The new Fender AVRI, anyone?

Btone · #1 01-22-2013, 12:58 PM

Anyone had the chance to try out, or even buy, the new Fender Vintage Series, J or P? That '63 P is gonna be hard for me to resist, but I guess the $2000 price tag settles it.

http://www.fender.com/basses/precisi...olympic-white/

Raymeous · #2 01-22-2013, 01:24 PM

Um... yeah.

I'm neither a Fender Fan-Boy or hater, but for $2,500 I can think of several other places where I could get more bang for my buck in a new bass. I do actually like Fender guitars and basses (own a few in fact), but to me their prices are based more on the legacy that is Fender, than the actually quality of the instruments.

Lets be honest for a moment. There's nothing really new here. Same body, same neck, same finish.... you get my point.

Fender will always have a special place in the hearts of many musicians and I can respect that, but for me this is more of the same with a new name and increased pricing.

Ok go ahead and throw stuff at me.

Personatech · #3 01-22-2013, 01:29 PM

This topic's already available in this thread: New Fender American Vintage Series - Waiting Room

Lo-E · #4 01-22-2013, 01:30 PM

How is this bass different than the normal '62 reissues? My German's not so good, I'm afraid....

Btone · #5 01-22-2013, 02:01 PM

Quote:

How is this bass different than the normal '62 reissues?

Not much, it seems. Something with the finish? (scroll down):

http://www.fender.com/series/american-vintage/

As for the german - don't now why the sunburst version came out that way..corrected.

Caca de Kick · #6 01-22-2013, 02:12 PM

Well at first I was thinking the only differnce was the laminated fingerboard vs the slab of the 62.
BUt reading into it more, they're actually putting clay dots on these 63RI's.

Then I flipped the page and saw this...

Wowee, finally a matching headstock!

BIGEJ2 · #7 01-22-2013, 02:22 PM

A lot of people (including myself) said how the older AVRI's were the best bang for the buck and comparable to Fender's Custom Shop. Well, seems like Fender caught on and gave everyone what they were asking for - a bass that's finally priced according to its quality.

backup · #8 01-22-2013, 02:29 PM

ive seen some of the new AVRI guitars going for less than originally indicated. so hopefully the price tag will be below 2000$.

however even if it isnt, the 63 precision is the definition of my dream bass. especially now that it comes all equipped with original covers (i think they are different now than before), mutes and generally more period correct.

so i will buy one of these.. but i will wait until at least 2014. they may drop in price after a while

Lo-E · #9 01-22-2013, 06:01 PM

Thanks for posting the English link!

I think I'll pass on paying more for a veneer board than I would for a slab on a '62RI. I'm sure they're very nice basses, but that's a pretty dear price point for only very slight changes to a '62 - and a significant downgrade in the fingerboard! Fender went from slab to veneer in '63 to save money, not to improve the basses! Clay dots or not, I'm going to sit this one out.

mr.mow · #10 01-22-2013, 06:08 PM

"Clay Colored Dot Position Inlays"

Jus' sayin..

JoeWPgh · #11 01-22-2013, 06:19 PM

The control setup is the biggest difference between this as the 62. I like that they are finished in nitro. And no, I'm not interested the in back and forth of poly v nitro for sound. To me, nitro looks a bit better and feels a lot better. I would completely ignore the proposed list prices and wait for the street price to emerge. I suspect that will settle in near the American Deluxe price. I am honestly impressed with what Fender has been doing with their higher end offerings, in terms of quality control. Does this mean every one is a gem? Of course not. But the odds are good that these will be some very fine examples of the Fender bass.

Jungy · #12 01-22-2013, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWPgh

The control setup is the biggest difference between this as the 62. I like that they are finished in nitro. And no, I'm not interested the in back and forth of poly v nitro for sound. To me, nitro looks a bit better and feels a lot better. I would completely ignore the proposed list prices and wait for the street price to emerge. I suspect that will settle in near the American Deluxe price. I am honestly impressed with what Fender has been doing with their higher end offerings, in terms of quality control. Does this mean every one is a gem? Of course not. But the odds are good that these will be some very fine examples of the Fender bass.

Well the folks at Fender have put forward their stance on the poly v lacquer debate.

Quote:

"FLASH-COAT LACQUER" FINISH
The finishes on most new American Vintage guitars and basses consist of three coats: sealer, color and a topcoat, all of which are 100-percent nitrocellulose lacquer and are hence quite thin. This is a vintage-style finish treatment that lets an instrument "breathe" with a more natural resonance since it doesn't "constrain" the instrument's body as much as thicker and more confining modern finishes.

The term flash-coat lacquer refers specifically to the quickly applied thin and final "flash" of topcoat lacquer applied to most new American Vintage instruments. In addition to the sonic advantage noted above, the composition of and method of application for this final finish layer imparts a more authentically vintage appearance to these new instruments.

king_biscuit · #13 01-22-2013, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.mow

"Clay Colored Dot Position Inlays"

Jus' sayin..

They were never actually made from clay. The original "clay" dots were made from leftover asbestos floor tiles after a remodel at the Fender offices.

Mojo-Man · #14 01-22-2013, 07:22 PM

Wow, Fender really up the price tag.
A few nice changes, but $2500-$2900 depending on model. The old reissues went around $1300.00 street price.

JTE · #15 01-22-2013, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lo-E

Thanks for posting the English link!

I think I'll pass on paying more for a veneer board than I would for a slab on a '62RI. I'm sure they're very nice basses, but that's a pretty dear price point for only very slight changes to a '62 - and a significant downgrade in the fingerboard! Fender went from slab to veneer in '63 to save money, not to improve the basses! Clay dots or not, I'm going to sit this one out.

A. The '62 is now discontinued.
B. It costs MORE to make round laminated neck than the slab. It is NOT a veneer bent over the curve. It machined with the radius so there's more waste. Fender made the change to save money on warranty costs. There seems to have been issues with the different ratios of contraction and expansion between the rosewood and maple. The change happened in 1962 and that's one of the reasons Fender chose that year for the original Vintage Series. If they ran into the same problems they could go to the more expensive round lam construction and still be in the right year.

John

j.kernodle · #16 01-22-2013, 07:32 PM

street price is going to be 1700-1999 not 2500.

king_biscuit · #17 01-22-2013, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTE

A. The '62 is now discontinued.
B. It costs MORE to make round laminated neck than the slab. It is NOT a veneer bent over the curve. It machined with the radius do there's more waste. Fender made the change yo save money on warranty costs. There seems to have been issues with the different ratios of contraction and expansion between the rosewood and maple. The change happened in 1962 and that's one of the reasons Fender chose that year for the original Vintage Series. If they ran into the same problems they could go to the more expensive round lam construction and still be in the right year.

John

More specifically, it was caused by the way the fret slots were cut. Fender used a swing arm cutter on the slab boards which didn't cut all of the way through the rosewood boards, leaving a thick slab of rosewood down the middle of the neck. I suspect that the reissue frets were cut all of the way through the rosewood to alleviate the problem.