Hi,

The website lists this neck as a "V". I played a road worn 50's strat in a guitar store with a soft V neck and it felt very comfortable. I was wondering, is the V neck on the American Vintage 57 reissue Strat a soft V neck as on the Road Worn? If not, then what exactly are the differences?

Also, the Road Worn had 6105 frets on a 7.25" neck radius. Though it had the 6105 frets, I was still managed to fret out on the high E at the 12th fret. I understand that I could probably eliminate this by raising the string action(which I actually prefer), but I was wondering if this would also solve that problem on the vintage style frets of the 57 reissue? Does anyone have problems with fretting out on a 7.25" radius neck with vintage style frets?

Thanks!
Daniel

Yeah, I would consider it a soft v, I find it quite comfortable. I play with .11 gauge strings with the action set higher than factory and I have no problems with fretting out at all (I can do a two step bend on the 12th fret). It does take a little while to get used to the vintage style frets as a little more pressure is required to fret, but I got used to it and I love the feel of them.

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I traded my car in for a microphone.

I have a 1995 AVRI '57. I would consider its neck more of a modern C shape even though it is supposed to be a V shape (it is a lot like my '92 MIM neck oddly enough). I think the assembler grabbed the wrong neck or something......anyway, the lacquer on the neck is very thick and diminishes the vintage frets thus making it hard to play sometimes. I would recommend you play the guitar you are planning to buy if possible.

As for fretting out, mine used to, but with time and tension, it is not a problem any more for me. I did replace the pickups with texas specials right away and the 5 way switch. Glad I did.

For my money I think the AVRI is a better quality guitar than the Road Warn guitars I have played. That said it all boils down to personal preference.

Nope.

I can bend up four half-tones at the 15th fret on a high E string with no hint of choking.

My luthier knows how to get the most out of a vintage-radius neck with the original frets.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I think in 1998-99 They actually went to a more "vintage correct" features on the AVRIs. Before that they did have C shapes. I could be wrong though, but I remember reading that

Thank you all for your replies! I am salivating to get this guitar.



Can anyone confirm this? The Road Worn I played definitely had a soft V neck and it was much more comfortable than my American Standard neck. I'd hate spend more to get a 57 Reissue just to find out that the neck is barely distinguishable from my American Standard neck.

The closest guitar center is about an hour away, so I'm hoping to make it down there sometime this week.


On another note...I was looking over the Custom Shop 56' NOS strat.

The specs look to be the same as the 57 Reissue. Just out of curiosity...what is it about the 56' NOS that warrants the hefty price tag as opposed to the 57 Reissue which is supposed to be built to original 1957 specs??

You will be able to feel the difference between the '57 and AS neck,I have both and the AS is thinner,the '57 feels better in my hands....the V on mine is really mainly noticable near the headstock.

I have had many strats over the last 40 years.This model is the best of the lot.It chimes like a bell and the neck is awsome. Im having it buried with me!

I have an AVRI '57. I love the V-shaped neck. Very comfortable. I've gotten use to the vintage frets. However I'm shipping the guitar to Fender in Nashville soon to have the frets and radius customized to the specs I want. It does fret out at the 12th fret if i bend past a step and a half. Raising the action does cure the problem but I just don't bend that far often and I like the action set to Fender specs, maybe just a touch lower. If I wanna bend the hell out of 'em while playing lead I just play my Am Standard. . Soon though the problem will be cured. I'm having the radius changed to 9.5 and changing to the jumbo narrow fret wire.

You may want to play the AVRI before buying it as mentioned above by someone else. They are awesome guitars, but if you're use to modern necks it could take some getting use to. It does have a thick finish that can be quite sticky when compared to other necks. I've been told the stickyness wears off but mine has yet to do so.

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"Damn Right I Got the Blues"

Where is Fender in Nashville?

If memory serves me, there is a Gretsch plant in Nashville, which is owned by Fender.

It's called "The Guild Custom Shop Fender Musical Instruments Corporation" . They build Custom Guitars for anyone who wants one. They also do custom modifications/repairs
Located at 516 Rundle ave. Nashville tn. I was reffered to them by someone here on the forum. If you get modifications done by them then technically "Fender" would be doing your mods.

Rebelsoul. What part of TN are you in? I live in Oakland. Been here 34 yrs. All my life. Just curious.

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"Damn Right I Got the Blues"