Fender American Vintage II 1961 Stratocaster Left-Hand Guitar, Rosewood Fretboard, 3-Color Sunburst

Player’s Perspective

Finally, some love for the lefties! And Fender decided to show it in the best of ways with this gorgeous new lefty American Vintage II 1961 Stratocaster in 3-Color Sunburst with a slab rosewood fretboard, one of the most iconic Strat looks in guitar history, sported by legendary players such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer and John Frusciante. The new American Vintage II series brings back the original “American Vintage Reissue (AVRI)” of old with improved upon pickup design, more accurate neck shapes, and other period-correct specs. A lot of us here at the shop grew up lusting after those guitars and we’re glad to finally get these into our hands years later.

The ’61 Pure Vintage pickups sound simply incredible and exactly as a classic Strat should. The tubbiness of the neck pickup and legendary position 4 quack are the highlights, but all 5 positions are amazing. The early ’60s neck shape is simply comfortable feeling – basically every Strat-style “C” profile ever released over the decades was based on some variation of this profile, and for good reason. If you’re a left-handed player and you could only add one Fender Stratocaster to add to your collection, accept no substitutes. Alder body, beautiful rosewood, 1960s-accurate looks, feel, and tone… this is the one.

Item Specifics

During the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, the popularity of Fender musical instruments flourished, and although the Fender assortment had expanded to include many great new instruments, the Stratocaster® reigned supreme. By 1961, the Stratocaster had taken on a more refined aesthetic, with a 3-Color Sunburst reformulated with a more vibrant red and bolder black edge, topped with a 3-ply pickguard accenting the Strat’s signature curves.

Featuring a premium alder body, a trio of Pure Vintage ‘61 Stratocaster pickups and a medium “C”-Shaped maple neck mated with a 7.25” radius slab rosewood fingerboard, the American Vintage II 1961 Stratocaster reproduces the quintessential tone and feel of the original. Other appointments include a vintage-accurate synchronized tremolo with cold rolled steel block and bent steel saddles, single-line “Fender Deluxe” tuners and 3-ply pickguard.

Specifications

General

• Series: American Vintage II
• Orientation: Left-Hand
• Color: 3-Color Sunburst
• Country Of Origin: US

Neck

• Headstock: Stratocaster®
• Neck Material: Maple
• Neck Finish: Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer
• Neck Shape: 1961 “C”
• Neck Construction: 4-Bolt
• Fingerboard Radius: 7.25″ (184.1 mm)
• Fingerboard Material: Slab Rosewood
• Position Inlays: Clay Dot
• Side Dots: Vintage Clay
• Number of Frets: 21
• Truss Rod: Vintage-Style Butt Adjust
• Truss Rod Nut: Vintage-Style Butt Adjust
• String Nut: Bone
• Nut Width: 1.650″ (42 mm)
• Nut Material: Bone

Body

• Body: Alder
• Body Finish: Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer
• Body Shape: Stratocaster®
• Body Material: Alder

Hardware

• Bridge: Pure Vintage Synchronized Tremolo with Bent Steel Saddles
• Bridge Cover/Tailpiece: Includes Chrome Bridge Cover
• Bridge Mounting: 6-Screw Vintage-Style
• Tremolo Block: Cold Rolled Steel
• Pickguard: 3-Ply Mint Green
• Pickup Covers: Aged White
• Control Knobs: Aged White
• Switch Tip: Aged White
• Hardware Finish: Nickel/Chrome
• Tuning Machines: Pure Vintage Single Line “Fender Deluxe”
• String Trees: Butterfly
• Strings: Fender® USA 250R Nickel Plated Steel (.010-.046 Gauges), PN 0730250406
• Tremolo Arm: Screw-In
• Neck Plate: 4-Bolt Serialized
• Strap Buttons: Vintage-Style

Electronics

• Bridge Pickup: Pure Vintage ’61 Single-Coil Strat®
• Middle Pickup: Pure Vintage ’61 Single-Coil Strat®
• Neck Pickup: Pure Vintage ’61 Single-Coil Strat®
• Pickup Configuration: SSS
• Controls: Master Volume, Tone 1. (Neck/Middle Pickups), Tone 2. (Bridge 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

Miscellaneous

• Case: Hardshell
  
• Instrument Weight: 7.8 lbs
  
• Serial #: V2318094

Overall Condition

Music Store Live is proud to be an authorized dealer for Fender . This American Vintage II 1961 is 100% brand new and is being sold with a full manufacturer’s warranty. Photos are of the exact guitar you’ll receive.

Our in-house guitar tech will inspect, test, set up, and clean all of our instruments on site prior to shipping. All of our instruments are guaranteed to be fully functional upon arrival.