Fender American Vintage II ’61 Stratocaster and ’51 Telecaster review

Fender has been making Vintage Reissues since the AVR models of the early ’80s, but this new American Vintage II range? It looks set to challenge even the mighty Custom Shop

Fender American Vintage II 1951 Telecaster
(Image: © Future / Neil Godwin)

Guitar World Verdict

The guitars are built to supreme levels of craftsmanship; they play beautifully and sound amazing, just what a great Strat and Tele should be. What’s more, their single-coil clarity will transcend to blues and rock guitar bliss through a decent pedalboard into a cleanish amp.

Pros

  • +

    The best vintage remodelling by Fender to date.

  • +

    Period-correct features evoke original designs.

  • +

    Flawless construction.

  • +

    Great sounds, good price.

  • +

    Classic Strat playability.

  • +

    Authentic remake of the guitar’s first year as ‘Telecaster’. The Tele has a super-feeling chunky neck.

Cons

  • -

    There’s really nothing we can fault here, but you might want to spend an extra 40 bucks on compensated saddles.

You can trust Guitar World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing guitar products so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

The vintage reissue side of Fender’s product range has undergone all manner of changes since the first AVR models appeared back in the early ’80s. Hence the bewildering name and line-up changes that have befallen this vital portion of Fender’s income stream over the years. 

Its last iteration was the American Original series, which, rather than focus on specific years, amalgamated general aspects of a decade into each model. There were some great instruments among the range, but Fender has recently been feeling it’s time to go back to basics.

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