New Fender Mex 'Vintera' series

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New Fender Mex 'Vintera' series

Postby RUSSET » Tue Jun 25, 2019 6:45 pm

Fender are at it again. They have now replaced the 'Classic' & 'Classic Player' series' with a new series called the 'Vintera', which stands for 'Vintage Era'. It's very comprehensive covering most of the old range. Prices are in the £700-800 area. Maybe that's not too far off current prices ? There is a useful Andertons' Youtube video showing it all, with a Fender representative discussing & explaining it all to Lee. There are subtle changes from the previous ranges.
I do fancy the very nice F. Red 50's Tele, ..... but oooh, the G.A.S.

T.
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Re: New Fender Mex 'Vintera' series

Postby dave robinson » Tue Jun 25, 2019 7:00 pm

Fender will be at it whilst so ever people will keep falling for it. The key is to know when to stop.
I have two old Strats a ‘62 & ‘63 as well as my AVRI which is a perfect replica that I recently swapped Keith for my J160e and I’m satisfied with the vintage stuff I own. By repeatedly regurgitating them, Fender are counting on people’s GAS to keep them in nosebags, but I only look at bargain stuff today and I think/hope I’ve got myself in the right frame of mind to resist the expensive ones, having owned them and moved ‘em out. :)
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Re: New Fender Mex 'Vintera' series

Postby RUSSET » Tue Jun 25, 2019 7:55 pm

Yeah, I know Dave. :roll: I already have more guitars than I can justify, but that GAS sure gets to you. I guess these new Vinteras can't be much different to the ones we already have. I had to stop myself from buying a new '60s Mex 'Classic' Strat with Pau Ferro board & nitro lacquer two weeks back.
I feel that the amp is more important to the tone anyway.
And ...... with all the quality digital modelling these days, we've never had it so good. Oh to have had some of this stuff 60 years back, eh ! .

Tony.
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Re: New Fender Mex 'Vintera' series

Postby dave robinson » Tue Jun 25, 2019 9:50 pm

As far as amps are concerned I ditched the Katana combo for the 100w Katana head and use a 1 x 12 Mesa Boogie cabinet with it and am getting great results, with all the AC-15/30 tones we need for the Shads stuff, to the clean Fender Twin and heavier Marshall overdrive for the Gary Moore stuff - plus a great acoustic amp for the Martin/Gibson/Gordon Giltrap acoustics I use. It’s that good that I sold my Line 6 Helix and Mesa Boogie Mk3.
I do have the AC 30 in the studio and a Boogie DC-5 that I compare, but the Katana delivers, with the help of the Boss Tone Studio, where every parameter is editable including the effects. You can get reasonable Shads echoes from the Katana if you know what you’re doing. As it isn’t expensive it certainly has been a Godsend in making life easier and helped me recoup some of the outlay of the gear that I collected along the way. When you can buy the single 12” 50w version for under £200, the Katana is a very inexpensive solution for great Hank tones and much, much more. :)
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Re: New Fender Mex 'Vintera' series

Postby RUSSET » Wed Jun 26, 2019 5:28 am

Yeah, I have the Katana 100w combo, & the Roland Blues Cube Artist. They are my regular 'go to' amps these days, for reasons you are already aware of. I don't gig anymore ; just attend a local music club a couple of times a month with my friends, & that keeps me active in the music scene.

Tony.
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Re: New Fender Mex 'Vintera' series

Postby dave robinson » Sat Jun 29, 2019 11:23 am

Whilst I always enjoy looking in guitar shops at the vast array of models on offer these days, I can honestly say that out of all the guitars I have bought since my struggle yo pay for that first sonic blue Fender Strat back in 1964, that I have not found a better one than the one I began with - certainly as good, but rarely any better. I have had various Custom Shop & Masterbuilt models and moved each of them out, as they never represented value for money. Firms such as Fender & Gibson rely on our GAS and we fall for it time after time, there’s no one to blame but ourselves. For me, out of the plethora of Masterbuilt, Custom Shop and all the other offerings from Fender, including the Japanese, Mexican and Squier ones, I have reached the conclusion that the modestly priced AVRI series Strats that were the outset of the Custom Shop, are the best bang for the buck on the expensive ones. Equally good value for money is the Eric Johnson Strat because of Eric’s insistance on keeping the price sensible. For me, all the Masterbuilt and Custom Shop ones can be very overpriced, simply because of the impression of them being hand made rather than CNC produced.
In truth, the Fender Classic Player series was great value too, but Fender realised it it quickly jacked up the price and changed the name, as they did with MIJ ten years ago. Many of those Japanese Strats were as good as USA ones, as people here will know because we all have at least one in our collection.
The Classic Players came in at £425 at Carlsboro in Sheffield back in 2007-ish. Then Squier brought in the excellent Classic Vibe series and they are superb guitars, but their prices have now rocketed skyward.
So all these attempts to get more money out of me are now in vain, as I at last have realised that they will never better the Fender USA AVRI series, one of which I still own. The problem is, the price of those has risen considerably now. :)
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Re: New Fender Mex 'Vintera' series

Postby RUSSET » Fri Nov 08, 2019 11:03 am

Well, the G.A.S. kicked in again a couple of weeks ago. I checked out the Fender Vintera series '50s Tele in Fiesta Red. I went to my local 'Guitar Guitar' store in Brum, as I like to try out first, these days.
For those interested in Teles, it is a very nice guitar, with typical vintage style appointments, & very good quality. It has the 7.25" radius board, two '50s vintage pickups, Neck (Alnico II) & Bridge (Alnico III). The bridge has 3 Brass saddles & the neck is a chunky 'D' shape Maple, but very comfortable. The tone is very 'Twangy' on clean & reminiscent of the typical Fender tone from way back in the '50s/'60s, for those who can remember that far back.
I managed to get a price match & eventually paid £679, saving £20 on the store's published price. There is a Fender gig-bag
included, but no tools. Of course, the truss rod access is at the body end of the neck, & the saddles height adjustment is surprisingly not an Allen key, but a slot in the top which requires a simple small flat blade screwdriver. The finish is a very nice F.Red & the scratchplate a single-ply white.
In my defence, I have managed to sell one of my other guitars, to a friend, which isn't an F. Red Fender , but a Fret-King Eclat II, which is sort of their version of a Les Paul Junior with 2 P90s, in Cherry Red. So, I have not actually increased my guitar collection. :wink:

Tony.
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Re: New Fender Mex 'Vintera' series

Postby dave robinson » Sat Jan 04, 2020 5:28 pm

I fancied a Jaguar so I ordered the Fender Vintera model and was disappointed. Firstly the tremolo bar wouldn't seat so was useless, so I had a play on it without the trem.
The strings kept moving sideways on that ridiculous bridge and within ten minutes the guitar was back in it's packing ready to be returned. I liked the look of the Turqouise blue with tort plate when I saw the photographs, but in the flesh I didn't care for the fingerboard colour or feel.
It turns out that the tremolo bar they sent in a sealed plastic bag was incorrect for this model, as it was unthreaded as most Jaguars and Jazzmasters have been for years, but for some reason the Vintera models have threaded tremolo bars on the Jaguar.
I really wanted a Jaguar so I ordered the Squier Classic Vibe 70s Jaguar and it's less than half the price and absolutely fantastic !
It has the 'push in' trem bar as well as the much better 'Mustang' bridge - a mod I made on my Fender Jazzmaster, as well as new Fender Alnico pickups.
I gigged it on Thursday and it's a pleasure to play, straight out of the box. I always change the strings on guitars that I buy, but for some reason left these on, they're 9/42 Fender NP and do the job fine, though I will beef them up next time I re-string.
Those new pickups sound great, the guitar can sound Stratty if you wish with careful use of the controls, but it has some great tones of it's own which are very useful.
One particular sound is very bold and Telecaster like. I know I've said this loads of times but you do not need to spend a lot these days to get good gear and I proved it again with this.
I also picked up a second hand Squier Classic Vibe 60th Anniversary Strat in Aztec Gold with gold hardware, an absolute minter. It plays and sounds as good as any of my expensive USA Strats and the only reason I didn't buy one in 2014 when they were introduced was because I had the Fender Classic Player 50s in gold which is similar.
However, I sold it on a couple of years ago so this Squier appeared at the right time and I can tell you it's just as good if not better.
Will I ever stop buying gear, I doubt it but as long as I'm enjoying life again that's what it's all about after seven years of hell. :)
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Re: New Fender Mex 'Vintera' series

Postby Stu's Dad » Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:15 pm

I've got a Classic Vibe 50s Strat and a Classic Vibe 70s Jaguar, and I'll second everything that Dave says. They're both top class guitars that really do sound right for their era.

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