesn't even look worn which is actually really cool to me. It doesn't have the excessive neck wear, it actually has none at all. Really thin coat of nitro, that will look awesome with a couple of years of wear. Very happy with this guitar.

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I bought this Tele a few weeks ago. Before this, I had a Squier Affinity Telecaster for about 12 years and had played it enough to really wear in the neck and fretboard. After trying out a bunch of Teles in a shop. I tried the FSR and the Baja. I liked the Baja's thick neck and pickups but it was covered in what seemed like inch-thick poly and I wanted something that FELT more like what I was used to. The current Road Worn Tele (as opposed to the initial version) fit the bill perfectly. Fender says the neck is coated in "Road Worn Urethane" but it feels like it wasn't coated at all. The neck is solid feeling, not too thick or thin, and smooth from the worn finish. The body is a nitro finish, which was also very attractive next to the Baja, and the finish is very modestly worn. It's a faded butterscotch blonde (so more blonde than butterscotch) with a few chips and dings around the edges of the body and some faux-belt wear on the back. All of that is to say, the newer models look MUCH better than the old ones which were relic'd to death and not very sensibly. So the guitar looks, feels, and plays great. That leaves the pickups... I don't understand why, for a guitar that might as well be a 50s Telecaster, Fender would choose to put the more modern, high output Tex-Mex pickups in it. In an ideal world, they would have used the same pickups as the Baja (the Broadcaster bridge and Twisted Tele in the neck). The sound of the pickups is very good, they just don't fit exactly my personal preference. In terms of mods, I am considering replacing the chrome saddles with brass saddles, adding a real bone nut, and replacing the pickups with either the '51 Nocaster set or the Fender Original Vintage set. I know there are lots of people who think it's crazy to pay $899 for a Mexican Telecaster but these are far and above the best of what's being made in Mexico and hold their own against any American Standard I've played in recent years (with certain features, like the nitro finish, that are only available on much more expensive models). If you want a 50s-style Tele that genuinely feels like it's already broken in, then the Road Worn is an excellent choice and, yes, value. Dealing with zZounds to get it was fantastic, fast and easy as it should be.

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Only had Ole Yeller for a few days now, but loving it so far. Was wanting a Tele like they played in the 50's, and I feel that's what I have. It sounds Great to my ears. I didn't get it for the road worn feature, but for the 50's style parts, radius, and sound. I do like the road worn job they've done to the guitar. Looks like it's about 20-30 years old, and has seen some dives, lol. Might get brass saddles, and drop the action a bit. Great job Fender, and zZounds comes through again for me.

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First of all, let's get something straight. I don't like "relic" guitars. But after doing a lot of searching, this one was the only one that incorporated all of the features I wanted in a new Telecaster, so I bit the bullet and bought it anyway. I'm glad I did. The playability is terrific, the sound is great, and it is a premium Telecaster regardless of having been made in Mexico and regardless of being a "relic". I took half a star off under quality because the pickguard could have been fitted better and if you tilt your head and look down, the bridge route shows just a bit from under the edge of the bridge, but both of those items are small to the point of insignificance. I had planned to gut it and rewire it with some Fralins, but after receiving the guitar and playing it, I don't feel that is needed. The stock pickups are amongst the best I've heard. Tone and volume controls are both responsive, and all the change is not piled at one end as I've found on many stock guitars. Overall, this is certainly one of the "most bang for your buck" candidates from the Fender Telecaster line-up. It conjures the old pre-CBS Telecaster I played in the late 1960s very, very well. If you're looking for a traditional Telecaster, this one is highly recommended. The Wow Factor? Playability! This thing feels like an old friend right out of the box. Get one.

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Just bought one of these and really love the feel of the neck, like silk in the hands, the fretboard wear is very slight, no dark ovals that look contrived. I had to do a fret polish before setting up as they were covered in lacquer I believe. Upon removing the micropore tape a small patch of lacquer came off by the first fret on the bass side. Only plugged it in through headphones but the pickups sound really good, twangy, snarly, and the neck sounded really jazzy with the tone rolled off, the pots are smooth and the switch has a good clunk. The relicing work on the body is slight and understated, just enough to give it the used but not too abused look. The only bugbear I have is the colour, it's more orangey than the custardy blonde yellow I was expecting it to be but I guess with time I'll get used to it and it will fade being a nitrocellulose finish. Personally the body could be a bit heavier, it's 5lb 3 oz I believe and maybe a pound or so more would give it a better overall feel but that's just me. Don't hesitate to get one of these, it's a really great quality guitar

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If you're like me and have been wanting a Road Worn Tele but just couldn't get past the ridiculously inauthentic fretboard wear, your wait is over. Apparently in late 2012/early 2013 Fender finally gave up trying to "wear in" the fretboard and started just giving us a normal fretboard, and I can't say THANK YOU enough. This Tele is way more Closet Classic than Road Worn and I couldn't be happier. For me, this is THE quintessential Tele combo; ash body, maple neck with a butterscotch blonde nitro finish and a black guard. The jumbo frets, chunky neck, 7.25 radius and Tex-Mex pickups are welcome bonuses and I wouldn't change a thing. This is literally the Tele I've always wanted, and thanks to Fender for listening to their customers and finally toning down all the silly relicing. This is an amazing blank canvas: leave as is for a classic gently used vibe or start sanding away for your own personalized Road Worn look, the choice is yours and that's the way it should be. Thank you Fender!

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For starters the roadworn part is done just right! Not over done. The blonde color could be a tad more pale but it's ok. I wish they'd done nitro on the neck but it does feel and play great. The Tex-Mex pickups are meh I could take them or leave them. Very tight fit and finish. Very minimal setup work needed. Fender has a hit with this series and the Classic Lacquers. Both are extremely good in the right places. Keep it up!

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I couldn't imagine replacing this axe. Going to fit in nicely with my rig.

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I expect to keep this guitar for a very long time and will not part with it. Like I stated above I have many tele's and this one surpasses the Fender American Standards I have and for which I plan on selling, I don't play them anymore. I would buy this again and in fact plan on buying the tobacco burst/sunburst and a Baja Desert Sand.

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I never played a guitar that felt this good in my hands. I liked the idea or a worn in guitar, but didn't like that they all looked alike. When I finally picked one up to try out, it was all over. It's like your favorite shirt or baseball mitt . The pickups in this guitar sound better than most other teles I have tried. Great guitar and worth the money for me.I've had it for 9 months now, and I am thinking of another one for a backup.

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My Tele arrived today. The neck and finish were a bit sticky on arrival, but some steel wool took care of that. I even added more relicing. I also added brass saddles, restrung the Tele and adjusted sting height and intonation. I played it through a Fender Deluxe Reverb, and OMG--this thing sounds AWESOME. I love the neck. This one is a keeper.

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zZounds is great, and I love the neck in this guitar, my favorite so far, and I’ve got guitars I’ve had since the late 70’s. Excellent tone, great resonance, did I mention the neck is awesome? However, the setup was just terrible. Had to redo the entire thing to get it playable. String heights were way off, intonation wasn’t even close, etc etc, very disappointing. Wish zZounds had their prices and selection, but did an actual inspection, and at least offered setup at an extra fee.

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I think this i s possibly the the best playing fender i've played. love it!!

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Disappointing parts:I am extremely disappointed with this guitar. After reading a couple reviews, and seeing them in local stores, I decided to pull the trigger on it. The few I’ve seen in the wild looked nothing like this one. First off, the fretboard is sanded and has light scalloping on some frets. To the point it put a eliptical radius on some frets. Completely unrealistic, the strings would never reach that part of the wood. They would hit the fret first. It not only looks like a 2 year old sanded the frets, they feel weird when playing on them. I seem to get sharp notes on those frets. Continuing on the the subject of the neck; some frets are higher then others. For example if I lower the string height, they buzz. Even a quarter turn on the action. This especially happens on the G string. The G string almost raised all the way to the top to prevent the buzz from the 13th fret. I must say, fret 13 is the “Everest” of my fretboard. Also Don’t try to bend any of the high three strings between 6-8 as there are machine “chatter” marks on the frets. Nothing like a nice grinding feel on a mid range production guitar.... not. No the frets aren’t polished. Not the worst thing. But the chatter is not acceptable for a guitar just shy of $1000. The finish on the body, why so many chips? Really? It looks like someone just took a hammer to where the binding would be on several places.... give me some, not 60+ chips in unrealistic places. Come on, do some research. No way it could have all these chips like this without breaking/cracking the neck several times. A chip under the neck? Really? How does that happen? Yes it has rusty hardware, that is loose, pickguard that is sharp on the edges. My 11 year old ended up cutting herself on it jamming out... these last few are all easy fixes, I’m not too worried about these in this paragraph. The good;Besides it playing worse then my daughters squire telecaster bullet, I find the pickups sound great. The cracks from the guitar heating and cooling looks pretty stellar. Some of the chips, like the belt mark and a few others, look good. They look like the guitar has slid off the amp a few times and still live to tell. My ratings are as so: Overall: I would not recommend. If you receive my friends road worn tele, it’s a nice tele. If you receive mine, return it. (As I am)Features: 3.5 due to nitro coating and ash body. Pickups sound great. Twangy but still some bite. Quality: the “scalloped frets (frets 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14) Unlevel frets (13th one is the worst) chattering on frets, and all the damn chips. Sound: can’t complain.Value: 0.5 stars I can’t believe this guitar got through the qc. Tuners are cheap as can be, frets unlevel, over sanded “patina” on fretboard, chatter on frets, cheap/sharp pickguard. I mean really, run some sandpaper on the corner to just take the edge off. Wow factor: completely shocked they sold this to me. I hear people complain about Gibson’s all the time. Not once have I recieved a Gibson that had to be set all the way up on any string just to prevent buzz. Also the “patina” work on the fretboard literally ruins the play. The string will never touch where you sanded off a half a mil. It looks terrible, completely fake, and plays like crap. I really hope there aren’t others out there like this one. The debate:I am wondering, do I return this guy for a more expensive fender tele 50’s original? Or go with a high end squire? I’ve always had Gibson’s, and I feel I might just end up going that route again. Because obviously the Mexican roadworn is not worth it. It literally looks like a boy scout project. Highly disappointed.

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First of all, I am very happy with my purchase. It sounds like a Tele and I love the finish on the neck.I made some modifications, such as replacing the saddles with compensated brass saddles and replaced the neck pickup with a Seymour Duncan Seth Lover PAF. That aside, it sounds great right out of the box. The only thing I found a bit off is the “worn” finish. To me, “worn” means the finish has rubbed off in certain place due to years of your arm or pick rubbing against an area.There is only one spot on the body like that and it is on the back about the size of a dime. The rest of Fender’s “worn” finish is actually abuse. It looks like someone took a big, metal file and banged it randomly over the edges of the body and headstock.Fortunately, I didn’t buy this guitar for its looks. As far as the 1 star for Manufacturer Support, I haven’t had to deal with Fender yet.

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what a dissapointment.nothing like the pidture at all.this guitar was nothing but a standard mim tele with a little bit of rust on the bridge.i never even plugged it in,it went right back in the box.$799.00?dream on fender.

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There are way too many excellent Teles in the world to deliberately purchase one this ugly. And having looked at the pictures offered, I realized that they are all pretty much identical. All of the scratches and "scars" are in the same place, regardless of color or finish. Obviously, this has nothing, at all, to do with zZounds. Y'all simply sell what is produced - I guess I just don't get it. I have some vintage underwear, with a hole scratched in exactly the same spot. I wonder what they'll bring on e-bay? Leo strived to make a great guitar - I just don't feel that this one honors his intent.

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I just got this GTR. The stock picture on the site is wrong. The picture is from the Fender model year code MZ 2000 - 2010. The GTR I got is from the Fender model code MX 2010 and on. This GTR does not have the worn in look on the body at all. The neck is worn in but the body is Tan and does not have road worn on it all. If you want the real worn in look on these GTR you have to look on the Fender yellow sticker on the box for MZ code. This info came from Fender, I called them to get this figured out and they gave me the year codes.

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First you have to have the right picture on the site so you can send me the right GTR. You are showing an old picture of a Tele 50 worn MZ years. Fender is not making this GTR they way it is in the wrong picture on the web site. Fender is making the model year MX which the neck is a bit worn in and the body has NO worn spot at all. The body is also a Butter Stoch Tan not a blonde. Wrong GTR, played great but not the GTR I wanted, Set it back. Please fix the picture on the site to the right GTR you are selling.