I have a 60s Olympic white one and a vintera as well. There’s BARELY a difference. In fact I prefer the vintera pickups bc these feel ‘tinny’ and lack girth. Go get a used vintera ii with rosewood for 800 on reverb. It’s at least 95% the same as this. Again own both of them know them intimately. No reason to get this over a used vintera
i have to confirm and quote all your opinions. just get amvII rosewood neck. awesome guitar quality as well but for what concern sound, well, little bit disappointed the sound is so small in comparison to custom shop nos and vintera with 60 ‘s fat. this is my experience. no regret 7,25 radius it s decent even if you pull to hard bending.
You need to do more reviews like this. No click bait, no paid bullshit. Pure honesty! People need to wake the F up. I been going to music stores trying out Fender guitars for the last 10 years and I had the exact same impression. I want to own one, again.... but I just can't bring myself to shell out any kind of money they are asking because their QC is utter crap. Every guitar in their lineup is overpriced. You could get a new mexico standard strat (back in the day) for the today's price of a Squier. It's all a scam. They are cashing in on the headstock decal and thats it. The wood is not properly dried so the frets are all over the place. Truss rods not working properly. Twisted necks. Bodies too heavy. Sharp fret ends. Poorly cut nuts. I've literally played better finished and factory setup Squiers than the mid to high end Fenders. And it's sad because I've always been a fan of the brand but no more. If you buy a new guitar IT SHOULD BE PLAYABLE!! Minor tweaks here and there but no trips to the local luthier shelling out more money just because the factory doesn't give a F*ˆck. Thanks for the video and keep em coming.
I have one of these and have not experienced ANY of the issues you mention here. Mine plays and sounds like a dream. Very happy with my purchase. Maybe yours is a lemon. Oh, one more thing. I got mine for $1760. Signed uo for a GC credit card and got a 20% discount w free shipping. Im stoked.
I know. I'm a bit late but I think it might be a Friday afternoon guitar. there is a big difference between a Friday and Monday and a Wednesday guitar. I live in Australia and paid three thousand two hundred and loving it🎉
doesn't matter what the cost of the instrument is. even if they did a perfect set up before shipping, things can still change over time, due to climate and other people playing it at the store. frets can sprout off the board, sideways, etc. it can happen to a 10k guitar made by a pro luthier. expensive guitars are worth it imo, but they're also made of wood (usually) that changes due to all kinds of factors. also, you need to consider labor costs, which people never do and it baffles me. yes, some charge way less. depends on location, reputation, brand, etc. it sounds like you're voicing some very personal complaints/opinions as though they were facts. you just like other kinds of guitars, frets, setup, etc. some people want vintage tall frets.
I don't understand why folks have to defend Fender. Their necks are almost never completed. I have so many guitars without fret sprout, same climate. It isn't just fret sprout, it is sharp as hell fret ends. Shipping doesn't effect the instrument much between California to NY. I can receive a guitar from California in perfect tune with a great setup. People just like making excuses for brands they are in love with. I just returned 3 2023 Aerodynes for incomplete necks. They wanted to send me more guitars. No thank you. If Fender wants to sell me a guitar, they will have to send it to a luthier to then ship it to me as a completed instrument.
@@thomastucker5686 Im shocked you had any issues with fender japan and quality. I own 3 Japanese fender guitars, traditional 60's jazzmaster, vintage modified 50s tele, and a JB-62 jazz bass and all have incredibly well made necks. Feel much better than the American standard neck I have.
@@leo._.vincentit broke me to send 3 instruments back to Sweetwater. They looked amazing. I thought about sending them to a luthier but that would add $900 to the purchase price. One neck had to be refinished on the back because there was dirt buried under the finish. The fretwork was what I expect for a $100 child's guitar, or worse. I had studio work planned for all 3 instruments. One was a bass. I am still pissed. 3 different models sent out of Japan not worthy of owning at the cost of doing so. I own 3 Mexican fenders, all with awful fretwork. I purchased the Japan guitars to replace the Mexican guitars. When the fret work was the same, I decided it is just what fender does. So I did some research and it turns out, you can't expect great fret work out of US models nor custom shop guitars. If folks get a good fender, it likely came from a shop that completes the guitar at their cost. fret ends that are capable of cutting into our skin are not well made instruments. The guitars I replaced all the fenders with were completed at the factory. I wish I had skipped fender on the first go. I am a drummer, I didn't know. After 6 fenders, 3 2021 75th Mexican and 3 2023 fender Japan, with horrible fretwork. fender just doesn't care, they are just a brand now.
I have this exact guitar, had the same fret buzz out of the box. Even after personal adjustment. I did take it to a local guitar tech and they made it 100% perfect (for an additional cost), but do agree, it should have been better out of the box. Overall, for me - this is my best guitar, can’t complain about anything now. Not justifying the cost or lacklustre setup, but I am 100% happy with it now. Will have this guitar for the rest of my life (and it avoided me potentially paying substantially more for a “vintage” strat)
@@VALLAERION I believe the nut needed filing as the angle of the strings were causing the strings to buzz on various frets. Other adjustments didn’t really solve this, so I guess the nut was the issue from factory.
Not defending it, but at this point, there are two realities that are just a part of buying a guitar from one of the big companies: 1. They're probably going to need some amount of set up 2. They cost what they cost.
but in 1961 you bought a custom shop quality guitar for your money,now you buy mass produced guitars for essentially the same prices....much more attention to quality in the old days!
@@joellemaster998 that's a little too easy said. Fender's guitars were designed to be mass produced items, contrary to, say, Gibsons. The craftsmanship in those times may have been high but also inconsistent; one instrument varied greatly from another. The actual custom shop, with master builders and all that, didn't start until the late '80s. CNC isn't very romantic but it does give a baseline quality.
it doesn't matter how many options there are out there for 2,500$. The fact is that people who are willing to spend that amount for that guitar do so for many personal reasons. It's not about what you can get for the same amount. It's about getting what you desire for an amount you can rationalize, and hopefully afford. Apparently this seems to work out fine for companies like Fender, Gibson, PRS, Martin, etc... They simply adjust prices based on market demand & sales on their products in order to maximize profits like any other company
I just got mine, and my brother bought one, I picked one over the other simply out of a slight slight feel, in fact really no difference. It’s like going to a store and buying two of the same candy bars and asking which one tastes better. Bottom line, at least for our purchases Fender completely knocked this into the outer limits of space. Wow, I am completely in infatuated with my 61!! This whole fret issue (not being the med jumbo and how it hurts one’s fingers when playing) I don’t understand or feel or see or get the issue! They feel perfect. I don’t wanna call bs on this commentator but he must of had a one off or …..I dunno. He traded it for a Les Paul? So when it comes to QC he went from a Cadillac to a Ford Pinto.
@@gregriddle3042 Glad you and your brother got some good guitars. The les paul is a higher quality build than a fender. It always has been. People have their preferences, but most can agree that a bolt on neck is a lower quality instrument, which is why I talk about a bolt on neck in the vid.
I couldn't hear the guitar over that shirt :) but anything with 7 1/4 radius is going to be a buzz machine unless the frets and the setup are immaculate. I've noticed that the price of a guitar doesn't necessarily equate to the quality of the guitar.
This is exactly why I got into guitar lutherie work as a side hustle. I got tired of realizing that just about EVERY guitar being sold new isn't properly set up to be as good as it can be. I currently believe that used guitars are the best way to go. Especially stuff that is 10+ years old. This is because after 10 years any changes the wood will make has already done what it is going to do. Once the instrument is set up, it will stay set up. Defective hardware has already shown its shortcomings and can easily be identified for replacement. This is especially true for guitars with very thin necks. A lot of the new ones may warp or twist because the wood isn't fully cured. If the guitar is 10+ years old and the neck is straight and true, it will stay straight and true. This is why I recommend used Ibanez guitars only if they are vintage, wouldn't take a chance on a new one. It's always a gamble with a new guitar.
I have the same guitar left-handed. Totally worth it to me. Every complaint you have I've not experienced. Sounds fantastic (sounds better than my American Pro II even with the new pickups I put in it), plays fantastic, and looks fantastic. I bought it sight unseen over the internet because that is how we left handed players always get guitars. Guitar Center sucks. I haven't been inside my local store in over 20yrs. When you have close to $100k in custom shop Gibson's alone and only have 1 left handed Squire, you won't see me again.
@@markkeeler584 Back when Guitar Center and Sam Ash just moved into town we still had some pretty amazing locally owned music stores. At one of them I bought a left handed Music Man Stingray bass in a trans-teal. right off the wall Thing had a beautiful birdseye maple neck. I wish I had kept it. MM doesn't even do those birdseye necks anymore. Last time I saw them was a limited edition birdseye roasted for right handed players only. Even that has been a few years ago now. I think that bass was the last in store purchase I have ever made. That was literally 20 years ago this year. All of those locally owned stores are gone now. There were 3 good ones we had.
@@joeking433I'm tired of these comments. No it wouldn't be. This guitar can be plek'd and set up better than a classic vibe. If you prefer a classic vibe at that point then it's simply a matter of preference. And there isn't anything wrong with that! Stop acting like guitar companies are trying to rip you off when YOU have the power of choice. Go buy a classic vibe and be happy 🤷🏻♂️
Thanks for holding Fender's feet to the fire. About the tension issue you mention. How could the tension be any different than what is standard for the scale length? Are the strings heavier than you are used to?
It's possibly down to the set up. When you're bending you're stretching the springs as you bend so you have to work it harder. Would be worth setting the trem flat to the body instead of floating and fit a couple of extra springs.
It's only because the frets are higher.The strings don't bottom out on the board itself.Giving an impression on greater tension. Imagine what I scalloped board would feel like😊 I. Think he was just having a bad day
About the tension, I think it's the springs. I dropped a set of Raw Vintage springs (all 5) into my AO60s strat and it solved a million issues it had from buzzing (like the beginning of your video) to tension issues. Brought in chime and jangle that I like. Went from an unplayable guitar to a great one.
This model (AVII) has a bridge that is set up floating out of the box. If you're having trouble with that, try decking the bridge by installing five heavy duty springs such as from Callaham.
@@danielstoddart I don't have an AVII strat. I do have an AO60s. The issue is that the springs that Fender currently manufactures are too stiff and made so you need 3 instead of 5. The Raw Vintage springs (must use all 5) are low tension and flexible. This makes playing much easier and more chimey sound.
@@GoodmanRecordingsTokyo Yes, it's often overlooked when setting up a Strat, but springs do matter. The tension of the springs affects how hard or loose the bridge plate is decked and the feel of the vibrato. Players should also experiment with how many springs they are using. I don't use the Strat vibrato arm, so my preference is to just deck it with 5 good broken-in springs.
@@danielstoddart I have never used the vibrato on any guitar that had one. I always block the bridge. I did buy a $200 Squier Bullet hardtail for my grandson. If Fender made a high quality hardtail, I would buy it, but they don't.
'I am not complaining about the quality of the frets, the frets are fine. They are just not good to have on a guitar.' I would kindly ask your permission to steal this phrase for future personal use 😉
Hey man, did you get the guitar straight from the factory? If not then picking on some of the set up issues is a little bit cheap. Even if they are American made and only shipped within the country shipping always messes up a guitar. Different moisture content, bouncing around in the back of a semi. Those set up issues are easy fixes. Especially because I don’t see too many beginner guitarists buying a $3100 (Canadian) guitar. You must know how to fix things like action and pick up height and all the little adjustments a Strat might need.
Avri II ‘63 tele. Nut slot on the B string was cut too low. Absolutely choked playing open. Unbelievable. You know what the fix is for that? A new nut. A $2100 guitar needed a new nut
You need to remove 1 tremolo spring. Only have the 2. I have this guitar same one. Came stiff like yours. I do my own setups after many many years playing guitar. I'm 60. Mine plays like butter. Easy bending of strings. 👍 tune to pitch. Make sure your neck/fretboard is strait with slight hint forward bow.set action low. Keep adjusting springs with the 2 screws so tremolo is even parallel with body. Make sure saddles are not bent higher angle. So both hex screws are even. You'll love your guitar!
I had a similar experience. I ordered this same guitar through my local shop and was very excited about it. The guitar came in, the excellent luthier at my shop tweaked it, as he does every guitar that comes in. After a few hours of play, things were just off. It's hard to explain. I didn't like the sound, (subjective), I didn't like the feel (subjective), but something was just wrong with the guitar, (agreed upon by the shop staff). I took it back and they accepted the return. While they were doing the paperwork I picked up a Mexican Road Worn they had on consignment and I thought, "This guitar is better in every way than the one I just returned". I wound up putting a Fender CS Strat on layaway. Yes, $2000 more, but remember, the early hype was saying that the American Vintage II was "near" Custom Shop quality. Not in my experience.
I ended up putting my '61 reissue up for sale and wound up trading it for a Les Paul. I was thinking I might just throw my ideas about "quality" out the window and simply look for a strat that plays well and sounds great regardless of the make or model. I will probably end up with a Custom Shop strat one day. It's just a matter of when.
@@voyxu143 Try to find a deal on a used Strat. Even in the same year and model, there will be differences in sound and playability. You just have to find a good one.
I've had better luck with the Mexican stuff too; I have a Road Worn Jazz Bass with a stable, highly figured neck that puts most of their CS stuff to shame.
I have commented on this video before. I am back to say Thank You . The information in this video helped me to decide to buy an American Pro II Stratocaster instead of this Vintage II. Saving me over a thousand dollars and getting a better quality instrument. You were definitely right. I couldn’t find a Vintage II guitar that didn’t have some issues. I live in a relatively small town so I couldn’t check out too many. The ones I could all had some form of defect. Thanks Again.
I think this review makes sense. If I'm remembering correctly, this model has the OG 7.25 radius on it. I do wonder if that makes a difference. Those 7.25 guitars some people just can't get into. Combine the tall thin frets with 7.25.. and maybe It's more of a rhythm setup. Perhaps this is one of the reasons fender dropped that from their normal line.
My main suspicion with the buzzing is neck relief, which can easily change with variations in climate. As for the "stiffness", that's probably a combination of the frets and fretboard radius. Vintage-spec'd guitars are honestly just "harder" to play, it's a fact of life. I won't blame Fender for getting things right, especially when the frets should be even smaller to be "accurate". It's all VERY subjective and all about personal preference. Maybe the specs just aren't for you.
It was adjusted for neck relief. The fretboard radius I already have on another couple guitars and it doesn't bother me. As far as Fender "getting it right", yeah maybe on paper, but the guitar left much to be desired.
Thank you for your review. After watching this review, I went out and shopped for the best electric guitar in that price range. The guitar I bought was not a heritage-brand guitar. I picked the best musical instrument without looking for any particular brand name. What I ended up getting is the best electric guitar I ever had. Thanks again.
Fender really did a nose dive in the QC department in recent years. I suspect the layoffs and the increased sales during the pandemic played a role. Unacceptable on a $2k+ guitar.
I bought one of their GC-exclusive Player Strats last year and it had this nasty problem of buzzing when playing the open G and D notes. I had to go in for several setups, add a second string tree, and swap out the nut in order to get it under control. It was even more frustrating later on when I got a SQUIER contemporary strat, and the setup only required one truss rod adjustment to make it play perfect!!!
@@tomaslopez2940 I am going to basically play every model on the wall at the store and just find ONE that plays well regardless of model. They are all basically the same guitar anyway.
$2.200 would have got you a perfect playing music man or a PRs with absolutely no problems! I agree with everything you’ve said, I moved on to PRs and music man, their quality control blows fender and Gibson away!
The nicest strat I ever played was the Clapton artist, but yea, sadly that guitar is not a strat (in the 62’ vintage strat sense). I can’t afford a real 61’ or a CS, so I settled on a Mexican road worn, from CME with pure vintage pups, all vintage specs except for the narrow tall frets which I believe are to offset the 7.25 radius somewhat. It was 1000 less than yours, and you get the relic look. If you like that…anyway that is my last strat my search is over.
I tried a lot of strats one day and wasn’t sold. Tried a silver sky and was. It lacks the super high fender presence, but EQ solves most of that. The playability and quality are way better.
Purchased a Clapton reissue a few years ago. Same disappointment. Took two years to sell it at 50% loss. Bought an American elite telecaster online just hoping to have some thing playable. Sent it back within 24 hours. My 2012 standard Strat that I paid $800 new for was a good guitar. Wish I had never sold it. I’m really glad the vintage two has been sold out for over a year. I’m glad I didn’t buy one because I couldn’t. Picked up a used sg standard recently, and it’s its joy jot play. Our local fender dealer lost their right to sell guitars last year. Small shop. He is very disappointed. Had nothing good to say about the direction fender is going.. I believe him now.
The Fiesta red was sold out and on back order when I first tried to get it months ago. Fender is probably making more money by NOT sending them out to dealers. Not sure if it will stay that way or not.
Great vid, have you tried the American performer? There is one guy that sells me one for 1000 dollars final price and looks new, altough this is the reason im buying jet guitar haha
Thank you for your review. I agree with all you said and my experience reflects the exact same problems. These issues shouldn't occur on any instrument at this level or price point. I left Fender and Gibson years ago because of such poor QC and the substandard products they were turning out. I loved my strats, but realized it was time to walk away. I went to PRS and could not be more pleased and have never looked back. My Silver Sky is one of my favorite guitars and an easy-choice strat replacement. It's what a strat could have been. My Core's are simply unmatched. Each PRS has been perfectly playable out of the box despite rarely having extremely minor problems that were easily corrected. This should not be the case today. It's sad that these two American icons cannot get something right despite once doing it so well and are comfortable charging more than ever.
I am going to check out the Silver Sky for sure. There aren't too many around in the stores that are not the SE(?) version. I have heard them online and they sound great.
@@voyxu143 I think even the SE stuff will surprise you. I have core versions. I would like to hear your thoughts on one when you do get ahold of one. Thanks for this review!
I'm still a fender guy and I got the 3 tone burst. But, I've owned 2 prs guitars and their qc is on freakin point. Those guitars came out of the box ready to go so prs is definitely a great product!!
Aside from your subjective comments about the narrow tall frets and something you attributed to "tension". You should have received a neck that can be set up buzz free at spec action period! I would return that guitar. Your tone on that neck pickup sounded pretty good. I have an Original 60's Strat with the narrow tall frets, and an Eric Clapton soft V neck with narrow tall frets. I don't hate them like you - I like them. It must be a personal thing, maybe you push harder than most. As for the tension on the guitar I think you are not an engineer and were looking for another descriptive word. The tension will be the same for the same strings in standard tuning on any strat. The "tension" on the trem is dependent on the number and type of trem springs. I agree a premium USA guitar should be able to be set up buzz free at spec. Return it, and you probably should get a model with frets and a neck you know you will like.
A used Silver Sky bought thru GC is a better investment. Mine plays like butter, sounds awesome and no issues! Came in mint condition used for $1700!!!
All the reviews I read were positive but yours was honest. I still bought one and I too was very disappointed to the degree that I sent it back for a refund. Maybe mine was a bad one but it was not worth the $2200 price. The problem is you can't play them before you buy one. No music stores stock them you have to buy online. Every other guitar or bass I've bought in the past I played multiple models before I found the one for me.
You are 100% correct. Fender seems to want a pat on the back for knowing how to make their own products, which are nowhere near as good as the stuff they built in the totally hand-built era. The one I tried at GC was junk, as all string bending past the 12th fret choked. BIG time. Most of these have high E too close to the edge of the fingerboard too. QC?? Also they are NOT vintage correct as they claim. Where's the aluminum shielding plate? It's just foil glued to the back of the guard. Why not use larger frets then, since it's not 100% original anyway? The quality of the wood isn't as good either. There's a reason that Frusciante and those pros who can afford it use the real McCoy. And I have a freak Squier that would burn even many Custom Shop pieces to death. These should be $1000 tops. Fender should do well to remember that they damn near went out of business in the eighties - so get rid of the corporate sugar daddies and start pricing these things right.
Funny thing, lot's of other people (who don't play the same redundant lick) love these guitars. Send it back and make a video of "Why buying over the internet is risk free" BECAUSE YOU CAN RETURN IT!
was considering this guitar but i played in store n didnt love it either you mention you have other guitars that are easier to play n that but what guitar would u recommend
My favorites are The American Deluxe from the early 2000's off the shelf. Many of my other guitars are custom made out of Fender Parts. The Eric Clapton signature is a good guitar, the Eric Johnson signature is a very good guitar. Some of the older Vintage reissues are really good. There are so many good guitars out there. It is important to actually play the guitar, or buy from somewhere you can return it easily if purchased online.
Thanks for your honest review. In Korea, every fender guitar price is 50% higher than US. Thanks to the importer. Btw, since fender has focused on their custom shop and master built, their "just" fender's qc is getting worse. So, I wanna blame them. But, in terms of price, I understand Fender. Wood price is getting higher, labor cost is getting higher. If you wanna buy this kind of guitar, recently it costs 3000 dollars(ex. SUHR classic s antique, PRS silversky.)
I have a ‘61 and on order and if it sucks this bad, I’m flying with it to Corona, CA and walking it straight into the Fender factory and getting an exchange.
Your right. Pricing illusions. 🧙♂️ 🎩 Know that in 1962 Fender sold out to CBS... A 3 letter agency. So as if "pre-CBS" is ?. It's just an average 🎸 guitar nowadays. One can obtain a Great guitar for $1,000 new, w/warranty. Thanks for an honest look at "pre-CBS".
thanks for honest critic. I think, the price limit for absolutely well made guitars is about 1000. The price over this limit you pay for the name on headstock. Except handmade by luthier.
Thank you for being one of the few REAL reviewers of this guitar and keeping it honest. No one would spend 2200 and dog their own purchase unless it was called for, most people will naturally do everything possible to convince themself they didnt make a bad investment. Bottom line, if they're so great like most reviews say.... why are so many used ones on reverb for 30-40% off?
I’m not sure what you searched to find “so many for 30-40% off” because I just looked. Not counting left handed models, there are literally five used ones being sold. The cheapest one has damage and is being sold for only 25% less. The rest are about 10% off full retail. So…
I feel your pain...It is so hard to buy a "mass production" guitar. I bought a gibson SG special online. 1700 euros. The shop told me they would do a set up before sending it to me, and sent me pictures. So I thought it was risk free. I received the guitar. Everything seemed ok the few first minutes : in tune !, new strings, action fine, frets fine, no buz. Guitar quite resonant. No cosmetic issue. And then I realized : some notes were dead. The sound was falling immediatly, as if i muted it with my palm. I had no idea where it came from, I wasn't able to solve the issue myself. And there is very little setup possibilities on a sg special. I sent the guitar back. The problem with mass production guitar is that many many people work on the guitar, each one is doing their little thing. But in the end no one plays it to see if it is a coherent musical instrument. Maybe they play 5 notes on it, but they dont sit down and play 10 minutes. Testing every notes. So we receive crap. And Fender is making things worse, chosing to go back to 7.5 and vintage frets (fender american original was 9.5). On another video a guitar shop owner says all the american vintage ii have fret issues. I think they do it on purpose, to force people that are a bit demanding to buy a custom shop guitar with vintage sound, nitro finish and modern frets/radius. In the end it is a nightmare to buy a guitar, whatever the brand is. And all the videos on youtube are always saying "oh this guitar is great bla bla" and when you receive it it is a piece of dead wood buzzing. Even after a shop setup.
" I think they do it on purpose, to force people that are a bit demanding to buy a custom shop guitar with vintage sound, nitro finish and modern frets/radius." NOT A BAD THEORY!!!!
I'm sorry to say that my 1961 Vintage II has the exact same issues as yours. I've had it professionally set up twice with adjustments, fret leveling, etc. and it just simply has spots on the neck where it buzzes annoyingly at a reasonably set action. This is not being ultra picky. The action is probably "medium" compared to my other electrics and simply sounds like a sitar in a couple spots and buzzes horribly when fretting on the A string on the 3-5th frets. The neck is perfectly straight but just is not enjoyable to play knowing there are spots to avoid. Question- is it dangerous to replace the neck with a strat Road Worn neck, or will that somehow not fit right and be a waste of several hundred bucks? I really do like the way the pick-ups sound and love the looks of the guitar and want to salvage it... I am so disappointed that this was able to leave the factory with the neck having very clear issues. one of the dangers of trusting the product of a huge guitar company sight unseen.
Yeah Shane, I was heartbroken so I can only imagine how you felt. I had not really thought about replacing the neck on this one. If you have a guitar tech, get their opinion on what would work. I also wrote Fender Customer Service an email to see if a current neck would fit on a 2002 model strat, and they gave me an answer in about 3 days. I am almost 100% sure that when and if you do get a new neck that you will have to have the guitar set up so once again, check with the tech that you will be using to set it up. IF you are setting it up yourself, check with Fender to see if the neck will fit and go from there. Good luck.
Have you compared it to other Strats? Honestly, most Strats set up with a medium action will have some amount of fret buzz. To completely eliminate it, the action has to be quite high. It's worth it for the increase in tone, though.
If the neck is “perfectly straight,” that’s not helping. You need a bit of relief in the neck. 0.010” to 0.012” measured at the 8th fret is Fender spec and what I use on all of mine.
Get a $50 Amazon neck and learn to level the frets. I have one that I leveled and it is the best neck of any of the hundred or so guitars I've played in my lifetime.
$2,200 Made in the U.S.A. so why are you complaining about the price. Made in China price for similar or better quality guitar would be about 1/100th of US price or about $220. Labor costs in China are 1/100th of U.S. labor costs. You should be comparing this guitar to a $220 Chinese guitar for quality.
Thanks for your input on this guitar. I was almost going to buy one of these - some other reviewers on the internet had favorable reviews but I held off to play one first which I have yet to do. I recently picked up a Japanese Fender Tele custom and it was $1300 - it played like a dream right out of the box - no adjustments no fret buzz nothing and one of the most comfortable guitars to play that I own. Thanks again for the frank honest review.
Yeah, after going back over some of the vids I watched before buying, I am now thinking many of the guys doing the "reviews" or presenting the guitar probably got paid by Fender. There are some real quality Japanese builds these days....!!!
@@voyxu143 It's no secret that the majority of reviews are sponsored, at least if we're talking about large channels. There are some reviews highlighting serious QC issues with Vintage II guitars out there, e.g. Puisheen's review of Vintage II Jazzmaster, or even Trogly's review of Vintage II 1975 Telecaster. Overall, quite disappointing quality for one Fender's most expensive American lines (outside of the Custom Shop).
@@boshi9 I saw the music shop guys showing the guitar and figured it was in their best interest to hype it up, but there were some small channels doing reviews that I later thought, "man, they must have gotten paid."
Guitars, for the most part, are very subjective. What's good for one person may suck for another. I have that same guitar and played it before I bought it. In fact, I couldn't put it down so eventually I had to leave the store with it. Mine plays like a dream. The last guitar I bought before the 61 Strat was a custom '58 LP reissue for around 4k. So the 2k on the Fender felt great. For me, guitars are like Harry Potter's wand. When you pick up the right one, you just know it immediately. And you know a wrong one pretty quickly as well. I only bought one guitar online without playing it first and it was a Taylor 12-string. I'm a huge Taylor fan and assumed I'd love it. But it felt like I let a stranger in the house. Of course there are always set up issues to consider on any guitar and perhaps you got a bad one. They make a ton of these things and some slip though.
Not one store around me had a '61 reissue in it. So I was unable to actually play the guitar in person. Glad to hear you got a good one that you love. My main guitars are strats, just not the one in the vid.
I have the allparts by fender and omg so unbelievable well made and especially the most important thing the tone and wow you ain't lying I won't sell my or trade it for anything that cost more than my guitar nope
I have the same model and it does have a lot of bad buzz and bad sound on the E string, but it was definately a good laugh to hear this guy go on for 15 minutes about how he bought a vintage spec guitar and then proceed to complain about all the vintage features like neck shape, frets etc lmao Fender figured all this stuff out and fixed it over the years, you literally went out of your way to buy the old vintage version
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ve found that many vintage spec American Fenders fall very short of the mark. I’m at the point where I’m doing a Warmoth build, because my first Warmoth is the only guitar I’ve ever had that has zero issues. Let us know if you return it and replace it with something better!
I was just at a guitar shop and a guy had a Roasted Warmoth neck put on a tele. He said he has been using warmoth products for 20 years and loves them. He's a working touring guitarist. I have the 61 strat up for sale/trade. We will see what happens....!!!
I bought one in may and had to exchange it for new ones 3 times because every single one was screwed up in a different way, I ended up just refunding the money in the end cause I couldn't stand waiting for another one to arrive and it have the same fate as the others. If you buy one it will be messed up period.
I'm so glad that I found my best Strat in the 90's. And got a L P studio from the 90's. Both are great now but have reputations of being "best of" at something. The L P is from" Good Wood" era. My deluxe plus was "As close to custom shop". Still fantastic to this day.
Me too. All the Fenders and Gibsons I bought were from the 90s up to I think 2002. Never a single problem and designed the way I like. If I were to buy another I would buy a used 90s one
Sounds like you bought the wrong guitar. I just bought a brand new $2,100 Fender Ultra Stratocaster and plays and sounds fantastic. Comfortable neck and frets. I also bought it from Sweetwater and was able to return it after reasonable time. Good video though.
I compared the vintage 2 to the Am pro 2 when looking for a Tele. The pro 2 was perfect and I preferred the specs. What was I gonna pay 500$ more for ? A nitro finish ?
I will not a 1961😮Buy reissue for the sum of 2,200 what's really going on we're being ripped off by fender Mr Leo fender would be turning around in his grave🎉!!!!? He made these affordable at one time guitars for us guitar players that were affordable at one point...
They were never affordable, they were $240 originally, thsts $2600 in today’s money. They were bolted together then by part time staff who were not luthiers, so all of the nonsense about vintage is rubbish. Bolt on guitars , simple.
I picked one up at GC Clackamas, Oregon. It seemed like a nice guitar but I was absolutely shocked how bad the string/neck alignment was. There was a big gap at the side of the neck and it was clear that it needed adjustment. I seriously couldn't believe it that they let the guitar leave the factory in that condition. Especially for that price point.
Nice playing, by the way. Liked your classical inspired playing position. Sorry that the guitar didn’t work for you. Mine turned out to be a perfect one for me. Though I bought it from a brick and mortar store, fully aware what those “vintage tall” frets are.
I highly recommend you try out the Yamaha Pacifica 612. It's A LOT cheaper than the American Vintage ($750), has cooler specs (Flame Maple Top, Wilkinson Trem bridge, Seymour Duncan Pickups, Graphtech nut and string trees, Grover locking tuners), and the fit and finish is FANTASTIC! I bought it and a Player Strat around the same time, and the Player Strat needed several setups and modifications in order to eliminate the buzz on the open middle strings while the Yamaha needed only two setups!
The Pacifica is made in Indonesia, but all you have to do to see the difference is to compare the quality of the fretwork. It isn't even close at this point. Incredible that you can get nice fretwork like that on an Indonesia-made guitar. Fender had better get their act together.
I have the same model in the sunburst finish. I love it and I have had none of the issues you describe. I bought it in memory of the first Fender Stratocaster I ever had, a 1961 model purchased new in 1961. I don’t think the price is unreasonable.
@@voyxu143 No, I’ve been a Fender fan for over 60 years. I grew up in Southern California and Fender was dominant in that market. My Vintage II Strat feels and sounds like my original Fender. No issues, just a great player.
Thanks mate for clearing up some doubts about purchasing this guitar. the main question still remain. what do i buy in order to have a trusty sounding instrument? i mean fender strato.
Lots of them out there. The American ones are usually pretty good, but I have played a couple MIM's that played great. Just make sure you get your hands on the guitar and play it for at least an hour before purchasing.
IMHO, Your paying fo the Nitro Fin THATS the game changer. They aged, they change, they sound warmer and fuller. Poly fin might sound great but it will not change that much.
If you play the original 1961 vintage Stratocaster I bet you it would be the same as the reissue. That’s just how they made the guitar back in the day. I have a Custom Shop 1962 Strat with 9.5 radius and bigger frets,and it plays fine, it’s not original spec from 1962 but fender decided to change it to a modern spec for more comfortable playing.
Guys back then didn't rip it up Hendrix style. The bigger frets in your CS probably make a big difference. I bet a fraction of real '61's still have the original frets.
I got one from Sweetwater. I’ve never purchased a bad guitar from them. I got mine set up medium/low and PLEK’d and it plays and sounds fantastic. The tone of these guitars are great!
You paid 250 to get it plek'd? Gibson plek's theirs at the factory. The one I got was set up but did not play well. I had no complaints about the tone!
@@voyxu143 Dude! You are one negative person. I trust in the luthiers I use and it plays great. You must be really picky but don't put me down for a Plek job. I Plek all my guitars and they are better every time. Get a life!
I completely agree with you! When I saw a few reviews, I couldn't believe that a guitar priced at 2200 had a poorly attached neck. Literally, the E1 string was hanging on the edge of the fret.
I bought a 2019 squier cv 50s strat and absolutely love that guitar after I did a minor setup and changed the strings to my preference. $399.00 was well spent.
you're literally referring to ONE video out there that showed the misaligned neck, I know which you're talking about. This is why new things have warranties. You can buy an $80,000 car and have some issues days later. Lol people need to relax. What is worth anything these days? Everything is overpriced. It's the price to play today.
I think the lack of local shops where you can demo out higher end guitars (like this) does a real disservice to the overall quality control. Inferior products wont last on an inventory long in a guitar shop... dealers will hold off placing future orders or send back. However, over the internet - its hard to judge (high res pictures and all) if the guitar is truly setup well and plays properly without major fret buzz, poorly cut nut, improper neck relief tension, etc... I am of the opinion that when you get over 1200 - the guitar should not require any work beyond minor adjustments (certainly not fret leveling or nut replacement/shaping) It is a risk to buy on the internet. Ive been wanting to buy a higher end (possibly fender custom shop) guitar for longevity sake and to play of course - however, there is no way I could drop 4-5K site unseen. Harder and harder to get your hands these guitars to evaluate in person... good luck
Thanks for the honest review. Its rare I've bought a guitar that's without "issues" out of the box. Got lucky with a Fender American Pro II Tele recently. First guitar ever for me that needed no dialing. Before they got too expensive I liked to buy from the Player series with the expectation I'd have to work on it new to get it where I like it. But then, my finger are still the limiting factor and not the guitar. Thanks again. Will check out your channel.
The guitar was adjusted. When I got it the thing was WAY worse. I am looking for a good Strat so at this stage in the game I am just looking for ONE, ONE strat that does not have the buzzing and is playable regardless of price or series.
@@voyxu143mate just buy the PRS silver sky. After my experience with this same one that I bought just to return it the day after I’m thinking about the SS. Everybody seems to agree that they come perfect out of the box. I’m seriously thinking to put down the extra cash
Not for anything. I loved and dreaded in retrospect, my experience buying new guitars. More negative than positive for the very reason discussed here. When it came to Strats more often, no matter what the price range was. New guitars required an average of 2 visits to get a decent setup, and I am not super fussy. In ALL instances, I wanted to simply have no fret buzz and feel as if I was climbing a mountain to play. Having said that, I had a positive experience with an American Professional Strat from Sweetwater. But lastly, this plek thing has me worried. If you buy a 2000.00 dollar guitar, to be assured before it's shipped that the set up and frets will he good? Another 200 dollars. Can I get a "C'mon man?" To travel to and fro to get a tech to get it right was such a kill joy. But I agree with this gentleman here. There is no perfect solution, but at least Sweetwater, there is an inspection done, and you are assigned a rep to talk to. If you need a tech, well, that falls on you unless you're gonna go through the hassle of a return. And yes. I get the weather thing and all that stuff. But when you get a hornet's nest out of the box despite trust rod adjustments and such, it just sucks man.
Gibson Pleks all their guitars BEFORE coming out of the factory. PRS people have said in numerous vids that the guitars play fantastic right out of the box. The wildcard of internet guitar buying has magnified the problem because in the store, in your hands you can tell if a guitar plays well before you walk out with it.
Glad to see a honest review on these. You have to love Fenders marketing. Vintage tall frets where did that come from? What vintage guitars came with narrow tall frets? I bought a Road Worn Strat with those and they were terrible. I just built a 62 copy for less than $1000 that beats these to pieces. Great video!
I owned a real 1961 Sunburst Stratocaster that lived under a bed in its case for ten years after the owner joined the military and just lost interest. I bought it in 1975 for $100. I was 17 years old then. I sold it two years later for $240 thinking ...o yeah I'll replace it sometime. 🤦♂ O well, Life goes on. But I can say this...to this day I can remember and KNOW what a real 61 sounds and feels like. Oily, smooth, hard, porous in all the right ways rosewood board. Not this dried out crap they are using today. The sound of the pickups. The sound of the ash body. And it was just different than what they have today. Vintage TALL frets?????? Never on an original. I KNOW better. I read that on the new 61 AVRI II that Fender is staining the rosewood to make it look darker I have a 1994 57 RI which I think is a great year for Strats with an alder body and maple. it is aging nicely and sounds great but will never be like that original 61.
I got a FSR Classic Vibe 60s Stratocaster, Fiesta Red, after some magic you cannot tell the difference from the AV II on playability and apperance. The latter cost 636,75 % moore. All tho it weighs more i would not change it for anything.
Preach, brother. I'd tell them they can have it back and I'd take my money elsewhere. Maybe spend it on a Sire Larry Carlton S7 (or a number of other reasonably-priced alternatives) and have enough left to pay some monthly bills, buy an amp or go on a short vacation. "But maybe it's just me."
If you really play Strat’s (or Tele’s) everyone with an ounce of knowledge knows that a setup is NOT universal. They vary depending on your preferences for things like string gauge, playing style, tonal qualities and feel. In addition, bolt-on necks actually allow you to experiment with neck replacements so you can switch radius size, fret size and fretboard types. (Try to replace a an LP style headstock break in 10 minutes…LOL). Oh yeah…..there’s plenty of YT Video’s to show people how to setup their Strats.
I am a lower end guitar guy and had several guitars at that price range. Now discovered that I really love strats. Modified a Squier 40th anniversary a little and now feels and sounds nice. What in your opinion is a really nice Stratocaster style guitar in the higher price range?
They do vary a bit, but the Strat Ultra, the Eric Clapton signature and the Eric Johnson Signature are usually pretty good, but you do have to play a couple to find a good one. For the money, I would also buy one of these used. The early 2000's American Deluxe stratocasters have never let me down.
This rant is absolutely justified. In a day and age where entry to mid level guitars offer a ton of bang for the buck, a $2200 premium American made guitar better offer a premium purchase experience… including being setup properly out of the box… and sound awesome. Fender may be getting away with this now but it won’t last forever, imho. I recently purchased the Fender 61 MIM Vintera Mod (barely played and dirt cheap) from a guy who bought the AVII a couple months later upon its launch (a year ago). So after we sealed the deal on the Vintera I asked him if I could try out his AVII… I definitely got the better deal. He did not have a 2X better guitar than he had just sold. Some ppl just have money burning holes in their pockets, I guess.
You can build a really nice strat with custom specs for half that price if you have some skills . I ve just built a 67 replica with Musikraft neck, 65 pure vintage pickguard, pickups, tremolo, cts pots, CRL 5 ways, a body from Rockinger that i painted in Olympic white nitro, i had to do the set up and dressed the frets . It was really a cool process to choose the parts, order the neck with 67's specs and to build the whole guitar, it really worth it .
This guy's opinion is valid... when I first saw this I thought he was crazy, then I went to the Guitar Center in my town and played two of them... THEY PLAYED WORSE THAN TERRIBLE; both had the thing where the high e-string is so close to the edge of fretboard that it keeps slipping off when you play aggressively. And also, the weird "tension" thing he's talking about was totally noticeable... I don't know what it was caused by... maybe cuz they comes strung with 10's, plus the issue people are mentioning with the stock trem springs being too weird/stiff... but it was horrible. Played one of the new Mexican player II strats a couple weeks later and it blew these AVRI's out of the water: $799 vs $2,200. So glad I saw this guy's review as I was just about to pull the trigger on buying one of these sight unseen of Reverb. I would have been so pissed to dump that much lettuce to end up with such a dud. Thanks Voyxu for the warning!
ON the subject of rattling....did you put anything in the rear cavity to knock out the spring noise? They all seem to do that, and it's hard to tell if that might or might not be the rattling you're hearing. On TH-cam it's hard to tell. Kinda simple but had to ask.
Sounded great to me. Sounds like a bad retailer failing to set up the guitar. And an expectation for a vintage spec'd guitar to not have vintage spec'd frets. So, seems to me to be a review based more on opinion and expectation, rather than the actual quality of instrument, which is different from quality of setup.
I was expecting the vintage frets, wasn't expecting them to hurt. The guitar is set up. It doesn't play well. Sure, it's my opinion which is based on playing many guitars. I have 9 strats. Selling this one ASAP.
I meant preference, not opinion, earlier. We all have preferences though, and vintage spec'd instruments fall outside of most people's preferences, from my observations. It matters because I'm still convinced that the reason for your bad experience isn't Fender, it's the setup policy of the retailer you purchased from, and I want to avoid them. Obviously they don't value your opinion or your warrantee if your forced to sell on your own.
@@jdorr111 I bought it online with no "set up policy" because that would require me sending it back. Yeah, we all have our preferences. You may love the guitar. I wonder how many people have real 1961's and when they got it refretted they actually got the same frets put on it.
I have been watching every TH-cam video I can find about this particular guitar. This is the only video that is a negative one. Guitars In The Attic,Mathew Scott , Andertons, Guitar Center and others all have good things to say about the Vintage II Fender 1961 Stratocaster reissue. I am thinking of purchasing this guitar. Now I am confused and very tentative about making this purchase. Do I think it’s possible that you just got a lemon? It happens. Have you checked out any others of the same model? Would be great to know.
Yes, Patrick, there are some that are good. The key is really getting your hands on one. The people you are talking about are PAID to give good reviews on the guitar. There are lots of horror stories about this model of guitars. As stated, if you can play one in person that is super important. Otherwise if you buy it unseen, be ready to pay for a pro set up, or be ready to send it back. Good Luck.
Yeah, and check the neck fit in the pocket, people were complaining about that on the very early issue of the guitar. I have to say if I had played this guitar before purchase I probably would have passed on it. Happy Guitar Hunting....!!!
Just received a Squier strat Sonic HT H Black with almost (a bit less severe)the same strings alignement problem. Screws we’re loose on the neck. Since it’s only a 200$ guitar and love the uncommon highly figured laurel fretboard. I fix it loosening the 4 screws and aligning the neck. The setup was all the way crap on that guitar. Pass QC check at Squier + store… Have only an other bolt-on (Ibanez) and this one was perfect out of the box.
This is an icon Strat. Fiesta red and rosewood. I was very tempted last year but €2200 for a Strat with 7.25 and small frets is a bit much. I bought an American Special Tele instead. That “tension” you speak of, I find that with Squires CV guitars. I uses .10s exclusively and while all my Fenders are okay, I’ve got ride of a few Squires because of that hard tension.
I spent some time learning how to work on electric guitars. I can now do all my own maintenance, but not only that, I can now buy cheap guitars and turn them into great guitars, and even better, I can now build my own. I would never spend $2,000, when I know I can build a better one for less than half the price. P.S. I own a Mex Fender strat, that I bought in 2001. It had 60's style, tall thin frets on it, which I eventually wore flat. I have since re-fretted it (myself) with 6105 stainless steal frets, which feel and play great. I have also done quite a few other mods, such as replacing the pick-ups with my preferred ones, and have installed 7-way switching, including a coil split for the JB Jr neck pick up. It also now has a Graph Tech nut and Fender locking tuners. With all the mods, it cost less than $1,000, and it's a great guitar, as good as (if not better) than any US Fenders I've played.
It sounds like a good guitar. I am not ruling out a Mexican Fender when I go looking for a strat The Fender Mexico plant is about 90 miles south of Corona CA.
@@voyxu143 The Mexican ones are definitely worth checking out. I was extra lucky with mine, the neck is made of a nice piece of flamed maple, that looks great when it catches the light. It wasn't a special or custom, I was just lucky to get one that had a nice flame on it. Vintage guitars, and replicas, can be nice (or not in some cases), but people forget that the original Strats were made with relatively cheap wood, and paint, what ever Leo could get his hands on. So, they varied a lot in quality and sound. P.S. I'm sorry that your new guitar doesn't live up to expectations, but hopefully you can "rescue" it, and turn it into a nice playable instrument.
@@fishypaw I have never owned a Mexican strat, but as you said, these guitars vary and some are def better than others. I played a Jimmie Vaughan mexican strat once that I almost bought. I will not be ruling them out in the future. I ended up trading the '61 for a Les Paul.
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I have a 60s Olympic white one and a vintera as well. There’s BARELY a difference. In fact I prefer the vintera pickups bc these feel ‘tinny’ and lack girth. Go get a used vintera ii with rosewood for 800 on reverb. It’s at least 95% the same as this. Again own both of them know them intimately. No reason to get this over a used vintera
Major difference is the Vintera comes with a poly finish, in case people care about that stuff
i have to confirm and quote all your opinions. just get amvII rosewood neck. awesome guitar quality as well but for what concern sound, well, little bit disappointed the sound is so small in comparison to custom shop nos and vintera with 60 ‘s fat. this is my experience. no regret 7,25 radius it s decent even if you pull to hard bending.
It's clear that mans hates this guitar
Yes my thoughts 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂so funny
@@anthonyroach7974 I bought this guitar and I don’t care what he says it’s a fantastic instrument in a sweet color.
This guy is just honest
@@rolandodacion7093 still bought it and I think it’s sick
Yeah, somebody didnt like his guitar.
And then he bought that shirt and the rest is history.
Oh, c'mon, Ry Cooder wears Hawaiians.
Maybe I missed it -- how much does this guitar cost?
$399.95 I think it was
twenty-two hundred dollars
2200
Hahahaha…….😂
$2.99
You need to do more reviews like this. No click bait, no paid bullshit. Pure honesty!
People need to wake the F up. I been going to music stores trying out Fender guitars for the last 10 years and I had the exact same impression. I want to own one, again.... but I just can't bring myself to shell out any kind of money they are asking because their QC is utter crap. Every guitar in their lineup is overpriced. You could get a new mexico standard strat (back in the day) for the today's price of a Squier. It's all a scam. They are cashing in on the headstock decal and thats it. The wood is not properly dried so the frets are all over the place. Truss rods not working properly. Twisted necks. Bodies too heavy. Sharp fret ends. Poorly cut nuts. I've literally played better finished and factory setup Squiers than the mid to high end Fenders. And it's sad because I've always been a fan of the brand but no more. If you buy a new guitar IT SHOULD BE PLAYABLE!! Minor tweaks here and there but no trips to the local luthier shelling out more money just because the factory doesn't give a F*ˆck. Thanks for the video and keep em coming.
Just saw a vid where a guy played a Squire at GC, then picked up a $2200 strat and the Squire sounded better!!! He ended up buying it for around $250.
I have one of these and have not experienced ANY of the issues you mention here. Mine plays and sounds like a dream. Very happy with my purchase. Maybe yours is a lemon. Oh, one more thing. I got mine for $1760. Signed uo for a GC credit card and got a 20% discount w free shipping. Im stoked.
In any production there are going to be gemstones. Glad you got one. I was hoping mine would be the one, but alas, no such luck. Cheers.
A $400 Classic Vibe with a Plek job would be better than your $1760 guitar. You just fell for the marketing.
I know.
I'm a bit late but I think it might be a Friday afternoon guitar. there is a big difference between a Friday and Monday and a Wednesday guitar. I live in Australia and paid three thousand two hundred and loving it🎉
I love how you keep saying this guitar is not worth the money and then you proceed to play beautiful awesome blues likes it's hysterical
Haha.....yeah, I had no complaints about the sound of the guitar.
doesn't matter what the cost of the instrument is. even if they did a perfect set up before shipping, things can still change over time, due to climate and other people playing it at the store. frets can sprout off the board, sideways, etc. it can happen to a 10k guitar made by a pro luthier. expensive guitars are worth it imo, but they're also made of wood (usually) that changes due to all kinds of factors. also, you need to consider labor costs, which people never do and it baffles me. yes, some charge way less. depends on location, reputation, brand, etc. it sounds like you're voicing some very personal complaints/opinions as though they were facts. you just like other kinds of guitars, frets, setup, etc. some people want vintage tall frets.
Yes, those are certainly my opinions, and I do think it's fair to expect a nice guitar for the price tag of $2200.
I don't understand why folks have to defend Fender. Their necks are almost never completed. I have so many guitars without fret sprout, same climate. It isn't just fret sprout, it is sharp as hell fret ends. Shipping doesn't effect the instrument much between California to NY. I can receive a guitar from California in perfect tune with a great setup. People just like making excuses for brands they are in love with. I just returned 3 2023 Aerodynes for incomplete necks. They wanted to send me more guitars. No thank you. If Fender wants to sell me a guitar, they will have to send it to a luthier to then ship it to me as a completed instrument.
Agree 100% this review is moronic.
@@thomastucker5686 Im shocked you had any issues with fender japan and quality. I own 3 Japanese fender guitars, traditional 60's jazzmaster, vintage modified 50s tele, and a JB-62 jazz bass and all have incredibly well made necks. Feel much better than the American standard neck I have.
@@leo._.vincentit broke me to send 3 instruments back to Sweetwater. They looked amazing. I thought about sending them to a luthier but that would add $900 to the purchase price. One neck had to be refinished on the back because there was dirt buried under the finish. The fretwork was what I expect for a $100 child's guitar, or worse. I had studio work planned for all 3 instruments. One was a bass. I am still pissed. 3 different models sent out of Japan not worthy of owning at the cost of doing so. I own 3 Mexican fenders, all with awful fretwork. I purchased the Japan guitars to replace the Mexican guitars. When the fret work was the same, I decided it is just what fender does. So I did some research and it turns out, you can't expect great fret work out of US models nor custom shop guitars. If folks get a good fender, it likely came from a shop that completes the guitar at their cost. fret ends that are capable of cutting into our skin are not well made instruments. The guitars I replaced all the fenders with were completed at the factory. I wish I had skipped fender on the first go. I am a drummer, I didn't know. After 6 fenders, 3 2021 75th Mexican and 3 2023 fender Japan, with horrible fretwork. fender just doesn't care, they are just a brand now.
this guitar costs $500, the rest is logo
Accurate
Take a course in economics and manufacturing costs.
i would say the guitar is vintera II plus another type of pick up and quality rosewood in better version
I have this exact guitar, had the same fret buzz out of the box. Even after personal adjustment. I did take it to a local guitar tech and they made it 100% perfect (for an additional cost), but do agree, it should have been better out of the box. Overall, for me - this is my best guitar, can’t complain about anything now. Not justifying the cost or lacklustre setup, but I am 100% happy with it now. Will have this guitar for the rest of my life (and it avoided me potentially paying substantially more for a “vintage” strat)
Good to hear that you enjoy it. I was hoping that mine would be around for a while too, but ended up trading it.
What was the problem with it? Were the pickups too high?
@@VALLAERION I believe the nut needed filing as the angle of the strings were causing the strings to buzz on various frets. Other adjustments didn’t really solve this, so I guess the nut was the issue from factory.
Not defending it, but at this point, there are two realities that are just a part of buying a guitar from one of the big companies:
1. They're probably going to need some amount of set up
2. They cost what they cost.
Every new guitar will need a set up. Terrible review
Fine review. With regards to the price, I used an Inflation Calculator: $250 in 1961 is > $2500 in 2023 money. So essentially, they've become cheaper.
Cheaper in many regards for sure.
but in 1961 you bought a custom shop quality guitar for your money,now you buy mass produced guitars for essentially the same prices....much more attention to quality in the old days!
@@joellemaster998 that's a little too easy said. Fender's guitars were designed to be mass produced items, contrary to, say, Gibsons. The craftsmanship in those times may have been high but also inconsistent; one instrument varied greatly from another. The actual custom shop, with master builders and all that, didn't start until the late '80s. CNC isn't very romantic but it does give a baseline quality.
True but it costs a whole lot less to manufacture a guitar these days
@@dreamlifter2701 Why is that then? Did wood and parts become a lot cheaper? Labor? We're not talking about guitars made in the Far East here.
it doesn't matter how many options there are out there for 2,500$. The fact is that people who are willing to spend that amount for that guitar do so for many personal reasons. It's not about what you can get for the same amount. It's about getting what you desire for an amount you can rationalize, and hopefully afford. Apparently this seems to work out fine for companies like Fender, Gibson, PRS, Martin, etc... They simply adjust prices based on market demand & sales on their products in order to maximize profits like any other company
Well said.
MONEY.
@@williamcampbell163 money
I just got mine, and my brother bought one, I picked one over the other simply out of a slight slight feel, in fact really no difference. It’s like going to a store and buying two of the same candy bars and asking which one tastes better.
Bottom line, at least for our purchases Fender completely knocked this into the outer limits of space. Wow, I am completely in infatuated with my 61!!
This whole fret issue (not being the med jumbo and how it hurts one’s fingers when playing) I don’t understand or feel or see or get the issue! They feel perfect.
I don’t wanna call bs on this commentator but he must of had a one off or …..I dunno. He traded it for a Les Paul? So when it comes to QC he went from a Cadillac to a Ford Pinto.
@@gregriddle3042 Glad you and your brother got some good guitars.
The les paul is a higher quality build than a fender. It always has been. People have their preferences, but most can agree that a bolt on neck is a lower quality instrument, which is why I talk about a bolt on neck in the vid.
I couldn't hear the guitar over that shirt :) but anything with 7 1/4 radius is going to be a buzz machine unless the frets and the setup are immaculate. I've noticed that the price of a guitar doesn't necessarily equate to the quality of the guitar.
But he had buzzes without bending the strings. 7 1/4" necks only have problems wend bending.
This is exactly why I got into guitar lutherie work as a side hustle. I got tired of realizing that just about EVERY guitar being sold new isn't properly set up to be as good as it can be. I currently believe that used guitars are the best way to go. Especially stuff that is 10+ years old. This is because after 10 years any changes the wood will make has already done what it is going to do. Once the instrument is set up, it will stay set up. Defective hardware has already shown its shortcomings and can easily be identified for replacement. This is especially true for guitars with very thin necks. A lot of the new ones may warp or twist because the wood isn't fully cured. If the guitar is 10+ years old and the neck is straight and true, it will stay straight and true. This is why I recommend used Ibanez guitars only if they are vintage, wouldn't take a chance on a new one. It's always a gamble with a new guitar.
Great info and advice. I was going to make a vid on "Old" guitars vs Vintage and if I do I will def present some of these ideas and give you credit.
"LIFE IS A GAMBLE" and Fender will become victims of thier own success. Learn to to DIY your Guitars even if it takes years to get it perfect.
Somebody thinks $2200 is a lot of cash.
@@jackblack2321 $2200 is a lot for me. Thank goodness a great guitar doesn't have to cost anything close to that much.
@@jackblack2321 For a slab of wood with strings it is
John Suhr has the perfect quote "I won't be in business if Fender had good quality control." By a used Anderson or Suhr, 2200 -2400
Yeah, I am looking at the SUHR guitars, but once again, never actually seen one in person or in any store around here.
Yeah, Suhr makes a much better guitar than Fender!
I have the same guitar left-handed. Totally worth it to me. Every complaint you have I've not experienced. Sounds fantastic (sounds better than my American Pro II even with the new pickups I put in it), plays fantastic, and looks fantastic. I bought it sight unseen over the internet because that is how we left handed players always get guitars. Guitar Center sucks. I haven't been inside my local store in over 20yrs. When you have close to $100k in custom shop Gibson's alone and only have 1 left handed Squire, you won't see me again.
Left Handed guitars can be hard to find.
@@markkeeler584 Back when Guitar Center and Sam Ash just moved into town we still had some pretty amazing locally owned music stores. At one of them I bought a left handed Music Man Stingray bass in a trans-teal. right off the wall Thing had a beautiful birdseye maple neck. I wish I had kept it. MM doesn't even do those birdseye necks anymore. Last time I saw them was a limited edition birdseye roasted for right handed players only. Even that has been a few years ago now. I think that bass was the last in store purchase I have ever made. That was literally 20 years ago this year. All of those locally owned stores are gone now. There were 3 good ones we had.
Get a Classic Vibe for $400 get it plek'd and put some good pickups and electronics in it and it would be better than your guitar.
@@joeking433I'm tired of these comments. No it wouldn't be. This guitar can be plek'd and set up better than a classic vibe. If you prefer a classic vibe at that point then it's simply a matter of preference. And there isn't anything wrong with that! Stop acting like guitar companies are trying to rip you off when YOU have the power of choice. Go buy a classic vibe and be happy 🤷🏻♂️
Thanks for holding Fender's feet to the fire. About the tension issue you mention. How could the tension be any different than what is standard for the scale length? Are the strings heavier than you are used to?
Exactly. For a standard scale, string gauge, and tuning the tension will be identical or nearly so. That's freshman year physics.
Not necessarily if you start bending or using vibrato.
The tension of the springs of tremolo will let you feel less or more comfortable.
It's possibly down to the set up. When you're bending you're stretching the springs as you bend so you have to work it harder. Would be worth setting the trem flat to the body instead of floating and fit a couple of extra springs.
He has the action set pretty darn high 1/8th at the 17th, that will make a guitar really hard to play, more tension. A floating trem adds to that.
It's only because the frets are higher.The strings don't bottom out on the board itself.Giving an impression on greater tension. Imagine what I scalloped board would feel like😊 I.
Think he was just having a bad day
About the tension, I think it's the springs. I dropped a set of Raw Vintage springs (all 5) into my AO60s strat and it solved a million issues it had from buzzing (like the beginning of your video) to tension issues. Brought in chime and jangle that I like. Went from an unplayable guitar to a great one.
I put some Raw Vintage saddles on a strat I have.
I also have a couple sets of their pickups.
They have some great products.
This model (AVII) has a bridge that is set up floating out of the box. If you're having trouble with that, try decking the bridge by installing five heavy duty springs such as from Callaham.
@@danielstoddart I don't have an AVII strat. I do have an AO60s. The issue is that the springs that Fender currently manufactures are too stiff and made so you need 3 instead of 5. The Raw Vintage springs (must use all 5) are low tension and flexible. This makes playing much easier and more chimey sound.
@@GoodmanRecordingsTokyo Yes, it's often overlooked when setting up a Strat, but springs do matter. The tension of the springs affects how hard or loose the bridge plate is decked and the feel of the vibrato. Players should also experiment with how many springs they are using. I don't use the Strat vibrato arm, so my preference is to just deck it with 5 good broken-in springs.
@@danielstoddart I have never used the vibrato on any guitar that had one. I always block the bridge. I did buy a $200 Squier Bullet hardtail for my grandson. If Fender made a high quality hardtail, I would buy it, but they don't.
'I am not complaining about the quality of the frets, the frets are fine.
They are just not good to have on a guitar.'
I would kindly ask your permission to steal this phrase for future personal use 😉
haha..... future personal use granted in an unlimited capacity.
Please do report back on Silver Sky, I’m curious to hear your opinion.
Hey man, did you get the guitar straight from the factory? If not then picking on some of the set up issues is a little bit cheap. Even if they are American made and only shipped within the country shipping always messes up a guitar. Different moisture content, bouncing around in the back of a semi. Those set up issues are easy fixes. Especially because I don’t see too many beginner guitarists buying a $3100 (Canadian) guitar. You must know how to fix things like action and pick up height and all the little adjustments a Strat might need.
It was adjusted. Measurements were in the vid.
Avri II ‘63 tele. Nut slot on the B string was cut too low. Absolutely choked playing open. Unbelievable. You know what the fix is for that? A new nut. A $2100 guitar needed a new nut
Hopefully Fender paid for it.
You need to remove 1 tremolo spring. Only have the 2. I have this guitar same one. Came stiff like yours. I do my own setups after many many years playing guitar. I'm 60. Mine plays like butter. Easy bending of strings. 👍 tune to pitch. Make sure your neck/fretboard is strait with slight hint forward bow.set action low. Keep adjusting springs with the 2 screws so tremolo is even parallel with body. Make sure saddles are not bent higher angle. So both hex screws are even. You'll love your guitar!
Traded it away months ago.
I had a similar experience. I ordered this same guitar through my local shop and was very excited about it. The guitar came in, the excellent luthier at my shop tweaked it, as he does every guitar that comes in. After a few hours of play, things were just off. It's hard to explain. I didn't like the sound, (subjective), I didn't like the feel (subjective), but something was just wrong with the guitar, (agreed upon by the shop staff). I took it back and they accepted the return. While they were doing the paperwork I picked up a Mexican Road Worn they had on consignment and I thought, "This guitar is better in every way than the one I just returned". I wound up putting a Fender CS Strat on layaway. Yes, $2000 more, but remember, the early hype was saying that the American Vintage II was "near" Custom Shop quality. Not in my experience.
I ended up putting my '61 reissue up for sale and wound up trading it for a Les Paul.
I was thinking I might just throw my ideas about "quality" out the window and simply look for a strat that plays well and sounds great regardless of the make or model.
I will probably end up with a Custom Shop strat one day. It's just a matter of when.
@@voyxu143 Try to find a deal on a used Strat. Even in the same year and model, there will be differences in sound and playability. You just have to find a good one.
@@benallmark9671 will do. Thanks.
I've had better luck with the Mexican stuff too; I have a Road Worn Jazz Bass with a stable, highly figured neck that puts most of their CS stuff to shame.
CS Strats are worth about $800. Get an MIM and have it set up well or Plek'd and you have the same thing.
I have commented on this video before. I am back to say Thank You . The information in this video helped me to decide to buy an American Pro II Stratocaster instead of this Vintage II. Saving me over a thousand dollars and getting a better quality instrument. You were definitely right. I couldn’t find a Vintage II guitar that didn’t have some issues. I live in a relatively small town so I couldn’t check out too many. The ones I could all had some form of defect. Thanks Again.
Glad to hear the vid helped. Also glad you found a guitar that you enjoy. Take Care....!!!!
I think this review makes sense. If I'm remembering correctly, this model has the OG 7.25 radius on it. I do wonder if that makes a difference. Those 7.25 guitars some people just can't get into. Combine the tall thin frets with 7.25.. and maybe It's more of a rhythm setup. Perhaps this is one of the reasons fender dropped that from their normal line.
Yeah, it's vintage specs all the way. Very hard to get around on.
Fender needs to be plekking their guitars. If Gibson USA does it for every guitar out of their factory, Fender can do it to these expensive Strats.
My main suspicion with the buzzing is neck relief, which can easily change with variations in climate. As for the "stiffness", that's probably a combination of the frets and fretboard radius. Vintage-spec'd guitars are honestly just "harder" to play, it's a fact of life. I won't blame Fender for getting things right, especially when the frets should be even smaller to be "accurate". It's all VERY subjective and all about personal preference. Maybe the specs just aren't for you.
It was adjusted for neck relief.
The fretboard radius I already have on another couple guitars and it doesn't bother me.
As far as Fender "getting it right", yeah maybe on paper, but the guitar left much to be desired.
@@voyxu143 Did you return it, then? I feel like that would solve a lot of problems for you...
@@matthewskipper2732 No, I ended up trading it for a real nice Les Paul.
Thank you for your review. After watching this review, I went out and shopped for the best electric guitar in that price range. The guitar I bought was not a heritage-brand guitar. I picked the best musical instrument without looking for any particular brand name. What I ended up getting is the best electric guitar I ever had. Thanks again.
Fender really did a nose dive in the QC department in recent years. I suspect the layoffs and the increased sales during the pandemic played a role. Unacceptable on a $2k+ guitar.
Not sure what's going on over there. Def not worth $2k+.
I bought one of their GC-exclusive Player Strats last year and it had this nasty problem of buzzing when playing the open G and D notes. I had to go in for several setups, add a second string tree, and swap out the nut in order to get it under control. It was even more frustrating later on when I got a SQUIER contemporary strat, and the setup only required one truss rod adjustment to make it play perfect!!!
@@tomaslopez2940 I am going to basically play every model on the wall at the store and just find ONE that plays well regardless of model. They are all basically the same guitar anyway.
$2.200 would have got you a perfect playing music man or a PRs with absolutely no problems! I agree with everything you’ve said, I moved on to PRs and music man, their quality control blows fender and Gibson away!
Yeah, I have heard the PRS is perfect out of the bos.
Fender and Gibson have a cult following !! You're right about Music Man and PRS though , beautiful guitars that get overlooked by the majority !!
The nicest strat I ever played was the Clapton artist, but yea, sadly that guitar is not a strat (in the 62’ vintage strat sense). I can’t afford a real 61’ or a CS, so I settled on a Mexican road worn, from CME with pure vintage pups, all vintage specs except for the narrow tall frets which I believe are to offset the 7.25 radius somewhat. It was 1000 less than yours, and you get the relic look. If you like that…anyway that is my last strat my search is over.
I tried a lot of strats one day and wasn’t sold. Tried a silver sky and was. It lacks the super high fender presence, but EQ solves most of that. The playability and quality are way better.
you could certainly buy a nice PRS SS for the price of the '61 RI.
Purchased a Clapton reissue a few years ago. Same disappointment. Took two years to sell it at 50% loss. Bought an American elite telecaster online just hoping to have some thing playable. Sent it back within 24 hours.
My 2012 standard Strat that I paid $800 new for was a good guitar. Wish I had never sold it.
I’m really glad the vintage two has been sold out for over a year. I’m glad I didn’t buy one because I couldn’t.
Picked up a used sg standard recently, and it’s its joy jot play.
Our local fender dealer lost their right to sell guitars last year. Small shop. He is very disappointed. Had nothing good to say about the direction fender is going.. I believe him now.
The Fiesta red was sold out and on back order when I first tried to get it months ago.
Fender is probably making more money by NOT sending them out to dealers. Not sure if it will stay that way or not.
So, what am I getting instead?
at that price point the options are so many, I can't name them all here.
Can anybody guess the drinking game??
Great vid, have you tried the American performer? There is one guy that sells me one for 1000 dollars final price and looks new, altough this is the reason im buying jet guitar haha
Have not tried that one.
Thank you for your review. I agree with all you said and my experience reflects the exact same problems. These issues shouldn't occur on any instrument at this level or price point. I left Fender and Gibson years ago because of such poor QC and the substandard products they were turning out. I loved my strats, but realized it was time to walk away. I went to PRS and could not be more pleased and have never looked back. My Silver Sky is one of my favorite guitars and an easy-choice strat replacement. It's what a strat could have been. My Core's are simply unmatched. Each PRS has been perfectly playable out of the box despite rarely having extremely minor problems that were easily corrected.
This should not be the case today. It's sad that these two American icons cannot get something right despite once doing it so well and are comfortable charging more than ever.
I am going to check out the Silver Sky for sure. There aren't too many around in the stores that are not the SE(?) version.
I have heard them online and they sound great.
@@voyxu143 I think even the SE stuff will surprise you. I have core versions. I would like to hear your thoughts on one when you do get ahold of one. Thanks for this review!
lol my PRS "core" are only $10k each and they are unmatched! Haha OK
I'm still a fender guy and I got the 3 tone burst. But, I've owned 2 prs guitars and their qc is on freakin point. Those guitars came out of the box ready to go so prs is definitely a great product!!
@@josephvega3763 I would love to see Fender and Gibson make a quality come back. Everyone would win!
Aside from your subjective comments about the narrow tall frets and something you attributed to "tension". You should have received a neck that can be set up buzz free at spec action period! I would return that guitar. Your tone on that neck pickup sounded pretty good. I have an Original 60's Strat with the narrow tall frets, and an Eric Clapton soft V neck with narrow tall frets. I don't hate them like you - I like them. It must be a personal thing, maybe you push harder than most. As for the tension on the guitar I think you are not an engineer and were looking for another descriptive word. The tension will be the same for the same strings in standard tuning on any strat. The "tension" on the trem is dependent on the number and type of trem springs. I agree a premium USA guitar should be able to be set up buzz free at spec. Return it, and you probably should get a model with frets and a neck you know you will like.
I thought it did sound good. Many people do like the vintage tall frets. I ended up trading it for a les paul traditional.
A used Silver Sky bought thru GC is a better investment. Mine plays like butter, sounds awesome and no issues! Came in mint condition used for $1700!!!
Thinking about a PRS or Suhr next.
All the reviews I read were positive but yours was honest. I still bought one and I too was very disappointed to the degree that I sent it back for a refund. Maybe mine was a bad one but it was not worth the $2200 price. The problem is you can't play them before you buy one. No music stores stock them you have to buy online. Every other guitar or bass I've bought in the past I played multiple models before I found the one for me.
If I had been able to play this guitar before buying, I would not have bought it. Could not find one locally to get my hands on.
You are 100% correct. Fender seems to want a pat on the back for knowing how to make their own products, which are nowhere near as good as the stuff they built in the totally hand-built era. The one I tried at GC was junk, as all string bending past the 12th fret choked. BIG time. Most of these have high E too close to the edge of the fingerboard too. QC?? Also they are NOT vintage correct as they claim. Where's the aluminum shielding plate? It's just foil glued to the back of the guard. Why not use larger frets then, since it's not 100% original anyway? The quality of the wood isn't as good either. There's a reason that Frusciante and those pros who can afford it use the real McCoy. And I have a freak Squier that would burn even many Custom Shop pieces to death. These should be $1000 tops. Fender should do well to remember that they damn near went out of business in the eighties - so get rid of the corporate sugar daddies and start pricing these things right.
100% agree.
Funny thing, lot's of other people (who don't play the same redundant lick) love these guitars. Send it back and make a video of "Why buying over the internet is risk free" BECAUSE YOU CAN RETURN IT!
I was improvising until I played Lenny.
Damn it now I have to go play Lenny again @@voyxu143
was considering this guitar but i played in store n didnt love it either you mention you have other guitars that are easier to play n that but what guitar would u recommend
My favorites are The American Deluxe from the early 2000's off the shelf. Many of my other guitars are custom made out of Fender Parts. The Eric Clapton signature is a good guitar, the Eric Johnson signature is a very good guitar. Some of the older Vintage reissues are really good. There are so many good guitars out there. It is important to actually play the guitar, or buy from somewhere you can return it easily if purchased online.
Thanks for your honest review. In Korea, every fender guitar price is 50% higher than US. Thanks to the importer. Btw, since fender has focused on their custom shop and master built, their "just" fender's qc is getting worse. So, I wanna blame them. But, in terms of price, I understand Fender. Wood price is getting higher, labor cost is getting higher. If you wanna buy this kind of guitar, recently it costs 3000 dollars(ex. SUHR classic s antique, PRS silversky.)
A bolt on neck guitar is just not worth 3 grand.
@@voyxu143 I think so. I hope so.
Don't buy guitars online and get less disapointed.
Have you been to your local guitar store lately?
@@voyxu143 Yes. I went to the Gibson main quarter of Switzerland and had the luck to choose my Les Paul Standard out of a dozen.
I have a ‘61 and on order and if it sucks this bad, I’m flying with it to Corona, CA and walking it straight into the Fender factory and getting an exchange.
There are some duds. Some people have them and love them. If you have to fly it back to Corona please take video, I'm sure it would be epic.
I’m sorry to hear about your experience. I bought this exact model when they launched and I have nothing but good things to say about mine.
I was hoping to love the guitar. I know a lot of people do love the guitars. Glad you got a good one.....!!!
2200 dollars...nah.
Your right. Pricing illusions. 🧙♂️ 🎩 Know that in 1962 Fender sold out to CBS... A 3 letter agency. So as if "pre-CBS" is ?. It's just an average 🎸 guitar nowadays. One can obtain a Great guitar for $1,000 new, w/warranty. Thanks for an honest look at "pre-CBS".
@@timothyvaher2421 Yeah, you can buy a lot of guitar these days for $1-2000.
@Timothy Vaher I would even say you can buy a great guitar around 500 dollar :)
thanks for honest critic. I think, the price limit for absolutely well made guitars is about 1000.
The price over this limit you pay for the name on headstock. Except handmade by luthier.
A grand should def buy you a real nice bolt on neck guitar.
Thank you for being one of the few REAL reviewers of this guitar and keeping it honest. No one would spend 2200 and dog their own purchase unless it was called for, most people will naturally do everything possible to convince themself they didnt make a bad investment. Bottom line, if they're so great like most reviews say.... why are so many used ones on reverb for 30-40% off?
Tells you everything you need to know about most reviews.
I’m not sure what you searched to find “so many for 30-40% off” because I just looked. Not counting left handed models, there are literally five used ones being sold. The cheapest one has damage and is being sold for only 25% less. The rest are about 10% off full retail. So…
I feel your pain...It is so hard to buy a "mass production" guitar.
I bought a gibson SG special online. 1700 euros. The shop told me they would do a set up before sending it to me, and sent me pictures. So I thought it was risk free.
I received the guitar. Everything seemed ok the few first minutes : in tune !, new strings, action fine, frets fine, no buz. Guitar quite resonant. No cosmetic issue.
And then I realized : some notes were dead. The sound was falling immediatly, as if i muted it with my palm.
I had no idea where it came from, I wasn't able to solve the issue myself. And there is very little setup possibilities on a sg special.
I sent the guitar back.
The problem with mass production guitar is that many many people work on the guitar, each one is doing their little thing.
But in the end no one plays it to see if it is a coherent musical instrument. Maybe they play 5 notes on it, but they dont sit down and play 10 minutes. Testing every notes.
So we receive crap.
And Fender is making things worse, chosing to go back to 7.5 and vintage frets (fender american original was 9.5). On another video a guitar shop owner says all the american vintage ii have fret issues. I think they do it on purpose, to force people that are a bit demanding to buy a custom shop guitar with vintage sound, nitro finish and modern frets/radius.
In the end it is a nightmare to buy a guitar, whatever the brand is. And all the videos on youtube are always saying "oh this guitar is great bla bla" and when you receive it it is a piece of dead wood buzzing. Even after a shop setup.
" I think they do it on purpose, to force people that are a bit demanding to buy a custom shop guitar with vintage sound, nitro finish and modern frets/radius." NOT A BAD THEORY!!!!
I'm sorry to say that my 1961 Vintage II has the exact same issues as yours. I've had it professionally set up twice with adjustments, fret leveling, etc. and it just simply has spots on the neck where it buzzes annoyingly at a reasonably set action. This is not being ultra picky. The action is probably "medium" compared to my other electrics and simply sounds like a sitar in a couple spots and buzzes horribly when fretting on the A string on the 3-5th frets. The neck is perfectly straight but just is not enjoyable to play knowing there are spots to avoid.
Question- is it dangerous to replace the neck with a strat Road Worn neck, or will that somehow not fit right and be a waste of several hundred bucks? I really do like the way the pick-ups sound and love the looks of the guitar and want to salvage it...
I am so disappointed that this was able to leave the factory with the neck having very clear issues. one of the dangers of trusting the product of a huge guitar company sight unseen.
Yeah Shane, I was heartbroken so I can only imagine how you felt. I had not really thought about replacing the neck on this one. If you have a guitar tech, get their opinion on what would work. I also wrote Fender Customer Service an email to see if a current neck would fit on a 2002 model strat, and they gave me an answer in about 3 days.
I am almost 100% sure that when and if you do get a new neck that you will have to have the guitar set up so once again, check with the tech that you will be using to set it up. IF you are setting it up yourself, check with Fender to see if the neck will fit and go from there. Good luck.
Have you compared it to other Strats? Honestly, most Strats set up with a medium action will have some amount of fret buzz. To completely eliminate it, the action has to be quite high. It's worth it for the increase in tone, though.
If the neck is “perfectly straight,” that’s not helping. You need a bit of relief in the neck. 0.010” to 0.012” measured at the 8th fret is Fender spec and what I use on all of mine.
It's all about chasing that perfect neck. A guitar with low action that every note rings out perfectly is hard to find!
Get a $50 Amazon neck and learn to level the frets. I have one that I leveled and it is the best neck of any of the hundred or so guitars I've played in my lifetime.
$2,200 Made in the U.S.A. so why are you complaining about the price. Made in China price for similar or better quality guitar would be about 1/100th of US price or about $220. Labor costs in China are 1/100th of U.S. labor costs.
You should be comparing this guitar to a $220 Chinese guitar for quality.
All my complaints are in the video. Did you watch it?
1/100 * 2200 = 22
Thanks for your input on this guitar. I was almost going to buy one of these - some other reviewers on the internet had favorable reviews but I held off to play one first which I have yet to do. I recently picked up a Japanese Fender Tele custom and it was $1300 - it played like a dream right out of the box - no adjustments no fret buzz nothing and one of the most comfortable guitars to play that I own. Thanks again for the frank honest review.
Yeah, after going back over some of the vids I watched before buying, I am now thinking many of the guys doing the "reviews" or presenting the guitar probably got paid by Fender.
There are some real quality Japanese builds these days....!!!
I played one and it was fantastic
@@ryangunwitch-black Some people love them.
@@voyxu143 It's no secret that the majority of reviews are sponsored, at least if we're talking about large channels. There are some reviews highlighting serious QC issues with Vintage II guitars out there, e.g. Puisheen's review of Vintage II Jazzmaster, or even Trogly's review of Vintage II 1975 Telecaster. Overall, quite disappointing quality for one Fender's most expensive American lines (outside of the Custom Shop).
@@boshi9 I saw the music shop guys showing the guitar and figured it was in their best interest to hype it up, but there were some small channels doing reviews that I later thought, "man, they must have gotten paid."
Guitars, for the most part, are very subjective. What's good for one person may suck for another. I have that same guitar and played it before I bought it. In fact, I couldn't put it down so eventually I had to leave the store with it. Mine plays like a dream. The last guitar I bought before the 61 Strat was a custom '58 LP reissue for around 4k. So the 2k on the Fender felt great. For me, guitars are like Harry Potter's wand. When you pick up the right one, you just know it immediately. And you know a wrong one pretty quickly as well. I only bought one guitar online without playing it first and it was a Taylor 12-string. I'm a huge Taylor fan and assumed I'd love it. But it felt like I let a stranger in the house. Of course there are always set up issues to consider on any guitar and perhaps you got a bad one. They make a ton of these things and some slip though.
Not one store around me had a '61 reissue in it. So I was unable to actually play the guitar in person.
Glad to hear you got a good one that you love. My main guitars are strats, just not the one in the vid.
Picked up a 90's japanese '60's' style Fender strat. £600 guitar and it plays and feels 100% better than my American Pro.
I have the allparts by fender and omg so unbelievable well made and especially the most important thing the tone and wow you ain't lying I won't sell my or trade it for anything that cost more than my guitar nope
I have the same model and it does have a lot of bad buzz and bad sound on the E string, but it was definately a good laugh to hear this guy go on for 15 minutes about how he bought a vintage spec guitar and then proceed to complain about all the vintage features like neck shape, frets etc lmao Fender figured all this stuff out and fixed it over the years, you literally went out of your way to buy the old vintage version
Glad you got a laugh out of it. Cheers!!!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ve found that many vintage spec American Fenders fall very short of the mark. I’m at the point where I’m doing a Warmoth build, because my first Warmoth is the only guitar I’ve ever had that has zero issues. Let us know if you return it and replace it with something better!
I was just at a guitar shop and a guy had a Roasted Warmoth neck put on a tele. He said he has been using warmoth products for 20 years and loves them. He's a working touring guitarist.
I have the 61 strat up for sale/trade. We will see what happens....!!!
The best fender USA reissues were the previous American vintage series , these new and improved vintage ii' s fall way short
Warmouth is my go to for necks n bodies. I have 3 Warmouths now. You can build a Fender vintage spec clone for around a thousand.
I bought one in may and had to exchange it for new ones 3 times because every single one was screwed up in a different way, I ended up just refunding the money in the end cause I couldn't stand waiting for another one to arrive and it have the same fate as the others. If you buy one it will be messed up period.
Damn....yeah at one point the fiesta red was on back order so the wait is probably lengthy. I ended up trading mine for a Les Paul.
I'm so glad that I found my best Strat in the 90's. And got a L P studio from the 90's. Both are great now but have reputations of being "best of" at something. The L P is from" Good Wood" era. My deluxe plus was "As close to custom shop". Still fantastic to this day.
I've got some good ones too, the '61 reissue just ain't it. haha.
Me too. All the Fenders and Gibsons I bought were from the 90s up to I think 2002. Never a single problem and designed the way I like. If I were to buy another I would buy a used 90s one
How much does your LP weigh? ;)
Sounds like you bought the wrong guitar.
I just bought a brand new
$2,100 Fender Ultra Stratocaster and plays and sounds fantastic. Comfortable neck and frets.
I also bought it from Sweetwater and was able to return it after reasonable time.
Good video though.
The Fender Ultra is probably a better buy for the money outside the nostalgia of the '63.
I think I got that one out of thousand with the highest quality. I think I really got lucky because mine really plays nicely and I love the tone.
It thought the one I had sounded good, it just played bad,.
Did you get it online?
Don't agree with what you are saying for the most part but absolutely enjoyed this vid.
so you liked it?
lmao
I compared the vintage 2 to the Am pro 2 when looking for a Tele. The pro 2 was perfect and I preferred the specs. What was I gonna pay 500$ more for ? A nitro finish ?
that is sprayed over a thick coating of poly. haha Kinda defeats the purpose of the nitro haha
I will not a 1961😮Buy reissue for the sum of 2,200 what's really going on we're being ripped off by fender Mr Leo fender would be turning around in his grave🎉!!!!? He made these affordable at one time guitars for us guitar players that were affordable at one point...
They were never affordable, they were $240 originally, thsts $2600 in today’s money.
They were bolted together then by part time staff who were not luthiers, so all of the nonsense about vintage is rubbish. Bolt on guitars , simple.
I picked one up at GC Clackamas, Oregon. It seemed like a nice guitar but I was absolutely shocked how bad the string/neck alignment was. There was a big gap at the side of the neck and it was clear that it needed adjustment. I seriously couldn't believe it that they let the guitar leave the factory in that condition. Especially for that price point.
Nice playing, by the way. Liked your classical inspired playing position. Sorry that the guitar didn’t work for you. Mine turned out to be a perfect one for me. Though I bought it from a brick and mortar store, fully aware what those “vintage tall” frets are.
I highly recommend you try out the Yamaha Pacifica 612. It's A LOT cheaper than the American Vintage ($750), has cooler specs (Flame Maple Top, Wilkinson Trem bridge, Seymour Duncan Pickups, Graphtech nut and string trees, Grover locking tuners), and the fit and finish is FANTASTIC! I bought it and a Player Strat around the same time, and the Player Strat needed several setups and modifications in order to eliminate the buzz on the open middle strings while the Yamaha needed only two setups!
The Pacifica is made in Indonesia, but all you have to do to see the difference is to compare the quality of the fretwork. It isn't even close at this point. Incredible that you can get nice fretwork like that on an Indonesia-made guitar. Fender had better get their act together.
yamaha pacifica 😮😵💫
Totally agree. It’s not worth 2200 bucks, not even 1000. Just because it’s got the specs of a 60’s?
I have the same model in the sunburst finish. I love it and I have had none of the issues you describe. I bought it in memory of the first Fender Stratocaster I ever had, a 1961 model purchased new in 1961. I don’t think the price is unreasonable.
Did Fender send you over here to comment?
@@voyxu143 No, I’ve been a Fender fan for over 60 years. I grew up in Southern California and Fender was dominant in that market. My Vintage II Strat feels and sounds like my original Fender. No issues, just a great player.
@@ericoswood1856 Cool, glad you got a good one. I wish mine had been a keeper....!!!!
Thanks mate for clearing up some doubts about purchasing this guitar. the main question still remain. what do i buy in order to have a trusty sounding instrument? i mean fender strato.
Lots of them out there. The American ones are usually pretty good, but I have played a couple MIM's that played great. Just make sure you get your hands on the guitar and play it for at least an hour before purchasing.
I enjoyed this review. Thanks for doing it! Have you tried a comparably priced G&L? You might like it better.
Thanks for watching...!
IMHO, Your paying fo the Nitro Fin THATS the game changer. They aged, they change, they sound warmer and fuller. Poly fin might sound great but it will not change that much.
I liked the finish. It was a beautiful looking guitar, that's for sure.
If you play the original 1961 vintage Stratocaster I bet you it would be the same as the reissue. That’s just how they made the guitar back in the day. I have a Custom Shop 1962 Strat with 9.5 radius and bigger frets,and it plays fine, it’s not original spec from 1962 but fender decided to change it to a modern spec for more comfortable playing.
Guys back then didn't rip it up Hendrix style.
The bigger frets in your CS probably make a big difference. I bet a fraction of real '61's still have the original frets.
I got one from Sweetwater. I’ve never purchased a bad guitar from them. I got mine set up medium/low and PLEK’d and it plays and sounds fantastic. The tone of these guitars are great!
You paid 250 to get it plek'd? Gibson plek's theirs at the factory. The one I got was set up but did not play well. I had no complaints about the tone!
@@voyxu143 Dude! You are one negative person. I trust in the luthiers I use and it plays great. You must be really picky but don't put me down for a Plek job. I Plek all my guitars and they are better every time. Get a life!
I completely agree with you! When I saw a few reviews, I couldn't believe that a guitar priced at 2200 had a poorly attached neck. Literally, the E1 string was hanging on the edge of the fret.
I bought a 2019 squier cv 50s strat and absolutely love that guitar after I did a minor setup and changed the strings to my preference. $399.00 was well spent.
you're literally referring to ONE video out there that showed the misaligned neck, I know which you're talking about. This is why new things have warranties. You can buy an $80,000 car and have some issues days later. Lol people need to relax. What is worth anything these days? Everything is overpriced. It's the price to play today.
I had Exactly the same problem with the E string as you with an American Original 50’s strat. This is so unacceptable.
I think the lack of local shops where you can demo out higher end guitars (like this) does a real disservice to the overall quality control. Inferior products wont last on an inventory long in a guitar shop... dealers will hold off placing future orders or send back. However, over the internet - its hard to judge (high res pictures and all) if the guitar is truly setup well and plays properly without major fret buzz, poorly cut nut, improper neck relief tension, etc... I am of the opinion that when you get over 1200 - the guitar should not require any work beyond minor adjustments (certainly not fret leveling or nut replacement/shaping) It is a risk to buy on the internet. Ive been wanting to buy a higher end (possibly fender custom shop) guitar for longevity sake and to play of course - however, there is no way I could drop 4-5K site unseen. Harder and harder to get your hands these guitars to evaluate in person... good luck
Well said. Thanks.
Thanks for the honest review. Its rare I've bought a guitar that's without "issues" out of the box. Got lucky with a Fender American Pro II Tele recently. First guitar ever for me that needed no dialing. Before they got too expensive I liked to buy from the Player series with the expectation I'd have to work on it new to get it where I like it. But then, my finger are still the limiting factor and not the guitar. Thanks again. Will check out your channel.
The guitar was adjusted. When I got it the thing was WAY worse.
I am looking for a good Strat so at this stage in the game I am just looking for ONE, ONE strat that does not have the buzzing and is playable regardless of price or series.
@@voyxu143mate just buy the PRS silver sky. After my experience with this same one that I bought just to return it the day after I’m thinking about the SS. Everybody seems to agree that they come perfect out of the box. I’m seriously thinking to put down the extra cash
Not for anything. I loved and dreaded in retrospect, my experience buying new guitars.
More negative than positive for the very reason discussed here. When it came to Strats more often, no matter what the price range was. New guitars required an average of 2 visits to get a decent setup, and I am not super fussy. In ALL instances, I wanted to simply have no fret buzz and feel as if I was climbing a mountain to play.
Having said that, I had a positive experience with an American Professional Strat from Sweetwater.
But lastly, this plek thing has me worried. If you buy a 2000.00 dollar guitar, to be assured before it's shipped that the set up and frets will he good? Another 200 dollars.
Can I get a "C'mon man?"
To travel to and fro to get a tech to get it right was such a kill joy. But I agree with this gentleman here. There is no perfect solution, but at least Sweetwater, there is an inspection done, and you are assigned a rep to talk to. If you need a tech, well, that falls on you unless you're gonna go through the hassle of a return.
And yes. I get the weather thing and all that stuff. But when you get a hornet's nest out of the box despite trust rod adjustments and such, it just sucks man.
Gibson Pleks all their guitars BEFORE coming out of the factory. PRS people have said in numerous vids that the guitars play fantastic right out of the box. The wildcard of internet guitar buying has magnified the problem because in the store, in your hands you can tell if a guitar plays well before you walk out with it.
Glad to see a honest review on these. You have to love Fenders marketing. Vintage tall frets where did that come from? What vintage guitars came with narrow tall frets? I bought a Road Worn Strat with those and they were terrible. I just built a 62 copy for less than $1000 that beats these to pieces. Great video!
I guess they are spec for '61.
I owned a real 1961 Sunburst Stratocaster that lived under a bed in its case for ten years after the owner joined the military and just lost interest. I bought it in 1975 for $100. I was 17 years old then. I sold it two years later for $240 thinking ...o yeah I'll replace it sometime. 🤦♂ O well, Life goes on.
But I can say this...to this day I can remember and KNOW what a real 61 sounds and feels like. Oily, smooth, hard, porous in all the right ways rosewood board. Not this dried out crap they are using today. The sound of the pickups. The sound of the ash body. And it was just different than what they have today. Vintage TALL frets?????? Never on an original. I KNOW better. I read that on the new 61 AVRI II that Fender is staining the rosewood to make it look darker
I have a 1994 57 RI which I think is a great year for Strats with an alder body and maple. it is aging nicely and sounds great but will never be like that original 61.
I got a FSR Classic Vibe 60s Stratocaster, Fiesta Red, after some magic you cannot tell the difference from the AV II on playability and apperance. The latter cost 636,75 % moore. All tho it weighs more i would not change it for anything.
Probably not much difference overall to justify the hefty mark up. Thanks for the comment/info.
I didn't catch how much it cost could you say it again?
It's become a drinking game at this point. haha.
22 hundred is a helluva lot of money for a guitar.
Preach, brother. I'd tell them they can have it back and I'd take my money elsewhere. Maybe spend it on a Sire Larry Carlton S7 (or a number of other reasonably-priced alternatives) and have enough left to pay some monthly bills, buy an amp or go on a short vacation. "But maybe it's just me."
Had it paid off so just ended up trading it for a nice les paul.
@@voyxu143 Cool, hope you enjoy it.
If you really play Strat’s (or Tele’s) everyone with an ounce of knowledge knows that a setup is NOT universal. They vary depending on your preferences for things like string gauge, playing style, tonal qualities and feel. In addition, bolt-on necks actually allow you to experiment with neck replacements so you can switch radius size, fret size and fretboard types. (Try to replace a an LP style headstock break in 10 minutes…LOL). Oh yeah…..there’s plenty of YT Video’s to show people how to setup their Strats.
"If you really play strat's"??? Who me?
"ounce of knowledge"??? Me?
@mazsenior, you’re an idiot! With the relief listed(high), there shouldn’t be any fret buzz. Those frets are up and down to rattle like that!
Lol man, for this money the guitar should have a basic setup to specs done AT LAST!!!!
I am a lower end guitar guy and had several guitars at that price range. Now discovered that I really love strats. Modified a Squier 40th anniversary a little and now feels and sounds nice. What in your opinion is a really nice Stratocaster style guitar in the higher price range?
They do vary a bit, but the Strat Ultra, the Eric Clapton signature and the Eric Johnson Signature are usually pretty good, but you do have to play a couple to find a good one. For the money, I would also buy one of these used. The early 2000's American Deluxe stratocasters have never let me down.
No Bueno! Send it back. Sounds like a horrendous setup. Maybe it would play better after a good work over.
Yeah it might, but damn, 2200??? Too much,.
This rant is absolutely justified. In a day and age where entry to mid level guitars offer a ton of bang for the buck, a $2200 premium American made guitar better offer a premium purchase experience… including being setup properly out of the box… and sound awesome. Fender may be getting away with this now but it won’t last forever, imho. I recently purchased the Fender 61 MIM Vintera Mod (barely played and dirt cheap) from a guy who bought the AVII a couple months later upon its launch (a year ago). So after we sealed the deal on the Vintera I asked him if I could try out his AVII… I definitely got the better deal. He did not have a 2X better guitar than he had just sold. Some ppl just have money burning holes in their pockets, I guess.
Yep
You can build a really nice strat with custom specs for half that price if you have some skills . I ve just built a 67 replica with Musikraft neck, 65 pure vintage pickguard, pickups, tremolo, cts pots, CRL 5 ways, a body from Rockinger that i painted in Olympic white nitro, i had to do the set up and dressed the frets . It was really a cool process to choose the parts, order the neck with 67's specs and to build the whole guitar, it really worth it .
Extra point for honesty, good review, thx
Thanks...!
This guy's opinion is valid... when I first saw this I thought he was crazy, then I went to the Guitar Center in my town and played two of them... THEY PLAYED WORSE THAN TERRIBLE; both had the thing where the high e-string is so close to the edge of fretboard that it keeps slipping off when you play aggressively. And also, the weird "tension" thing he's talking about was totally noticeable... I don't know what it was caused by... maybe cuz they comes strung with 10's, plus the issue people are mentioning with the stock trem springs being too weird/stiff... but it was horrible. Played one of the new Mexican player II strats a couple weeks later and it blew these AVRI's out of the water: $799 vs $2,200. So glad I saw this guy's review as I was just about to pull the trigger on buying one of these sight unseen of Reverb. I would have been so pissed to dump that much lettuce to end up with such a dud. Thanks Voyxu for the warning!
Glad to hear the info helped.
ON the subject of rattling....did you put anything in the rear cavity to knock out the spring noise? They all seem to do that, and it's hard to tell if that might or might not be the rattling you're hearing. On TH-cam it's hard to tell. Kinda simple but had to ask.
I put foam in the springs to quiet them. The rattle was coming from the strings.
@@voyxu143 I see. Thanks.
Sounded great to me. Sounds like a bad retailer failing to set up the guitar. And an expectation for a vintage spec'd guitar to not have vintage spec'd frets. So, seems to me to be a review based more on opinion and expectation, rather than the actual quality of instrument, which is different from quality of setup.
I was expecting the vintage frets, wasn't expecting them to hurt.
The guitar is set up. It doesn't play well.
Sure, it's my opinion which is based on playing many guitars. I have 9 strats. Selling this one ASAP.
Where'd you buy it from?
@@jdorr111 What difference does that make?
I meant preference, not opinion, earlier. We all have preferences though, and vintage spec'd instruments fall outside of most people's preferences, from my observations.
It matters because I'm still convinced that the reason for your bad experience isn't Fender, it's the setup policy of the retailer you purchased from, and I want to avoid them. Obviously they don't value your opinion or your warrantee if your forced to sell on your own.
@@jdorr111 I bought it online with no "set up policy" because that would require me sending it back.
Yeah, we all have our preferences. You may love the guitar. I wonder how many people have real 1961's and when they got it refretted they actually got the same frets put on it.
I have been watching every TH-cam video I can find about this particular guitar. This is the only video that is a negative one. Guitars In The Attic,Mathew Scott , Andertons, Guitar Center and others all have good things to say about the Vintage II Fender 1961 Stratocaster reissue. I am thinking of purchasing this guitar. Now I am confused and very tentative about making this purchase. Do I think it’s possible that you just got a lemon? It happens. Have you checked out any others of the same model? Would be great to know.
Yes, Patrick, there are some that are good. The key is really getting your hands on one. The people you are talking about are PAID to give good reviews on the guitar. There are lots of horror stories about this model of guitars. As stated, if you can play one in person that is super important. Otherwise if you buy it unseen, be ready to pay for a pro set up, or be ready to send it back. Good Luck.
@@voyxu143 thanks for the advice
ill be sure to grab and play one in a store to see for myself. This review convinced me not to take a chance with buying online.
Yeah, and check the neck fit in the pocket, people were complaining about that on the very early issue of the guitar. I have to say if I had played this guitar before purchase I probably would have passed on it.
Happy Guitar Hunting....!!!
Just received a Squier strat Sonic HT H Black with almost (a bit less severe)the same strings alignement problem. Screws we’re loose on the neck. Since it’s only a 200$ guitar and love the uncommon highly figured laurel fretboard. I fix it loosening the 4 screws and aligning the neck. The setup was all the way crap on that guitar. Pass QC check at Squier + store… Have only an other bolt-on (Ibanez) and this one was perfect out of the box.
one suggestion: u can speak slower so u can waste more time
Good suggestion. Will try that next time for sure. Thanks!!!
This is an icon Strat. Fiesta red and rosewood. I was very tempted last year but €2200 for a Strat with 7.25 and small frets is a bit much. I bought an American Special Tele instead.
That “tension” you speak of, I find that with Squires CV guitars. I uses .10s exclusively and while all my Fenders are okay, I’ve got ride of a few Squires because of that hard tension.
I had to get the Fiesta Red.... loved the color. Wish it had been a better quality build.
I spent some time learning how to work on electric guitars. I can now do all my own maintenance, but not only that, I can now buy cheap guitars and turn them into great guitars, and even better, I can now build my own. I would never spend $2,000, when I know I can build a better one for less than half the price.
P.S. I own a Mex Fender strat, that I bought in 2001. It had 60's style, tall thin frets on it, which I eventually wore flat. I have since re-fretted it (myself) with 6105 stainless steal frets, which feel and play great. I have also done quite a few other mods, such as replacing the pick-ups with my preferred ones, and have installed 7-way switching, including a coil split for the JB Jr neck pick up. It also now has a Graph Tech nut and Fender locking tuners. With all the mods, it cost less than $1,000, and it's a great guitar, as good as (if not better) than any US Fenders I've played.
It sounds like a good guitar. I am not ruling out a Mexican Fender when I go looking for a strat
The Fender Mexico plant is about 90 miles south of Corona CA.
@@voyxu143 The Mexican ones are definitely worth checking out. I was extra lucky with mine, the neck is made of a nice piece of flamed maple, that looks great when it catches the light. It wasn't a special or custom, I was just lucky to get one that had a nice flame on it. Vintage guitars, and replicas, can be nice (or not in some cases), but people forget that the original Strats were made with relatively cheap wood, and paint, what ever Leo could get his hands on. So, they varied a lot in quality and sound. P.S. I'm sorry that your new guitar doesn't live up to expectations, but hopefully you can "rescue" it, and turn it into a nice playable instrument.
@@fishypaw I have never owned a Mexican strat, but as you said, these guitars vary and some are def better than others. I played a Jimmie Vaughan mexican strat once that I almost bought. I will not be ruling them out in the future.
I ended up trading the '61 for a Les Paul.