January Birthdays 
Posted in a few groups on Facebook if you’ve already seen it…
Saw the deal and had to get one. After noodling for an hour after a proper setup/string change (flatwound 12’s) here are my thoughts
First thing on the list is a new tailpiece/trem plate. The threaded arm is just not ideal and sits way too low. It hits the bridge, volume and tone knobs when depressed even after adjusting the set screw. Although I have the saddle sitting fairly high after shimming the neck to give it a comfortable, low action, will have to go back and use a smaller shim in order to lower the bridge, but even still, the wiggle stick is going to hit it. For now I’ll have to use the hammer method to give the rod enough bend to clear all of these things while dived.
Edit: (the push-in collet in my VM JM was the same size as the threaded collet in the Vintera so I just swapped them. The arm now sits at proper height and functions beautifully, saved me $80 buying a new trem assembly)
The 3 toggle switch is low brow, nothing to lose sleep over but will probably replace it with the one in my VM as it has better functionality.
The pickups are interesting... Much woodier than I expected. They’re definitely “60’s voiced” as advertised by fender. But they’re different from the PV ‘65’s which I also have. The stock pups are beefier and warmer although still bright and glassy. Just not as glassy as the PV’s. Slightly less drip(?) probably from the beefy tone. It’s still there but less prominent. I believe they are alnico 5 but sound more like a Ventures tone. I used to find the most drip in middle position but with these it’s more on the neck and bridge. Will probably replace with PV’s but if I don’t, I won’t be upset. They sound great and do the surf thing well.
Neck was in good shape from factory. A little sign of fret sprout that I hope doesn’t get worse. All I had to do was oil the very much hated pau ferro. It feels ok and I hope to darken her over time. But I have no bad feelings towards the pf compared to my rosewood VM JM. They both feel great and haven’t changed playing whatsoever.
Aside from that everything seems ok. All controls work perfectly. Rhythm circuit is lush and dark and the controls are very high quality. Volume and tone adjust incredibly well to get a dialed in tone. People say it’s really loud, I’ll admit it is an intense sound, but nothing some shielding and proper grounding won’t take care of. And I might not even care enough to do all of those things as I do enjoy the sound very much. It’s an authentic 60’s tone. And the matching headstock is chefs kiss.
Final score 8/10. For the price this thing is absolutely worth it. A few inexpensive mods (which is always expected when buying non USA fenders) I plan to make this my forever (desert island) rig, easily turn it into a 10/10 player. Get one while you still can just expect to do some set up before you fall in love with it. I’ll answer any questions
