Fender Vintera '60s Jazzmaster Modified
99
october 2019 Guitarist
review
FENDER VINTERA SERIES FENDER VINTERA SERIES
PROS Tidy modifi ed, vintage-
inspired build with expanded
sounds, a great neck and
perfectly weighted ash body
CONS Uncompensated and
poorly set up saddles; no lefties
PROS Classy era-specifi c build
modded with two-post vibrato,
hotter pickups and the ‘seven
sound’ mod; a real all-rounder
CONS No lefties; only two
colours choices
PROS A tidy era-specifi c build
with modded bridge and vibrato
placement, plus hotter pickups
CONS No lefties; only two
colours; a bit noisy; it might be
trendy, but has Marmite appeal
FENDER VINTERA
’50S TELECASTER
MODIFIED
PRICE: £869 (inc gigbag)
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: Single-cutaway
solidbody electric
BODY: Ash
NECK: Maple, ‘Thick soft V’
profi le, bolt-on
SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
NUT: Synthetic bone
FINGERBOARD: Maple, black dot
markers, 241mm (9.5”) radius
FRETS: 21, medium jumbo
HARDWARE: 3-brass-saddle
strings-through-body Tele bridge,
vintage-style tuners – nickel/
chrome plated
ELECTRICS: Fender Custom
Shop vintage-style single coil Tele
(bridge), Custom Shop ‘Twisted’
single coil Tele (neck), 4-position
lever pickup selector switch,
master volume, master tone w/
S-1 push-switch to change phase
OPTIONS: The alder-bodied
Daphne Blue and Surf Green
versions are £849
RANGE OPTIONS: Other Teles
include the ’50s (£749), ’60s
Modifi ed (£849), ’60s Bigsby
(£819), ’70s Thinline (£999),
’70s Custom (£829) and
’70s Deluxe (£829)
LEFT-HANDERS: Not currently
FINISHES: Butterscotch Blonde,
Daphne Blue, Surf Green – gloss
polyester (body); satin urethane
neck back, gloss to front
FENDER VINTERA
’60S STRATOCASTER
MODIFIED
PRICE: £849 (inc gigbag)
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: Double-cutaway
solidbody electric
BODY: Alder
NECK: Pau ferro, ‘Modern C’
profi le, bolt-on
SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
NUT: Synthetic bone
FINGERBOARD: Pau ferro, white
dot markers, 241mm (9.5”) radius
FRETS: 21, medium jumbo
HARDWARE: 2-Point
Synchronized Tremolo with
Vintage-Style Stamped Steel
Saddles, vintage-style tuners –
nickel/chrome plated
ELECTRICS: 3x Fender Vintage-
Style ’60s Single-Coil Hot Strat,
5-position lever pickup selector
switch, Master Volume, Tone 1
(neck/middle pickups), Tone 2
(bridge pickup), S-1 switch adds
neck pickup to positions 1 & 2
OPTIONS: Colour only
RANGE OPTIONS: Other
Strats include ’50s (£749),
’50s Modifi ed (£849),
’60s (£749), ’70s (£769)
LEFT-HANDERS: Not currently
FINISHES: Burgundy Mist Metallic
(as reviewed), Olympic White
– gloss polyester (body); satin
urethane neck back) gloss to front
FENDER VINTERA
’60S JAZZMASTER
MODIFIED
PRICE: £899 (inc gigbag)
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: Double-cutaway offset
solidbody electric
BODY: Alder
NECK: Pau ferro, ‘Modern C’
profi le, bolt-on
SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
NUT: Synthetic bone
FINGERBOARD: Pau ferro, white
dot markers, 241mm (9.5”) radius
FRETS: 21, medium jumbo
HARDWARE: 2-Point
Synchronized Tremolo with
Vintage-Style Stamped Steel
Saddles, vintage-style tuners –
nickel/chrome plated
ELECTRICS: 2x Fender Vintage-
Style ’60s Single-Coil Hot; Lead
circuit: 3-position lever pickup
selector switch, master volume
Master Tone, 2-position rhythm/
lead switch; Rhythm Circuit:
Thumbwheel controls for neck
pickup Volume and Tone
OPTIONS: Colour only
RANGE OPTIONS: The only other
Jazzmaster is the ’60s (£799)
LEFT-HANDERS: Not currently
FINISHES: 3-Colour Sunburst
(as reviewed), Surf Green – gloss
polyester (body); satin urethane
neck back) gloss to front
9 9 8
Strat and lacks just a little power compared
with the Tele. The mix is relatively thin and
bright, while the fulsome neck retains that
almost metallic percussion to the attack
with a little more depth than either our
Strat or Tele. It’s a little plunkier in terms of
the note decay yet deceptively versatile and
characterful, creating cavernous, clean 60s
twang through to defined alt-rock crunchy
gain. The rhythm circuit (neck pickup only)
sounds like we’ve simply pulled back the
tone control quite a bit and it’s the place
to start if you have to cover anything that’s
remotely jazzy. But with a little push from
a clean or slightly hairy boost, it’s another
voice if you need it. Many players, of course,
turn the roller volume fully down and use
the Rhythm/Lead switch to achieve a kill
switch or mute.
Verdict
A 17-strong guitar range that encompasses
eight different Fender models spread over
three decades is never going to please
everyone in terms of colour choices or
specification. And if you’re a left-hander,
unfortunately you’ll have been totally
ignored here. Although there are some
tweaks to the pickup voicings and the
look and feel of the toned necks, these are
essentially guitars we’ve all seen, played and
probably owned and modded, too, over the
past couple of decades.
But as your gateway to the world of
vintage (and modified vintage) Fender,
these guitars are hugely valid, whatever
they’re now called. They remain go-to
choices for players on a budget and we’d
suggest there’s enough refinement and a
build quality that’ll surprise many sniffier
punters. As ever, though, deciding which
one you might want to add to your own
arsenal is probably the biggest question we
all have. Three down, 14 to go…
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
Conceived as slightly hotter
than period specifi cation, this
pickup otherwise follows the
standard Jazzmaster spec.
They can be noisy but are hum-
cancelling in mixed position
GIT451.rev_fender.indd 99 05/09/2019 17:34