Fender American Vintage II

Who says you can’t reinvent the wheel? Once again Fender has done just that with the all new Fender American Vintage II series. Fender’s quest to make the best guitar ever has this iconic brand looking into its own history. With retro finishes popular in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, this new line of guitars and basses look straight out of the Vintage Guitar guide! Teles with big ’70s headstocks and handwound vintage pickups, and Precission Basses with Telecaster headstocks, the Fender American Vintage II lineup combines the great flavour and tone of those sacred guitars with modern wireing and state of the art manufacturing that has kept Fender at the top over the last several decades. Tap the button below to have a look at these amazing new guitars!

Fender American Vintage II Family

The American Vintage II 1951 Telecaster features an ash body finished in Butterscotch Blonde to capture the tone and look of the original. The substantial ‘51 “U”-shaped hard rock maple neck plays like a dream with a 7.25” radius fingerboard and vintage tall frets. Characteristic of production in 1951, 12th fret face-dot spacing is narrow and the sole Phillips-head fastener on the guitar is at the truss rod nut. The triple brass saddle bridge, single-line “Fender Deluxe” tuners and Pure Vintage ‘51 Telecaster pickups deliver classic twang and authentic Fender style.

Featuring a trio of Pure Vintage ’57 Stratocaster pickups, sweeping body contours and a supremely comfortable “V”-shape neck with a 7.25” radius maple fingerboard, the American Vintage II 1957 Stratocaster reproduces the quintessential tone and feel of the original. Other appointments include a vintage-accurate synchronized tremolo with cold rolled steel block and bent steel saddles, single-line “Fender Deluxe” tuners and a single-ply pickguard. Offered in three stunning nitrocellulose lacquer finishes – 2-Color Sunburst and Sea Foam Green over alder and Vintage Blonde over ash – the American Vintage II 1957 Stratocaster celebrates a true icon of Fender instrument design.

Featuring a trio of Pure Vintage ’57 Stratocaster pickups, sweeping body contours and a supremely comfortable “V”-shape neck with a 7.25” radius maple fingerboard, the American Vintage II 1957 Stratocaster reproduces the quintessential tone and feel of the original. Other appointments include a vintage-accurate synchronized tremolo with cold rolled steel block and bent steel saddles, single-line “Fender Deluxe” tuners and a single-ply pickguard.  Offered in three stunning nitrocellulose lacquer finishes – 2-Color Sunburst and Sea Foam Green over alder and Vintage Blonde over ash – the American Vintage II 1957 Stratocaster celebrates a true icon of Fender instrument design.

Although it initially shared many design cues with the Telecaster®, such as an oversized Tele® headstock, slab body and chrome control plate, by 1954, the P-Bass® had been updated with the same sweeping curves and contoured edges of the newly launched Stratocaster®. The American Vintage II 1954 Precision Bass reproduces the quintessential tone and feel of the original and is offered in two colours over ash: Vintage Blonde and 2-Color Sunburst mated to a single-ply white pickguard.

By 1963, a new combination of tonewoods married the punch and focus of alder with the warmth added by a round-lam rosewood fingerboard, enhancing the signature Tele® twang. Featuring Pure Vintage ‘63 Telecaster® pickups, triple threaded-steel saddle bridge and a comfortable “C”-shape maple neck, the American Vintage II 1963 Telecaster reproduces the quintessential tone and feel of the original. Characteristic of production in 1963, this Tele features clay dots (narrow-spaced at the 12th fret), a 7.25” radius fingerboard fingerboard and is offered in three colors: Crimson Red Transparent over mahogany and 3-Color Sunburst or Surf Green over alder.

Featuring a premium alder body, a trio of Pure Vintage 1961 Stratocaster pickups and a medium “C”-Shaped maple neck mated with a 7.25” radius slab rosewood fingerboard, the American Vintage II 1961 Stratocaster reproduces the quintessential tone and feel of the original. Other appointments include a vintage-accurate synchronized tremolo with cold rolled steel block and bent steel saddles, single-line “Fender Deluxe” tuners and 3-ply pickguard.

Featuring a premium alder body, a trio of Pure Vintage ‘61 Stratocaster pickups and a medium “C”-Shaped maple neck mated with a 7.25” radius slab rosewood fingerboard, the American Vintage II 1961 Stratocaster reproduces the quintessential tone and feel of the original. Other appointments include a vintage-accurate synchronized tremolo with cold rolled steel block and bent steel saddles, single-line “Fender Deluxe” tuners and 3-ply pickguard.

The American Vintage II 1966 Jazzmaster features a comfortable “C” shape maple neck that plays like a dream with a 7.25” radius round-lam rosewood fingerboard and vintage tall frets. Characteristic of production in 1966, this guitar is offered with white neck binding, pearl blocks, single-line “Fender Deluxe” tuners and matching painted headstock (on custom colors only). The patented “floating” tremolo, adjustable bridge with threaded saddles and Pure Vintage ‘66 Jazzmaster pickups, wired to the signature rhythm and lead circuits, deliver classic tone and authentic Fender feel.

The American Vintage II 1966 Jazz Bass features a comfortable “U” shape hard rock maple neck, and it plays like a dream with a 7.25” radius round-lam rosewood fingerboard and vintage tall frets. Characteristic of production in 1966, this J-Bass® is offered with white neck binding, pearl dots, two volume controls with master tone, matching painted headstock and 4-ply tortoiseshell pickguard. The 4-saddle bridge with threaded saddles, vintage-style “lollipop” tuners and Pure Vintage ‘66 Jazz Bass pickups deliver classic thump and style.

The American Vintage II 1966 Jazz Bass features a comfortable “U” shape hard rock maple neck, and it plays like a dream with a 7.25” radius round-lam rosewood fingerboard and vintage tall frets. Characteristic of production in 1966, this J-Bass® is offered with white neck binding, pearl dots, two volume controls with master tone, matching painted headstock and 4-ply tortoiseshell pickguard. The 4-saddle bridge with threaded saddles, vintage-style “lollipop” tuners and Pure Vintage ‘66 Jazz Bass pickups deliver classic thump and style.

The late ‘50s to the early ‘60s was a watershed period in the development of the Precision Bass®, a time of transition that would see the introduction of many new appointments that would become synonymous with the P-Bass®. By 1960, the design of the P-bass had eclipsed the earlier cues culled from the Telecaster® – now the P-bass had a Strat®-style headstock shape, comfort-contours, pickguard mounted electronics and 4-saddle bridge. Adorned in 3-Color Sunburst and topped with a 4-ply tortoiseshell pickguard, the 1960 Precision Bass represented a more refined, enduring aesthetic for the model. Featuring a premium alder body, Pure Vintage ‘60 Split-Coil P-Bass pickup and a substantial “C” shape hard rock maple neck mated with a 7.25” radius slab rosewood fingerboard, the American Vintage II 1960 Precision Bass reproduces the quintessential tone and feel of the original.

Featuring a “C”-shape hard rock maple neck, the American Vintage II 1972 Telecaster® Thinline plays like a dream with a 7.25” radius fingerboard and vintage tall frets. To create authentic Wide-Range humbucking pickups, we resurrected CuNiFe magnets, an essential element in recreating the sonics of the originals. Characteristic of production in 1972, this Thinline is outfitted with a convenient “Bullet” style truss rod nut, three-bolt neck plate with Micro-Tilt™ mechanism, “F” stamped tuners, 6-saddle string-through body hardtail with bent steel saddles and offered in Aged Natural, 3-Color Sunburst, and Lake Placid Blue over a semi-hollow ash body

Featuring a ‘75 “C”-shape hard rock maple neck, the American Vintage II 1975 Telecaster Deluxe plays like a dream with a 9.5” radius maple fingerboard and medium jumbo frets. Characteristic of production in 1975, this Telecaster is outfitted with a convenient “Bullet” style truss rod nut, three-bolt neck plate with Micro-Tilt™ mechanism and offered in Black, Mocha Brown, or 3-Color Sunburst over an alder body. Other features include a 6-Saddle hardtail bridge with stainless steel block saddles and vintage-accurate Tele® Deluxe tuners.

This Tele features a Wide Range humbucking pickup in the neck position and a Pure Vintage ’77 single-coil Tele® pickup in the bridge position. To create an authentic Wide-Range humbucking pickup, we resurrected CuNiFe magnets, which had been out of production since 1981, and are an essential element in recreating the sonics of the original. The American Vintage II 1977 Telecaster Custom plays like a dream with a ‘77 “C”-shape hard rock maple neck with a 7.25” radius maple or rosewood fingerboard and vintage tall frets. Other features include a Tele bridge with 6 slotted steel barrel saddles, “F” stamped tuners, a convenient “Bullet” style truss rod nut and a three-bolt neck plate with Micro-Tilt™ mechanism. Available in three finish options: Olympic White, 3-Color Sunburst, and Wine Red over an alder body.

The American Vintage II 1973 Stratocaster® exudes the spirit of the era and is outfitted with a trio of Pure Vintage ’73 staggered pole pickups, a large headstock with dual string trees, a convenient “Bullet” style truss rod nut and a three-bolt neck plate with Micro-Tilt™ mechanism. The “C”-shape maple neck plays like a dream with a 7.25” radius rosewood or maple fingerboard and vintage tall frets. The guitar is offered in three classic colors over ash: Aged Natural, Lake Placid Blue and Mocha, the latter being the first custom color ever to feature a black pickguard on a Strat®. Additional features include vintage-style “F” stamped tuners and a synchronized tremolo with bent steel saddles and cold rolled steel block.