Fender Player VS Vintera series

#22
brushfirewolf said:
I’m assuming the vintera series is a rebranded version of the previous MIM classic series. I had a 60s jazz and a played a few of the 70s jazzes and they did nothing for me. I really don’t care for those chunky neck profiles and the truss rod not being accessible is just stupid and outdated.
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I hadn’t noticed the truss rod not being accessible. That kind of sucks. That is a point for the player series
 
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#25
brushfirewolf said:
I’m assuming the vintera series is a rebranded version of the previous MIM classic series. I had a 60s jazz and a played a few of the 70s jazzes and they did nothing for me. I really don’t care for those chunky neck profiles and the truss rod not being accessible is just stupid and outdated.
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I believe that's correct, my "70s Jazz" has the same specs, at least on paper, as the Vintera. I think they're great in terms of voicing and aesthetic details, e.g. bound and blocked neck and pickup placement and sound. Truss rod adjust at the heel is kinda eh, but it's no biggie. I picked mine up used for $500. It's very well matched to my actual 70s P at a fraction of the price of an actual 70s J or a contemporary USA J.
 
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#27
I've got a made in China CV70s P as well, and my Vintera is all around better than it, especially with the tuners. YMMV.

Also, the truss rod isn't "inaccessible." With the anodized aluminum guard, as thin as it is, you don't even have to rock the neck back a little bit—just use a smaller flathead screwdriver in the nut to adjust it, and be careful not to scratch the pickguard. That's how they were always supposed to be done. With a thicker three-ply guard, yeah, you might want to back the neck out for more accessibility, but with the thinner aluminum ones you don't have to do that at all.
 
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#28
It's very easy for anyone who doesn't read every post in detail to mistake recommendations for the far superior and discontinued Chinese CVs for the Indonesian CVs. They are COMPLETELY different instruments even though the black CV70 looks almost identical. Not that the Indonesian ones are horrible, they're just nowhere near as amazing as the Chinese CVs and I think a lot of people are confused by the constant recommendations for the identically named, almost identical looking series that were discontinued 2 years ago and now only available on the used market.
 
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#29
S.F.Sorrow said:
It's very easy for anyone who doesn't read every post in detail to mistake recommendations for the far superior and discontinued Chinese CVs for the Indonesian CVs. They are COMPLETELY different instruments even though the black CV70 looks almost identical. Not that the Indonesian ones are horrible, they're just nowhere near as amazing as the Chinese CVs and I think a lot of people are confused by the constant recommendations for the identically named, almost identical looking series that were discontinued 2 years ago and now only available on the used market.
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Yeah I have an Indonesian CV60s and it’s pretty meh. I have a VM 77 jazz that is fantastic tho. Basically I’m looking to replace that p with a better one
 
#30
Eli Brockway said:
I like my Vintera, but a lot of people on here really like the Player series with their stock pickups. Should find a few discussions around on the site about just that.
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Yes, I rather liked my Player pickups. I did switch them out to my fave, the Original '62's ultimately, but the diff was negligible and I think only I hear it.

As for the Vintera, the radius would concern me.

Generally, I think the Player basses are Fender's best value. Definitely on par with the USA models.
 
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#31
Beyond anecdotal experience here regarding my MIC Squier vs my Vintera, and pointing out that the truss rod isn't nearly as hard to adjust as people like to make it out to be, I'm still going to stick with what I said before.

You've already had the opportunity to play one Vintera a fair bit (assuming, here, that it was another Vintera P bass) and decided you said you loved it, and it was at your local music shop. So we already know you at least enjoyed the sound and smaller radius, you just generally seem to like the looks more—why not talk with them and see about getting one ordered in through the shop? Seems like a lot of people I know have had better experience getting good basses in that way than ordering them direct from Fender, or going through Guitar Center/Sweetwater/Musician's Friend online, and I imagine a big part of that is having a shop that knows what they're doing with that initial set-up work.

bdplaid said:
Yes, I rather liked my Player pickups. I did switch them out to my fave, the Original '62's ultimately, but the diff was negligible and I think only I hear it.

As for the Vintera, the radius would concern me.

Generally, I think the Player basses are Fender's best value. Definitely on par with the USA models.
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Eh, I've noticed a bit of difference with Player pickups, but they're still good, and the basses are definitely a good value. We're on different camps about the radius, though; I prefer the Vintera necks. 7.25" just feels perfect to me, 9.5" is okay, and anything flatter is a no-go. And I already talked about how much more I like the frets on the last page.
 
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#32
Evan F said:
Yeah I have an Indonesian CV60s and it’s pretty meh. I have a VM 77 jazz that is fantastic tho. Basically I’m looking to replace that p with a better one
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If the "meh" is mainly hardware and electronics, maybe consider upgrading those? Some of my best Fenders are upgraded Squiers. And I'm not just talking about the amazing Chinese CVs. I've got Indonesian VMs and an older Chinese/Taiwanese Affinity that are AMAZING basses after some easy upgrades. Mainly pickups/pots.

If the "meh" is more about neck, fretwork, resonance, dead spots, general craftsmanship, etc. then of course a new bass makes more sense.
 
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#34
And don't listen to anyone elses advice about nut width and fingerboard radius. It would be comparable to asking advice about shoe size on an online forum. This is a HIGHLY personal preference. Get the neck that feels best for YOUR hands. This if FAR more imporant than pickups, hardware, finish, etc.

YMMV of course.
 
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#35
S.F.Sorrow said:
If the "meh" is mainly hardware and electronics, maybe consider upgrading those? Some of my best Fenders are upgraded Squiers. And I'm not just talking about the amazing Chinese CVs. I've got Indonesian VMs and an older Chinese/Taiwanese Affinity that are AMAZING basses after some easy upgrades. Mainly pickups/pots.

If the "meh" is more about neck, fretwork, resonance, dead spots, general craftsmanship, etc. then of course a new bass makes more sense.
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Yeah the “meh” is more about the feel. The laurel fretboard feels very dry and I’m not a fan of how it looks either. And it has the usual dead spots around the 7th fret of the G string but nothing crazy.
 
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#36
If you like the chunky baseball bat neck on the Vintera (I love it on my 50s Classic P, and everything else about that bass too, and the Vintera is a "price-enhanced" continuation of the 50s line), any other P is going to feel diminutive in comparison.

The truss rod thing is a little dumb, but with a bit of practice it gets quick to do. And I haven't touched my truss rod in 2-3 years, anyway.
 
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#39
Evan F said:
Yeah the “meh” is more about the feel. The laurel fretboard feels very dry and I’m not a fan of how it looks either. And it has the usual dead spots around the 7th fret of the G string but nothing crazy.
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If you think the laurel fretboard is dry I'm not sure you will like the MIM pao ferro fretboards very much either. They have this rough texture that feels dry even after I've oiled them. I love pao ferro from other manufacturers but Fender + pao ferro has never felt right for me. Feels more like dry cardboard than wood. Almost like they forgot the final fine sanding. Most Fender pao ferro boards also look very bland IMO.

Just my personal opinion. And the maple boards don't have this problem of course. In the Player/Vintera series I vastly prefer the maple boards (but generally like rosewood better than maple).
 
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#40
Evan F said:
That’s exactly how I feel. I love maple fretboards but took a chance on the CV60s.
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Yeah. I've had a few instruments with rosewood or rosewood substitutes, but the only one I really like the rosewood on is my classical guitar, and it doesn't bother me with my stratocaster because I really only keep that around in case a guitarist on a gig has a gear malfunction and needs a substitute instrument.

Maple or ebony all the way for everything else; ebony only on an upright.
 
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