...so, were/are the Vintera II a failure?

[GilmourD]

Guitar Center

I'm going to repeat myself here... As a former GC employee, you can't evaluate a guitar based on a GC floor model. They are some of the most abused guitars I've ever seen, and I've some guitars get smashed against amps and stages.

Honestly, the fact that every Gibson ES-335 satin that I've played in a GC was still a great guitar is what let me feel fine purchasing one sight unseen earlier this year and I was not let down either!

I can dig that logic.

[marginwalker]

I recently got a Vintera II Jag in black and I have to say, after a proper setup with a shim and swapping in a Fender staytrem-style bridge from a Johnny Marr Jag, I like this guitar better than my AV65 Jag. The neck has a slightly better feel imo and I like the sound of the vintera 70’s pickups a bit better but that’s really just subjective stuff. It’s honestly probably the best MIM fender I’ve ever played, next to a classic 60’s lacquer series Jazzmaster I used to have

With that being said I still think $1499 is too steep a price. I luckily got mine in a trade in with a shop and they had discounted the value down to $1300 for me since I go in there all the time

[BMWRider]

I've played a number of the recent Vintera models, and my feeling on them is pretty meh. I plan to pull the trigger on a Squier VI soon, because I can't justify paying almost $2000 before tax on a niche instrument. Most of the MIM models seem to follow this pattern for me these days. Mind you, Fender is not alone in this issue either. Most of the post-2013 Gibsons I have played seem to suffer the same ailment. If I am going to fork out money on a new guitar, my eyes, ears, hands, and wallet have to be in agreement. I would have kept my CIJ 2013 Fender VI, but the hardware (especially that trem) kept me from considering it as a keeper.

Maybe if the local shops had more Vinteras, I could find one which suits me, but I see more of the regular plethora of ASAT's than JM/Jags.

[raj007]

I remember the days when a $1,000 could get you a new American Standard model…sigh…

$1,249 is kinda wild for a new MIM, but, “deals” can always be had, especially now. I grabbed a Vintera II Jazzy for $1,029 new and I think it’s an excellent guitar and dare I say worth a thousand bucks. I’ve certainly played worse guitars that cost more. I like the neck, frets are nicely done and the fret edges were worked better/smoother than my American Pro II…and the pickups are pretty awesome. Again, I like the stock pickups more than the Pro II, which I put Novaks in. No plans to swap these out.

Love the sonic blue…but will likely change the pickguard to white/parchment.

[Pacafeliz]

I remember the days when a $1,000 could get you a new American Standard model…sigh…

Oooh man... weren't American Standard Strats like US$799 for like, ever, back then?!

[GilmourD]

I remember the days when a $1,000 could get you a new American Standard model…sigh…

Oooh man... weren't American Standard Strats like US$799 for like, ever, back then?!

Yeah, but that was back when I was actually still working in MI retail, my tenure of which ended in 2005. Prices on just about everything have certainly changed in the past 18 years.

[glennleaguesny]

I can truly say I am enjoying the Vintera II burgundy Mustang I purchased. It came pretty solid, just needed a small setup. The neck is really nice and the rosewood used was nice and dark. I really don't have any complaints on its playability. The pickups were okay, I swapped them with a Novak set (on sale for $160 for the set!) They sound fantastic as well. It didn't really need a pickup swap, I just have issues

Price wise, I guess it was easier to swallow, given Sweetwater was running a 48-month interest free financing at the time of my purchase, which works out to just a few bucks a month. But I would say the guitar is worth the money with where today's market is standing. Not a deal by any means, but an okay price for a well playing guitar that looks really cool (IMO)

[manwithtitties]

Had some time to kill yesterday and tried out a black vintera jag in a store. Wasnt set up perfectly, but decently playable. if you were to blindfold me, i wouldnt be able to tell the difference between a CV and the vintera. I plugged the V2 in for 10 seconds into a jazz chorus, and it sounded like a jag should. There was a CV jag in the store as well which was maybe set up a bit better but had the dogshit thin stock strings, and it felt like the exact same guitar. I didnt bother to compare the 2 through an amp though.

Which brings us to the point everyone’s making here: what’s really the point of these?

V2:
+ unique color combos that do genuinely look great
+ probably a better trem
+ probably better pickups, but i even doubt this because the squier jag pickups are hard to fault
- dinkier bridge that requires more setup prowess

Maybe fender is just making these in way smaller quantities now, intentionally trying to signal that these colors are temporary, since the market for mid-tier and higher mid tier offsets is shrinking considerably? And that’s their possible justification for the price hikes? Because at this point you’re truly just paying 3x as much for a logo imo, with the same downside of them being made in factories that exist for big brands to increase profit margins and fuck over workers.

[ainm]

The first thing I did when I started to become more financially secure was grab a couple Vinteras. It was nice to be able to own guitars that were previously out of my reach and said Fender on the headstock. I loved their nod to vintage specs/aesthetics too.

Lately, I’ve been playing my Squier VM Mustang loads. Always thought it was a great guitar considering how much it cost me, but I don’t think I ever appreciated how good it actually was versus what a Vintera costs. Vinteras are good guitars, but maybe top tier Squiers have been eating them up for a long time now.

I now buy guitars foremost with my eyes closed and my hands and ears open. Sometimes I buy secondhand Japanese Fenders that are cheaper than a new Vintera. Other times, I might buy more expensive guitars like an American Ultra Luxe, a TVL, a vintage partscaster etc. I feel more comfortable today saying “That guitar and me play well together and I don’t need to attach value to what it costs”. If I like a Squier as much as I like a Vintera, I’m getting the Squier because I like to save money. If I bond with a guitar that’s more expensive than a Vintera, I don’t know why I’d settle for the Vintera. And sure, I’ll choose an aesthetically pleasing version of any guitar that my hands and ears have greenlit if there’s an aesthetically pleasing option out there.

Bit of a ramble. I don’t think the Vintera II are a failure, but they’re no longer appealing to me. On one measure, too close to Squiers and too far from guitars I consider to be better; on price, too far from Squiers and too close to guitars that excite me. Whether I’m typical or not, only Fender’s customer research and marketing departments probably know. All I know is that if the Vinteras out now were the choices back when I picked mine up - because it was important back then that I could get new guitars I could call my own - then I would have been unlikely to get Vinteras. I already know I’ve grown away from them on other measures, but even aesthetically, I just can’t fathom what they were thinking. Or maybe I’m just out of fashion, which would be a total bummer because I’ve been just about clinging onto relevancy with jeans and flannel for the best part of 30 years

I don’t know, man. I want to say the Vintera II’s look like something my parents would play, but they were never the corduroy and velvet, port evenings and weekend swinging sort. I’ll assume Fender is going for a younger crowd who couldn’t possibly make that association and, even if they could, understand the horror of it. Or maybe for older farts than me who lived through the horror my lot visited on them and are out for revenge. Fire up the Capri - vroom, vroom!

Bottom line is that Vintera II’s are as exciting as vol-au-vonts and gas rationing. To me.

[hulakatt]

I dunno, the only current Fender offset offering s that really appeal to me are the Squier comp Mustangs, specifically the Burgundy comp and the Orange comp.

[R_T_Hermit]

I don’t know, man. I want to say the Vintera II’s look like something my parents would play

I’ve looked at Vintera II’s and they haven’t “moved” me, but, after I was sent home for being too elderly to work I was lucky enough to snag an MiM Classic 60’s Lacquer Jag—one with an actual rosewood board, and I find it’s plenty vintage enough for me. It hangs on the wall beside my 62 Jag and, after I dealt with those MiM fret edges, I defy anyone to play them back-to-back and claim those necks are different. On the Jazzy side I have an avri62 and an av65. So… I’m one of those “old farts” that were able to grab a few guitars that my parents would have never bought me in the 60’s. When I buy guitar—I’ve bought 4 this year—I’m no longer looking for vintage. I know I’m kinda finding it difficult to make my point but it’s in there somewhere. Are the Vintera’s a failure? I dunno but I won’t be spending any money on them.

[ainm]

I don’t know, man. I want to say the Vintera II’s look like something my parents would play

I’ve looked at Vintera II’s and they haven’t “moved” me, but, after I was sent home for being too elderly to work I was lucky enough to snag an MiM Classic 60’s Lacquer Jag—one with an actual rosewood board, and I find it’s plenty vintage enough for me. It hangs on the wall beside my 62 Jag and, after I dealt with those MiM fret edges, I defy anyone to play them back-to-back and claim those necks are different. On the Jazzy side I have an avri62 and an av65. So… I’m one of those “old farts” that were able to grab a few guitars that my parents would have never bought me in the 60’s. When I buy guitar—I’ve bought 4 this year—I’m no longer looking for vintage. I know I’m kinda finding it difficult to make my point but it’s in there somewhere. Are the Vintera’s a failure? I dunno but I won’t be spending any money on them.

Let’s blame the kids, then.

FWIW, the guitars you’ve picked out for yourself sound pretty timeless to me. And those Lacquer Jags are simply fantastic guitars!

I will say that the Bass VI Vintera II is the one guitar in the range that I am interested in. Not immediately, but they seem like they could be a step up from the Squiers. Not had one in hand yet - just basing that on from what little I’ve been able to piece together. Without an AV or other RI, the Vintera II’s are probably as good as it’ll get on those.

The Vinteras have also completely disappeared from the local shops I prowl, not that there were many models in the first place. Only seeing the Mustang basses now. Is there a supply issue with these or are they just not being stocked in physical stores? I live in Manchester, so not exactly a backwater. Or maybe they’re just flying off the shelves and they can’t keep them stocked?

[mtotallywired]

Been out of the offset game for a while until this year...but I did get a chance to try out one of the Vintera II JM's before returning it. My experience, after owning many different JMs from vintage to AVRI, Japan, MIM & Squier...is that it's definitely better than the original Vintera, at least if we're talking about stock. It suffered from issues and QC in a number of ways though.

Firstly, being excessively noisy. I think Fender thought, just because they put a gold guard on it that the body didn't need to be shielded at all. My Vintera I 60s is one of the noisiest JMs I've ever owned as well - so it follows that trend. The pickups are better than the very generic ones in their predecessor, like a cheaper, not as nuanced sounding Antiquity I. For the price it'd have been nice to see all cloth covered leads but it's still all PVC coated wire again. The routes were left rough with little burrs and wood dust everywhere.

Was also glad to see rosewood back, but not gonna lie...mine came dry as can be and almost looked fake? It had a very papery kind of look to it, almost like how laminate wood flooring compares to real hard wood floors. Don't know if it's just my experience but that was definitely my impression, especially after working on so many of the amazing models coming out of Japan this past year, with many of them having almost ebony like rosewood fretboards...the difference was night and day.

More observations: the trem is also the same as what they've been using since the classic player came out. Made in Korea I believe. They just replaced the screw in collet with a pop in one, and updated the top plate to patent pending, and are now using the same flat top, brushed nickel trem lock buttons as the newer AVRIs but it definitely doesn't feel as smooth as an AVRI trem. Will def call it an improvement over vintera I bc I hated those screw in arms.

Lastly The fret ends on mine were sharp as heck too...and that's ultimately why I returned it. I could've easily addressed those things, but even for pro audio star's open box pricing at 1039 or whatever it was before tax...it was not compelling or inspiring enough to put the work into. For the same money, buy a guitar straight from Kinko Music in Japan - don't pay the scalper prices like Mike & Mike's on Reverb / Ebay for guitars that can be shipped with fees & import costs paid for, for the same money as a new Vintera II JM (and thats before taxes!!) The FSRs have the Alder bodies, vintage radius, cooler color options, way better craftsmanship, fully shielded, better pickups and they all come with CTS / switchcraft electronics / AVRI plastics now.

I'll second the sentiment that overall, they feel & sound maybe slightly better than a Squier. Glad for people who think it of theirs but for me its nowhere near the quality and fit and finish as the AVRI 62 or AV65s or MIJs. Are they a failure? Nah...but they're certainly not "best jazzmaster Fender have released in the last 10 years"

[hulakatt]

For not much more than what the Vintera II cost new, I built an MJT from the ground up with a Mastery bridge and trem, Rumpelstiltskin pickups, Gotoh tuners and all around nice parts for a really damn nice Jazzmaster. I think that's what really kills it for me.

[BMWRider]

This quote came from a post I made a week ago:

"I plan to pull the trigger on a Squier VI soon, because I can't justify paying almost $2000 before tax on a niche instrument. Most of the MIM models seem to follow this pattern for me these days."

On Friday, I went and put a deposit on a 3TSB Squier VI. Yesterday, I was out picking up last-minute Xmas gifts, when I stopped in at one of the stores I frequent. There on the wall was a LPB Fender VI, just waiting to be played. I plugged it in to the same amp as I have at home (Traynor YCV50), and started to play.

I don't know if it's due to playing through copies of my gear, but that Vintera sounded fantastic and played beautifully! I know it's almost $1300 more than the Squier, but I may have to look into the price of upgrades to make the Squier sound and play as well as the Vintera!

About the only feature I wish hadn't been included with the Vintera is the truss rod adjustment at the end of the fretboard. Decisions, decisions...