Fender Unveils American Vintage II Series Basses
Fender has once again revived more of its original designs with the new American Vintage II series. The lineup recreates models from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s by building them to their original specs. That includes nitrocellulose lacquer finishes, vintage-style neck profiles, heirloom quality year-specific pickups, vintage-style hardware, and vintage-style cases.
The American Vintage II series has three bass models starting with a 1954 Precision Bass. The P Bass was introduced in 1951, but by ’54, it was starting to grow.
“Although it initially shared many design cues with the Telecaster, such as an oversized Tele headstock, slab body, and chrome control plate, by 1954, the P-Bass had been updated with the same sweeping curves and contoured edges of the newly launched Stratocaster,” Fender explains. “The American Vintage II 1954 Precision Bass reproduces the quintessential tone and feel of the original and is offered in two colors over ash: Vintage Blonde and 2-Color Sunburst mated to a single-ply white pickguard.”
The ’54 Precision also features a ’54 “C”-shape maple neck with a 7.25” radius fingerboard, reverse open-gear tuners, a finger rest, and a ’54 Single-Coil Precision Bass pickup.
Next up chronologically is a 1960 Precision, which is built with an alder body in three color options: 3-color Sunburst, Daphne Blue, and Black. Fender notes that by 1960 the P-Bass had a Strat-style headstock and had moved to the iconic split-coil pickup design. It also has a slab rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays.
Finally, we have the 1966 Jazz Bass, which comes in right and left-handed versions. As opposed to the Precision Basses, the Jazz has a “U” shape hard rock maple neck and a bound, round-laminated rosewood fingerboard with pearloid dot inlays. It’s loaded with a pair of ’66 Pure Vintage Jazz Bass pickups with a Volume, Volume, Tone control layout. Vintage-style “lollipop” tuners and a four-saddle bridge tie things altogether.
The Fender American Vintage II basses are in stock now, with prices ranging from $2,099 to $2,299.
American Vintage II 1954 Precision Bass Specs:
| Scale: | 34″ |
| Body: | Ash |
| Body Finish: | Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer |
| Neck: | 1-piece Maple |
| Neck Shape: | 1954 “C” |
| Fretboard: | Maple |
| Fretboard Radius: | 7.25″ |
| Frets: | 20 Vintage Tall |
| Nut Width: | 1.70″ |
| Inlays: | Black Dot |
| Pickup: | Pure Vintage ’54 Single-Coil Precision |
| Controls: | Master Volume, Master Tone |
| Bridge: | Pure Vintage 2-Saddle Precision Bass with Fiber Saddles, Serialized |
| Tuners: | Pure Vintage Reverse Open-Gear |
| Pickguard: | 1-Ply Parchment |
| Color: | Vintage Blonde, 2-Color Sunburst |
| Case: | Vintage-Style Tweed (Crushed Red Interior) |
American Vintage II 1960 Precision Bass Specs:
| Scale: | 34″ |
| Body: | Alder |
| Body Finish: | Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer |
| Neck: | Maple |
| Neck Shape: | 1960 “C” |
| Fretboard: | Slab Rosewood |
| Fretboard Radius: | 7.25″ |
| Frets: | 20 Vintage Tall |
| Nut Width: | 1.70″ |
| Inlays: | Clay Dot |
| Pickup: | Pure Vintage ’60 Split-Coil Precision |
| Controls: | Master Volume, Master Tone |
| Bridge: | Pure Vintage 4-Saddle with Threaded Steel Saddles |
| Tuners: | Pure Vintage Reverse Open-Gear |
| Pickguard: | 4-Ply Tortoiseshell |
| Color: | Black, Daphne Blue, 3-Color Sunburst |
| Case: | Vintage-Style Brown (Orange Interior) |
American Vintage II 1966 Jazz Bass Specs:
| Scale: | 34″ |
| Body: | Alder |
| Body Finish: | Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer |
| Neck: | Maple |
| Neck Binding: | 1-ply White |
| Neck Shape: | 1966 “U” |
| Fretboard: | Bound Round-Laminated Rosewood |
| Fretboard Radius: | 7.25″ |
| Frets: | 20 Vintage Tall |
| Nut Width: | 1.5″ |
| Inlays: | White Pearloid Dot |
| Pickup: | Pure Vintage ’66 Single-Coil Jazz Bass |
| Controls: | Volume 1. (Middle Pickup), Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup), Master Tone |
| Bridge: | Pure Vintage 4-Saddle with Threaded Steel Saddles |
| Tuners: | Pure Vintage “Lollipop” |
| Pickguard: | 4-Ply Tortoiseshell |
| Color: | Olympic White, Sea Foam Green, 3-Color Sunburst |
| Case: | Vintage-Style Black (Orange Interior) |
