Fender launches Road Worn Series guitars and basses

Ahead of Winter NAMM 2009, Fender has announced its new Road Worn Series. For players who crave that beaten up vintage vibe but can't afford a Custom Shop Time Machine instrument, let alone a genuine vintage piece, it's time to get very excited indeed.

The Road Worn Series consists of a '50s Tele, '50s and '60s Strats and a '50s Precision and '60s Jazz bass. Made in Mexico, the instruments all feature distressed nitrocellulose-finished bodies and necks. Alongside period-correct features, there are also a number of sensible modern upgrades.

All of the guitars feature Tex-Mex pickups and larger 6105 frets, while unlike vintage originals, the Stratocasters come equipped with five-way pickup selector switches.

The main picture (above right) illustrates the '60s Strat in olympic white. Three-colour sunburst is also available. Although there's a two-colour sunburst option, here's the '50s Tele in blonde:

And this is the '50s Strat in two-colour sunburst, with a distinctly Clapton-esque black finish also available:

Here's the incredibly sexy fiesta red '50s Precision with a gold anodised aluminium scratchplate (also available in two-colour sunburst):

Finally here's the '60s Jazz bass in three-colour sunburst, also available in fiesta red:

Suggested UK retail prices start at £859.99 for the guitars and £1049.99 for the basses. We recently got to grips with the '50s Strat in the office and were very impressed indeed.

We'll see more of these extremely tempting instruments in the flesh at Winter NAMM 2009, which begins on 15 January. Also, Guitarist magazine's February issue, on sale 20 January, will feature in depth reviews of all three guitars.