Vintera 50s Telecaster, thoughts?

[BoneDigger]

This is a MIM tele and in my favorite Daphne blue. Thick neck, vintage specs, thin frets. Anyone have thoughts on these?

[blue]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

This is a MIM tele and in my favorite Daphne blue. Thick neck, vintage specs, thin frets. Anyone have thoughts on these?

I've owned some MIMs. Currently still own a Jag. Good chance it'll be slightly heavier than a USA. All of mine have been, but nothing crazy.

Otherwise, they are "real" Fenders. If you play the heck out of it you may need to replace pots and the switch sooner than an AVRI. If it's one of many guitars you cycle through, you might never need to replace anything. My Jag is going on 7 years or so. Nothing replaced yet.

Nothing to fear. It's a factory guitar. a very few will be dogs. The vast majority will be average, and a few will be special. And when I say average, I consider average to be good enough for anyone.

[FrankHudson]

I think MIM Telecasters can be fine guitars. The Fender Telecaster recipe doesn't require expensive ingredients or complex and exacting construction.

My oldest MIM Fender is a Telecaster that is around 20 years old. I did replace the bridge PU with a Fender 52 vintage one the bridge to three brass saddle ashtray like the Vintera uses. Super easy mods that. No issues with anything yet, and it's now about as old as Roy Buchanan's "Nancy" was when he broke through.

This model's less common beefier neck is a plus for my taste, and while the 7.25 radius isn't my favorite I find I can cope with that. I'd personally be worried about vintage frets, my old hands don't care for low frets. I assume the pickups might be similar to the Fender 52 vintage set, but I don't know that for sure. The three brass barrel saddle design is just fine and I think it adds something to the Tele sound that you can hear in some contexts. The small intonation issues with 3 saddles (2 more than almost any acoustic guitar has after all!) can be dealt with by tempering your tuning or replacing the barrels with compensated ones. But of course all of these things are personal preference.

If you don't think the neck is to your liking, the Player Tele might do as well. Swapping out the bridge for a vintage bridge and you'll be awfully close to the Vintera but with more middle of the road neck.

[Steel and wood]

MIM Fender guitars have always been great guitars and I'm pretty sure the Vintera is no exception. (I noticed prices though are more or less comparable to their USA built counterparts).

The best thing about the Vintera series for me though are some of the sweetest custom colours being offered by Fender on its Telecaster and Stratocaster ranges.

[chippygreen]

I have a MIM 50s Road Worn Tele and like it a lot. I can vouch for the quality of the wiring, setup and pickups, which are clean, reasonably good out of the box and of solid quality, respectively. Given the number of variables involved in a Tele purchase, at the end of the day you have to audition it to know whether you like it, but don't hesitate just because its a MIM.

[ataylor]

I played a Vintera 50s Telecaster a while back. This one was in Fiesta Red — I don’t typically care for red guitars, but it looked lovely. The finish looks and feels somewhat thinner and more vintage on these than the old Classic series.

The neck was nice and full, and chords were a breeze on the vintage-spec fretboard. The pickups sounded right to me — bright and twangy in the bridge, clear and a bit more warm in the neck, and the best of both worlds in-between.

I liked it a lot. If I didn’t already own a fine Mexican-made 50s-style Telecaster — the venerable Baja — I’d have wasted no time hunting down one of these new Vintera 50s Teles in Sonic Blue and a weight to my liking. I was even toying with doing it anyway, though I’ve pivoted more towards a Stratocaster in recent months...

[patrickgm60]

I picked up the 50s Modified, right after they came out. Had and sold a Baja, which is very similar. Tried to buy a used Baja, but they are rare and nearly as expensive as new. That's how I learned about the Vinteras.

The Modified has the S-1 switch, to run the pickups in series. Very nice fit and finish - as good as the American-made models, in my opinion.

[raysachs]

A MIM strat has been my #1 for almost the whole time since I started playing again - I’ve had it about 2 1/2 years now. I’ve played a lot and owned a few higher end USA guitars that tried to replace it - they’re all gone, it’s still my main electric. I had my first strat, a mid-70s MIA, for about 25 years. If I have another 25 years left on earth, I expect this guitar will play me on out. Do not hesitate just because it’s made in Mexico...

[rmp]

THOUGHTS: I'd love to have one, the deal breaker for me is vintage frets. I just don't like them.

[rrgguitarman]

I bought the Vintera '70s Telecaster Deluxe.

Great sounding and feeling guitar. Excellent workmanship.

[patrickgm60]

Originally Posted by rmp

THOUGHTS: I'd love to have one, the deal breaker for me is vintage frets. I just don't like them.

That's one of the reasons I chose the 50s modified - medium jumbo frets and the S1 switch. Around $150 more, IIRC.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by patrickgm60

That's one of the reasons I chose the 50s modified - medium jumbo frets and the S1 switch. Around $150 more, IIRC.

that'd be more to my liking too..

[BoneDigger]

Thanks everyone. I'm still debating on this one.

[rwmct]

I have a 90s (96 I think) MIM toploader that I bought new. I like it.

[chippygreen]

Originally Posted by patrickgm60

That's one of the reasons I chose the 50s modified - medium jumbo frets and the S1 switch. Around $150 more, IIRC.

I discovered I like the taller 6105 frets on the 50s RW. I found this useful for anyone who wants to know the specs.

https://www.fender.com/articles/gear...izes-explained