Fender Vintera Series has two winners

Fender just released the new Vintera Series. Of the 17 models you can get, two stand out above the rest...

...and they're both Strats.

This is the first time in a long while that I've been genuinely excited about a new series from Fender, even if it's for only 2 models out of the lineup.

Vintera is a new series that spreads across 3 decades, '50s, '60s and '70s.

The '50s lineup is meh. I've seen new-vintage '50s designs from Fender a million times.

The '60s lineup is also meh for the same reason as the '50s.

But the '70s... now we're getting somewhere. This is what I along with many other players have been waiting for.

And what was everyone waiting for? Two things. Cool colors and...

Bullet.. frickin'... truss.. rod.. cover.

Yes, Fender has been making this right along with the '70s Strat. But the Vintera series '70s Strats look way, way better.

Fender even brought back the Mocha finish:

I'd actually have a hard time picking between the sunburst and the mocha because both look great.

At the time I write this, the Sienna Sunburst seen at top and the Mocha seen above are scheduled to ship in July.

Why do Vintera '70s Strats look so great?

Simple answer. These are the finishes Fender had in the '70s. The Mocha in particular is very-'70s. If you research actual vintage Fender Strats from that era, you'll see Mocha appear. And now, thankfully, you can get this one without having to buy the vintage.

Is the new one better than the real vintage? That's an absolute yes. The vintage has crappy wiring and crappy tuners. Vintera has great wiring and great tuners.

As you can tell, yes I'm digging these guitars a lot, at least for 2 of them. But they are 2 really great Strats.

Published 2019 Jun 26