AO Series Discontinued

[Zeus]

American Vintage II line seemingly confirmed, including 1966 JM with blocks and binding:

Web cache link of the following (in case it goes down): https://www.unionmusical.es/670345-guit ... burst.html

'The American Vintage II series are direct descendants of the original Fender, designed for players with a high appreciation for tone. The American Vintage II 1966 Jazzmaster features a comfortable ''C''-shaped maple neck with a 7.25''-radius rosewood fingerboard and vintage tall frets.

Main Features:
alder body
Jazzmaster Body Shape
Vintage 1966 ''C'' Shaped Maple Neck
Rosewood Fingerboard
21 frets
Bone Nut
Bone String Nut
25.5'' (647.7mm) scale length
1,650'' (42mm) nut width
Jazzmaster Pure Vintage bridge with threaded steel saddles
Bridge Pickup Pure Vintage '66 Single-Coil Jazzmaster
Neck Pickup Pure Vintage '66 Single-Coil Jazzmaster
SS pickup setting
Master Volume Controls, Master Tone, Lead Circuit Controls, Rhythm Circuit Controls
Nickel/chrome hardware
4-Ply Tortoise Pickguard
Fender USA 250R Nickel Plated Steel (.010-.046) Strings
3-Color Sunburst Finish
Includes Vintage Black case with orange interior

Googling "Fender American Vintage II" (and hunting around a bit) also currently brings up various references to:

- 1951 Telecaster w/ maple board (butterscotch blonde)
- 1957 Stratocaster w/ maple board (2-colour sunburst, vintage blonde, seafoam green)
- 1961 Stratocaster w/ rosewood board (3-colour sunburst, fiesta red, olympic white)
- 1960 P Bass w/ rosewood board (daphne blue)
- 1966 Jazz Bass w/ matching headstock, blocks and dots (olympic white)
- 1977 Telecaster Custom w/ maple board (wine red)

Better Music in Australia appear to have a page ready to go, not yet populated: https://www.bettermusic.com.au/electric ... vintage-ii

I guess an official announcement must be imminent.

[Embenny]

Are my eyes deceiving me, or are those actually correctly-sized blocks?!?

[BoringPostcards]

No Jaguar? And yes, it seems the blocks are correct this time. At least to my eyes.

[mekhem]

Pretty sure that if these are going to be announced - that it will be Tuesday

[Zeus]

Two things I note:

- sounds like Fender have developed new pickups for this line (AV66 Jazzmaster);
- aren't they the wrong tuners for a late '66 JM?

[Zeus]

Sorry for the multiple posts, but I think I've found a pretty comprehensive list at an Italian retailer:

- 1951 Telecaster w/ maple board (butterscotch blonde)
- 1957 Stratocaster w/ maple board (2-colour sunburst, vintage blonde, seafoam green)
- 1961 Stratocaster w/ rosewood board (3-colour sunburst, fiesta red, olympic white)
- 1963 Telecatser w/ rosewood board (3-colour sunburst, surf green, crimson red transparent)
- 1966 Jazzmaster w/ rosewood board, blocks and binding (3-colour sunburst, dakota red, lake placid blue)
- 1972 Telecaster Thinline w/ maple board (3-colour sunburst, aged natural, lake placid blue)
- 1973 Stratocaster w/ maple board (lake placid blue, mocha), w/ rosewood board (aged natural)
- 1975 Telecaster Deluxe w/ maple board (3-colour sunburst, mocha, black
- 1977 Telecaster Custom w/ maple board (wine red, black) , w/ rosewood board (olympic white)

- 1954 P Bass w/ maple board (2-colour sunburst, vintage blonde)
- 1960 P Bass w/ rosewood board (daphne blue, black)
- 1966 Jazz Bass w/ matching headstock, blocks and dots (3-colour sunburst, olympic white, seafoam green)

That's a lot of new models!

[Embenny]

- 1966 Jazzmaster w/ rosewood board, blocks and binding (3-colour sunburst, dakota red, lake placid blue)

If the LPB has a matching headstock, it's pretty much the Jazzmaster I've wished Fender would make for over 20 years.

[sunburster]

No Jaguar is a surprise, and a huge bummer, if true. Looks like only the Jazz Bass has a matching headstock, which is another bummer, if true.

[Zeus]

I'm expecting the non-sunburst JMs to have matching headstocks.

[jdr1014]

Glad to see new "vintage reissue" models coming. I too, am surprised by the absence of a Jaguar. Maybe later?

Most of these new models represent a different year than previous offerings. One exception is the 57 Stratocaster, which was in the AVRI lineup for many years - I'll be interested to see how it compares to my 2001 AVRI57 Strat, which is a great guitar.

[jdr1014]

Looking at the pics some more, I like the overall look. It has a definite "aged" appearance to it - the3 tone sunburst looks like the red has faded out a lot and the center is not bright yellow ...... and the neck tint is quite dark. To me it's how a well-kept original should look after 56 years.

One thing that doesn't look quite right to me is the trem arm. It may just be the photo, but it seems short, and should have more of a curvature IMO. Obviously it's easy enough to increase the bend though. The trem arm on my AVRI62 extends almost to the rear of the neck pickup and the arm on my AmPro 1 is only a quarter inch shorter. I prefer a long arm. Maybe the 66's were a lot shorter but I don't think so.

[tequila_in_teacups]

- aren't they the wrong tuners for a late '66 JM?

I may be wrong, but I think both the Kluson and F-stamped tuners were used in '66. I've seen some B&B '66s with Klusons.

One thing that doesn't look quite right to me is the trem arm. It may just be the photo, but it seems short, and should have more of a curvature IMO. Obviously it's easy enough to increase the bend though.

I think it's just the angle that makes it look short, but I totally agree about the lack of curve. Staytrem arm gets it right, I think. I have one on my AO '60s JM:

[jdr1014]

The length and curvature of my AVRI62 arm looks very similar to your Staytrem. In the 66 AV II photo above, the arm looks like it only extends to halfway between the two pickups.

[sal paradise]

Any news on lefty models?

Expecting same three models for the last 20 years… 50s strat in sunburst & white, 60s strat in sunburst & white, 52 Tele in butterscotch

[Zeus]

Any news on lefty models?

Expecting same three models for the last 20 years… 50s strat in sunburst & white, 60s strat in sunburst & white, 52 Tele in butterscotch

According to the Italian retailer I linked to above, the '51 Tele, '57 Strat (all colours) and '61 Strat (all colours) are available in left-handed, plus the '66 Jazz Bass (all colours).