Fender American Vintage II Series

[Jinobass1]

Bump!

Anybody still playing an AVii?

I recently tried a real '75 jazz bass at a friend's shop and absolutely love the 7.25" curve and skinny cue-stick neck.

Wondering how these newer basses (necks) are holding up and if you've got any regrets buying one?

They are the best Fender non-Custom Shop Axes and the top tier American Vintage series and closest to the real vintage!

 

[Jinobass1]

Fantastic color combo too!

So dumb question: are you happy with the 7.25 radius in the middle & upper registers? I play a lot of jazzy chords & solos, but not exclusively. Mostly walkin'.

Whhhaaatt?? All the original fender basses till the 90's were all 7.25 Radius….Jaco, Marcus Jeff Andrews,Victor Bailey to name some fender jazz Cats and Ur asking this Q?don't meant to be mean(big pun intended)….not to mention the legendary Precision Bass players….

 

[Jason Hollar]

Whhhaaatt?? All the original fender basses till the 90's were all 7.25 Radius….Jaco, Marcus Jeff Andrews,Victor Bailey to name some fender jazz Cats and Ur asking this Q?don't meant to be mean(big pun intended)….not to mention the legendary Precision Bass players….

It's just that I never had the means or opportunity to really spend any time with quality vintage instruments.

I was an 80's rock kid and most of the fenders I tried (in my limited price range) were terrible.

The eighties were about finding an Ibanez whose neck wasn't all jacked up. Then in the 90s I blew all my money on graphite and coffee table basses.

Have patience with me, I'm always a little late to the party lol

 

[stumblebee]

Fantastic color combo too!

So dumb question: are you happy with the 7.25 radius in the middle & upper registers? I play a lot of jazzy chords & solos, but not exclusively. Mostly walkin'.

Yeah I've been pretty happy with 7.25 radius. I think overall I prefer a slight curve then a full on flat fretboard, but then again I've played 9.5 radius vs 7.25 and can barely even notice a difference

 

[Jinobass1]

It's just that I never had the means or opportunity to really spend any time with quality vintage instruments

I was an 80's rock kid and most of the fenders I tried (in my limited price range) were terrible.

The eighties were about finding an Ibanez whose neck wasn't all jacked up. Then in the 90s I blew all my money on graphite and coffee table basses


Have patience with me, I'm always a little late to the party lol

My bad…
I didn't mean to make you feel bad,I apologize,I am sorry.
I'm learning to be patient so I thank you for pointing out to me.
here's a reply to all your sentences:

"It's just that I never had the means or opportunity to really spend any time with quality vintage instruments "


:Ok that's understandable I'm sorry u didn't get to check out quality correct set upped vintage instruments.
I was lucky, I lived in nyc so I had access to great vintage instruments.

"I was an 80's rock kid and most of the fenders I tried (in my limited price range) were terrible"

:I hear you, early 80's fender was not their best…..
But international color basses were great if u can handle the weight.


"The eighties were about finding an Ibanez whose neck wasn't all jacked up. Then in the 90s I blew all my money on graphite and coffee table basses"

In the 80's
my guitarist friend Scott Finer we went to Music&Art HS &
He had the Ibanez road star bass which I thought was the best sounding bass , a PJ configuration.
He let me borrow it few times.
He became Pandeiro artist.
Nice neck & it wasn't jacked up.

Also in the 80's
my brother Mas Hino got the 1966 Fender mustang bass and and Yamaha BB2000 bass which he gave it to me when he thought I sounded better than him.
Yamaha BB 2000 had a beautiful body through 5 piece neck.

I also borrowed My uncle's Bass, Greco a Japanese 70's Fender Jazz bass copy.nice hard maple neck.

Lots of Japanese basses are easy to play, because the neck is thinner from front to back.
Especially mid 80's and 90's &2000's Fender japan.
Great for small hands.
But over the years I learned that thicker neck sounds better!
Unless it's solid rock hard maple neck,
that can sound good even if it's a little thin.
Best sounding neck is rock hard aged maple like Birds Eye maple compared to the soft maple like flamed maple.
I had discussion w/Marcus Miller about tone coming from the neck compared to the body.
Also talked to Jason Smith about Tone woods and Bodies.
how a great neck and great pickups matter more than the body….
Sorry fellow bass man,I wish you the best!

 

[Jason Hollar]

I had a good conversation yesterday with Anthony from Empire Music (Pittsburgh). He's a fender guru and has done a lot of great videos on the various available models.

Bottom line is I gotta get out there and try a bunch of these instruments. I think I would really dig this AVii series … but I might also appreciate the modern updates available on other models.

His advice? Custom Shop - lol - he's a very good salesman! Now if I could just find that $5,000 dollar bill I had laying around …

 

[Jinobass1]

I had a good conversation yesterday with Anthony from Empire Music (Pittsburgh). He's a fender guru and has done a lot of great videos on the various available models.

Bottom line is I gotta get out there and try a bunch of these instruments. I think I would really dig this AVii series … but I might also appreciate the modern updates available on other models.

His advice? Custom Shop - lol - he's a very good salesman! Now if I could just find that $5,000 dollar bill I had laying around …

Yeah I own just 1 master build,it costed arm and a leg!
Ive run into few CS that played and sounded amazing,good luck!

 

[3rdeyep]

Would anyone be up for taking a picture of the control cavity of an AVII 60s precision showing the tone capacitor? I'm interested in buying a set of pure vintage 60's pickups and I'm wondering what capacitor fender is using with those pickups. Thanks!

 

[Jinobass1]

Would anyone be up for taking a picture of the control cavity of an AVII 60s precision showing the tone capacitor? I'm interested in buying a set of pure vintage 60's pickups and I'm wondering what capacitor fender is using with those pickups. Thanks!

Sure,Here You Go.

 

[3rdeyep]

Sure,Here You Go.
View attachment 5423067 View attachment 5423068

Awesome! Thank you!

 

[Jinobass1]

Awesome! Thank you!

You're welcome

 

[jmpiwonka]

Putting together a parts bass and I just bought some Hipshot HB2 lollipop tuners this morning, went into the vintage guitar shop a few hours later and played some basses while they were looking for a string tree for me. The AVII 66 jazz has fender stamped hipshot HB2 lollipop tuners on it.
Also noticed my MIJ and CIJ JB62 basses have neck shapes very similar to the pre CBS basses.

 

[walkbassman45]

 

[phillipkregg]

I had a good conversation yesterday with Anthony from Empire Music (Pittsburgh). He's a fender guru and has done a lot of great videos on the various available models.

Bottom line is I gotta get out there and try a bunch of these instruments. I think I would really dig this AVii series … but I might also appreciate the modern updates available on other models.

His advice? Custom Shop - lol - he's a very good salesman! Now if I could just find that $5,000 dollar bill I had laying around …

If you do decide to get a Fender CS bass, be sure to spend some time with it and play it in person before you drop the cash.

In my experience, after owning several of Fenders Custom Shop basses, the quality is very hit or miss. And that goes for the guitars too - I've played many Fender CS strats and while one of them may feel glorious, another of the same model may have poor relic work, a bad fret job, poorly cut nuts, etc, etc

I don't want to come across as bashing Fender, I've owned lots of them over the years and enjoyed most of them, but you're mainly paying for the name.

If I were looking for a CS style instrument right now, I'd look for Nash, Bluesman Vintage, or something along those lines. Fender doesn't build like they have something to prove anymore, but those other brands do.

 

[Jason Hollar]

Checking back in a year later … still haven't had the opportunity to actually play one of these yet … J or P … the GAS is strong.

Sweetwater has them on back order so I guess that good? Shows demand? Or lack of production?

Anyone in the mid Atlantic have any recommendations for music stores to try these in person?

 

[alembicbones]

My guess is lack of production. Have you tried Reverb?

I own an AVII '54P and love it. Still has the factory flats on it and they sound great.

Bones

 

[Jason Hollar]

I've got some store credit at a certain sweet retailer so ….

 

[alembicbones]

I've got some store credit at a certain sweet retailer so ….

Understood

 

[lm183902]

I just got an AVII 1960 P and I'm loving it. When I buy online, I do it with the mindset that I'm going to be ruthless about finding a flaw and sending it back, but I got a good one! I honestly think a really good one of these will be on par with a custom shop (I've played some underwhelming ones), assuming you don't want a relic'd bass. The only thing I can see with the custom shop is that you probably have a better chance of getting stellar fretwork. Get one of these that feels good for around $2k and spend $200-300 on a Plek job and you're still way ahead.

 

[Jason Hollar]

Great suggestion