Yes, I found it quite nice. It frankly exceeded my expectations. Thanks for watching.

Thanks so much my friend. I think often reviewers are looking at a guitar through the lens of their particular musical interest and experience. I quite literally grew up playing vintage Fenders so those are very comfortable for me and fit my traditional style. Thanks so much for watching.

Nice. I hope it’s great. Thanks for watching.

I’ve heard from a few new owners now and it’s nice to see they seem to be pretty consistent. Congrats on the great deal and thanks for watching.

Do Vinteras have thin necks or are they chunky? I love the Classic Vibe thin neck wonder how close it is.

@@bluwng I can't speak on the other models, but this 60s Vintera II has a pretty standard Strat neck. Not chunky at all.

Thank you so much. I appreciate the comments and I’m happy you found it useful.

Thanks. I’m happy enjoyed the review. I hope these are consistent because if so, this is a real winner. Thanks again for watching.

Thank you so much. If you buy one I hope it’s as good as the one I reviewed.

Yes, it has nothing to do with choking. The bass strings move in a wider arc than the treble strings so many of us set the action slightly higher on that side, in my case just a quarter of a millimeter. Some players do set them the same, especially those who’s action is higher overall or who have a very light touch. Whatever works for the individual. Thanks so much for watching.

Pau Ferro boards can certainly look very nice. Some look spectacular. I tend to prefer a good rosewood for vintage reissues, but all rosewood doesn’t look great either. The dark rosewood on that Vintera II did look great. Thanks so much for watching.

Did you see what he said at 5:46....?

@@pharmerdavid1432thanks, I listened all the way through but missed that

Somewhere along the way, factory fret leveling took a nose dive. My first two Fenders, an early 60s Jazzmaster and a late 60s Strat, played very easily right from the factory. It’s not hard to imagine picking up reissues made in the 80s on and thinking a 7.25 radius was unplayable, when all they needed was good fretwork and a nice setup overall. I’m sure that’s where a lot of the reputation originated. Thanks for watching.

​​@@leonardgriffieblues5845 I recently bought a used Mexican made Classic 70's Strat and I was a bit disappointed when I felt how the left side neck shoulder was sticking into and hurting my thumb! Rather than sending it back I elected to sand down the left shoulder to where I could comfortably play with my thumb over the neck. I guess someone at the Mexican plant left work early and didn't finish the sanding process 😅

Yes, not a bad choice if you like a vintage spec Strat. Thanks for watching and check out my earlier video on Lindy Fralin pickups if you haven’t yet.

Thanks so much.

Ah, the SoCal beaches. I spent a lot of my youth on those beaches. Haven’t been there in a very long time. I’ve been on the beach in Florida way more recently! Thanks.

Thanks so much. Happy you enjoyed it.

Thanks so much. Kinda depends on the guitar. Vintage hots in a naturally bright sounding guitar, regular vintage wind for a darker sounding guitar

Nice. I hope these are consistently good. The one I reviewed set up really nicely with just the normal adjustments. Thanks for watching.

@@leonardgriffieblues5845 fingers crossed. I’ll find out when I manage to get to my studio to give it a whirl 🎸🎸🎸

Thank you. Yes. While I can’t really speak knowledgeably about the AV II, since I haven’t gotten one in my hands, what you said is exactly what I keep hearing, that it just doesn’t feel like $2200. It’s a shame because it sounds like if Fender just paid more attention to the fretwork and overall playability it’d be a different story. For about $160 my guy would have that playing silky smooth. For that kind of money, I’d probably go G&L, who Plek all the USA guitars now. Thanks for watching.

Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Thank you my friend.

Thank you my friend. Yes, it’s pretty impressive. Thanks for watching.

For this first review I left it strung with the factory Fender 9s. However, I did a followup in which I strung it with GHS 10-46 and did a couple of setup adjustments for the slightly heavier strings. Be sure to check out that video as well, Vintera II, part 2. Thanks for the question.

I never compare new to used, because obviously the used price of the Vintera II will show a significantly lower price than a used USA Strat. It’s all relative. Thanks so much for watching.

Well I’m happy to hear that. Thanks so much for tuning in.

Thanks so much

Thank you my friend.

I haven’t seen that direct comparison, but it may not be likely since the original Vintera series was introduced in 2019. You can probably find comparisons with those, then see what changes have been introduced with the new Vintera II. I will say the fit, finish and the all important fretwork are some of the best I’ve seen on a MIM model, but it is only one example. A random example, but still no idea about consistency. Thanks so much for watching.

Thank you!!! The Classic Series was made before the Vintera until 2018 I believe.​ I just found out that our local Guitar Center has a Vintera II in stock so gonna run by there to check it out. Thanks again for your post!!@@leonardgriffieblues5845

@@leonardgriffieblues5845 Id keep the classic 60s at least for the time being. I wouldn’t even necessarily call the Vintera II an upgrade. The higher price point for the vintera II is because of inflation and well, it’s newer. If you’re happy with your classic 60s you should keep it forever or until you are ready to go AVRI.

Thank you. Appreciated.

That new Vintera II really impressed me. Thanks for watching and look for a followup after I do a setup with my preferred strings.

That’s great. If it plays how you like it, that’s what matters. This one actually had too much neck relief even with the 9s (common). So changing to 10s made it a little worse. I made all the necessary adjustments and there’s interest in a followup so watch for that. Thanks for watching.

Well I hope you get a great one. Thanks so much for watching.

I think so. It’s not super thin but still a slim, 60s style neck. I don’t think it’s any bigger than the Player neck, though a slightly different profile. Thanks so much for watching.

Well you’re in luck. They’re free with the guitar. 🤣😎

Thanks. I don’t know if I’ll be putting the together a course, but I have a plan for getting a Patreon page together and some instruction will be one of the perks. Stay tuned. I’m working on it.

Hi Patrice. The amp is a blonde spec Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb, and I’m plugged straight in, no pedals. For future reference, if there’s a pedal, I’ll normally mention it with a subtitle. Thanks so much for watching.

No, not thicker. It’s pretty much the slim, vintage 60s Fender profile. A lot like the early 60s Jazzmaster I grew up playing. It’s very familiar if you’ve played 60s Fenders. In that regard they did a good job. Thanks for watching.

Thanks, great playing too@@leonardgriffieblues5845 I have very small hands so I'm somewhat torn between this and the player plusm, with the 12" radius, as I can get the action quite low.

@@edwardtroth8630 Depending on how low you want the action, the 12 inch radius might be a better choice. Though I would caution that much will depend on how well the frets are leveled. The higher the action, the more forgiving of the fretwork. But yeah, if you want it lower than 1.5 millimeters on the treble side, a 7.25 radius probably isn’t best unless you do no bending at all.

@@leonardgriffieblues5845 thanks 🙏

Thanks so much. I think to make that determination I’d need to set it up with my normal gauge strings and spend a little more time with it. I might do that and do a part two.

That would be a great comparison,thanks@@leonardgriffieblues5845

No one should have a problem if the guitar is set up well. Especially if the action isn’t set super low. Thanks for watching.

Thanks so much.

Thanks so much. I am. Keeps things consistent for comparison.

@@leonardgriffieblues5845 awesome. I like that consistency. I think it highlights the differences in the guitars

It is pretty nice. Can’t afford to keep it but it would easily be worthy.

Thank you so much. 😎

Don’t shoot the messenger. LOL Seriously, there are so many KZfaq channels that endlessly bang on about marketing, prices, company politics, etc., etc. I don’t really get into all that. I talk about what the instrument has to offer and let the players decide whether the price is right. Nobody sends me guitars so I shop for deals in order to present them to you. Thanks for watching.

​@@leonardgriffieblues5845 Hi Leonard. Thanks for your response. I totally get where you're coming from and I'm sorry if I came off a little brash. Your review was the best one out there. I picked up a second hand Vintera (60s) recently and I'm totally blown away with it. It's truly an outstanding guitar and one of the best Mexican made ones I've played. I'm sure the Vintera II is slightly better, as you say. My only objection is the price. Here in Canada, Mexican strats were $750Cdn not that long ago. now a Vintera II is $1589Cdn. just a few months ago the Vintera (I) was $1250Cdn. That's one heck of a jump! I object to this kind of pricing from Fender. They're clearly trying to move the market up to make it so that only the well heeled can buy an American or even Mexican instrument, while the stuff made in far east asia takes up the former price points of the Mex/USA stuff. What a great American company, eh?

@@iancurrie8844I don’t disagree with any of that. Fender keeps raising prices and while all prices are going up, a lot of it does just seem to be corporate greed. It’s why I rarely buy anything new anymore. Especially since my channel is too small for any sort of sponsorship. As a result I struggle to not lose too much money. Thanks and I appreciate you watching and enjoying my channel. It’s the main reason I keep going.

You do know all vintage Fenders had gloss necks, including the headstock, right? In any case, thanks for watching.

Yeah, it was a real winner. I’d probably opt for some upmarket pickups, but I was astounded by how well built and nicely finished it was. Thanks for watching.

@@leonardgriffieblues5845hi Leonard, can I ask with Lindy fralin’s do you use for your strats?