Well, It's here, take out your wallets AVRI II

[TwangerWannabe]

Kind of glad I went the Partscaster route this time. Wasn't a cheap Partscaster, but there are many accounts on multiple forums of the sub-par quality of the AVII guitars and inconsistent quality, fit and finish. Not saying there aren't good ones, but for that kind of money they shouldn't be this inconsistent.

And to the poster above saying that one reviewer liked the same guitar that another reviewer later trashed, most of those channels are paid to say good things, given gear, etc. Other guy didn't seem to have any bias or anyone holding his reputation or endorsements over his head. The AVII Strats are also getting mixed reviews. Guessing that it has to do with the loss of skilled labor and reduced production during the pandemic when they probably laid off or let people go and now they are scrambling to get production back up to speed but don't have the experience on the assembly line like they had previously. It's happening in my field of work as well. Many actually quit during the pandemic from being over-worked (yes, there were people who actually worked during the lockdowns) and now that winter is upon us and things are picking up we're scrambling to get more workers right now.

They need to sort this out. AVII's should be one of their flagship products. Why would anyone want to drop $2,400 for a guitar that is inconsistent with poor quality QC when their Mexican counterparts are head and shoulders above as far as fit, finish and QC?

 

[IrishBread69]

I think consistency is probably the key word with all of this.

I'm not in bed with Fender but can only go on my own experiences. Over the past two years I've bought, 3 Ultra guitars, two AO Telecasters, one AV2, one Parallel Universe guitar and a bunch of Japanese and Mexican models. I've not had to return any of them and am completely satisfied with all.

That's not to say people aren't having issues though, because they clearly are. My point is that they aren't all bad because, they just aren't. They got a lot of slack for binning off a bunch of staff, pure conjecture as we'll never know, but if it's because of an atrocious QC failure rate, then it's a good business decision.

As ever, people need to make their own decisions, not go on what some random people say on a forum. That's not meant to be disrespectful as there are plenty of people here who I consider learned and experienced enough to listen to. That said, if I had taken all the negative comments, I'd be missing out on some much loved guitars because of it.

 

[John C]

I think consistency is probably the key word with all of this.

I'm not in bed with Fender but can only go on my own experiences. Over the past two years I've bought, 3 Ultra guitars, two AO Telecasters, one AV2, one Parallel Universe guitar and a bunch of Japanese and Mexican models. I've not had to return any of them and am completely satisfied with all.

That's not to say people aren't having issues though, because they clearly are. My point is that they aren't all bad because, they just aren't. They got a lot of slack for binning off a bunch of staff, pure conjecture as we'll never know, but if it's because of an atrocious QC failure rate, then it's a good business decision.

As ever, people need to make their own decisions, not go on what some random people say on a forum. That's not meant to be disrespectful as there are plenty of people here who I consider learned and experienced enough to listen to. That said, if I had taken all the negative comments, I'd be missing out on some much loved guitars because of it.

Agreed. While not having as many as you I've bought a few Fenders over the past year - my current #1 is the American Performer Tele in my thumbnail, which was bought sight unseen from Guitar Center and it is pretty much flawless.

I've also had an MIJ JV Modified 60s Strat, an American Performer Strat, and an American Professional II Strat. I returned 2 of them:

- The JV Modified went back because I couldn't get used to the soft V neck shape; it was an absolutely flawless guitar as you would expect from FujiGen

- The American Performer Strat went back because it was without a doubt the worst of the 3-4 that I've played this year from a sound perspective (the ones I had played earlier had been sold so I once again did an order). Not only was it a poor sounding example it had a broken switch that wouldn't drop into position 1 like it should - most of the time when you moved it to position 1 you still got position 2 unless you pushed hard or jiggled the switch. Not a super deal breaker - if the guitar had sounded and played like I wanted I would have just had the switch repaired - but who knows if it left Corona that way or if it was damaged in shipping since these come in gig bags.

- The American Pro II Strat is pretty flawless.

So 2 of the 3 USA builds were fine and the other had an issue that may or may not have been a shipping issue. Just being a poor sounding guitar to me is personal taste; someone else might have loved the sound of it.

I'm not counting the MIJ since Fender never had their own factory and always contracted over there - while FugiGen isn't infallible you still rarely find a guitar with build issues from them.

 

[user name]

I think consistency is probably the key word with all of this.

I'm not in bed with Fender but can only go on my own experiences. Over the past two years I've bought, 3 Ultra guitars, two AO Telecasters, one AV2, one Parallel Universe guitar and a bunch of Japanese and Mexican models. I've not had to return any of them and am completely satisfied with all.

That's not to say people aren't having issues though, because they clearly are. My point is that they aren't all bad because, they just aren't. They got a lot of slack for binning off a bunch of staff, pure conjecture as we'll never know, but if it's because of an atrocious QC failure rate, then it's a good business decision.

As ever, people need to make their own decisions, not go on what some random people say on a forum. That's not meant to be disrespectful as there are plenty of people here who I consider learned and experienced enough to listen to. That said, if I had taken all the negative comments, I'd be missing out on some much loved guitars because of it.

Yes, "inconsistency".
I think that's pretty much the point everyone here is also trying make. Nobody here ever claimed every guitar is a dud, but at a $2400 price point, there should really be zero tolerance for "inconsistency" on level we're seeing right now.
We're not talking about a few random finish flaws, or a rogue scuff mark that was overlooked. Uncrowned frets and amateur wiring on top of the laundry list of other flaws is just bonkers and anyone interested in any Fender products should be really alarmed and concerned.
There is obviously a pretty big problem at Fender right now, let's just hope they get it sorted out sooner than later.

 

[John C]

Yes, "inconsistency".
I think that's pretty much the point everyone here is also trying make. Nobody here ever claimed every guitar is a dud, but at a $2400 price point, there should really be zero tolerance for "inconsistency" on level we're seeing right now.
We're not talking about a few random finish flaws, or a rogue scuff mark that was overlooked. Uncrowned frets and amateur wiring on top of the laundry list of other flaws is just bonkers and anyone interested in any Fender products should be really alarmed and concerned.
There is obviously a pretty big problem at Fender right now, let's just hope they get it sorted out sooner than later.

Well I just watched the section of the video on the frets. In looking at the video the shape of the frets is pretty much the same way the frets on my American Pro II Strat are dressed - as have been every Fender I've ever played with these damned "narrow-tall" frets (American Professional, MIM Deluxe, American Pro II).

So they aren't "uncrowned"; they are just crowned in a different shape than what the reviewer expected. Frankly that's the main thing I dislike about my American Pro II Strat - I still stand by it being flawless, but that fret shape isn't what I like. And because of the fret and neck shape the Pro II may well be on it's way out (that and the fact that after decades of being primarily a Strat player I seem to be converting to being primarily a Tele & Les Paul player).

But I don't think it's poor workmanship, I think it's a conscious choice by Fender to shape the frets in this manner - much like how Gibson at one point shaped frets on Les Pauls to basically an upside-down U shape.

The rest of it I pretty much agree with, particularly the wiring; I'm not sure about binding "nibs", I don't think I've ever seen an actual vintage Fender with binding that hadn't been refretted.

 

[user name]

Well I just watched the section of the video on the frets. In looking at the video the shape of the frets is pretty much the same way the frets on my American Pro II Strat are dressed - as have been every Fender I've ever played with these damned "narrow-tall" frets (American Professional, MIM Deluxe, American Pro II).

So they aren't "uncrowned"; they are just crowned in a different shape than what the reviewer expected. Frankly that's the main thing I dislike about my American Pro II Strat - I still stand by it being flawless, but that fret shape isn't what I like. And because of the fret and neck shape the Pro II may well be on it's way out (that and the fact that after decades of being primarily a Strat player I seem to be converting to being primarily a Tele & Les Paul player).

But I don't think it's poor workmanship, I think it's a conscious choice by Fender to shape the frets in this manner - much like how Gibson at one point shaped frets on Les Pauls to basically an upside-down U shape.

The rest of it I pretty much agree with, particularly the wiring; I'm not sure about binding "nibs", I don't think I've ever seen an actual vintage Fender with binding that hadn't been refretted.

You're wrong about the frets.
The guy in the video isn't just some guy that demos gear, but he's also a well respespected guitar tech and an authority on Jazzmasters and offsets. If he says the frets ain't right, then you can count on it.

 

[John C]

You're wrong about the frets.
The guy in the video isn't just some guy that demos gear, but he's also a well respespected guitar tech and an authority on Jazzmasters and offsets. If he says the frets ain't right, then you can count on it.

Okay; I'll concede that - I'm not familiar with him.

But I think this is an issue with Fender these tall/thin frets across all Fender models then - and it seems to be the way they are doing it. And based on his assessment that Jazzmaster being reviewed is even more "squared off" than the Fender normally does with them.

 

[msalama]

says the frets ain't right, then you can count on it.

If tthe fretwire is of wrong type and crowned differently then it's not an accurate reissue, is it? I once had an original '65 Jazzmaster with a bound fretboard and if memory serves, that thing had low jumbos and those to my knowledge were original. Could be they were redressed at least once though, but AFAIK that was how it left Fullerton still.

 

[Minivan Megafun]

Okay; I'll concede that - I'm not familiar with him.

But I think this is an issue with Fender these tall/thin frets across all Fender models then - and it seems to be the way they are doing it. And based on his assessment that Jazzmaster being reviewed is even more "squared off" than the Fender normally does with them.

He reviewed an AO60’s Jazzmaster about 3 months ago and it has the exact same fretwire and he specifically stated the frets were crowned fine on that one.

 

[John C]

He reviewed an AO60’s Jazzmaster about 3 months ago and it has the exact same fretwire and he specifically stated the frets were crowned fine on that one.

Okay; I'm convinced. The AV II he reviewed was out of bounds for those frets.

Regardless of whether they are crowned correctly or not I still don't care for these frets that well - that and the neck shape will likely have me moving the American Pro II Strat by the end of the year.

 

[user name]

If tthe fretwire is of wrong type and crowned differently then it's not an accurate reissue, is it? I once had an original '65 Jazzmaster with a bound fretboard and if memory serves, that thing had low jumbos and those to my knowledge were original. Could be they were redressed at least once though, but AFAIK that was how it left Fullerton still.

I can't say if the fretwire is the wrong type for that particular reissue or not, I'm far from an expert on details like those. There were also some complaints of guitars with frets that were partially crowned. Meaning some frets were crowned and some werent....on the same neck.
That's pretty wild stuff

 

[msalama]

some frets were crowned and some werent.

And we're talking about guitars costing more than $£€2000 apiece... wow. How's that even possible!?

 

[The Lisbon Plane]

I sure would like to have the 61 strat......

Just got mine from Fender (with the 10% off)

 

[MaxPower93]

I watched both reviews on the 66 Jazzmaster. When working class musicians reviewed it it didn’t look like the same guitar Adam’s reviewed on the pushien channel. Adam’s guitar was all dinged up, the headstock looked like someone dragged it down their driveway. I have no idea what happened to that guitar after it left working class musicians and got to Mike Adam’s. Also I’m not saying he is anything but an expert like everyone says he is, including himself. His shop m$m guitar bar is not a fender dealer. They specialize in overpriced Japanese offset fenders. Why would he give a glowing review to any American Fender when it possibly could cut into his business. I gave up believing YouTube personalities were honest. Everyone on there have their own motivations. 99 % of the time it’s money. You wanna believe everyone on there is a nice guy or trustworthy that’s your choice. Does Fender have problems? I have no clue. If you buy from a reputable shop you’ll never see these quality control issues. The shop will fix or send back any defective guitars before you lay your hands on it, or at least they should. If they don’t they are supposed to sell them as b stock for a discount. So if working class musicians are in fact Fender dealers that guitar should have been immediately sent back if it was in the same shape as when Mike Adam’s reviewed it. I’m not Even talking about the frets I’m talking about all the dents, dings, and scrapes. I’ve bought plenty of new Fenders and Squiers and NONE have even had so much as a tiny scratch let alone look like that thing.

 

[Will13]

Here you go.
View attachment 1052989 View attachment 1052990

Looks great. Here’s a pic of my 63 AV ii. Looks very similar (minus the binding) what’s the neck profile on yours? Also, how are the rigid saddles? Mine has them as well, no issues so far, planning on changing out the stock ones for the gotoh compensated saddles…we’ll see, if I continue to have no issues, I’ll keep the stock ones for a while.

 

[Jared Purdy]

Actually, I don't find them overly expensive. It is what it is. I managed to very recently snag a 2011 AVRI 52 Hot Rod, which in 2011 was selling for $1500 in Canada (likely a couple hundred less in the US at the time) for $2150. Like the current AVRI's, it's a mix of Custom Shop and standard. Nicely made, if you like the specs and such.

 

[ABetterTelePlayer]

No thanks.

I have an Isbell Tele here and a modified J Mascis Tele coming in. Those are my dream Teles and don't have to try the AV2's to see that they won't do anything better for me.

I'd much rather have an American Ultra Strat.

 

[loopfinding]

I KNEW they would eventually put those CuNiFes in a standard model. I won't buy one outright, as I'm not a fan of the 7.25" radius, but when The Stratosphere starts chopping them, I would definitely buy a WRHB-loaded body and put my own neck on it...

ACTUALLY, I've changed my mind. I'll buy a Lake Placid Blue one, first time I can score a deal.

That’s a lot to pay for those pickups. You can get them from a number of builders. It’s not really the magnet composition (cunife) that matters, it’s the construction (mag pole pieces).

The real reason the earlier reissues weren’t authentic sounding is simply that fender was building them entirely wrong. Basically just slapping together a regular humbucker, sticking it under a bigger cover with foam spacers, and calling it a WRHB because it looked the part from the outside.

 

[ruger9]

That’s a lot to pay for those pickups. You can get them from a number of builders. It’s not really the magnet composition (cunife) that matters, it’s the construction (mag pole pieces).

The real reason the earlier reissues weren’t authentic sounding is simply that fender was building them entirely wrong. Basically just slapping together a regular humbucker, sticking it under a bigger cover with foam spacers, and calling it a WRHB because it looked the part from the outside.

Yes and no.

Many threads on this subject when the the TDPRI's own Telenator started a company making CuNiFe wide range humbuckers, as well as variants with A2 magnets. He's done a ton of research (real research- with many vintage pickups) and his posts are worth reading. He is the only builder besides Fender to use CuNiFe.

And many people can testify that magnets DO matter. Just take a PAF and replace the A5 with A2. It matters.

Also, the pot values used matter greatly. CuNiFe + 1M pots was the "recipe". Again- Telenator dove deep into that, and all that info can be found on the old threads.

 

[Si G X]

+1, my AO60's Telecaster and Telecaster Thinline are incredible guitars. I'm sure there's some extra magic with a custom shop Telecaster but the AOs killed my GAS for that dead.

Missed out on the Jazzmaster so I'm definitely picking up the AVII JM. I adore my Vintera '50s seafoam Strat so I'm really tempted up upgrade that to AVII.

AO were dope though. That was a great line.

You didn't miss out, they are still around (providing you want sunburst) .. they even have them on the Fender website in the black friday sale.

£1639

American Original '60s Jazzmaster® | Electric Guitars

American Original '60s Jazzmaster®, Rosewood Fingerboard, 3-Color Sunburst

www.fender.com