Opinion on '62 American Vintage & '62 Vintage Hot Rod St

1962 · **Joined:** Thu Aug 27, 2009 12:05 pm **Posts:** 19

I now own a 40th Anniversary American standard strat that I bought in the early 90s and am looking to add another strat.

After doing some reading - the '62 American Vintage or '62 Vintage Hot Rod Strats seem to be the way I am headed. I'm looking for a strat that will give a different sounds than my 40th and am looking to play Hendrix type stuff.

Which of these axes do you think would do best?

I've also read that the Classic Players 60s is pretty decent - any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

357mag · **Joined:** Sun Jan 18, 2009 4:25 pm **Posts:** 480

The American Vintage 62 is fabulous. I will soon own two of them. Beautiful. Doesn't the Hot Rod version come with more modern sounding pickups? Can't remember. Don't like the satin finish either.

My recommendation is for the American Vintage 62.

1962 · **Joined:** Thu Aug 27, 2009 12:05 pm **Posts:** 19

357mag wrote:

The American Vintage 62 is fabulous. I will soon own two of them. Beautiful. Doesn't the Hot Rod version come with more modern sounding pickups? Can't remember. Don't like the satin finish either.

My recommendation is for the American Vintage 62.

Is anybody able to confirm if the hot rod has more modern sounding pickups?

nikininja · **Posted:** Thu Aug 27, 2009 3:03 pm

fender wrote:

Model Name Vintage Hot Rod '62 Stratocaster®
Model Number 010-0140-(Color #)
Series Vintage Hot Rod Series
Colors (800)* 3-Color Sunburst, *add $50.00,
(805) Olympic White,
(846) Sherwood Green Metallic,
("Thin-Skin" Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish)
Body Comfort Contoured Alder Body
Neck Maple, Thick “C” Shape,
(Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish with Satin Back)
Fingerboard Rosewood, 9.5" radius (241 mm)
No. of Frets 21 Medium Jumbo Frets
Pickups 3 American Vintage Strat® Single-Coil Pickups with Reverse Wound/Reverse Polarity Middle Pickup and Aged Covers
Controls Master Volume,
Tone 1. (Neck Pickup),
Tone 2. (Bridge Pickup)
Pickup Switching 5-Position Blade:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup
Position 3. Middle Pickup
Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup
Position 5. Neck Pickup
Bridge American Vintage Synchronized Tremolo
Machine Heads Fender®/Gotoh® Vintage Style Tuning Machines
Hardware Nickel/Chrome
Pickguard 3-Ply Mint Green
Scale Length 25.5” (648 mm)
Width at Nut 1.650” (42 mm)
Unique Features Thick “C” Shape Maple Neck with Satin Finish on Back of Neck,
"Thin-Skin" Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish,
American Vintage Strat® Single-Coil Pickups with Reverse Wound/Reverse Polarity Middle Pickup,
Medium Jumbo Frets,
9.5” Fingerboard Radius,
White Dot Position Inlays
Aged Knobs and Switch Tip
Strings Fender Super 250R, Nickel Plated Steel,
Gauges: (.010, .013, .017, .026, .036, .046),
p/n 073-0250-006
Accessories Deluxe Brown Hardshell Case, Strap, Cable
Case Deluxe Brown Hardshell Case
Introduced 1/2007
Notice Product Prices, Features, Specifications and Availability Are Subject To Change Without Notice

The only thing modern about the pickups is the reverse wind on the middle pickup.

The Hotrods are awesome guitars. My 57 is jaw dropping, everyone i've met with a 62 says the same thing.

357mag · **Joined:** Sun Jan 18, 2009 4:25 pm **Posts:** 480

So where does the Hod Rot part come in? I guess the thin-skin lacquer finish gives it a Hot Rod sound.

Mr Bill · **Posted:** Thu Aug 27, 2009 4:35 pm

Hello 1962,

Firstly welcome to this forum.

Nikininja spelled out the hotrod specs and
I'm a '62 hotrod owner and quite happy
with my white guitar{although I do wish it were sherwood green}.
I't got a pretty thick neck which is comfy for me,
also a 9.5 radius fretboard again my preferance.

Tonewise, well I've used plenty of adjectives on this forum
describing it, let's just say it's bloody grand.
Is it the thin skin body, the big fat neck I dunno probably
more of whats going on underneath the pickguard.

Vintage '62 sports a 7.25 radius neck
wired for 3 positions {5 position switch kit also comes with it}.
No thinskin here just lucious Nitro in a few more colors{not green}
Thinner frets complete this package.

Tone wise more vintage sounding no doubt about it.

Both come with the nice G&G case in brown w/ orange interior.

One word of caution nitro-cellouse paint isn't the
urethane armour found on most modern guitars
so a bit of care needs to be exercised to keep A1,
of course it'll "relic" faster if thats your pleasure.

Play em both if you can.

Thats it.

Cheers.

nikininja · **Posted:** Thu Aug 27, 2009 5:23 pm

Mr Bill wrote:

One word of caution nitro-cellouse paint isn't the
urethane armour found on most modern guitars
so a bit of care needs to be exercised to keep A1,
of course it'll "relic" faster if thats your pleasure.

That is about the only thing i'd change about my hotrod. How i wish it was urethane or polyester. I dont usually pay much attention to harmony central but my ears perk up a bit when i read quotes of Justin Norvell (FMIC employee).

Mr Norvell wrote:

All three guitars feature the aforementioned thin-skin nitrocellulose lacquer finish, enhancing resonance and giving the instruments a well-worn look much more quickly.

Though i do have to draw the line at believing the marketing hype of finish affecting tone. The made to wear finish is something i have long suspected.
The full thing is here
http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM07/article/Fender/VHR-Series.html

1962 · **Joined:** Thu Aug 27, 2009 12:05 pm **Posts:** 19

Thanks for the info. I'm going to try to get my hands on both. I live in Mont. County - I want the white!E

357mag · **Joined:** Sun Jan 18, 2009 4:25 pm **Posts:** 480

Someone turned this up on the Duncan forum:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/show ... ocellulose

gadabout · **Posted:** Thu Aug 27, 2009 8:04 pm

My AVRI '62 strat has been my main guitar about 12 years. I love it. If you want the vintage Fender experience, this is the guitar to get. I love the 7.25" radius. I couldn't stand any other. I gotta have a lacquered neck too. I don't care for necks with satin finish or no finish. As far as the finish holding up goes, mine still looks like I just bought it yesterday.

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