@@kcd2120 I received mine earlier this week and I can confirm it is a little faded. It’s like a red with some pink and orange tossed in. Looks amazing and one of a kind, I highly recommend the guitar 🙏🏻
@@PoundMountain Thanks so much for that - ‘boots on the ground’ info is always the best! Yep - I think this now has a place on my wish list, but should probably let go of one or two from my current guitarsenal as I’m trying to stay in the single digit range! I’ll be keeping an eye out for one with a super dark fretboard.
They really hit a home run with this series. Before this, you couldn't get a new slab board Strat without going to the Custom Shop or FSR route. And it was definitely the right decision to finish them in 100% nitrocellulose.
The Vintage II series definitely fills a hole in the American lineup that went missing after Fender stopped making the American Originals. Both these guitars are close enough to vintage spec for my taste. Thanks!
Yeah I'm glad they updated this Vintage/Original series. The specs are spot on, you pretty much get an NOS Custom Shop from the normal US production line. //Kris
I bought the Fender 1960 American Vintage 11 3- tone Sunburst P- Bass in November 2022, directly from Fender. It's truly amazing, its tone growls, and it has Fender Round Wounds on it. I bought the Fender Rumble 100 Amplifier, and together they're perfect. Great C - Shaped neck, very comfortable. I highly recommend this line to anyone looking to buy an expensive Vintage Fender for way less money. I paid $2,099.99 and it was set up perfect right out of the box. You won't regret it, they're super high quality Instruments from Fender.
I just put an order down for the Fiesta Red one. Earliest it will arrive is january '23, which is a pity. However, I do have something to look forward to! My first Fender Strat!
I'm a lefty in the U.S., and I was able to score both of these guitars in the last couple of weeks for ridiculous prices on the used (yes, I said used) market. I was shocked that they're already available on the used market, but I made a $1K offer on a 51 Tele posted on Reverb a few weeks ago, and it was accepted. It still had the tags and the plastic on the neck pickup. Then, just a few days ago, again on Reverb, I made a $1k offer on a 61 Strat, and again, it was accepted. They're both AMAZING guitars. I currently own a 52 AVRI Tele and a 50s AO Tele, and while the 51 is super-nice, my personal, completely arbitrary ranking would be: 1) AVRI; 2) 51 AV II; and 3) 50s AO. The neck profile on the AVRI is just so, so nice. As far as Strats are concerned, this is my first (after 33 years of playing). I'm sold. It's just an amazing guitar with so, so many tonal options. When I received it, it needed a little bit of TLC; namely, there was no tension on the truss rod at all, and the neck had a significant dip. I tightened it up, though, and then dialed in the string height and intonation, and now it plays like butter. Just an amazing guitar. All of that is to say, I love this new RI series. I wish that Fender made them all available lefty. I'd give my right nut for a left handed AV II 77 Custom.
I was like 99% ready to buy one of these strats (provided I can actually find one in stock haha) but this video pushed me over the edge. It’s the first one I’ve found that talks about and compares the feel of the guitar
@@viktortulbya2107 every brand has those, at any price range. Just play 3-5 of the same guitars - one will always be flawless, no matter how hard you look for imperfections.
Those sounds absolutely awesome. I cant wait to try them, but this is the range to hunt down for me. Not paying money for loads of unimportant customshop stuff, but getting all that matters. The 51 Tele and 62 strat are absolut dream Fender gutiars for me. The differences between your guitars were more audible with Teles. Kris has very specific sounding guitar with his trademark uppermid push, that you can recognize from miles appart. While Guills were veeery similar. Id say Guills strat was bit sweeter sounding. The Vinteras sounded good, but jumping to Vintage 2 was like getting new glasses. Not even close.
I have the 73 strat a 72 thinline and absolutely love them. I want to give the 61 a shot since I have a 60’s P bass. But the 73 is exactly whatI grew up with in the 80’s but without the problems back in the day. They are sweet. Is the 61 neck profile a round C with good shoulders. Fill your hand up well when you grab it, nice ad round?
American Original had a poly filler coat and nitro finish. I suspect these do too. Doesn’t matter - nitro doesn’t ‘breathe’ any more than poly does. It’ll be a heavier finish than the custom shop ‘flash coat’ option.
I have a 2007 AVRI 62 that I absolutely love. I'm thinking that the American Vintage definitely has a leg up on the pickups since they are voiced to a 61. The AVRI have 57/62 pickups so its not voiced to a single year. I ended up putting Lollar Dirty Blonde pickups in mine. Definitely a lifetime guitar. Im loving the Fiesta Red!!! So jealous.. haha.
I bought a custom shop nocaster a few years ago. It was nice but sold it. Left off telecasters for awhile. Recently bought a Vintera and was blown away so I bout that Vintage '51 you're displaying. OMG! For the first time, I realize just what a great guitar is. Just flawlessly amazing in all regards. I'll keep the Vintera as an open G player along with my Silver Sky core. Not sure how much more anyone could ask for than these 3. Wait..when is your next review of les pauls lol.
That was a perfect Strat comparison, in my opinion. I could really hear the instruments. American Vintage 2 all the way for me. Good depth and highs balance...the red finish helped too😊
Excellent, very well-articulated and communicated review. I'm also hearing a lot of good things about the American Vintage II series. One question I had was about the '63 Telecaster finished in translucent red but with a mahogany body. What is the weight difference between a typical mahogany-bodied Telecaster and a standard ash model?
I'd like to put the trigger on a Sunburst 1961 Strat. My only "fear" is the 7.25 radius, some people says that bends dies after one tone... I have others guitars and this Strat will be to mostly play Red Hot stuff. I think it will be OK.
Hey guys, amazing video like usual! Seriously any video with you two in it is an instant watch. Do you guys know for sure if these are 100% nitro finished? I’ve been reading some mixed things online. I have one on order regardless, can’t wait Cheers!
You're right, the original Vintage Reissue series was not 100% nitro. The necks were nitro but the bodies just had a thin coat of nitro over a poly finish. Trust me, I have one of the older AVRI teles at home.
Great demo and agree with much of your comparisons such as between the Vintage 2 to CS Tele as opposed to the differences between the Vintage 2 Strat vs CS although that could be down to a number of factors and not just each guitar sound wise, but you guys are holding them so would know more about the feel etc. However would just wish to point out that American Vintage Reissues first appeared from around 1982 which were most definitely gloss nitrocellulose up until at least the early 2010’s as I own a few (I can’t comment on the Original series) guitars and basses. I also own a Team Built CS Jazz bass, which are quite different (not just Master or Custom built) from all American Vintage Reissues in that they have quartersaw necks and Custom Shop parts not simple Pure Vintage parts…..pickups etc
I feel you man! I fell in love with this strat even though I already have a really really good one. 😅 Tbh we both fell in love with it. Guillaume had a really tough time letting it go. //Kris
I bought the 61 Strat in fiesta red , and the 63 tele in 3ts ... These are great after some tweaking , both arrived poorly set up , the start need to be returned as the neck was back bowed and Fooked ... as I wanted right away I had the shop swap the neck over with an olympic white one and all was good.. these Vii are great guitars , but I dont think they are as good as the American original which were exceptional and very closely on par with CS , prob why they changed the line .. once you get a good one with a proper setup, then its a win , im sure fenders QC has got better with these now , the first few batches seemed ..rushed .. one last thing , I hate it when people demo guitars using pedals .. just play the guitar through a good amp.. and there is no such thing as a too twangy tele ..
What do they mean by these are custom shop specs? Custom shop is whatever you want it to be. Your paying for the guitar to be made either by a master luthier or by team built.
Love love the review. Maybe it’s just me and how I’m searching but they are now showing up when I look at the on line store. If this is the case. Would it not be better to put this vid up when they can be seen in the on line store. As I said my search could be wrong.
@@thoblette I don't see that series on their website anymore. I don't think you can get a new Stratocaster in Fiesta Red with a rosewood fingerboard or what ever the lower end Fenders use nowdays.
Sad at that price point they didnt bothered with the headstock typical form change for the 66 year on the Jazzmaster, but hey..atleast for once correct block inlay size instead of their Gibson-ish blocks. I also see not where that upcharge in comparsion to the AO and AV series comes from beside marketing 🤨.
So is the finish pure nitro on the Strat or nitro over poly like the American Original series we’re. You guys sound like a couple of Eurovision Song Contest commentators... in a good happy way!
I’m commenting so I can get tagged in clarification too. Website says Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer. I’ve always seen aging finish listed as Nitro Lacquer without the gloss beforehand.
Hey Mike, apparently yes, it's full nitro. At least that's the only info you find and it's pretty clear. Gloss nitrocellulose lacquer can only be one thing: a buffed (=glossy) nitro finish. They didn't use and funky terms here like "flash coat" and "nitro clear coat" like on other / earlier models so we assume it's 100% nitro. Cheers //Kris
If there is a prevalence of small neck pocket cracks on the American Vintage II Strats then they are probably pure nitro. Perhaps Thomann could check the ones they have in stock and advise!
You guys have it all wrong. This new series has a poly undercoat like the previous series Originals. The America Vintage series from 2012 to 2017 has a true nitro flash coat which is just like custom shop. The vintage one’s were the most period correct guitars fender ever made even more so than custom shops.
Hi, the official info from Fender is this: "Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish" That's a pretty straight forward statement and I'm pretty sure they still use the flash coat type nitro, since that dries really fast. Cheers //Kris
Don't understand what Fender switches their vintage lines. I own a early 2000s AVRI 57 Stratocaster, which is basically the same model as the new AV2. Now, after the American Original line, which brought some modern specs to the vintage line (9.5 fretboard radius) is discontinued they switch it to the AV2 with period correct specs, just like the old AVRI. The AVRI had, as far as I concern, the same specs. They were also finished with a nitrocellulose lacquer and feel like a vintage instrument. Don't get me wrong the new AV2 series are great guitars with great tone. But I don't understand the craze about the new series, as it is just the same line as the old AVRI series.
These are nice and I'm glad Fender brought this series back. However, these don't quite match the details or build quality of the American Vintage guitars of 2012-2017. The previous '12-'17 AVRI were 100% thin skin Nitrocellulose (sealer as well), clear Nitro lacquered neck and headstock instead of this vintage tint, a better quality case and plenty of "case candy" (strap, cable, cloth, ect). Even the advertising was better. I feel like these new ones are a step above the Vintera Series, but not quite knocking on Custom Shop's door level of detail as before. I'd rather have a '59 or '65 Strat from the previous batch of AVRI
Yes those AVRI models from 2012-17 were amazing. No idea how they compare to this new series but I managed to get used black 56 strat and a 52 tele at vintera prices!
I'm sorry, was just enjoying the playing. What was the video about? Seriously, though, they sound awesome! You talk about the custom shop, what are your guys thoughts on Fender's mod shop??
I’ve read conflicting things. People on reddit are convinced these are Nitro over Poly but every guitar shop I’ve spoken to has told me it’s 100% Nitro
Received the AV II Fiesta Red today. To my feeling the color has a little too much pink/purple in it. Not the red/orange I was expecting... I was a little underwhelmed I must say. Does anyone else who saw this guitar in real life has the same feeling about the color?
Holding up an American made Fiesta Red Strat with a Rosewood board on the title photo to this video is very unfair to those people who are trying to control GAS!
Hate to be "pìcky" here but the sound we are hearing is the damn pedals. Whats the point of the demos? they could be any Tele and Strat (within reason!)
Quite a big difference I felt plus the feel will be a huge difference, I have the Mexican Flea bass, American Vintage Reissue J and CS J basses they all feel very differently. The Flea bass (although Mexican) is fitted with American Pure Vintage pickups so does make the sound closer to the Vintage American but not the feel quality
Gotta add in the feel and playability of a guitar, not just the tones. In the guitar universe, the "you get what you pay for" motto is usually spot on.
@@funkster007 Very true. I do agree that mexican instruments are really good for the price and probably "better bang for your buck". But once I felt the pro II neck I didn't even look at a MIM anymore regardless of price. All other improvements at that point are bonus.
I’m always concerned about nitro finishes on guitars, because I like to keep my guitars out on a stand. The problem is, most stands on the market I’m seeing warn against putting instruments with nitro finishes on them, because the finish can be damaged. Is there some kind of special stand I need to use?
Hi, most modern nitro finishes are pretty sturdy and won't really react to "normal" good quality stands. Still, if you want to be sure that nothing happens, there are stands that are tested and safe to be used with nitro finished instruments: tho.mn/fowbi Cheers //Kris
I have a gibson SG standard that has nitro on the neck and use a Hercules stand. They even mention that their foam used on the "neck grip" has been tested and has shown to not cause problems with many of the different nitro formulas used nowadays. Maybe you can look into those and see if they fit your needs. Very good quality stands too.
Not a so fair comparison You compared the modified vintera 60s which has overwpund darker pickups and not the vintera 60 with the more .vintage pickups which have more treble.
@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses American original has the same nitro finish just had 9.5 radius instead of 7.25 that’s the main difference. And pearloid inlays
I prefer the neck profile of the Vintage II strat (it just feels much more like Custom Shop necks), as far as I know the Originals weren't fully nitro finished and the new pickups seem to have more of that sweet strat "quack". So it's a mix of many little details. //Kris
Got the 61 sunburst. Lovely looking and sounding guitar. The quality of the fretwork is a fuc#ing joke though. For this money there should be absolutely zero flaws. I'm going through levelling and crowning now but re-fretting would be even better I think. Did I get lemon 🍋? Maybe but this instrument went through all quality/playability checks in California. Absolute joke
