Fender’s Road Worn guitars are becoming a rarity – but now you can make your own, with new vintage-inspired relic’d Stratocaster and Telecaster bodies

Fender has continued the legacy of its popular Road Worn collection of electric guitars by releasing a handful of relic’d Stratocaster and Telecaster bodies.

Few guitars are cooler than a battered Fender, and that’s why the firm’s now-discontinued and increasingly rare Road Worn guitars proved to be such a hit.

Originally available in ‘50s and ‘60s iterations, the guitars were an early example of factory relic’d instruments that could be purchased by players who either didn’t want to fork out for a genuine vintage instrument, or wait until their brand new example picked up some natural wear and tear.

First launched pre-2010, the finish treatment was then revived for a stretch of ‘70s Vintera models around 2020.

Such guitars are becoming an increasing rarity these days, and the Road Worn name is currently only continued by a few scant limited-edition FSR releases and a stock of Road Worn accessories – from necks to nuts and bolts.

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As such, buying new Road Worn Strats and Teles is now nigh-on impossible, so Fender has given guitarists arguably the next best thing: the ability to build your own.

There’s flexibility here, too. Sure, it will require some extra elbow grease to put your Partscaster together, but at least this way you don’t have to finance a whole new guitar, and if you’ve got an existing pickup/hardware combination you’re particularly fond off, a Road Worn body could be the best way to maintain that.

Like the guitars that came before them, these Road Worn bodies are made from alder, and sport hand-distressed nitro finishes that “faithfully recreate the look and feel of a well-loved vintage instrument”.

The Telecaster version will be available in Black and White, while the Stratocaster will arrive in Black and Two-Tone Sunburst. Both Mexican-made examples will have a ‘50s style, and will drop later this summer.

Visit Fender to find out more in the meantime.

It's the latest launch from Fender, following the arrival of some Antigua acoustics, a handful of experimental American Performer Timber models, the first-ever tweed Tone Master amp and the Telepath wireless system.