Get your American Vintage II 1954 Strat from Guitar Center:
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender/70th-Anniversary-1954-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar-2-Color-Sunburst-1500000416623.gc?source=4GOA4LOBA
The Fender 70th Anniversary American Vintage II 1954 Stratocaster celebrates the first year of Leo Fender’s legendary “space-age” guitar with an accurate and vibey recreation. Like the original, the American Vintage II 1954 Strat features an ash body, two-color sunburst, gloss Nitrocellulose finish, maple neck and fretboard with a 7.25" radius, 21 Vintage-Style frets, 3-position pickup selector switch and a Pure Vintage Synchronized Tremolo. While the 1954 model had a rounded D-shaped neck, the American Vintage II version offers a more comfy C shape. In addition, the sound of the 1954 Alnico III single-coils is represented by the new 70th Anniversary 1954 single-coil pickups.
“This reminds me of my first guitar,” says guitarist Lindsay Ell, who was first discovered (at 15 years old) by Canadian rock legend Randy Bachman, and who has toured with everyone from Buddy Guy to Keith Urban, Sugarland, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton and Shania Twain (she even hosted Canada’s Got Talent). “My dad put his Strat into my hands when I was eight years old. It was a ’90s model, but it looked identical to this 70th Anniversary American Vintage II 1954 guitar with a two-color sunburst and maple neck.”
While it painstakingly emulates the year of the first production-model Strats, the 70th Anniversary American Vintage II 1954 Stratocaster isn’t simply an archival salute to an era gone by. It’s a living, breathing tone machine that inspires creativity to this day.
“I think the really exciting thing about vintage-style Stratocasters is they give you a look at what guitars were back then, and I think they make you play different things,” says Ell. “I fell in love with the transparency of a Strat when I was really little, and I still feel you can communicate what you want to say through your hands so much easier on a Strat than any other guitar on the face of the planet.”
Follow Lindsay Ell at https://www.instagram.com/lindsayell
Need help picking the best Strat for your next guitar? Check out our Guide to the Fender Stratocaster:
https://www.guitarcenter.com/riffs/buying-guides/guitars/fender-stratocaster-guide?source=4GOA4LOBA
Chapters
00:00 - Intro with Lindsay Ell
00:43 - First Impressions of the American Vintage II 1954 Stratocaster with Lindsay Ell
01:28 - Overview and Features of the Fender 70th Anniversary American Vintage II 1954 Strat
03:20 - Pickup Position #3 (Neck Pickup)
06:22 - Pickup Position #2 (Middle Pickup)
06:53 - Pickup Position #1 (Bridge Pickup)
09:02 - Lindsay’s Final Thoughts on the 70th Anniversary American Vintage II 1954 Stratocaster
09:42 - Outro