Fender American Vintage Telecaster Thinlines for £749!

StefB

I took delivery of the red FSR Tele Deluxe earlier this week from Peach, and have to say it is the best non-USA made Fender I've ever played.  I've had Baja Teles, Classic Player Strats, CIJ, Classic Vibe etc, and this guitar wipes the floor with the lot of them. 

There seriously isn't a single thing I can criticise it for.  Impeccably built, light, looks stunning, sounds great clean and with any level of drive.  I'm far more impressed than I ever hoped to be and at £299 I consider it an absolute steal.  Regardless of whatever is going on behind closed doors with Fender blowing them out, this is a lot of guitar for that kind of money.

I was very tempted by the AVRI Thinlines but, like a few others, the 7.25" radius and 3 saddle bridge put me off.  The MIM FSR has a 12" radius on an unexpectedly thicker neck, 6 saddle bridge and a gutaway on the rear.  Nice design, well executed - chuffed to bits!

Gagaryn

ICBM said:

badlydrawnbanjo said:

My 69 arrived from Coda on Wednesday and at £750 for an American made guitar with nitro finish, a hard case and all the bits and bobs I think it's a cracking buy, but for £1500 I'm not so sure? I bought one of the early 50's classics in the late nineties (which I sold a couple of years ago and still regret) and they feel very similar in quality and build. 

Exactly. I was being a bit devil's advocate earlier - £750 sounds good, but it's not "half price" if the original was unrealistic to begin with.

richardhomer said:

That said, these guitars are presumably part of the American Vintage Series - the 'street' prices of which are very much higher than the American Standard Series. And Standards now top £1000....

Which is also overpriced. It wasn't that long ago that they weren't much more than half that.

I think this is indicative of what appears to be a wider problem at Fender (as in the other thread), and is part of why they're having to 'restructure' and sell off or close down brands they bought only a few years ago.

Too many models, at too high prices. Giving them away at what must be a tiny or no profit (even given the margins they probably have) in order to 'get stock moving' won't help really.

The real price was nowhere near the 'retail' price. I picked up a 69 Thinline in Olympic White for £1000 new about 6 months ago, after a modicum of haggling.

fretfinder

StefB said: I was very tempted by the AVRI Thinlines but, like a few others, the 7.25" radius and 3 saddle bridge put me off. 

I wouldn't be worried about the three saddles and personally would change them for offset brass ones, but I agree about the 7.25" radius 'board - that's a definite no-no for me. I'm sure Fender would hardly sell any fewer guitars if they ditched the 7.25" radius wherever they use it and used 9.5" instead, in fact I'd be fairly confident that they'd sell more.

richardhomer

^
Just to add some historical perspective here (yes - I am very old) - before 1983, every guitar that left Fullerton had a 7.25" radius...

No one seemed to be put off by it. It was 'part' of a Fender guitar.

Dave_Mc

thermionic said:

Dave_Mc said:

Word in the last thread about this (I haven't corroborated it, just passing on the hearsay) was that Fender was operating a "Buy 6 get 6 free" policy with these models. 

In that case, we should cut out the middleman and do a forum group buy!

LOL

ICBM said:

Are these really that cheap? Or were they just overpriced to begin with? [/cynic]

Perhaps that's why they weren't selling.

Yeah possibly. ) There's no way I'd have paid £1500 (or even £1300 which I've seen advertised on some UK stores which didn't have the super-deal price).

I remember a good while back, before the recession and prices went nuts, I tried an AVRI '52 tele. It was very nice, but I wasn't sure it was any nicer than the Tokais I'd tried at half the price (maybe even a little less), apart from the fact it had a nitro finish and came with a case. I have to admit that my thinline feels very, very similar to my tokai breezysound (though the breezy is poly).

The way prices have gone now, though, those Tokais are no cheaper than this super-deal price (plus they don't have a thinline '72 model), and even the prices I've seen on the MIM '72 thinline are a couple of hundred more than the £700 for the AVRI version on Coda/Peach.

So, I agree with you- the original price was way too high. But I think the deal price is a pretty good deal, too. If that makes sense.

ICBM said:

badlydrawnbanjo said:

My 69 arrived from Coda on Wednesday and at £750 for an American made guitar with nitro finish, a hard case and all the bits and bobs I think it's a cracking buy, but for £1500 I'm not so sure? I bought one of the early 50's classics in the late nineties (which I sold a couple of years ago and still regret) and they feel very similar in quality and build. 

Exactly. I was being a bit devil's advocate earlier - £750 sounds good, but it's not "half price" if the original was unrealistic to begin with.

richardhomer said:

That said, these guitars are presumably part of the American Vintage Series - the 'street' prices of which are very much higher than the American Standard Series. And Standards now top £1000....

Which is also overpriced. It wasn't that long ago that they weren't much more than half that.

I think this is indicative of what appears to be a wider problem at Fender (as in the other thread), and is part of why they're having to 'restructure' and sell off or close down brands they bought only a few years ago.

Too many models, at too high prices. Giving them away at what must be a tiny or no profit (even given the margins they probably have) in order to 'get stock moving' won't help really.

Agreed. I've said before, but I kick myself I didn't get a USA standard strat when they were £600. At the time I convinced myself I preferred the vintage-spec models and got a Tokai. I do still really like the vintage-spec models, and they probably have slightly better vintage tones, but the more modern spec USA models are a lot more useful for a wider range of tones and playing styles.

And as you say, having a really high price and then having to blow things out at half price doesn't exactly make for a sustainable business- it doesn't exactly persuade anyone to pay full price, in case the price drops next week!

Neil said:

Would have been great for anyone that had ideas to purchase any of the blowouts before the sale but I guess no one did which is why they were selling them off. 

I remember I liked the MIM '72 custom I tried, but I figured it was too dear. And the AVRI versions especially, for what's quite a niche instrument. I have way too many guitars (i.e. can afford to have them be one-trick ponies), and even I'd have balked at that kind of money for what's quite a nich instrument (I have the same problem with rickies, I really liked the one I tried, but I'd maybe use it 1% of the time, and at well over £1000 that's just not going to happen). I reckon that was the problem. I can see someone saving up £1500 for a strat or tele which you can use for most types of music short of really hard rock and metal (and those types of players probably aren't looking at an AVRI anyway).

Granted, a lot of the indie types seem to use them, so maybe they're not as niche as I think.

I guess my point is, I wasn't considering one at all at full price, but the price drop dropped it enough that it sort of made sense. )

fretfinder

richardhomer said:

^
Just to add some historical perspective here (yes - I am very old) - before 1983, every guitar that left Fullerton had a 7.25" radius...

No one seemed to be put off by it. It was 'part' of a Fender guitar.

Yes it was, but time moves on and 'improvements' get introduced (I'm possibly even more old than you by the way!). The businessmen at Fender aren't daft and there must be a good business reason why only a very small minority of the models they sell these days have a 7.25" radius fingerboard. I'm not saying 7.25" is 'bad' and good luck to anyone who prefers that, but 'the market' seems to have settled on the view that the vast majority of people prefer flatter fingerboards.

RaymondLin

I am actually a little gutted missing out on the American Deluxe with the S1 switch for £800...

prh777

Likewise. Was searching for a 2nd hand deluxe tungsten tele for ages. These appeared and were gone I 2 days before I could pull the trigger. Back to searching eBay and the like...

Dave_Mc

Ah that's gotta suck I can at least tell myself I wasn't really after a deluxe tele anyway, and even if I were, I prefer maple fretboards.

If I'd missed a USA standard or deluxe strat with a maple board, though, I'd have been pissed.

badlydrawnbanjo

And so it begins...
http://i1150.photobucket.com/albums/o605/banjo74/FE92125F-BDF7-4934-A126-10A93BEB6817_zpsnrpxyenr.png

Dave_Mc

Not mine, anyway. Way I see it (and this is just me) if I get a good deal I go for it and hang onto it, or I pass and let someone else get it. I'm sure a couple of people on here (and on other forums) were pissed that they missed out, and seeing one come up like this where it looks suspiciously like someone bought it because they thought they could sell it on for more is gonna be a bit annoying, I'd imagine.

Of course, if the person bought it meaning to keep it and just didn't like it, that's different. Though putting the starting bid at £200 more than he/she (most likely) paid would suggest that that isn't the case, and that it was bought to sell. Could be wrong.

shuikit

Will someone actually pay more though..?  I guess if they didn't know what the price new was...

From the ebay listing.....!

"It was bought brand new from Guitarguitar for £1500 in August 2014 so is brand new"

Dave_Mc

Yeah that's true. Just because something is for sale at a price, doesn't mean it will sell.

Even if someone knew the price, though, and missed it, they might figure that it's still a decent price compared with paying the going new rate of ~£1300 (if they get it for the £900 if no-one else bids). But it'd leave a pretty bad taste in your mouth (or it would in mine) if you knew the original price...

Iamnobody

Whilst I wouldn't doubt the ad is probably someone looking to turn a quick profit...

If it sells at the start price of £900 - when eBay and PayPal get there share of the fees he's making very little profit.

Dave_Mc

^ That's a good point actually )

dickieguitar

Gutted to have missed this. If anyone picked up a white 69 Thinline and fancies moving it on at a small profit, I won't hold it against you. PM me.

badlydrawnbanjo

dickieguitar;345176" said:

Gutted to have missed this. If anyone picked up a white 69 Thinline and fancies moving it on at a small profit, I won't hold it against you. PM me.

It was the sunburst finish only in the 69. I got one

Dave_Mc

^ The only one I saw on offer was the sunburst one... EDIT: ^ woops, ninja'd )

shuikit

Oh, I was going to keep an eye on the red one on eBay to see if it sold, but forgot... Doesn't look like it did. Looks like it was put back 3 times starting at £820 and didn't sell either.. But obviously I don't know if there was a deal done off the 'bay..

guitargeek62

Not sure if you guys have seen them already, but for those that are hankering for a cheap thinline there's also these out now from Squier's VM series;

If I could get on with slab bodies, I'd have ordered one already