Vintage V72

joetele

After hearing so many good things about Vintage Tele and Stratalikes, I tried out a Vintage V72 in the local music shop. It's the one with the single coil at the bridge and a mini Bucker at the neck, with an f hole and flame maple top. The shop has it reduced and it's caught my eye a few times. After trying the fairly new Contemporary Telecaster by Squier, which felt cheaply made and underpowered by comparison, the Vintage was a joy to play and hear. It's got those brass saddles, vuvinta ashtray, really good feeling Wilkinson tuners and parts, great neck and fretboard, and the pickups sound incredible for this kind of price - neck is warm and throaty with stunning clarity, bridge is jangly, twangy and rich but not harsh. 

I've been looking for a second guitar to play alongside my upgraded early 2000s MIM Tele, and honestly, I'm not sure I'll find a better guitar for the money (shop has promised to match online prices). Blown away by the feel and sound of this guitar, and the build/parts quality is outstanding.  

I know they're not the big name and to be quite honest I don't have the need for Suhr or American teles....anyone else a big fan of Vintage guitars? 

joetele

*vintage ashtray 

TheMarlin

Ten years ago, people looked down their noses at Vintage as a brand. They were easy to pick up used for £50-£80.  
Now that people have come to see that they are quality guitars at an affordable price, used prices are shooting up. 

I had had one of the strat-a-likes with 3 P90’s. Bit weighty, but a lovey guitar. The Thomas Blug strat is a cracker too. And the AFD LP is also well respected.  

I’ve not played the V72, but the V52 was a cracking tele.  

Italia (sister brand of Vintage) also make some really nice guitars. All Trev Wilkinson parts too. 

Marlin

darthed1981

I really fancy that strat-a-like with 3 p90s, just seems such a great idea for a guitar config.  Haven't seen them available anywhere though!

I love a good "mongrel" guitar.

joetele

I know Trev Wilkinson really turned them around, and those nice quality brass saddles in that ashtray made that bridge pickup really authentic. And the bridge pickup seemed a lot hotter than I was expecting too. Some players swear by their Vintage Strats too. I think for the hobbying and gigging musicians they're really great value for money. I don't have the funds or space for tons of guitars, especially expensive ones, I just need ones that sound good on recording, at practice and at gigs. 

I'm a fan of mongrels too, or ones with something different about them. I had a weird 80s Encore JHS-1 which was a 3/4 scale thin guitar but had some really odd pickups and a jaguar style switching system. Best £20 I ever spent. 

rossi

i bought a Vintage Vn 99 Zip for 30 quid knackered and destrung but it plays very well with minimal set up .The fretboard and neck  is really good .The  twin strat single humbucker pickup is downright weird but that was by design .i love playing it.I rather fancy the Vintage take on the LP special .All yellow and twin p90's.Trev puts his name on the bits and once you do that you have to maintain a certain quality .All the Vintage I have played from Tele to Strat have been perfectly good guitars.

joetele

Agreed. Unless you spend a bit extra and get  a Classic Vibe Squier, or get a mid range Pacifica, you can't really beat Vintage for the quality at this price range.

joetele

Well, tried it for the third time today. Put down a deposit, collecting it after I come back from holiday. Shop owner has knocked another £29 off the price to match online prices, and is throwing in new strings and a setup based on my preferences. 

I honestly can't wait. No, it's not a big name or an expensive guitar, but it plays and sounds sublime. I can't get over how good the pickups are for a £300ish guitar. So much life and clarity in them. 

joetele

Apologies for bumping an old thread but 18 months in and I still love this guitar. Out of the three I have it's my favourite.

I can't get over how good it is. Build quality is excellent, neck is comfortable and playable, the parts are all great quality, and the pickups are ridiculously good. The bridge pickup is a proper Tele twang and brang, with a great roar to it, and the neck pickup can do amazing clean melodies as well as bluesy dirt, all the way to fuzzed out rock. 

It looks great, it sounds great, it feels great, and it's light. I'd happily have a whole collection of different Vintage guitars. Really keen on the new V65 offset too. 

thumpingrug

I have a V100 (les paulalike).  I think its a lovely guitar.  I tad heavy for regular playing but its always a joy to pick it up when I do.

joetele

thumpingrug said:

I have a V100 (les paulalike).  I think its a lovely guitar.  I tad heavy for regular playing but its always a joy to pick it up when I do.

Yeah, same. It's just the guitar that gets picked up the most and that I enjoy the most - gives me the least amount of 'fight', if you know what I mean 

TheMarlin

joetele said:

Apologies for bumping an old thread but 18 months in and I still love this guitar. Out of the three I have it's my favourite.

I can't get over how good it is. Build quality is excellent, neck is comfortable and playable, the parts are all great quality, and the pickups are ridiculously good. The bridge pickup is a proper Tele twang and brang, with a great roar to it, and the neck pickup can do amazing clean melodies as well as bluesy dirt, all the way to fuzzed out rock. 

It looks great, it sounds great, it feels great, and it's light. I'd happily have a whole collection of different Vintage guitars. Really keen on the new V65 offset too. 

Funny when I first joined about ten years ago, you would have been laughed off the board for praising Vintage.  So much derision at the time for this humble guitar brand. Glad that people have come to their senses, and see what great guitars they are. 

joetele

TheMarlin said:

joetele said:

Apologies for bumping an old thread but 18 months in and I still love this guitar. Out of the three I have it's my favourite.

I can't get over how good it is. Build quality is excellent, neck is comfortable and playable, the parts are all great quality, and the pickups are ridiculously good. The bridge pickup is a proper Tele twang and brang, with a great roar to it, and the neck pickup can do amazing clean melodies as well as bluesy dirt, all the way to fuzzed out rock. 

It looks great, it sounds great, it feels great, and it's light. I'd happily have a whole collection of different Vintage guitars. Really keen on the new V65 offset too. 

Funny when I first joined about ten years ago, you would have been laughed off the board for praising Vintage.  So much derision at the time for this humble guitar brand. Glad that people have come to their senses, and see what great guitars they are. 

I guess they became a lot better with Wilkinson's involvement, but yeah these really are surprisingly good and great value. It doesn't feel like they're copies, if that makes sense. They've got a character of their own. 

racefaceec90

i used to have a vintage lemon drop les paul guitar. was a fine guitar i have to say. 

ennspek

I have always thought they would be more successful if they weren't branded Vintage. They're a bastard to Google. 

prowla

I was looking at getting one of their SGs for a while, but I ended up spotting a real Gibson, so that was that. 

joetele

ennspek said:

I have always thought they would be more successful if they weren't branded Vintage. They're a bastard to Google. 

Oh god yes. Especially if you want to check eBay or YouTube 

Bod

I've got 4 Vintage guitars now - a V52 Icon, a VS6 SG, a V100 Lemon Drop, and an AV3 semi.  All really nice guitars to play, and sound great.  The VS6 has some of the worst cut-and-filled inlays I've ever seen, but plays so nicely and just seems to suit me more than any other guitar I've played.  A friend has an older double-cut Junior from Vintage and that's amazing also.

Schnozz

Bod said:

I've got 4 Vintage guitars now - a V52 Icon, a VS6 SG, a V100 Lemon Drop, and an AV3 semi.  All really nice guitars to play, and sound great.  The VS6 has some of the worst cut-and-filled inlays I've ever seen, but plays so nicely and just seems to suit me more than any other guitar I've played.  A friend has an older double-cut Junior from Vintage and that's amazing also.

And you've got pretty much every electric guitar tone for around £1k - I think that's great. If only I had enough space in my bedroom.

Bod

Schnozz said:

And you've got pretty much every electric guitar tone for around £1k - I think that's great. If only I had enough space in my bedroom.

Actually, a lot less than that as I bought them all used.  They cost me £420 in total, but the V52 was a freebie from a mate because it needed a new pickup and rewiring.

joetele

Bod said:

Schnozz said:

And you've got pretty much every electric guitar tone for around £1k - I think that's great. If only I had enough space in my bedroom.

Actually, a lot less than that as I bought them all used.  They cost me £420 in total, but the V52 was a freebie from a mate because it needed a new pickup and rewiring.

Bloody hell that's a bargain. The VS6 in the local shop looked really nice too. They also do a PRS style guitar that looks lovely as well.