Description

Player’s Perspective

The 1972 Telecaster Thinline was a bold step for both Fender and the Telecaster at the time of its inception, and the dual humbuckers and “thinline” construction complete with F-Hole are reminiscent of a certain other big guitar manufacturer’s semi-hollow offerings at the time. However, it has become a cult classic among guitarists and fans of the Tele beyond the typical in its own right, and Fender has brought it back in 2022 in its purest form. Equipped with its quintessential natural ash and pearloid pickguard color scheme and a vintage tinted maple neck, the American Vintage II 1972 Telecaster Thinline is the iconic axe back with a vengeance.

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.

On this Tele, Fender brought back authentic CuNiFe magnet Wide Range humbucker pickups in the past couple of years after not producing them for decades, and their unique tone definitely comes through in this guitar – they sit right between a PAF humbucker and a single-coil and sound great both clean and distorted. Nothing really sounds quite like they do.

For a unique, classy take on the Telecaster that also fulfills humbucker guitar duties, this AVRI II 1972 Thinline is definitely worth plugging in.

Item Specifics

Featuring a “C”-shape hard rock maple neck, the American Vintage II 1972 Telecaster® Thinline plays like a dream with a 7.25” radius fingerboard and vintage tall frets. To create authentic Wide-Range humbucking pickups, we resurrected CuNiFe magnets, an essential element in recreating the sonics of the originals. Characteristic of production in 1972, this Thinline is outfitted with a convenient “”Bullet”” style truss rod nut, three-bolt neck plate with Micro-Tilt™ mechanism, “F” stamped tuners, 6-saddle string-through body hardtail with bent steel saddles and offered in Aged Natural, 3-Color Sunburst, and Lake Placid Blue over a semi-hollow ash body.

The instruments in the American Vintage II series are direct descendants of the original Fenders: designed for players with a fine appreciation for vintage Fender tone and feel and built with unmatched quality, down to the last screw. These are Fender electrics in their purest form: Fender American Vintage II, the stuff of legends.