Leaked: Fender Vintera II series...hoooo boy.

[Thump]

On 14/09/2023 at 14:21, gjones said:

 

I played the exact same model in Edinburgh GuitarGuitar and, for some reason, didn't like it. It may have been badly set up

In my experience with the Edinburgh store I have yet to see anything set up at all. Apparently they have an excellent tech yet everything seems to go out as it went in. I've had to setup every single instrument I've bought from there from a £120 banjo to a £2k+ Les Paul. Never asked about a setup, but also never offered with a new instrument 🤷

[Linus27]

I popped into Andertons today with my son as he was buying a new digital piano. Whilst there, I had a play of the Vintera ii Telecaster bass and I absolutely loved it. The sound was super clean and punchy and it wasn't deep or muddy as I was expecting from the humbucker pickup. It didn't sound like a Precision but just a really nice balanced punchy tone. As I was playing, my son asked me to play some Jazz so I dialled the tone off and it was nice and warm and deep but still a bit clanky, so I cut the treble on the amp as well. So its not muddy, bassy or boomy at all. The neck is mega chunky though but easy to play but some of that also came from the 105 gauge strings so a lighter set would help with feeling even more comfortable for me. As for the colour, I initially really liked the green but under certain lights it looks blue. My son says it's more turquoise so I think I'd buy it in the vintage blonde but it was still nice, but not green enough for my eyes.

 

I also played it through an Orange Combo which had a 15" speaker and it sounded amazing. If the combo wasn't so damn heavy I'd buy one as it sounded unbelievable and the tonal options was brilliant. Super impressive and very much considering trying more Orange gear in the future, especially a Little Bass Thing.

 

Anyway, loved the bass and the Orange combo and together they sounded brilliant. I want both 😂 A quick photo before plugging in and playing through the combo.

 

 

[Longwheelbass]

On 22/07/2023 at 23:11, Jackroadkill said:

 

Superb!  I'll take one in seafoam green with a rosewood board.

You wont get a rosewood board. Maple only.

[BassAdder60]

Arriving today hopefully!!  
 

Decided the Vintera 50’s PBass is my perfect fit ( already have the Dakota Red one ) 

 

If the new series is as good then I will be very pleased 

 

Further reports upon arrival today 

 

 

Edited November 23, 2023 by BassAdder60

[BassAdder60]

It arrived …. Great bass and very impressed, nicely set up out of the box and plays like it should 

 

This will be joining my Dakota Red Vintera as my main working basses 

 

[BillyBass]

Nice looking John Player Special that!  Congrats.  I'm always put off by the 'Have to take the neck off to access the truss rod' feature, with Vintera series basses but, apart from that, I hear nothing but good things.

[signals55]

Congratulations 

[miles'tone]

16 hours ago, BillyBass said:

Nice looking John Player Special that!  Congrats.  I'm always put off by the 'Have to take the neck off to access the truss rod' feature, with Vintera series basses but, apart from that, I hear nothing but good things.

No need to take the neck or strings  off, just loosen and capo the strings, loosen the neck screws enough to tilt back the heel for access. 2 min job 👍

[BassAdder60]

27 minutes ago, miles'tone said:

No need to take the neck or strings  off, just loosen and capo the strings, loosen the neck screws enough to tilt back the heel for access. 2 min job 👍

Yep exactly that 👍

Out of the box it didn’t need adjusting so I’m happy with it 

[BassAdder60]

My working pair 

Ive changed the bridge on the red one to a Gotoh 204B bridge and will do the same on the black one. 

 

[Jonesy]

What a lovely duo! Really like the necks on these and they sound fantastic too. Do you know if the pups are the same in the new series?

[BassAdder60]

I believe in the 50’s Vintera they are the same and very nice they are too

 

I like the Vintera as it has a bright punchy sound ( not dark and muddy )

 

Best sounding PBass I’ve owned 

Edited November 24, 2023 by BassAdder60

[Jonesy]

Really glad you're happy with the pair! Agree with you on those pups, I've only played the MK1 Vintera but thought it sounded great - much better than the Am pro2. It was equally happy digging in with a pick for some Dead Kennedys as it was playing some softer blues. 

[SurroundedByManatees]

I just ordered a competition blue Mustang....

 

I'd love to have an original, but one of these will come out at 3,5 to 4,5 times the price of a Vintera. That's a bit too much for my liking.

The vintera looks like the next best thing, and will probably have a better fit and finish than the original anyway. 

 

Hopefully I can update tomorrow 😙

Edited December 7, 2023 by SurroundedByManatees

[Jono Bolton]

I still fancy a Telecaster Bass but I'll wait until either the price comes down or one comes up second hand 

[AndyTravis]

3 minutes ago, Jono Bolton said:

I still fancy a Telecaster Bass but I'll wait until either the price comes down or one comes up second hand 

I keep staring at it 😆

[Old Horse Murphy]

35 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

I keep staring at it 😆

I love mine. None of my other basses have had a look in over the last two months for recording and gigging. It's really that good. 

[Lozz196]

Mexican Fenders are really upping their game aren’t they.

[Linus27]

23 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Mexican Fenders are really upping their game aren’t they.

 

I think they did from about 15 years ago. I bought one of the Mexican Fender Classic 70's Jazz basses around 2010 I think and it was incredible. Beautifully made, sounded fabulous and one of the nicest necks I'd played. It was so much nicer than my two AVII 75 Jazz basses. Then along came the Flea and Mike Dirnt signature basses and both of these are superb. Then the Nate Mendal which is also superb. In a lot of cases these signature basses are better than the US models. Then in 2018 they released the 70's reissue 70's Precision and it is a piece of art. I played mine in Guitar Guitar and 30 minutes later I was walking out of the shop with it. US hardware, Custom Shop 62 pickups, Ash body and maple neck. It's an incredible bass. So yep, I think they upped there game some time ago and having been a huge Fender Japan fan, I think the Mexican basses now surpass them.

[Lozz196]

Yup, for years I’ve been a US Fender man, the US Precisions just worked best for me, mainly the necks. But then due to my back I got my JMJ Mustangs and I can’t really spot any difference in quality, the added bonus that the necks on them are just superb.

[Highfox]

9 hours ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

I love mine. None of my other basses have had a look in over the last two months for recording and gigging. It's really that good. 

Same here, it's all I'm using.

[SurroundedByManatees]

On 07/12/2023 at 15:47, SurroundedByManatees said:

I just ordered a competition blue Mustang....

 

I'd love to have an original, but one of these will come out at 3,5 to 4,5 times the price of a Vintera. That's a bit too much for my liking.

The vintera looks like the next best thing, and will probably have a better fit and finish than the original anyway. 

 

Hopefully I can update tomorrow 😙

Received the bass yesterday!

 

At first sight; beautiful finish, but out of the box it was pretty much unplayable due to high action. But the truss rod works, so this was sorted out quickly. It plays well after some adjustment.

 

First and second impressions on the sound are very good. It's a loud instrument acoustically, and sounds great and balanced when amplified. It has rounds fitted now. Sounds good, but me like some flats on a mustang

 

Build quality is very good. I haven't found any faults yet and fit and finish are very tight. Frets are good too. The only remark is that the fretboard is a bit rough and needs some sanding to get a smooth surface. This will be sorted in the next week when fitting some Labella's.

 

I noticed that the body contours are less rounded than on the original ones I played/owned, that had a deeper bellycut.

 

 

[Jono Bolton]

I sold a few bits and pieces with a view to getting another bass but after struggling with decision paralysis for a couple of weeks, I eventually went ahead and bought a Vintera Telecaster Bass in Seafoam Green.

 

The weight is good, the fit and finish seems spot on, the neck is a dream - fat front-to-back but not as wide at the nut as my Classic 50s P Bass neck - but the pickup is the real winner. The sound is great. I tried it out through my Ashdown ABM combo (the final boss of woolly bass tone; a mudbucker and an Ashdown) and the clean tone was nice but it really came alive when I engaged the valve drive. I often wondered if that button actually did anything as it didn't make much of a difference with either of my P Basses, but with the Telecaster it sounded very gritty indeed. And if you want a picture of it, @Linus27 has already taken care of that for me:

 

On 29/10/2023 at 14:03, Linus27 said:

 

 

 

 

Update: it's going back unfortunately. There's a dent on the top edge of it under the clear coat. I spoke to Andertons about it but I wasn't happy with the partial refund they offered. It's A) the first brand new bass I've bought in years and B) it was a lot of money for me, so I don't want to have live with something that I'm not 100% happy with.

Edited December 14, 2023 by Jono Bolton

[Jono Bolton]

Replacement from guitarguitar arrived at the weekend. This one is spot on. The neck and pickup on these really are great. I quite fancy getting one in vintage white now!

 

[BassAdder60]

I have had my last two new basses arrive in slightly under perfect condition. As I gig mine I’m happy to accept but it’s frustrating when they turn up marked.

 

Thats how they leave the factory in some cases