Thank you for being straightforward, as always. I was looking for a Tele recently and had to get this one, because, to me, it was the best in the shop, didn't care for vintage original or being the most modern one this and that but i knew what I wanted and this was just it. Different strokes for different folks. Cheers!
I bought the 1952 Fender American Vintage Reissue new in 2001 and its still the best tele I have ever owned. This new line of vintage ll fender models are special. 😁👏👍
Haven't watched one of yours for a while, but you're reviewing a guitar that probably is aimed right at me... and I always like your style... and it came up in a search.... 30 minutes later.... Man, EXCELLENT review. Many thanks.
Thanks Henning. I understand laughing at the vintage spec, especially the truss rod, but I think people forget, Fender HAS to have this line with vintage spec since it is their brand and the legends who used them. You may not care about what makes vintage spec or sound, but that ironically is all this line is about from a review stance. As for serious musicians vs collectors, if you are saying only real musicians buy guitars with the latest features, that is obviously wrong, but I think you were just having some fun anyway. Also, Fender cut lots of staff because they are big, but some guitar builders cut their entire staff, but that may have just been 3 people and not 300. No one really knows how many workers come and go with Asian builders or how they are treated. I think what matters most about a music company is what they do for their people, and environment, and how they support future musicians. But that is next to impossible to find out these days sadly. Regardless, the big brands are fun to criticize, but without them, the little guys wouldn't have a chance ironically, because big brands create demand with their marketing spends that little shops can differentiate from and capitalize on. Matt Scott did a great review of these and hit them on their failure to really capture the vintage spec.
Whilst it’s nice that Fender are making guitars to OG specs, the reality is that it’s all bullshit and that is a highly valuable point repeated throughout the review, because it is true. Shredding was invented on these old Fenders and the legendary players who bent strings out of all existence used these OG radius Fenders. At the same time, OG specs come with OG problems, these old Teles don’t intonate correctly, it’s not a ‘sound’, it’s just out of tune and modern guitars are just as good for classic sounds as vintage guitars are good for the styles of playing they created. It’s all about the player, that’s the be and end all. Just the fad is all original right now. At least one influencer is being honest it’s all nonsense.
I enjoy and appreciate your review style very much and that tele is awesome and not built in China means a great deal for me just saying keep up the great work I enjoy it
Hey EytschPi42 - I'm a big fan of yours I respect your knowledge and your skills and have spent many hours listening to you and appreciating what you do. But please, please stop 'hating' on us guitar nerds. I like things as close to the old stuff as I can possibly get as they emulate the equipment used on a very large percentage of the music I grew up with and love so much - I want to play and sound like those guys. I want the gear that worked for them and allowed their genius to shine and brought their awesomeness to the world. However I will never be able to afford real vintage gear so have to content myself with whatever, Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Marshall, et al have to offer that will take me close. Pleas don't dis me for that. Respect to you, J.
@@EytschPi42 It didn’t sound like a bit of fun, you were getting pretty irate at certain points there. I’m not going to lie, this review has really rubbed me up the wrong way. It’s clear you’re (for some bizarre reason) opposed to the very concept of a reissue guitar, and you think that every guitar should be cutting-edge with modern features. But here’s the thing - most of us aren’t professional musicians, we’re hobbyists - a lot of us WANT to emulate either a certain musical vibe, or a certain era, or specific musical heroes. Some of us WANT vintage specs - I personally cannot stand modern medium-jumbo frets and super-flat fretboards - I WANT skinny vintage frets and rounded fretboards. I LIKE the vintage aesthetic over the newer stuff. I hate the harsh, high-output, modern voiced pickups - I WANT the vintage spec ones. I WANT a guitar that’s like the ones that mesmerised me as a kid and got me into playing in the first place. Suggesting (like you did in the video) that that somehow makes me “less” of a player, that I’m more concerned with gear than music, and that I should “get lessons”, is an utterly ridiculous thing to say (almost as stupid as saying that anyone who wants a reissue should spend 50k on a mint original). If you’re fundamentally opposed to the concept of this guitar (not just “don’t get it”, but literally “opposed”), then I cannot understand why you even made this review. The first half of the video is just insulting anyone who like vintage spec guitars, which is just bizarre, because look at Fender’s catalogue - all the way from Squire to the Custom Shop - most of their stuff is either vintage spec or heavily nods to it. That’s by customer demand, not some weird spite on Fender’s part.
I picked up the Am Vintage II ‘61 Strat in Olympic White and love playing it!!! It looks so cool as well!!!! (Yes, I do play with my eyes! LOL!) You are right about the case. If I ever take it anywhere, I’ll use my modern fender case I got with another guitar.
The weird thing that I’ve noticed when I spend much more time on my vintage spec guitars and I have one real 1964 Fender Mustang, then modern spec guitars suddenly feel more awkward and more difficult to play for me. I know that sounds funny. But I guess it’s a bit like when you play bass guitar a lot a regular guitar feels alien. And the same is true for me the other way around, if I play modern spec guitars more for a period then the vintage spec ones feels funny to play. But I do like thicker necks now that I’m a bit older because very thin necks tend hurt my wrist over time but these old thicker necks feel more comfortable (for me) to play for longer periods. But I guess this stuff is very individual. But I love both modern and vintage spec guitars. Just depends on the phase I’m going through and what music I’m listening to and what sounds I like. These old teles sound so incredible for jazzy stuff for example, and those tone knob and volume swells on vintage spec teles just sound so nice to me. But I also really love my modern player plus tele because it’s very easy to play and easier to learn on sometimes. It’s cool to live in both worlds. Awesome video as always and such beautiful playing man and I dig the honesty! 🙏✌️
Just got one of the American Original 50's Tele and wow, haven't put it down in 2 weeks yet. My prefrence on the AO over the American Vintage II is that it has 9.5 Radius, that in my humble opinion helps on the setup that when bending it doesn't choke out. Plus since it's flatter is easier to "shred" lol. But besides that this one looks better with the tinted neck for sure. On both would put bigger frets though, lol, but what a great instrument. And the these are just Rock machines on the bridge, but also the neck you can play jazz and blues perfectly. I was mostly LP guy, but the tele is grabbing me more and more for a guitar that can make it and sounds fantastic in all positions. En LP the cleans can be nice and on strat it can rock, but on LP if I want clean I change guitars to single coils, and on a strat if I want to rock I change guitar as well. On a Tele, don't feel necessary at all. I play all styles I like in this guitar. Great review and I'm sure it's a fantastic tele just like the AO.
@Chile South Guitars I bought an AO earlier in the year & with the release of the Vintage II ‘51 Tele I was comparing the specs & wondering if I bought the right guitar. Your comments confirm it for me.
I thin they should have kept the American original like going 9.5 makes a huge difference I love 7.25 on my AV2 61 but I’ll still always love a flatter radius Sometimes You just wanna bend without fretting out.
@@Nightshade1881 Both are fine, but I myself is a deal breaker if it frets out, so thats why prefer to go 9.5 cos is safer and still is round enough. 7.25 can play fine, but need to try it first myself.
Consistently some of the best audio quality on RU-vid period. Even with good headphones a lot of stuff sounds very flat. Here you can hear the tubey, kinda 3D airy-ness of the pickups even with earbuds.
15:00 thanks for this info. I was eyeing this guitar, but the truss rod access is a turn off if we have to loosen the neck bolts just to adjust it. Danke 🍻
The '52 RI 7.25" radius neck is my all time favorite neck that Fender offered, and I wish they offered it again, though I get why some people don't like it (it can fret out and be difficult to bend notes).
Would not normally comment, a lurker, not a commenter, but the review rocks. Please criticize if appropriate, But I take from this that if you you need the 'Fender' tag, this rocks and rolls with this, and there is no big deal with that, but for the same tone and playability, many euro bespoke company's can match spec and quality....ain't gonna comment, but i guess you all know who I mean,, but if a want the Fender tag and what that means, Christ I wish I had the cash, rock with it!!!
Like my BSB ash American Pro I Its under 7 1/2 lbs, it’s extremely resonant unplugged, truss rod adj at the headstock, 9.5 radius, swapped the tuners for vintage & added a Bakelite pickguard. The vintage is nice but these new ones are heavy and the truss rod adj is a giant PIA.
When you say smaller case and thinner what do you mean by that? Is it smaller and thinner than older G&G cases that came with AV and AVRI series?Or do you mean smaller and thinner than modern cases? Being a reissue, case must be as authentic as original cases were back in '50s and '60s or '70s. There are cases that come with Custom Shop that are a bit different inside. Also if you check the cushioning on the top cover of the case it presses the guitar so, when the case is closed, there is no much of the movement of the guitar inside. I've never had any issues with any of my guitars with these cases, both AVRI and AV(which are the same)
😂I had a buyer for my Rock n Roll Relics Tele once who spent over one hour testing it and praising how good the guitar feels and sounds . But still ended up not buying because the screws on the pickguard didn’t look authentic
Despite the niggles that Tele sounds great ! It is not an absolute but from owning many Telecasters I found the weighty ones sounded better plugged in than the light weight ones.
I actually prefer heavier guitars. I know that makes me a heretic these days, but they just sound more focussed, and display the tonal qualities of their pickups better than their lighter iterations. There's a reason the old LP Customs were (even) heavier than the Standards.
I “just” bought one and haven’t yet weighed it, but mine rings out and sustains forever unplugged. Gorgeous wood grain, perfect finish and it sounds absolutely beautiful plugged in. Like a fine vintage Tele but maybe even more detailed.
This is basically the same recipe as the 1952 Fender American Vintage Reissue. It has to be your thing. I disliked the sticky thick gloss layer on the neck and fretboard, and bends required quite some effort. Not really easy to play. A CS 52 with a oiled neck played and sounded better, even though the neck was quite a bat. But I did not have the dough for it unfortunately. In the end I took a American Series tele home and upgraded it with Suhr T pickups. Sounded more 60's than 50's, but a vibrant tele with a good tone. And 22 frets which I prefer over 21 fret strats and tele's.
Interesting that your's comes with a G&G case as other videos that I've seen ship the guitars with a generic case that apparently looks and feels identical, but it has no G&G tag on the inside.
Was it the U neck shape or 7.25” radius that you struggled with? Was the neck uncomfortable? I believe the nut width is slightly narrower than than the Tele Pro 2?
Great review! Talking about business ethics. We can talk about many more companies and brands such as Behringer, Thomann etc. We can talk about that a guitar for 100 euros can't be fair produced, but I know what you mean. I own a Maybach T54 Butterscotch that comes very close to this one. And I fully agree, that having no direct access to the truss rod is a pain in the butt. Speedy recovery Henning!
I agree. This is much more of a cork sniffer’s collector guitar than a player’s guitar. I’m not a fan of giant baseball bat thick necks that hinder fretting while playing or the horrible truss rod setup and unsafe case design. Tele’s in general are great but for that kind of money, I’d rather buy a much more playable American 🇺🇸 Professional series Telecaster better suited for a player instead of a collector.
I just bought one at my local Guitar Center and it’s magnificent. Wasn’t planning on buying another guitar but when I played it, it had more natural resonance and sustain than any solid body guitar I’ve ever played. Build quality is custom shop level and the wood grain on the body and neck is gorgeous. The pickups are very touch-sensitive, sweet and twangy, best Tele pickups I’ve ever heard. I don’t particularly care about vintage specs and I’m burnt out on “butterscotch blonde” but this one is the perfect player.I know all instruments can vary from one example to another; maybe I just got a great example. I couldn’t walk away.
Henning, Yours is my favorite channel for guitar and gear reviews. So I'm not saying anything to criticize you or what you do. Certainly, every guitar-oriented RU-vid channel will be getting these Fenders for review. I'm thankful that you did also, so we can get an untarnished review. This move by Fender is very puzzling. Yet again, they'll make the same old stuff that's been made forever and without any of the improvements in guitar making that we've seen in the past 70 years. Got yer sticky baseball bat neck here! Got yer three-piece bridge with crummy intonation here! Got yer guitar-killing vintagey case here! There is however one non-vintage improvement they were not willing to give up: the selector switch middle position. I know you don't go for this nerdy stuff, but the originals in the 50's had three choices: bridge only, neck only and neck only with tone-killing filter. Also, I see the Strats in this series have 5-way selector switches. The originals had three-way selectors which folks jimmied up to get the two pickup combinations. Anyway, I don't have the slightest interest in this series, and it's a mystery to me why it was brought out. Another question: why lay off 300 American workers then introduce a group of American-made guitars? Bizarre. But thanks so much for telling it straight.
I have a 10 year old Classic Vibe Tele that also sounds great but is heavy at 8.7lbs, about a pound heavier than what I hear the Vintage II '51 weighs.
I have had just about one of every series of tele Fender has made.. Classic Vibes, mexis, Am Pros blah blah.. Nothing ever sounds as good as the old style blackguard teles.. Nothing.. They're the best.
I have lots of Tele bridges so I did a steel vs brass on my Baja, which bridge is basically the same as here. There's a noticable difference, but one isn't a second rate version of the other. Both sound good. Steel is brighter, janglier, brass sweeter w maybe more mids emphasis. It sustains a little more, but not by an attention grabbing amount. You can buy saddles of every kind that fit any bridge . The big barrels , brass or steel do have better sustain in general.
New old stock…. New new stock. So will auto makers start going retro too? I do miss steaming around the country side on wooden wheels striking fear in flocks as I putter past at a blazing 8KPH!! Steam it’s the future of transport. 💨>🐎
Well that's an honest and to be honest one of the best I ordered one and it came in and I just couldn't pull the so-called trigger to purchase it without going online and listening to a lot of interviews I have a 52 vintage series American Vintage so nice guitar does everything I wanted to so I'm not going to purchase this other one at a little over $2,200
Sorta out of context question here, what scale do you use to weigh your guitars ? I dont seem to have any luck with the digital ones you can buy everywhere, since they only register body fat. The ones that are completely analog are hard to find and rarely seem to work precise enough, ie they lose their zero point after a while. Im honestly considering to get a suitcase scale with a hook, hence the most complicated way to do it - am I stupid ?
Didn't actual '51 Teles have the ashtray on them? I thought that was an original feature that got ditched later. Or is it in the case for you to put on or not?
I’m not looking for “Vintage.” It just happens to be where fat U necks and lower output pickups reside. Fender in general has had such annoyingly slim necks, it’s about time they offer across the board in non-custom shop
It is possible to be into both aspects of guitars. Just another close minded man in a marble sherbert swirl hoodie. The longer I watch the more I see he is really missing the point of this.
@@kmatax9237 Sweetwater thinks so. That is weird. The Tele and Strats are the same price. The Blonde Strat is the same price as the '51 , and the '63 Tele is the same as the base Strat. So maybe it was like that first run too and the Strat I got was a premium model. EDIT Basically you're paying for the Blonde finish .
You sound like you’re a decent man wanting to be in a hole. You know, as well as I people want to buy this guitar for the exact specs of that era. your rant about the screw holes shows me that fender should not have paid you to critique this guitar. That is a significant spec and you didn’t even bring up the type of screws that are used very well and I have to leave it on a positive note.
Well, if it wasn't for guitar nerds and their obsession with the number of "fuckin screws" in a pickguard, Fender wouldn't even bother to produce the American Vintage line, at least in its current form. Maybe if the guitars from the 50s/60s weren't tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, working musicians would be able to enjoy them without having to take out a 2nd mortgage or inherent them from family or friends.
It's not just you. Can't understand either factory relics or pre-ripped jeans. Well, the word "fake" comes to mind, but do the people that buy these things actually care if others know they're not genuine? I have no idea.
The difference in sound between Tele and Strat is.. in the saddles... Henning, I have a lot of respect for you, but you just lost me with that wine taster sentence.
but that truly is the biggest difference between the two. The point where the string actually touches the guitar and how the strings are attached makes a huge difference.
On the complete opposite spectrum of guitars, I’d love to see you review this FU Tone Pro guitar completely modded, specked and hot rodded right from the factory. Made by the FU Tone company famous for all their hot rod metal upgrade accessories. My brother got one of these last year when they first came out and they are incredible! Since you always introduce the best and sometimes most unique instruments in the world of guitars, I’d love to see you do a review and hear your opinion on this beast. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WA5QrJ5wjC8.html
dude, i don't know what your problem is but i think you don't have a clue why a vintage spec tele would be desirable to a player. guitars are just guitars. some are better than others just as one Stradivarius made fiddle may be better than another. each listener and player has there own ideal for tone, etc. but when it comes to playing a git fiddle the specs are important. neck shape, finger board radius, pick up, materials, etc. all contribute to the tone and play ability for each individual strummer. to address your sarcasm towards owning a vintage instrument, i wonder how some of the great players feel about it when they spend 10's to 100's of thousands of dollars on a vintage guitar? a traditional vintage spec tele is a work of art. plain, simple, effective. no need to buy a fake, no need to modify. it does it all and did so when first sold in the early '50s. that haar fake is no better than a squier 50's vib tele. i can buy ones used in like new condition for $400-500. why pay upwards of 2k? anyway good luck with learning to play. seems you are having a bit of trouble with that...
wow… you should use Google and put my name in the search bar before you throw out these types of insults. I did nothing to you and you feel the need to insult me… that’s seriously sad man.
They put small changes it reproduction guitars to keep someone from string it to pass it off as real vintage , you don’t think anyone would do that , nah
