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

[Will13]

Glad I got my Surf Green '62 AVRI Tele for $1360 back in 2012.

Pics??!?

 

[user name]

After seeing this review, I would definitely think long and hard about dropping over 2k on any of these AVII guitars.

 

[Dukex]

Pics??!?

Here you go.

 

[IrishBread69]

After seeing this review, I would definitely think long and hard about dropping over 2k on any of these AVII guitars.

One bad apple doesn't condemn the rest.

Another channel reviewed the exact same guitar and thought it was great.

 

[Milspec]

Fender is too late for me, I already met those spec builds years ago. Pretty nice and the pickups sound great, but nothing new for me.

 

[user name]

One bad apple doesn't condemn the rest.

Another channel reviewed the exact same guitar and thought it was great.

One bad apple also doesn't mean it isn't possible there are some serious QC issues going on...this was a pretty bad apple for $2400.
He also said there were multiple reports of these same problems.
I'm sure some of the guitars are fine, but for over 2k, there is no room for Fender to be hit or miss with basic quality.

 

[beyer160]

One bad apple doesn't condemn the rest.

Another channel reviewed the exact same guitar and thought it was great.

Did you watch the video? It sure looks like there's more going on than "one bad apple".

 

[IrishBread69]

Did you watch the video? It sure looks like there's more going on than "one bad apple".

I did. But like I said, his mates reviewed the exact same guitar and though it was great. They have their own video with the exact same guitar.

So what did he moan about?

The headstock shape? Meh.

The ground wiring? Meh.

Tool marks and glue on the fretboard? Not great but not a deal-breaker for me.

Frets not being crowned? Yes but an easy fix. I get a buyer shouldn't have to but not a deal-breaker.

He did say that it played and sounded good. Which is all most people really care about.

For context I have an AVII and it's as well built and finished as any other of my guitars. I've played a bunch in Anderton's and they did not give the impression of major QC issues.

We also know Mike is extremely picky, going by his past videos and retail shop with extortionately high prices for vintage guitars.

You're right, tool marks and glue on the board shouldn't happen but not everybody cares to the same degree. The rest...meh.

 

[beyer160]

I did. But like I said, his mates reviewed the exact same guitar and though it was great. They have their own video with the exact same guitar.

So, the folks who have a relationship with Fender missed all the flaws and gave it a good review? You don't think they might have been biased not to upset the apple cart, do you? Adams on the other hand is the guy who put out a video documenting the flaws in the new AmPro II trem system, and a year later Fender wouldn't send him a demo of the new AVII. Curious, isn't it?

The ground wiring? Meh.

On a Squier I wouldn't care. On Fender's flagship production guitar, it indicates they have line workers who aren't properly trained and supervised. The ground wire thing isn't even laziness, because doing it right would have been easier. This means we're not looking at "one bad apple" but a production line staffed with untrained workers, which explains the rest of the faults.

Tool marks and glue on the fretboard? Not great but not a deal-breaker for me.

I could deal with dragging my fingers over an unfinished fretboard on a Squier, but again, this is Fender's $2400 flagship model. Inexcusable.

Frets not being crowned? Yes but an easy fix. I get a buyer shouldn't have to but not a deal-breaker.

Sorry, I'm not doing Fender's job for them on the $2400 flagship model. That's a no-go in my book.

He did say that it played and sounded good. Which is all most people really care about.

I guess it played great other than the uncrowned frets mucking up the intonation and the trem bottoming out. Hard pass on a $2400 guitar.

For context I have an AVII and it's as well built and finished as any other of my guitars.

I'm glad you got a good one, but be honest- would you have kept the one Adams reviewed, or would you have sent it back? In contrast, I just bought a new Squier for 1/6 the cost of this one that has none of these problems.

Sure, the headstock thing is personal preference but the rest indicates serious problems on the production side.

 

[IrishBread69]

Almost every Squier I've bought has been rats with more issues than he found on this JM.

You might think they're all defective or the QC has failed but that isn't my experience.

I stand by my comment, one dodgy guitar doesn't mean they're all bad which you've implied.

You make an interesting comment about a whole production line putting out poor quality guitars though. Didn't Fender get absolutely slammed recently for letting a bunch of staff go for this exact (alleged) reason?

 

[user name]

So, the folks who have a relationship with Fender missed all the flaws and gave it a good review? You don't think they might have been biased not to upset the apple cart, do you? Adams on the other hand is the guy who put out a video documenting the flaws in the new AmPro II trem system, and a year later Fender wouldn't send him a demo of the new AVII. Curious, isn't it?


On a Squier I wouldn't care. On Fender's flagship production guitar, it indicates they have line workers who aren't properly trained and supervised. The ground wire thing isn't even laziness, because doing it right would have been easier. This means we're not looking at "one bad apple" but a production line staffed with untrained workers, which explains the rest of the faults.


I could deal with dragging my fingers over an unfinished fretboard on a Squier, but again, this is Fender's $2400 flagship model. Inexcusable.

Sorry, I'm not doing Fender's job for them on the $2400 flagship model. That's a no-go in my book.

I guess it played great other than the uncrowned frets mucking up the intonation and the trem bottoming out. Hard pass on a $2400 guitar.

I'm glad you got a good one, but be honest- would you have kept the one Adams reviewed, or would you have sent it back? In contrast, I just bought a new Squier for 1/6 the cost of this one that has none of these problems.

Sure, the headstock thing is personal preference but the rest indicates serious problems on the production side.

Right? Just how bad would a guitar need to be for this guy to say it was a deal breaker?
To each his own I guess, but for that kind of money I expect a flawless product
Plenty of new companies knocking it out of the park for 500 bucks these days, this is no time for Fender to get sloppy

 

[Alex W]

Since the AV guitars appeal to me primarily for the way that a 7-1/4" radius with vintage frets feels, I prefer to shop for one of these in person. You can research the specs all you want but there's nothing like holding it in your hands and playing it. I can generally tell immediately whether the instrument is a dog or a player. Seen plenty of both regardless of the pedigree. This applies to everything from Squiers to Fender Custom Shop guitars. All these electric guitars are hit or miss, in my experience.

 

[beyer160]

You make an interesting comment about a whole production line putting out poor quality guitars though. Didn't Fender get absolutely slammed recently for letting a bunch of staff go for this exact (alleged) reason?

Fender laid off a bunch of employees in August (over 300, allegedly), including production line workers and QC. One report said the entire afternoon production shift was let go, but that's unconfirmed. Fender hasn't commented on the reason for the layoff but it's fair to say they've been seriously shorthanded for the last three months, a time they would have been working on stockpiling production in preparation of the launch of the much-anticipated AVII series. Those guitars are in short supply, which also hints at production problems.

I do hope they get their act together, because a Dakota red '66 Jazzmaster has been on my GAS list for years. I had actually planned to buy one by the end of the year, but I'm holding off now.

 

[burntfrijoles]

You can research the specs all you want but there's nothing like holding it in your hands and playing it.

 

[jim777]

A '61 Strat is never going to happen for me, but this seems like a decent option. Hopefully they are worth the price, and if not, I'll just eventually get a Momose instead.

 

[Minivan Megafun]

Since the AV guitars appeal to me primarily for the way that a 7-1/4" radius with vintage frets feels, I prefer to shop for one of these in person. You can research the specs all you want but there's nothing like holding it in your hands and playing it. I can generally tell immediately whether the instrument is a dog or a player. Seen plenty of both regardless of the pedigree. This applies to everything from Squiers to Fender Custom Shop guitars. All these electric guitars are hit or miss, in my experience.

That's great if you CAN. I think I've seen 3 AO's in a store near me since 2018. Not a single retailer within 800km of me has an AVii in stock. Most of the dealers around here have received zero so far.

Shop in person is great if you live in an area with a plethora of dealers that are high volume enough to be prioritized to receive regular shipments. For the rest of us we have to rely on message board reviews and YouTube before deciding to order one online.

 

[Minivan Megafun]

So, the folks who have a relationship with Fender missed all the flaws and gave it a good review? You don't think they might have been biased not to upset the apple cart, do you? Adams on the other hand is the guy who put out a video documenting the flaws in the new AmPro II trem system, and a year later Fender wouldn't send him a demo of the new AVII. Curious, isn't it?


On a Squier I wouldn't care. On Fender's flagship production guitar, it indicates they have line workers who aren't properly trained and supervised. The ground wire thing isn't even laziness, because doing it right would have been easier. This means we're not looking at "one bad apple" but a production line staffed with untrained workers, which explains the rest of the faults.


I could deal with dragging my fingers over an unfinished fretboard on a Squier, but again, this is Fender's $2400 flagship model. Inexcusable.

Sorry, I'm not doing Fender's job for them on the $2400 flagship model. That's a no-go in my book.

I guess it played great other than the uncrowned frets mucking up the intonation and the trem bottoming out. Hard pass on a $2400 guitar.

I'm glad you got a good one, but be honest- would you have kept the one Adams reviewed, or would you have sent it back? In contrast, I just bought a new Squier for 1/6 the cost of this one that has none of these problems.

Sure, the headstock thing is personal preference but the rest indicates serious problems on the production side.

All this exactly. The comments comparing Squiers... The AVii is 6x the price.

And yes, the Offset fans are upset about the headstock shape on the 66 JM. Why? Because despite Fender's marketing claims that they're all built to original spec - this is a major design miss. Imagine if the '63 Tele had a maple fretboard instead of rosewood. Think anyone here would call that out?

There's been some reports of Fender's quality slipping over the 2021-22 years. My late 2021 AO60's Jazzmaster came with an obvoiusly defective witch hat knob cover (seated about 3/8" above the pickguard and would not seat properly due to the plastic inside the shaft not being properly molded) and the switch tip was grimy (like someone found the last one on the floor behind the workbench and they just threw it on the guitar). Neither were deal breaker issues but the fact that the guitar flew through QC with those defects shows to me that they're just letting stuff go.

Apparently ALL the vibrato arms for the AVii Jazzmasters don't fit properly. How on earth did that get through QC? NO ONE at the factory popped the arm in to test the fit or the vibrato?

I watched Puisheen's video review for the AO60's JM a few months ago and he found that the tone cap was snapped in half because it got wedged between the pick guard and the body on assembly.

Sorry to say to the defenders here, but there's something not right over in Corona right now and they need to get this righted ASAP.

 

[BorderRadio]

And yes, the Offset fans are upset about the headstock shape on the 66 JM. Why? Because despite Fender's marketing claims that they're all built to original spec - this is a major design miss. Imagine if the '63 Tele had a maple fretboard instead of rosewood. Think anyone here would call that out?

100 percent this^^^ Ignoring the headstock shape on a reissue is something Fender would do the first time around ---in the 1980s. I'm not up in arms, pitchfork in hand. Nope. I'm just not buying.

 

[John C]

I've seen enough reviews with issues on the AV IIs that is kind of showing these are rush jobs.

I posted on another thread started about the Puisheen's video that there is a thread on Strat-Talk discussing 2 AV II '61 Strats where the neck heel isn't even - it's a couple of MM thicker on the bass side than the treble side of the neck, necessitating a shim. The difference is even marked on both of them with aqua colored marker! Both necks were made in early August - after Fender laid off that 2nd shift supposedly for poor QC.

Fender needs to get their act together on the AV IIs - these should not be this inconsistent. FMIC needs to set these aside for rework, not push them out.

I have yet to play any AV IIs; my local Guitar Center has gotten 3 in - one '57 Strat and two '51 Teles, neither of which are guitars I'm interested in due to the neck shape so no in-person reviews from me. I'm just going on posts here, Strat-Talk and The Gear Page from people I trust more than the youtube review set.

 

[Alex W]

That's great if you CAN. I think I've seen 3 AO's in a store near me since 2018. Not a single retailer within 800km of me has an AVii in stock. Most of the dealers around here have received zero so far.

Shop in person is great if you live in an area with a plethora of dealers that are high volume enough to be prioritized to receive regular shipments. For the rest of us we have to rely on message board reviews and YouTube before deciding to order one online.

I, too, am waiting to be able play one in person. We have a GC in town and so far they have not received one.

If I ordered something like this new from online my first preference would be a place known for doing great setups on the guitars they sell. My second preference would be a great sale price, which would help offset the possible cost of taking a brand new guitar to a luthier to have it set up just right.