New Fender Vintera II Road Worn Basses

[Crusher47]

Charcoal frost video posted...... GAS incoming......

 

[Lammchop93]

Looks like some listed in Chicago music exchange.

 

[llemon]

tried the charcoal one very briefly this weekend (local shop opened the box last friday), and i LOVED it. strongly dislike the color though (it's even worse in person, IMO), otherwise i would have probably bought it.. very good stuff
also, as nice as it was, i thought price was way too high

 

[Lowbrow]

tried the charcoal one very briefly this weekend (local shop opened the box last friday), and i LOVED it. strongly dislike the color though (it's even worse in person, IMO), otherwise i would have probably bought it.. very good stuff
also, as nice as it was, i thought price was way too high

I am good with the gray finish but man that tort guard has GOT TO go. Horrendous combo to my eyes, and stock Fender tort is very sad.

 

[markbmbass]

I grabbed a gray one from Sweetwater. I'll post when it comes in. Fingers crossed!

 

[Lammchop93]

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Crusher47]

tried the charcoal one very briefly this weekend (local shop opened the box last friday), and i LOVED it. strongly dislike the color though (it's even worse in person, IMO), otherwise i would have probably bought it.. very good stuff
also, as nice as it was, i thought price was way too high

How was the neck on it?? Was it a nice round "C" shape or the more narrow "D" shape which is flatter and wider?

 

[markbmbass]

How was the neck on it?? Was it a nice round "C" shape or the more narrow "D" shape which is flatter and wider?

Specs say it's a 7.25" radius, C shaped.

 

[Crusher47]

Right, that is also what it says for my Vintera II Precision that I currently own, but it is more of a "D" shape, very wide and narrow which I do not like that much so if this Vintera II Roadworn model is the same, I will NOT be buying one

 

[Lowbrow]

Right, that is also what it says for my Vintera II Precision that I currently own, but it is more of a "D" shape, very wide and narrow which I do not like that much so if this Vintera II Roadworn model is the same, I will NOT be buying one

Would say it’s safe to assume that current Vintera II P basses will have the same profile.
But I’ll confirm when mine gets here.

 

[Lownote38]

Why, oh why does Fender put tort guards on what would be custom colors in the 60s??? Both the Fiesta Red and Charcoal Frost Metallic would have come with white guards back then. Tort looks silly to me on everything other than Olympic White and Sunburst.
Also, why are the tort guards from Mexico more period correct looking than the ugly brown sausage looking ones on the US AVII basses? Do better Fender!!

 

[jd56hawk]

Also, did people see the new Shell Pink Player II Precision Bass?

I’m actually really liking those colors, but those prices are pushing it a bit. I curious to know if they will release Road Worn Vintera Jazz basses? They haven’t released any 70s style Jazz basses with the new Vintera II or American Original basses, so I’m hoping something is released in that regard.

Why, it's only $400 more than a plain Vintera P bass!

 

[Lowbrow]

Why, oh why does Fender put tort guards on what would be custom colors in the 60s??? Both the Fiesta Red and Charcoal Frost Metallic would have come with white guards back then. Tort looks silly to me on everything other than Olympic White and Sunburst.
Also, why are the tort guards from Mexico more period correct looking than the ugly brown sausage looking ones on the US AVII basses? Do better Fender!!

As I await my charcoal P bass I’m ordering parchment and mint guards to try out. I had a 2008 Am STD in the charcoal that came with white. Looked pretty good — better than tort, that’s for sure

 

[ShoeManiac]

I am good with the gray finish but man that tort guard has GOT TO go. Horrendous combo to my eyes, and stock Fender tort is very sad.

Fender tort is kind of lacking these days. But a Spitfire tort guard seems like a considerable splurge. At least when you've already splurged on one before...

 

[Lowbrow]

Fender tort is kind of lacking these days. But a Spitfire tort guard seems like a considerable splurge. At least when you've already splurged on one before...

Agreed!

 

[Hillbilly Sam]

Ok folks, just got one of those "once you've seen it you can't unsee it" moments. Hope I'm wrong, but there's something off with the Vintera II roadworn PB tuners:

Look at the space there is above them, compared to how I remember most vintage style Fender tuners of this era:

Wrong placement, different size...?

(Both screenshots taken from Fender's official product site; the first one from the new Vintera II roadworn PB, and the second one from an American Vintage II 60s PB).

 

[MtManiac]

Why, oh why does Fender put tort guards on what would be custom colors in the 60s??? Both the Fiesta Red and Charcoal Frost Metallic would have come with white guards back then. Tort looks silly to me on everything other than Olympic White and Sunburst.
Also, why are the tort guards from Mexico more period correct looking than the ugly brown sausage looking ones on the US AVII basses? Do better Fender!!

Because people buy them.

 

[T McClure]

Ok folks, just got one of those "once you've seen it you can't unsee it" moments. Hope I'm wrong, but there's something off with the Vintera II roadworn PB tuners:
View attachment 7323361

Look at the space there is above them, compared to how I remember most vintage style Fender tuners of this era:
View attachment 7323362

Wrong placement, different size...?

(Both screenshots taken from Fender's official product site; the first one from the new Vintera II roadworn PB, and the second one from an American Vintage II 60s PB).

My guess is slightly different headstock shapes. Look at the bottom of the photos and how the light shows different lines for where it curves back to the neck.

 

[johnalekna]

Back when the Fender Classic Series were still new I saw too many of them coming with maxed out truss rods from the factory. Some of them were borderline useless after a couple of years or if you ever changed to heavier gauge strings. Since then I've read several complaints about this online as well.

If you get a flawless one, I agree they can be very nice instruments, but something was definitely not quite right with many of them. When buying one of these used, ALWAYS make sure the truss rod isn't maxed out, and that the neck relief can be properly adjusted.

To be honest, I can't remember if this problem affected both the Lacquer and "standard" (poly) Classic Series or both the J- and P-basses. I'm also not sure if this problem was limited to a specific batch or went on for a longer period of time. I am however 100% certain that at least an unacceptable number of the "standard" Fender Classic Series J-basses had this specific problem.

With these basses not being available yet, I'm assuming the pics are Fender's official promo pics. If that's the case, they should at least have sorted out the string spacing before the promo photo shoot...

Sure, this is very minor issue that's easily fixed, but it doesn't exactly scream of excellent QC, which is my main complaint about the Vinteras (and Fenders in general). The overall quality control is quite simply good enough for instruments in this price range.

I've tested a LOT of Vinteras at work (guitar workshop). Many of them are great. The pickup in the Vintera P-basses is perhaps Fender's best P-bass pickup in recent years IMO. Unfortunately, an unacceptable number of the Vinteras I've tested were also rather poor, with issues that should never have passed QC.

One example: The only Vintera I personally own is a Mustang. I had to return two of them before I got one of acceptable quality. The first came with a crack in the headstock around one of the tuner bushings (which is something that typically happens during installation, not transport damage). The second one came with a twisted/crooked neck that literally had an S-shape that couldn't be adjusted into anything playable. The third one was great, but that doesn't change he fact that the first two, as well as too many other Vinteras I've tested, should never have passed QC. And don't get me started on the AmPros... even more expensive with just as shoddy QC. Many of them are great, but some of them aren't, and that's really not acceptable in this price range.

The Road Worn series from around 2010 were great though, and the second Road Worn series from a few years later were also very good. In my opinion these are the best MIM Fenders ever made, and even some of the best Fenders overall in recent years, maybe only second to the original AVRIs. If these new Vintera RWs are anything like those, with the same level of QC, then sure, maybe they could be worth the rather high asking price.

However, these new RWs seem to be more like "Vintera Series Road Worn" than an actual new "Road Worn Series". Basically just Vinteras with a very slightly relic'ed finish. Unless Fender has significantly improved the QC for the Vintera series I would never pay that much money for what is basically a ticket for "the Fender lottery". If these new RWs are simply slightly relic'ed Vinteras, there are objectively better made instruments out there for less than half the price, as long as you don't need the Fender logo on the headstock.

But I know a lot of people will still buy these. When it comes to marketing, Fender is second to none.

My advice: Try before you buy. I'm sure most of them will be great (if a bit overpriced) but based on actual, real-life experience with recent Vintera instruments (both guitars and basses) I'm also pretty sure that some of them will be lemons.

I bought a new 60th anniversary roadworn MIM Jazz. It was a great bass in a stunning Firemist Silver colour with matching headstock, but then the neck/trussrod failed. The shop I purchased it from sent it back to Fender Australia and I received a refund because there were no replacement necks available. I used the funds at the same store to buy the Flea Roadworn Jazz for another $200 which is even better to play. Fender MIM quality control is flakey as per many other posts on these forums. The Flea however has been rock solid.

The Vintera model discussed in this thread is expensive here ($A2.6k).

Fender Vintera® II Road Worn® '60s Precision Bass®

Fender Vintera® II Road Worn® '60s Precision Bass® Seriously......this is an absolutely awesome P-Bass. The neck profile is true to an early 60's Precision, its incredibly comfortable and makes playing feel effortless. The tone is superb and the finish is beautifully aged to make it look and...

www.basscentre.com.au

The same store is also selling the previous similar coloured roadworn Jazz as a comparison:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Of course price should never just be the reason for buying or not buying a bass but it does seem to be higher than it should be in this case.

 

[markbmbass]

The price increases are due to tariffs. Every single manufacturer has raised prices. The average price for a Stingray is getting close to $3500-4k now. As much as I agree with the price hikes really sucking overall, people are still buying the basses.

I've complained in the past about Fender QC. I bought an Ultra II V Jazz Bass in January of this year because it's really the only thing out there with the neck and electronics I was looking for in an active bass that I could actually put my hands on before buying. It has been great, so I'm hoping for the same out of this new one. Aesthetically it's awesome in my opinion. I've always wanted a Sean Hurley or Pino signature, but never willing to pay $5k for one. I'm hoping this resolves some of that GAS. Throwing flats on it and calling it a day if so.