Which cheap vintage Fender guitar would you buy?

[Twang Deluxe]

Hello everyone,

I'm thinking about buying a cheap vintage Fender guitar (under $ 1500).

Which one of these would be your favourite?

- Late 70s Strat
- 70s Mustang, Musicmaster, Bronco
- 60s Coronado I, II or XII
- 70s Jazzmaster or Jaguar (they're a bit hard to find)

Thank you

 

[Fretting out]

Is it for the joy of playing or investment?

Edit: after doing some browsing your gonna need to expand your budget unless it’s a beater

Bronco or musicmaster is the only ones that you’ll have more choices of

If it were me and I had to stick to that budget and those models I’d look for a 67-68 bronco with the nitro finish

 

[nickmsmith]

Late 70s Antigua Strat, or an old Jag. But not really jonesing for either. Like fretting out said, not many of any of these going for 1500 or less unless you get a deal.

 

[RevBillyG]

Classic Vibe

 

[Twang Deluxe]

Is it for the joy of playing or investment?

Edit: after doing some browsing your gonna need to expand your budget unless it’s a beater

Bronco or musicmaster is the only ones that you’ll have more choices of

I'm looking for a player

 

[Tommy Biggs]

I’d look for a hard tail 2 pickup music master ( but I bet they ain’t 1,500).

 

[brookdalebill]

The late 70s Strat.
There’s two hardtails on Dallas CL, both look clean.

 

[vhilts1]

I would stay away from late 70s fender guitars at prices much higher than 80s gear (or any later decades up to including now for that matter)

In general 70s Fender guitars except for the WRHB models don’t have much defineable mojo

I realize the “vintage” market is a self inflating beast these days but 70s Fender guitars had been pretty homogenized by that time for the most part

Not saying they are bad.....but....very homogenized.....70s 80s 90s etc etc standard models all sound very similar....

In the 50s there were some very notable differences from the 60s and each of those eras had some stark design differences either by design or through human error for a period

 

[aleski]

Which one of these would be your favourite?

- Late 70s Strat
- 70s Mustang, Musicmaster, Bronco
- 60s Coronado I, II or XII
- 70s Jazzmaster or Jaguar (they're a bit hard to find)

Thank you

Out of these, I'd look at 60s Coronado or the 70s offsets. But I think you could also find a 60s Mustang within budget.

 

[AnArmyOfJuan]

Personally I'd get a Bronco. I had a '72 Musicmaster as my main guitar until it was stolen, and I always thought it made more sense to have a single bridge pickup than a single neck pickup. (I put a Mustang pickguard and dual pickups in my Musicmaster)

 

[dannyh]

Late 70s Strat. You could add 80-81 to your search; they’re essentially the same as the late 70s until the Smith with the “different” small headstock came along in 82.

If you can handle the weight, they weren’t ALL dogs.

 

[Ronzo]

None of those the OP listed.

“Don’t believe the hype. It’s a sequel.” And most sequels suck, for good reason. In this case, they were undesirable models, and most (if not all) of the better examples have already been snapped up. The Jaguar and Jazzmaster models were hampered by poor QC and cost reduction measures at that time.

JMO. YMMV.

 

[Superpicker]

Hello everyone,

I'm thinking about buying a cheap vintage Fender guitar (under $ 1500).

Which one of these would be your favourite?

- Late 70s Strat
- 70s Mustang, Musicmaster, Bronco
- 60s Coronado I, II or XII
- 70s Jazzmaster or Jaguar (they're a bit hard to find)

Thank you

Not sure on price but Those don’t sound like cheap,so I’ll add a 69 pink paiseley Tele.

 

[SomeGuyNamedRob]

None of the above if I want a player. I'd sooner take the 1500 and spend it on a nice MIM and upgrade the pickups and pots, and add locking tuners. Maybe swap out for a roasted maple neck if I have enough left over.

 

[itstooloudMike]

Late 70s Strats are boat anchors, and overpriced. You won’t find any 70s Jag/JMs for $1500. The Coronado might be interesting, but kind of an odd duck. A Bronco would be a good option, if you like the short scale. But the best vintage bargains are in 70s Guilds.

 

[Texsunburst59]

The deals are still out there if you put in a little time and energy in seeking these instruments out.

I think you probably could find a bruised and scarred late 70's player Strat for your $1500 price.

It's going to have to be at a pawnshop, CL, or FB Marketplace, if you intend to find one.

I got very lucky a few years ago, when I put a sell/trade ad on CL for my '11 Fender Tele.

I picked up the Tele at a pawnshop for $500 a week earlier, and I really wanted something else.

An older guy, who lived about 10 miles away said he had an older Fender Strat, and he'd do an even trade for the Tele

I went to his house, and it turned out to be a '75 Fender Mocha strat that just needed a little TLC.

I didn't even think twice about the trade.

My '75 Fender Mocha Strat

 

[nojazzhere]

Hello everyone,

I'm thinking about buying a cheap vintage Fender guitar (under $ 1500).

Which one of these would be your favourite?

- Late 70s Strat
- 70s Mustang, Musicmaster, Bronco
- 60s Coronado I, II or XII
- 70s Jazzmaster or Jaguar (they're a bit hard to find)

Thank you

Not sure I understand your list of choices if you're looking for a "player". There are LOTS of great player-grade instruments available for way less than $1500. $1500 would probably cover three or four of my favorite guitars.....but then, that's just me.

 

[Jupiter]

I would choose “none”.

“Cheap vintage” just means “old and overpriced”. You can buy a heckuva lot of regular “used” guitar for that kinda money. Hold it for 20-30 years and you got yer own “vintage” guitar!

 

[wabashslim]

None of the above if I want a player. I'd sooner take the 1500 and spend it on a nice MIM and upgrade the pickups and pots, and add locking tuners. Maybe swap out for a roasted maple neck if I have enough left over.

Then why not just get everything from Warmoth & build from scratch instead of having 4/5 of a guitar left over in cheap parts?

 

[knopflerfan]

Hello everyone,

I'm thinking about buying a cheap vintage Fender guitar (under $ 1500).

Which one of these would be your favourite?

- Late 70s Strat
- 70s Mustang, Musicmaster, Bronco
- 60s Coronado I, II or XII
- 70s Jazzmaster or Jaguar (they're a bit hard to find)

Thank you

Late 70s Strat.