Fender American Vintage ii 61' Stratocaster - Is It Any Good??
Вставка
- Опубліковано 30 чер 2024
- Just picked up a Fender American Vintage ii 1961 Stratocaster in Fiesta Red. These are my first impressions when I open up the case and see the guitar for the first time.
0:00 Intro
00:53 Reveal
1:30 Quality Control Check
3:20 Feeling the Neck Profile
4:45 Hearing it Amplified
5:20 Frets
10:15 Play Test
Hi Nick, lovely guitar. It's disappointing Fender US can't install a neck properly aligned tho. Amazed it gets through their QC. Nothing a screwdriver can't fix mind. Got one in white on order. Thinking about it, if you think this was a return, maybe whoever had it first messed with it.
Yeah it's a bit of a bummer. My other AVii came with the same problem with the neck being seated a bit crooked. My theory is that the demand is so much higher than expected that they are just trying to hold on for dear life to crank these things out. Honestly though, it's pretty amazing. It truly feels like playing a piece of history. The big things are right where they should be. Can't wait for you to get yours too!
@nickhandleycreative8386 Hi Nick mine arrived today. Been lucky, absolutely zero QC issues and love everything about it. Closest I'll get to a 61 strat I reckon. Only issue is the loose orange fluff in the case getting everywhere. Ha ha, nothing a vacuum cleaner won't sort.
Yes!!! That’s awesome Man. Congratulations and enjoy
@@NickHandleyCreative😊😊
I think it's unacceptable that a guitar at this price point (over $2000 USD) comes out of the box with a misaligned neck that could have been addressed by QC before being shipped. Anyway, it's a relatively easy fix. Here's what you do: 1/ Tune the guitar up to pitch. 2/ Loosen the bottom two neck bolts a quarter turn, no more than that (make sure you do not go more than a half turn). 3/ If you hear a "ping" or a "pop" noise, this is good because it means the neck has re-seated in the neck pocket. 4/ Check for straightness. 5/ If the neck is now aligned, tighten the neck bolts and you're good to go.
BTW, if you remove the neck of a four bolt Fender guitar, it's important how and in what order you tighten the bolts when putting it back on. You should do it just like changing a tire on your car: tighten the first bolt a quarter, then the bolt diagonal from it a quarter, then the other two diagonally opposing bolts a quarter. Then repeat but tighten them a half, then repeat again and tighten them fully. What you want to avoid is tightening a single bolt all the way down by itself, then putting the next bolt in and tightening it down, etc. That can cause the neck to be misaligned.
Your joy for music and guitars is infectious! Thanks for sharing.
appreciate the review, was eyeing it!
A guitar that expensive shouldnt need to be worked on out of the box. Unacceptable. I'd have sent it back immediately and demanded a replacement or refund.
Fair point. If I didn’t vibe with the guitar or had gotten the impression it was cheaply made I absolutely would have sent it back (I do that all the time), but as for this one though, I love it.
@@NickHandleyCreative you vibed straight away. Got ya. I didn't watch the whole vid. I was angry for your situation and clicked off.
@@donbishop6994You right .Its crazy now 2000 pounds guitar should be perfect.
@@przemyslaw1235 I get where Nick was coming from. He instantly vibed with it and it's a simple fix that only takes a minute to do. It's more of a principle thing with me.
My music man BFR fender custom shop and gibsons have all needed a new setup out of the box.
Thanks man. Dream guitar. Gonna pull the trigger after the holidays 🎸
Dream guitar because if the label? Take your money and go to a smaller boutique builder and get a properly built instrument for less cost. Fender and Gibson are a joke these days.
Beautiful Guitar Nick ! Congratulations, sounds amazing. Definitely looking at getting one for myself one day !
Thanks! Yeah it’s pretty nice, and one day in the far far future I might actually have it paid off 😂
I had to send back my first one for the same neck issue. It was so far off kilt I was appalled, no way I was paying that much for something needing such correction. But Fender did handle the issue very quickly and I have been in love with the replacement they sent since I got it. Beautiful guitars and awesome to play.
Since the making of this video I’ve gotten a couple more AVii guitars and I can definitely say now that some come flawless and some come horrendous. I generally think that’s the case with all guitars though
beautiful color strat...thanks for the review.
I did order one because the red and rosewood is the holy grail to me but shelling out €2400 for a guitar with 7.25 and spaghetti frets is a bit scary and I eventually backed out. My favourite configuration is 9.5 with medium jumbos or even jumbos. While I do own a Vintera 50s Tele, an Esquire and a classic 72 custom, I prefer the more modern fingerboards. It’s nice to have a vintage touch but the music I play isn’t from that era.
Regarding set up, that’s subjective. I like low action. Some guitars come perfectly set up and some are high or low. I hone the action and intonation over a few days until it’s perfect. Trussing if necessary. I remember buying a used 2004 HW-1 Strat in 2019 and I asked the seller to dismantle it for shipping. When I reassembled it, everything was perfect without any additional adjustments! Rare but true!
Good insights. I’m pretty similar in terms of initial setup. It usually takes me about a week of tinkering with then to get everything feeling how I like (especially on the 7.25” guitars). However, after that initial setup I generally never mess with that aspect ever again unless there’s a problem.
Congrats on the new guitar! I know it's an expensive guitar and so many people fuss about neck alignments, but as long as the guitar plays well and the QC is good, let it be. Very easy adjustment. I'm happy you connected with the guitar. It's a beauty!
Ahh thanks man! Yeah the QC issues were minor on this one. No biggie at all. If fret ends were chewing up my fingers that would be a different story, but I’m happy to report that was a non-issue
@@NickHandleyCreativeI own an AVRI ii '63 Tele in Surf Green and I really like it. Cheers!
For 2k this shouldnt happen I have had 3 sent and they were all fucked
@@preston_4824 wait wait…. 3 ??? Dude, did you kick a puppy or something 😆😆😆 … Just kidding. That’s a serious bummer. I had the same thing happen when I bought my deluxe reverb a few years back. Took me 3 tries to get one that worked properly.
Hi Nick. Ok I’m in a minority here. I bought one of these ‘61 V2’s same spec when they were first released. I also had seen bad vibes on you tube about the QC issues, so expected something to work on. However I still went ahead as I have a 1982 AVRI ‘57 first issue, and wanted the first issue of this too. Mine came with ZERO issues. It’s also far better than the 1988 AVRI ‘62 I had some time ago. It is fantastic and has become my go to. I realise I was lucky, & have no regrets. I do agree that at this price point there should be no issues at all. It seems that Fender/Gibson at the moment are devoting everything to custom shop guitars. Epiphone & Squier have upped their game. (& prices), why not Fender & Gibson. Their non-custom shop guitars are their bread & butter.
Honestly I truly think the minority are the ones that come with QC issues. I grabbed a 57’ from the AVii line in addition to this 61’ and the 57’ had zero issues (other than the latch breaking on the case). This series seems to be getting a lot of flack from the internet, but i personally think most of it is undeserved. I can’t put either of my AV ii’s down!
I desperately want the three tone sunburst 61 AVII. I got to play a Fiesta Red one at a GC here in Jacksonville and it was beautiful. The color was perfect and it felt and sounded great.
Yeah man I love the sunburst too. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I like this thing. With all the negative sentiment toward QC on the AVii guitars, I was half expecting this one to be a bust, but as it turns out I can't put it down :)
@@NickHandleyCreative🎉 I have one on order and mostly paid off with my local mom and pop shop! Now, the waiting. I hear it's the hardest part. (RIP, Tom)
Seriously, though... I'm a bit nervous due to the QC issues but I have my theories on that, which I'll share with the class.
My 57 neck was the same way. Basically had to pull the neck off sand the side of the neck pocket with a small block of wood and 220. Plus the pick guard was hanging over the neck pocket. Also had to sand that as well until it was flush with the edge of the neck pocket. Use a small round file to get the rounded corners. After that it is straight as an arrow. Also, noticed it has a lot of 60 cycle hum. Probably, will pull the pick guard, copper shielding it and resolder modern twisted wires. Fortunately, I build parts casters. So it is not a big deal for me. Love mine as well.
I have the ‘57 also. Mine too has a lot of 60 cycle hum, but that’s period correct if I’m not mistaken. Mine fortunately came with no flaws.
I got very lucky with my 61 Olympic White model. And my 57 Daphne Blue model. There were no issues except I wish the Rosewood neck om the 61 was a bit darker like the one in this video.
The dealer I bought these both from had many of the AVII models that did have very noticeable flaws and they offered a huge discount ,but I held out for the right ones. And I also got a huge discount on mine as well.
All that aside,Fender made the best vintage reissues in 30 years ,but they really should have kept an eye on the quality throughout the run of these great models.
I will say this:You certainly can't complain about the voicing of the pickups. They finally got that right!
Hello thanks for the video! I also saw your video on the Eric Johnson Strat... how do you compare the two? is the Johnson more versatile and playable then the Vintage Reissue? I'm a bit battled on wich one to choose... the Eric Johnson kinda gives me a lot curiosity! cheers
I'm going with the Pro II. Thank you very much!
Just got mine. No issues so far. I oiled and cleaned the fretboard and changed the strings. The setup only needed very minor tweaking. It sounds nice and warm for a strat and the tuning stability is excellent so far.
Yeah the ‘61 is awesome. Being lucky enough to have all the AV strats, I can say that the ‘61 carves out it’s own sonic spot right In between the 50’s and later 60’s models in terms of warmth/articulation.
I have had one of these for a while now, (mine is 3 tone sunburst), i play mutiple hours a day, and gig constatly. And i can say this is a perfect guitar, and wear is starting to show. Even tho alot of people Say "There is poly under its is never gonna wear blah blah", Im already down to the wood in the picking Area.
I would give the guitar a 10/10
Moat people don't play for hour's a day and gig. You are unique. It'll definitely wear.
Lovely instrument. Congratulations. 👌
Thanks! So far I give a thumbs up to both this one and the 57 strat that i have in the vintage ii line. Not perfect out of the box, but pretty cool nonetheless.
Hi. Nice sound. This is what we expect from instrument. If this is above standard then l it is worth to do some corrections even. What is your Princeton version? Best
Your Fender 61 case is exactly the same that came with me Fender AVRI 62 Jazzmaster I bought new in 2003. 20 years on the guitar and case are still excellent. No issues.
Great to hear. The case that came with my AVii 57’ had a broken latch, but no biggie. That could have been from anything.
Looks like the neck could be easily adjusted for that high E. Loosen all the neck screws and pull that headstock up a bit, then camp them back down.
Have a 74 strat. It had the same neck issue but not quite as bad. Also, neck pocket seems tight. Turned out the bridge was mounted off center, so I had to move the bridge. Did it a long time ago!
Hey nick do another video and let us know how you felt with that high E string issue. I’m really curious how you fixed it and how it plays.
My thoughts exactly. Nick, any chance for a follow up video? I’d love to see if you’ve had a chance to address the neck straightness issue and what the final result is. Thanks!
Great vids man! I saw you did a video on the 57 avii as well. Which would you prefer between the 61 and the 57? I have my eye on both.
Thanks! Man, the ‘57 and ‘61 are so different it’s hard to compare. That said, if I had to pick one, I’d take the ‘61. In my opinion it just has a bit more of an all around sound and feel. Again though, that’s just my own personal flavor.
@@NickHandleyCreative thanks for the reply! And yeah I totally get it. I personally prefer the sea foam green and maple neck of the 57 but I do love the sound of the 61 and the fiesta red is pretty nice too. Ha sometimes you may just have to get both!
like the dark fretboard and the fiesta red is incredible! have the same guitar but in 3tsb ...my best strat, perfectly crafted and the pu's are awesome in my opinion 😊
They are really nice indeed. I was looking at the 3tsb also but it was out of stock so I went with the fiesta red
@@NickHandleyCreative for me it was just the other way round 😀 greetings from switzerland 😉
Nice video and great sounding guitar. Just curious about your Princeton. Is it stock or have you done any mods (ie speaker change)? Sounds perfect with that Strat!
Thanks! - The Princeton Reverb is one of the limited edition versions with a 12 inch speaker. Specifically, it’s the cream color chassis with the oxblood cloth. I do love it!
I knew that something was special. I have a stock 65 reissue and it is great, but I have heard some with 12” non stock speakers and like the variation. Might need to mode. I have a 62/63 CS which I love. Checking this out for my brother. Thanks for getting back to me.
@@peterschmitt415 Of course! Happy hunting :)
It’s got a great sound for sure
Is there anywhere I can look at the tab/chords for this version At Last? Love it.
Yes! Check this service out. It’s a reasonably priced subscription service for sheet music. It’s awesome. You can transpose to any key and they have a pretty stacked library. www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/subscription?gad=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhIzSlvGBgAMVozHUAR03xwrREAAYAiAAEgLiIfD_BwE
I just missed out on the first run September 22.. so I placed an order expected in May 23.. it eventually arrived September.. my first impressions were ..How fabulous it looked .. as you say a pink red which I have adored since seeing one for real in 1962 .. However, I noticed, also that the neck was out of alignment ..which gave me serious misgivings about the guitar .. I returned it for a replacement, Box fresh from Fender .. during the interim I have read so many reviews, complaining about the same issue.. it absolutely amazes me that Fender haven’t corrected this in QC.. my new one has arrived at the shop I will receive it next week ..if it has the same problem I will correct it myself .. which I possibly should have done with the first one …but I honestly thought, for the price I shouldn’t have to .. string height, intonation to my personal preference yes.. but neck alignment should have been picked up at factory…
I agree. If the box is clearly sealed fresh from factory then some of the QC issues shouldn’t exist. In my case I almost always buy used/open box/returned to store/etc, so I give some leeway for the things that could have happened outside of fender’s control. That said, the AVii ‘73 strat I bought was pretty unacceptable IMO, although I still kept it.
I’ll cross my fingers for you that the new one is amazing. I do love my ‘61 reissue
I’m always amazed how much shoddy craftsmanship Fender fans put up with.
No no, you’ve got me all wrong. I’ve got shoddy craftsmanship guitars from Gibson and PRS too. I try not to discriminate 😉
These QC issues confirmed my choice to go with an Ibanez Prestige AZ2204NW. The Japanese shops wouldn’t let this fly. People need to remember, there’s more than Fender or Gibson out there. Hell, G&L is more Fender than Fender.
Good for you, man. QC issues are indeed frustrating.
I bought a new Ibanez Az2204 and has exactly the same issue. At Fender it is a one minute job, at Ibanez huge problem.
It is so disappointing to get a guitar that's set up / finished like this. especially when paying that much money.
I LOVE Fender in general, but unfortunately, I had such issues in any new Fender I ever purchased (Am Std', 2 Am Pros, 70th Ann' Esquire).
Currently own a 2022 MIJ Start, hands down, it is superior to any of the MIA I mentioned above, fit and finish wise at least.
I am considering my next buy these days and videos like this just push me more towards other brands.
Fair point about the late stage QC on these. It’s a bummer to not have them arrive pristine. That said, I have 2 strats in the new AVii line and they both have so much character that the setup imperfections don’t bother me at all.
When you can buy the NEW MITCHELL MS 470, with all the same specs and more for less than $300.00 ,,,,, well let me just say, I’m signing a truce with Vietnam 🇻🇳!!! Fender American in Corona better move to Mexico 🇲🇽!! Corona has gone to shit,, looks like all the Chinese immigrants are being employed by fender Corona!!!!!
Thanks Nick, seriously considering getting this model! Thank you for your honest opinion
Of course! For what it’s worth, it’s been 6+ months since I’ve got this one and it’s still one of my favs. It’s holds its own against my two custom shop strats too! If you like vintage fender spec, you’ll surely be a fan of this one
Evening Nick, I recently ordered & bought myself a Paoletti Jon Koh Signature guitar. Hand made & I love it… but I’m still considering this guitar! Please help?
Well if you’re like me, every guitar I get usually has a honeymoon phase where I swear I’ll never need another guitar in my life…. Then at some point I find myself back on the internet poking around for my next buy. The good news about the AVii is that there’s no shortage of supply so it’s not like it’s a one of a kind. If I was your shrink I’d say love the one you’re with until the puppy love wears off, then go score a used AVii at a steep discount.
@@NickHandleyCreative Thanks Nick, good advice!… also, I’m not sure my wife would appreciate me pulling the trigger on buying another guitar!
Evening Nick from the UK. I did indeed buy this Fender. I was fortunate to buy it new from a dealer with £200 off the retail price in a sale. I feel like I’ve bonded with this guitar unlike my custom Paoletti. The Paoletti will have to go but I’m gonna loose a lot of money selling it unfortunately. Which does hurt!
My `61 in Arctic White is "Out for delivery" right now and I literally cannot wait.
Ahh the longest moments of your life waiting for that delivery 😆😆
What's the song you're playing at 10:45? Great video! Still waiting on mine to come in.
That was a rough rendition of the Etta James song “At Last” - probably hard to recognize because I wasn’t playing it that great 😊
@nickhandleycreative8386 sounded pretty good to me man. Thats why I asked. I want to learn it lol.
You still have this Strat? If you do is you opinion of it gotten better or worse? Thanks for post ing this.
Yep I still have it. This one is my favorite of the AVii strats.
when I got mine , it was set up really bad , I then discovered that there was no relief in the neck , was badly back bowed and no amount of adjustment mad any diff , the strings was tight across the frets and buzzed badly .. I sent it bk to the shop and as I wanted it asap , I had them swap the neck from a white one they had in stock .. got it bk , it still needed a setup , but after an afternoon on the bench all was good .. and really love the guitar ..
fenders QC on the vintage 2 seems really poor .. I also had issues with a vintage 2 tele where the nut was cut way too low and this thing buzzed really really bad , I managed to get a partial refund from the shop and I kept the guitar .. again another afternoon on the bench I fitted a new nut and all was good ..
Over all im happy with both my vintage 2's but only after a fair bit of attention .. I think fender needs to look at what's going on with QC
Which do you prefer the '59 or '61?
I'm currently interested in getting both of these models (as well as other AV years).
Funny, I was shooting the 59 and the 61 out last night! (Maybe I should make a video of that)
I’m still in the honeymoon phase with the 61, so I’d probably be inclined to say I prefer that one at the moment. In the AV line (i and ii) I have the 56, 57, 59, 61, and 62. I think the 65 is the only one I still need. I love them all. If you can deal with a little character though imperfection, then you really can’t go wrong with any of them. - I will say that the 59 has a slimmer neck than I would normally prefer but it makes up for it with amazing sound! Hope this helps.
Wow! You're doing exactly as I'm trying to do! (Great minds think alike!) Yeah I'm aware of the slim neck on the 59, but that's all part of their unique character and I love em all! Would love to see a video on the 59 vs 61 Strats!
Could we say if you go higher in price range the performance does not warrant the price increase?
I had a couple MIM strats and teles with the high e string on the edge of the fret and loosening the neck plate screws and moving the neck didn't helped it enough. I recently bought the American Performer Strat Arctic white with RW board and it was 100% perfect out of the box with a perfectly set up floating trem. I am going to buy the American Vint II in the near future and if there is any wrong with it other than a truss rod adjustment due to the weather and minor set up tweaks it will be return for another one.
Shouldn’t have any mistakes for $2300 Guitar. Sorry.
I have an original 70s bullet strat .. which I bought late 70s.. so I would like to obtain a sea foam 57 to complete the collection.. along with my many other guitars including Gibsons & the latest Yamaha..
So I’m kind of a newbie with guitars, but is this an original from ‘61? Or a rerelease of a ‘61?
Some day I'll be making a video of me holding an original 1961 :) This one is a reissue though.
To me a QC issue is a bad paint job getting through, or maybe faulty wiring. With these though every single one of them have a misaligned neck. That is a fault in the process that should have been corrected when they saw it happen to the 1st batch of however many. Crazy to me they just kept churning out thousands, and thousands of guitars with a string hanging off the neck. I'm gonna wait and see if they get it right with the vintera ii.
one of the polepieces in the neck pickup (b string) seems quite sunken in? is this normal?
Yep. Normal
7:04 mark. I'm watching my grandbaby 3 years old and that's her scream. Hahahahahah 🤣😊. Awesome video. It's generally the neck getting bumped in travel in the case sadly. That or a return as you stated. Either way absolutely beautiful. For me..I have found a classic Vibe 2015 model china made 60s 3 tone sunburst bought as advertised as SE for 179.00 and slightly reliced neck and mighty might pups 500k pots. I put player series loaded sss in it. Aside from the tuners being horrible ratio the guitar is an absolute player. 3 different luthiers and others friends and all have all told me, Do not sell it. Someone who got this first used it as a project guitar probably SRV and removed the pups they installed for the mm ...Anyway. It's amazing. Sadly I need to get it reset up it's been a year. Lol. But yeah it's really really nice. Sometimes you get lucky. I wish my favorite which is a black Fender Fsr MIM had slightly taller frets but it was my first one and I love it. It has the special aged yellow tint poly on the maple neck and the gold logo. 21 fret classic stamped fender 6 screw. Fat block and ceramic pups. I'm actually thinking about swapping the pups from the cv , to the MiM as that would be a fit like the player series uses. But more classic with the Trem and all. I got lucky. I've heard horror stories with all varieties of fenders and Gibson's. I am into the fusion Line Harley Benton as well. Great video man!!!! I know you are loving it.
Thanks for watching! Sounds like you know your way around custom guitar creation. I’d sure mess that endeavor all up 😆😆
thank you for posting this. I had the exact issue with high E falling off. this was after paying SW for plek. I love the pickups. Also i saw tiny holes in your case like I do so i guess that is also a norm
Yeah I’m an American Vintage fanboy for sure. I love them. I actually even love the imperfections. Makes it feel more human to me. I’m curious, why did you opt for pleking?
I'm glad you said that the guitar "has some MoJo" I agree, I love mine. I also have a Fender AO 50s which is a great guitar also. I think the former has the edge on the 5o's tho, but not by much.
I got a white one, great guitar, same issue with the neck, loosened the neck bolts and shifted the neck over straight and tightened it back up and haven’t had an issue since. I believe it shift during shipping, because the photos on reverb it looked straight… 🤷🏻♂️
I also had that happen on my AVi ‘59 strat. Neck came crooked in the pocket so I went back to look at the pics on reverb and it was perfectly straight. Maybe the UPS gave it the ol’ Ace Ventura treatment 😆
Most Fender colors came from Dupont in the late-50's and early 60's originating as automotive paint. Fiesta red was a color Ford was offering as early as 1956 as an option on early Thunderbirds and Fairlanes, but found it's way on some other Ford models. Dakota Red which came from General motors first offered as an option in 1957 and 58, predominately by Cadillac.
The story on custom color Fenders is that George Fullerton was kinda pushing for the option and took a few bodies over the a local auto dealer who painted them for him. He supposedly got a red finish body back first , assembled the body into a full guitar, and was showing off it to some other employees at Fender most of whom laughed while asking "who would ever want a red guitar". Seems old George was right about red guitars though.
Personally I love the Fiesta red. I also love the Daphne Blue, Surf Green and Teal Green Metallic and Olympic white. Yours is a beautiful guitar. Disappointing that it left the factory in such poor condition in terms of fit and finish.
I just got mine in. Perfect in all aspects!!! Fender QC has done a spectacular job in trying to maintain shipping a 61 replica across the country. If you are buying this guitar you are buying a 1961 guitar. The sound is amazing!! Playability is outstanding and I love the tremolo in the floating position! I’m usually a guy who likes my trem on the deck. Not anymore. Plus stays in tune and the sustain on this reissue is phenomenal.
I’ll take any QC issue with fender over Gibson any day. Gibson QC was an absolute embarrassment, I played a 2500 Les Paul that I wouldn’t have paid 300 bucks for, it was a pos!!!
This isn’t the days of walking into a guitar shop and picking one up and playing it. These guitars are being trucked shucked and dumped on the door steps! But wow am I personally impressed.
I watched one vid where they guy was complaining about the type of frets, lol I don’t know what his deal was, he states it hurt his fingers…..???
There are a ton of videos on these 61s , just remember you aren’t getting a modern strat. It’s the old school everything. I love it.
Thanks for this video, sounds beautiful through the Princeton. I think I’ve been going 4 hours playing on mine, can’t get enough of it!
Yes! I’ve been playing mine nonstop too. I also have the 57’ AVii strat and I love that one also. The vintage mojo on these are very well captured. I can understand the gripe about the QC, but to your point, I don’t think a lot of people realize how much guitars are affected by the elements, shipping, etc.
Anyways, congrats on your new axe!
@@NickHandleyCreative quick question, I have the hand wired 64 Princeton . What OD pedal are you using if you are using one ?
@@gregriddle3042 oh man how is that thing??? I’ve had my eye on it for a long time. In this vid I was just plugged straight into the 65’ reissue.
@@NickHandleyCreative I love it! It’s just warm and very organic!! Hard to describe, but I love it!
I’ve been majorly on the fence about grabbing a hand wired 64’ princeton. I guess my only question is if it’s that much more noticeable sound quality over the 65.’ I tried the 62’ brownface the other day and loved everything about it other than no reverb. That’s a hard aspect for me to get past
They’re killer once it’s setup and dialed in- mine setup easy and quick - no neck pocket issues either - my only concern was a cheaper toggle switch, which is barely an issue.. Hard to put it down - playing it lots and lots!! lol I’m blown away with the slab board and clay dots in a brand new guitar!! And totally diggin the tuning stability it’s like my AVRI 65 jazzmaster it never goes out of tune once setup correct! And I bet it’s a 2 piece body (anyone know for sure?) feels solid and heavier than the cheaper strats on the market - can hear the resonance coming from the body and I bet the slab board helps in tone and resonance too! The block is decent and the saddles seem fine - i wonder if the springs are as good or better / worse than callaham springs?? - I finally nailed the fender Strat trem without threading it off the block lol (replace the arm spring inside the thread hole if they wear out) trem is smoother than any fender I’ve had before (gripe with fender trem Vs callham and custom builds (which are much nicer than fender stock) glad they used bone nut too - this guitar doesn’t need much to sort it out from the factory- last but not least! These pickups are awesome! They have the authentic clear strat spank to em and they have a nice midrange when into a Marshall too, they def sound different to my CS 69 pickups in my swapped out deluxe strat
Altho that’s relative to 3 piece body and 2 pin pivot bridge.. the pickups are chimey and bell like and snap nice I also noticed a real nice warm bass response in the neck position.. this guitar does SRV and John fruciante / Hendrix really well
Well said. Yep I love it. I love the 57’ too. I’ll have to give that one some video love soon
@@NickHandleyCreativewhich do you like better the 59’ AVRi or the 57’ AVRii?
@@ryanmoore2779 Honestly the 59 and 57 are way different. Apples to oranges, although if I had to pick from the two I’d probably take the 59 based on the versatility factor. The 57 has a pretty pronounced V neck and it’s pretty bright and spanky, so it’s a bit harder to tame.
Great guitar. What are you plugged into ?
Plugged straight into a 65 reissue Princeton Reverb
@@NickHandleyCreative nine , it sounds great
Just got one for $1400 a demo with a small chip by neck pocket ,no biggie from gearnuts on 4th sales, yeah my neck pocket has the gap and I had to loosen neck to get strings aligned ,, except for the crappy case , pleasantly surprised, the neck and pickups are killer
Wow that’s a steal!
How does the neck feel? I have small hands so I naturally prefer thinner necks rather than thick for the most part.
To me it feels pretty slim, but i tend to prefer big chunky necks. I’m probably not the best unbiased opinion though.
@@NickHandleyCreative thanks!
Good tone!
That’s a beautiful guitar my friend, awesome tone!
I just got the AVII in 3 tone sunburst and it is awesome 👌. Just needed a set up
Congratulations! The 3TS was my first choice in color but no place had them when I was on the hunt.
@NickHandleyCreative it's a beautiful guitar and it plays great. I went through a local dealer who was able to order directly from fender. I think they set aside stock for dealers
@@josephvega3763 right place right time!
What’s the case like and what’s the neck pocket and weight like on yours? I have one on order and I’m a little nervous 😬
@ryangunwitch-black I got the classic series wood case in tweed. I'm not sure about the weight and it sits perfectly in the pocket. The pocket is the first thing I checked and I was lucky that it sits perfectly. Also, my rosewood board is a real nice peice as well considering some look more like pau ferro or have too many lines running through it. Overall very pleased for sure
why do you like high action? just curious, whats the benefit
Great question. For me I’m pretty clunky with my fingers, so I feel like having the higher action makes the strings a little more forgiving since you have to push down further to actually make the note sound. Also I don’t play fast so the low action doesn’t really offer any benefit to my style of playing.
Does it have a 3-way switch, Since I do t really like the 5 way
5 way switch
I love mine ❤
It's not a returned guitar. It's a Closet Classic!
It came in tune. Why didn't they loosen the string for shipping?
Good question. Hit or miss with Guitar Center. It’s like a box of chocolates :)
They should include a setup with the price if you can’t buy it from a brick and mortar. I do my own work so it wouldn’t matter to me but I get it. The cost of all makes are getting outta hand. Amp makers are the same. Two Rock over 6 grand for a head and speaker. for example. Shur strats 3300. Yeah it’s nuts. I built a partscaster a 62’Fender. All top parts MJT body, Musikraft neck Kline Epic 62’s. Cost me 1600.00. It sounds great but price parts are crazy now too.
Im thinking of selling my silver sky to purchase one of these. The fiesta red color and clay dots is stunning. I’m a little disappointed by truss rod location and the 7.25 radius. I’ve had the silver sky for years now but I don’t think 7.25in is the smartest idea. I think 9.5in is the perfect radius
Funny, I just sold my silver sky too. I really liked it when I first got it but then it just started to feel flat to me after a while. The AVii has all kinds of character. Loving it so far
@@NickHandleyCreative that fiesta color is the coolest fender color I’ve ever seen from a standard series guitar. I’m a little though worried about QC issues if I order online. The fiesta and clay dots match well
I’d say if you buy one online just make sure you can return it if you don’t like it. I’m an unabashed guitar returner to guitar center because they allow in-store returns for purchases made online. Buying guitars sight unseen is a risky proposition if there’s not a return option
Is this factory setup? Action looks very high to me.
This particular guitar was either a floor model or a return, so it’s hard to say if the action was at this height from the factory. I can say though, having bought 4 of the AVii’s sight unseen that the setup from the factory is pretty random. 2 of mine came decent, 1 really nice, and 1 terrible.
@@NickHandleyCreativeThanks for the feedback. I think bad setup and QC issues are not acceptable at this price range. It's better to get a secondhand at this point.
The trouble with the strings not fitting on the board is common on older Fenders because the bridge string pitch at the bridge is 54 mm which is too wide for the neck which is around 51 mm at the 12th. fret. A modern design Fender will have a 52.5 mm bridge which matches the neck.
Also the pickup pole stagger is silly in a modern context because the high G string pole was designed for a pure nickel wound string with a lower output nothing like a loud plain G as used by nearly all players today.
What is the fake tan neck colour going to look like when the maple neck darkens as they do. Orange peril.
Good insight. I found when I adjusted the seating of the neck the string alignment corrected. I didn’t know that about the staggered pole pieces in the pickups, but I do use pure nickel strings on my vintage spec guitars because I like the sound of them (although not a wound G string).
Overall, that's a great guitar. Too bad about the high E. I believe that Fender was caught by surprise by the demand. Perhaps the rush to fill orders resulted in QC stuff.
I totally agree. I’ll bet the next batch won’t have as many little problems
This why companies like Suhr exist and are so successful.
You got real lucky with no fret buzz. Mine had crazy low E fret buzz, open and all down the neck. Had to raise bridge. Better now, but not perfect. Totally agree w donbishop, unacceptable.
Dang that’s a bummer. Did you buy it new? If so, what about swapping it for another one, or for another type guitar altogether? I’m 100% on board with the idea that for $2k you should be happy as a clam.
I bought one last October (Olympic White)...not my first Strat but I hadn't had one for a while.
In the store it was obviously in need of a setup but I felt confident I could sort it myself (playing-for-40-years-worth of self confidence).
Turns out I couldn't.
Spent weeks fucking about with neck relief, action and string gauges to no avail. Action was all over the place, it buzzed, it had dead notes (the G string sounded like it had palm mute almost everywhere), it choked on bends - you name it...a total dog.
Still, I decided I owed it the best chance to earn its £2,000 price tag so I did some asking around about who the pros use for guitar setup in Glasgow and the same name kept coming up.
So I made an appointment to let him have a look. His first reaction was "What the fuck?" but assured me it was saveable.
The setup wasn't cheap but, like I said, I wanted to give it the best chance.
Long story shortened a little...it now plays like butter with 10s. No chokes, no dead notes, nice action (within the boundaries of the 7.25" radius...1961, remember?). And it sounds beautiful.
It needed a full fret dress and high spots removed in several places (oh, and the nut recut). Pickup heights set to Fender's '61 specs is also a revelation....rings like a bell now.
I'm very glad I toughed it out - it's everything I hoped for now and the more I play it the better it gets.
Should we expect perfection out of the box? Is that a little unrealistic? I think the answer to both is "it depends".
Fender definitely have some QC issues with this model (YT has many videos along the same lines as you say) but they sold out in weeks and the back order is lengthy so there's "something" about them...
Wow that’s some serious dedication. The frets are the line in the sand for me. If mine had poor fret work I would have just returned it and waited for the next batch. Fortunately the frets on mine were butter right out of the box. All the other little imperfections don’t bother me and were easily fixed in all of about 15 minutes.
That is appalling for a 2 grand guitar....,yes, it should bloody well be perfectly setup! Unbelievable that this red one is so off with string alignment😳🙄🎸🤘
Great guitar! I want a white one!
Yesterday I played an AVII 61’ Strat in fiesta red and I loved the way it looked, felt, played, and sounded but its neck was also unaligned. It’s a guitar I really want to buy but it is disappointing that such an expensive guitar has such poor quality control.
Indeed. I feel your pain. The misalignment of a bolted neck doesn’t bother me so much, but last month when my first custom shop strat arrived with poor fret work I thought I was going to cry.
With guitars it is best to buy in a store where you can see it, play it, etc
do you still like it after 8 months?
I do. It’s definitely my favorite of the 3 AVii strat models.
That High E misalignment is uncalled for on a $2,100 guitar. I was thinking of getting the white one, good thing Sweetwater has pictures of them and you can pick a good one.
Yeah definitely a benefit to grabbing one from Sweetwater for the initial inspection from them. I myself tend to be a bargain bin hunter, so in my case it was worth saving $400 on the price to do my own neck adjustment.
I personally would return a guitar with that kind of neck alignment issue. Fender really needs to fix the QC problems - it's been going on for way too long.
I got an AVII P bass like a month ago and that shit was perfect. Rosewood was dry as shit but that’s an easy fix.
Just crack the neck screws and pull up on the headstock to realign the angle to center the strings. You don't need to remove the neck or even de tune.
Good call.
nice song youre playing! whats it called
We’ll call that ‘in the style’ of Etta James “At Last” 😆😆
I'm starting to think some of the QC issues I'm reading in forums and seeing on the UA-cams is partially due to player preference and some being inexperienced or unlearned. I think some people want this to be a modern spec guitar with a nitro finish. Most of what I'm seeing is "I don't like the 7.25 radius" or "I live in Arizona and my guitar had some fret sprout when it arrived. And I had to set it up."
Guitars don't always travel well. Changes in temperature (especially going from an air conditioned warehouse to a hot truck/freight delivery service, then to your house). It's wire and wood. Things are obviously going to shift.
Not to mention the people who just want to dump on a guitar manufacturer because of price increases across the board.... Everything is more expensive now. And these guitars are actually a little cheaper than their historical counterpart when you consider inflation and what money was worth in 1961.
They do, however, seem to run on the heavy side, many coming in at over 8 lbs. I have a Strat that's not super light weight and while it plays and sounds beautifully, I wouldn't mind getting a nice, light 7.3 pounder....
I completely agree. IMO the vintage spec guitars are different animals than their modern spec counterparts. In general a bit harder to play, but at the same time very rewarding. You’re actually touching on a lot of the topics I covered in a new video I just filmed about the 57’ AVii. Setup/inflation/player expectations/etc. Thanks for the insightful comment!
Wow what a comment! How in the world does Learning and experience have anything to do with the high E string hanging off the neck or the neck having a crack at the body big enough for ants to start an ant farm!!!! Please help me understand my desire for quality workmanship and what that has to do with neck radius or nut size?????? Wow, how do you ever buy a quality guitar with that mind set!!!
It’s not hard to route a decent neck pocket, blows my mind that Fender would do such a shoddy job. The same can be said for the silver sky se
And the silver sky core model too! I had one that came with a neck pocket gap and some really sharp frets.
Is this guitar good to play nirvana songs with?
Not really my genre of expertise, but I think he played a fender mustang if I’m not mistaken
I thought those were coming with a mint pickguard, but it looks white on the video
Yeah it’s a mint pickguard. I totally agree that it looks white in this vid. Pictures and video just don’t do the look of this guitar any justice.
With that string issue I would have sent it back. Looks like the former owner did too.
Fair enough. We all have our level of comfort in terms of working on guitars. Neck alignment was an easy fix for me but if it had come with a bad fret job I would have definitely swapped it out.
Just an FYI ... the apostrophe goes on the left side of the year number, as in '61 ...
I’m trying to tell you I’m a noob without actually telling you 😆😆 Good tip. I’ll correct that moving forward
Heh-heh! I used to produce credit and non-credit class schedules for a community college ... I have been brainlaundered into trying to be perfect! Love your analysis of these Fenders! @@NickHandleyCreative
@@Tonetwisters thank you! I should have spent more time in English class as a teenager instead of cutting class to go home and play guitar 😆😆
Fiesta Red is historically to the orange side of red, like tomato soup. This one is a looker!! Last stage QC on these guitars is not good. I have an American Original 50's that had to go to the guitar tech for nut cut and a few other things which I now forget ... Oh yeh, mine needed a small shim to get the bridge height screws right.
look closer but look closer at E stringfrom the bone until lats fret
Sweet axe!
for wax to fall out of the pickup and the neck shifted over to the side i would have expected it to have had a very hard ride. no big issue though. 2 shakes of a cats tail to align the neck, hey presto ready to rock!
My theory is that this particular guitar was a returned store model. The box was definitely re-taped. Who knows what happened to this thing before it came to me. But yeah you’re right. It took me all of about 15 minutes to get it adjusted and set up how I like it and now I can’t put it down!
The last 4 fenders I've bought have had issues in way or another..... sharp fret ends/ misaligned necks/ needs fret leveling/
poor cur nut' etc' no real major issues and I like it.
I call the seller up and negotiate/refund' 1or 2 hours work and including set up to my preference which most people do anyways' end up saving several hundreds of dollars on reufud.
Also alot of times a person can buy open box/blemished' discontinued with very little issues.
Yes, i could ignore these minor issues of a new guitar. But not in this price-range.
I’m 2 for 3 in the AVii line. 2 of mine came perfect and this ‘61 had the neck alignment issue.
So much for today’s American craftsmanship. For $2100, should not have these defects.
I wouldn’t really call it a defect. The neck was a little misaligned, but these vintage style necks are meant to be removed over and over to adjust the truss rod. It took me maybe 5 minutes to realign the neck and maybe another 30 min to get the guitar set up the way I like, and now I can’t put it down. Like literally…. I should be working but I’m just playing this guitar instead 😂
I got one that came with a misaligned neck as well as a poorly fitting nut. I sent it back.
The action might be a bit higher due to the 7.25 radius
Been thinking about one of these since they came out. I just haven't been able to check out the neck profile. I want a chunky neck. Think a Nocaster with a Rosewood Fretboard and we are getting there. Now I realize the only way I'll see that neck is by calling up the Custom shop, but I'm not going to do that yet. The search continues.
I like big thick necks too. This is nowhere near that. Very slim. This AVii ‘61 has some serious mojo overall, but the neck is not thick. That said, the ‘62 hot rod strat from the mid 2000’s AVRI line has a big fat baseball bat of a neck. That would be a good option if you don’t want to go the custom shop route
@@NickHandleyCreative I've been looking for one for several years when I have the extra cash in my pocket. I had the money last month and ended up in the hospital. I'll have to try again later.
The neck not being perfectly aligned would bother me enough on any guitar to return it, let alone one more expensive than a regular USA Strat.
On this particular guitar, I imagine it probably came first to someone who shares your opinion so they returned it. Then I bought it at a discount, took 5 minutes to adjust the neck seating and now this is one of my favorite guitars. Everybody wins!
Same here. I know with the bolt on necks it is likely an adjustment, but I wouldn't want to receive a brand new guitar and have to mess with anything like that. Also, I'm a Gibson guy so my mentality on something like that is centered around set necks where there is zero tolerance for any alignment issues.
@@Somenite yes, neck alignment would be a complete different issue on a gibson for sure.
That E string falling of the frets is ridiculous. Bought a new -75 strat back in the day, same thing but worse.
Fender seems to not acknowledge these faults through the years," just copy the old stuff and be good".
This is a bummer for me. Has no chance to test one out where I live. I will check out the Vintera 2 instead as they
are available in the shop or just stick with my trusty Ibanez Jam instead.
Well I can say that I have to come to expect these kind of issues from the production models, but I was indeed a bit disappointed when I had similar things happen on a couple brand new custom shop strats I recently bought.
@@NickHandleyCreative Sorry to hear that. Well, I guess buying a guitar online is always a gamble. Thanks for the review!
Your playing sounds like it belongs on a twangier telecaster. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve got a couple of tele’s. I do indeed like them
I don't have a lot of money, if I spent over 2000 on a guitar and the e string was dangling like that I'd have an existential crisis.