AVRI II or MIJ Traditional Late 60s?

[igotthemeatsweats]

Hey y’all,

Lately I’ve been really wanting to go down to one, good quality guitar instead of the 2 ehh guitars I currently have (94 MIJ Jag with nothing but issues and Vintera Jazzmaster which just feels cheap). I’m currently set on getting either the AVRI II Jazzmaster in either Red or Blue, or the MIJ Traditional Late 60s Jazzmaster in IBM.

Which do y’all think would be the better get? I’ve always wanted a guitar with a nitro finish, even though I know they don’t wear like vintage instruments do. But I’ve heard the QC on USA Fenders has been shoddy as of late. The MIJ is cheaper but I prefer the USA color schemes, and I’ll probably have to replace the pickups at some point.

If anyone has played both and can weigh in that would be super helpful!

[MrFingers]

I have the MIJ, and played the AV in the shop. The MIJ was in my case actually the better guitar, but in terms of playability as in workmanship. Electronics in the Japanese one are now also CTS and Switchkraft, and the pickups are the more decent VMOD pickups instead of the previously very cheap wiring loom and strat pickups that one could find in the normal Japanese Fenders.

There is no need to upgrade the pickups on the AVII, as those are pretty good themselves (albeit a bit shrill I found), but the AVII is not a 1000$ better guitar than the MIJ is.

The MIJ is 9.5" radius and the AVII 7.25. While I like my vintage radii, I found the MIJ to be more forgiving in terms of low/fast setup and more agressive playing.

[Larry Mal]

"The narrow nut width makes it easy for Japanese players to play."

Kind of weird.

AVRI 2.

[Unicorn Warrior]

I love narrow nut widths. With that said, the only reason I would suggest AV II is because the blocks on the Japan are anemic

[crazyzeke]

94 MIJ Jag with nothing but issues

Out of interest what are those issues? If it's bridge and pickup related I wouldn't be surprised - the luthiery on the neck/body of CIJ/MIJ Jags tends to be as excellent as the stock bridge/electronics are shitty, but changing those gives the Jags a new lease on life, and they actually become instruments! I know that's a bit tongue in cheek but it's true - the great necks sold me on Fender Japan Jaguars, and made the rest of it bearable until it could be upgraded.

[igotthemeatsweats]

94 MIJ Jag with nothing but issues

Out of interest what are those issues? If it's bridge and pickup related I wouldn't be surprised - the luthiery on the neck/body of CIJ/MIJ Jags tends to be as excellent as the stock bridge/electronics are shitty, but changing those gives the Jags a new lease on life, and they actually become instruments! I know that's a bit tongue in cheek but it's true - the great necks sold me on Fender Japan Jaguars, and made the rest of it bearable until it could be upgraded.

Biggest issues were hardware and electronics. Replaced the bridge and trem with AVRI and those were a lot better, but the tailpiece came out of the factory installed crooked so the collet is pressed against the B string no matter what I do. Obviously that's something that can be fixed but it's the main reason I haven't been able to get along with it at all.

[smjenkins]

... and Vintera Jazzmaster which just feels cheap.

I'm curious what feels cheap about your Vintera? Is it the setup, other fit and finish issues, the hardware or pickups?

I've got a loaded Vintera II body I picked up from the stratosphere and the fit and finish and general QC on it is really good. I put a Noventa maple JM neck on it as I like the look of a maple neck. That's also MIM and the finished guitar feels and sounds excellent.

[crazyzeke]

Biggest issues were hardware and electronics. Replaced the bridge and trem with AVRI and those were a lot better, but the tailpiece came out of the factory installed crooked so the collet is pressed against the B string no matter what I do. Obviously that's something that can be fixed but it's the main reason I haven't been able to get along with it at all.

Yeah it's sad how many people have had poor experiences with fit/finish of the CIJ/MIJ vibratos, honestly. Usually it's that the strings are hitting the raised rather than flush fit three screws near the tailpiece (you can change them for flush fit if you match the screw length/width), but I've had three CIJs at this point (friends on loan, blue one I didn't keep, current one I've had nearly 20 years) and none of them have done that even when using a Buzz Stop so I guess I'm just lucky. Uniformly, the stock pickups are absolute microphonic trash that squeal with very little gain and rank among the worst pickups I've ever played through in any electric guitar.

I bet that collet issue is fixable. Where are you based? If it's somewhere UK and you end up selling it, I'd be happy to negotiate with you in future.