Fender Custom Shop v American Reissue

francer

Just a little bit of info for those who might not be familiar with them, there have been three iterations of US reissue Fenders since 1999, and I think there were some Strats and Teles before that??

American Vintage ReIssue (aka AVRI) mostly 62 specs, 1999 to 2012

American Vintage 65 (aka AV65 or whatever year for Strats and Teles) 2012 to 2018

American Original (aka AO) 2018 to present

There have also been limited edition ‘thin skin’ versions of each these runs too.

They all have different specs and finishes, but AFAIK they’re all some kind of nitro.

mburekenge

American vintage came before AVRI. I have a 57 American Vintage. Nasty vintage white poly finish but incredible neck and insanely resonant and loud acoustically. It's a beast

GavRichList

mburekenge said:

American vintage came before AVRI. I have a 57 American Vintage. Nasty vintage white poly finish but incredible neck and insanely resonant and loud acoustically. It's a beast

Nope, it didn’t. American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) was before the 2012 (and largely superior) American Vintage range. 

dc77

GavRichList said:

mburekenge said:

American vintage came before AVRI. I have a 57 American Vintage. Nasty vintage white poly finish but incredible neck and insanely resonant and loud acoustically. It's a beast

Nope, it didn’t. American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) was before the 2012 (and largely superior) American Vintage range. 

This. 
I already had my 62 AVRI and nearly pulled the trigger on a 59 American Vintage strat. 

francer

dc77 said:

GavRichList said:

mburekenge said:

American vintage came before AVRI. I have a 57 American Vintage. Nasty vintage white poly finish but incredible neck and insanely resonant and loud acoustically. It's a beast

Nope, it didn’t. American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) was before the 2012 (and largely superior) American Vintage range. 

This. 
I already had my 62 AVRI and nearly pulled the trigger on a 59 American Vintage strat. 

There were some USA vintage reissues in the early 90s, definitely strats, not sure about anything else, and maybe not described as AVRI, but they do exist.

francer

https://planetbotch.blogspot.com/2011/11/fender-usa-vintage-reissue-57.html

Funkfingers

The first round of American Fender Vintage reissue instruments was 1982. Butterscotch Tele, maple ‘board Strat, rosewood ‘board Strat, two P Basses, one J. These ended in 1985 with the Bill Shultz-led take over.

This is where the 57/62 thing originates. For both years, there had been instrument specification changes that could be exploited in the present day for commercial advantage. Fidelity to 1957 and 1962 specs are debatable.

In some circles, the first run of vintage re-issues is more highly prized than any of the subsequent variants. I suspect that this has more to do with scarcity than the intrinsic merits of the instruments.

I am fortunate to have instruments from either side of the 2012/13 divide. On the examples I have handled, the claims for more extensive research and greater attention to detail are borne out.

dc77

I weren't aware of the Vintage Reissue prior to the AVRI.
Good stuff. Cheers 

mburekenge

GavRichList said:

mburekenge said:

American vintage came before AVRI. I have a 57 American Vintage. Nasty vintage white poly finish but incredible neck and insanely resonant and loud acoustically. It's a beast

Nope, it didn’t. American Vintage Reissue (AVRI) was before the 2012 (and largely superior) American Vintage range. 

INCORRECT SIR! HOW VERY DARE YOU

Mine is this exact model

https://vintageandrareguitars.com/product/1995-fender-american-vintage-57-stratocaster-olympic-white/

Highly recommend it - I put a set of BK Veneer boards in there.

Lovely guitar.

UnclePsychosis

Fender are really annoying in many ways.

If you're like me and you quite fancy a "proper" Fender strat but you want a colour thats not sunburst  (ugh) or black (pass the slippers grandad) there are so few options. It's really annoying being forced "up" the ranges to get interesting colours when the whole point of the strat and tele was to mass produce guitars - which should make it easier to produce some interesting ones! 

GazlarLosthobbit

UnclePsychosis said:

Fender are really annoying in many ways.

If you're like me and you quite fancy a "proper" Fender strat but you want a colour thats not sunburst  (ugh) or black (pass the slippers grandad) there are so few options. It's really annoying being forced "up" the ranges to get interesting colours when the whole point of the strat and tele was to mass produce guitars - which should make it easier to produce some interesting ones! 

I know what you mean. One of my favourite colours from Fender is Sherwood green but you see so few examples of any guitars in this colour 

kentuckyklira

danny_777 said:

I'm a big fan of Fender CS, at the right price - they're genuinely brilliant guitars. You'll get one for under £2k with some effort and a bit of patience, and if bought right it'll hold its value.

That said one of my favourite Teles after going through a LOT of them is a MIJ '62 Reissue. Just a brilliant guitar.

They're all bits of wood - play enough and you'll find one. It's just a bit more consistent with the CS stuff!

Pretty much my best Strat is a MIJ 54 (I think) Reissue from the early 90s. But the prices for those are going up sharply as well.