Fender Vintera II

Guitars of today with the feeling of yesterday

With the guitars and basses from the Vintera II series , Fender goes back to its early days and offers Vintage-style guitars at an unbeatable price. Since many guitarists prefer the look and feel of back then, but don't always want to buy a guitar from the American Vintage II series or a custom shop instrument , Fender is targeting its new Vintera II series at price-conscious guitarists who but you still don't want to make any compromises when it comes to sound and look. The already well-known and popular first Vintera series has been completely revised and now presents itself with historically correct equipment and an even more authentic sound.

Discover the different models of the Fender Vintera II series

On the following pages you can find out more detailed information about the individual designs. If you would like to know more about the individual eras, we have put together a timeline with the different decades and the associated instruments under our model selection.

All Fender Vintera II models at a glance:

Browse our selection of Vintage-style guitars and basses from the brand new Fender Vintera II series. The models from the Vintera II series combine modern manufacturing quality with the mojo of days gone by at an unbeatable price!

The 1950s: The beginning of a special success story

When it was launched on the market in 1951, the Fender Precision bass was the first electrically amplified solid-body bass to be series -produced industrially. The special features that gave it its name was its equipment with frets, which structurally provide precise intonation. This meant that the playing style was more like that of a guitar than that of a classic double bass. The P-Bass is equipped with a split coil pickup. Leo Fender came up with the idea for the Precision Bass through conversations with unemployed guitarists: Many guitarists could have gotten a job as a bass player, but couldn't handle a double bass. Since its launch, the Precision - or P-Bass for short - has gained a number of fans, is one of the most successful solid body electric bass models of all time and is valued by numerous professional artists.

The Fender Telecaster was the first series produced solid body electric guitar. The first prototype was completed in 1949 under the name Esquire, and in 1951 the first Telecaster, then called Broadcaster, came onto the market. However, due to a legal dispute with the Gretsch company, which also had a guitar model called Broadkaster, the guitar had to be renamed at short notice and the name removed from the headstock, which earned the model the nickname “Nocaster”.
This was followed in 1954 by the Stratocaster, which was intended as a premium model and was equipped with three pickups. The development of the completely new vibrato system delayed the release of the guitar by a year, but today it is an integral part of music and was an important feature of the new Stratocaster back then. Its body was modeled on that of the successful Precision bass, which made Fender famous among bass players.
At the end of the 1950s, the Jazzmaster was a guitar that was actually intended for jazz guitarists who often played while sitting. Today, however, due to her unusual look, she is very popular in alternative rock, surf rock and punk.

All Fender Vintera II 50s models at a glance:

The 60s: A facelift and new models

At the end of the 50s, the well-known and popular Fender Precision bass got a new look. The body and pickup design remained the same, but the bass was given a rosewood fretboard with a proven 7.25-inch radius. The color palette was also expanded; instead of the already familiar 2-tone sunburst and blonde finishes, more colorful colors such as Fiesta Red and Lake Placid Blue found their way into the Fender world. In the 1960s, Fender introduced a catalog of custom colors for the first time, which was very well received.
The new Fender Jazz Bass was introduced for the first time in 1960 and represented a further developed alternative to the Fender Precision Bass model , which was nine years older. Today it is one of the most widespread electric bass models. The jazz bass differs from the precision bass primarily in the electrical equipment, a slimmer neck and the more asymmetrical body shape. Two single coils are used as pickup ; the position of both pickup is chosen so that the respective sounds differ greatly from one another.

Like the Precision Bass, the Telecaster and Stratocaster also received a facelift in 1959. The guitars also featured new colors such as 3-Tone Sunburst and Olympic White, a rosewood slabboard became standard and the necks became noticeably slimmer, making the guitars more comfortable to play for smaller hands. The popularity of both the Strat and the Tele continued, although there was plenty of competition from other brands.
After the takeover by CBS in the mid-1960s, a new model based on the Solidbody Telecaster, the Thinline Telecaster, was introduced in 1969. The guitar's body was partially hollow to reduce weight and ensure a sound closer to that of an acoustic guitar and slightly warmer than that of ordinary electric guitars. The guitar was a success, was repeatedly reissued in later years and still has its admirers today.

All Fender Vintera II 60s models at a glance:

The 70s: joy of experimentation

In the 70s, Fender experimented a lot, especially in the bass area. The result was some very special models, such as the Telecaster and Shortscale Mustang basses, both of which were based on the guitar models of the same name, whose specifications were combined with those of the Jazz and Precision basses. These models still impress today with their unusual design and striking colors.

The 70s are considered a less good decade in guitar building, but some iconic guitar models were created in the hallowed halls of Fender in the 70s. The trademarks of these guitars were maple necks with a 7.25 maple fretboard, the neck attachment with a three-point screw system and the mostly very natural coloring. In addition to the Stratocaster and Telecaster as the driving force of Fender 's guitar line, unusual instruments such as the Jaguar and the Mustang student model were also popular, which also impressed with their colorful paintwork and had different specifications than the two classics. The most prominent new guitar in the line-up was certainly the Telecaster Deluxe, a solid body guitar with two humbuckers that was intended to give the Gibson Les Paul a run for its money. Most guitars came with a hardtail bridge, but a few also came with a vibrato system.

All Fender Vintera II 70s models at a glance: