VIDEO SECTIONS: 1. So What Makes It Unique? 2. Let's Check Out the Build Quality! - 2:26 3. What Does It Sound Like? - 7:21 4. Let's Tear It Down! - 12:08 5. Should You Actually Buy One? - 14:49 Link to guitar: imp.i114863.net/advbR Enjoy!
Something that many seem to forget about these Lead series guitars, especially this single coil model, is that the late 70s - early 80s wasn't only metal and shredders, but also disco and funk! The Lead II is perfect for those genres.
To my observation, you’re currently the only channel that sat with this guitar and really dug into the cleans. I love the tone! Thanks for this vid. :)
I dunno why, but for some reason I just appreciate the fact that he takes the time to pull apart even a big brand guitar and look under the hood to check craftsmanship. The man is dedicated to his reviewing. Almost like when you take a car you're thinking of buying to a trusted mechanic
I have a LEAD II I bought in early 81. From a Fender dealer brand new. My first electric guitar. Mine is unique because it has a Lead I decal on it. I didn't know it was a LEAD II until years later when I was looking on the internet. My guess is they had a lead i neck laying around when they built this one.Or maybe the logo was old? I dunno but it's special to me. It is an awesome guitar. Mine is Wine color with RW fretboard (21 frets) . I gotta say it might be the best fender I have..lol.. It sounds great and plays great. I think I will get it out now, I keep it in the original fender case it came with. I had no idea they have done a reissue. Is mine now worth more money?...lol Especially with the wrong decal? I still have the receipt too. It says Lead II, but I never looked at it until I realized the Lead one looked different than mine and I started investigating. The guy at the music store never mentioned the decal being wrong.
@@thegoodguy44 I like my old guitar, it's probably better than these reissues. It's a nice USA build. Smaller headstock too. I did get it out and play it tonight. It does stay in tune, and the neck is still straight, and the frets are good and no fret sprout like every other rosewood fretboard I have.. It's relic"d by me naturally. The pickups are great.. Yep I am a fan of my guitar. Geez. Get over it. At almost 70 years old being called a "boy" makes me feel real good. Be nice to old people when you grow up. ;o)
@@davidkastin4240 Well a few years ago they were selling real cheap. And they weren't easy to find. Most seem to be trashed. Mine isn't trashed at all. But I doubt that value has changed yet. They were USA made, right before they started having Strats made in Japan. Now those MIJ guitars are worth money, Squiers or Fender's.. This new version doesn't do much for me..lol... Mine is nicer from what I can see. I don't want to sell it anyway. I see a lot of negativity in the comments here. Thanks for not being one of those. I like all kinds of guitars.. my favorite brand is "Mine". Cheers!
The Light Green is a great finish I'd say! To have a Fender that captures two of the greatest guitars ever modeled is quite a treat I'd say! I do look forward to it
Awesome comprehensive review from features, to tones through construction. I was not too interested in this series when I first heard about it but definitely giving it a second look now. This is the channel that made me realize modding is something I can not only do with my guitars, but also enjoy doing! So big thanks and kudos for that.
My first guitar was a Lead II bought back in 79/80. It's a killer guitar. Size does make it real easy. What people don't realise it's config and phase switch gives it the ability to recreate Red Special tones. Mine needs some work so I'm going to investigate wiring in series. Bridge and neck in series with phase switch on is a typical Brian May signature sound
The phase reverse would appeal to Peter Green fans (like me); roll off a touch of tone, add gobs of reverb and you have a good approximation of his Les Paul tone. One of the positions on the Baja Tele with the S-1 switch produced a similar tone. Nice sounding guitar, good comprehensive review. Thanks.
I have a Lead II from back in the day. Always loved it. I’m smaller and it fits well. Started playing in the 70’s as a teen, and after all the years and all the guitars (I’ve had most models) my Black Lead is still by my side. It has an old Seymour Duncan humbucker & plays great. I’ll probably be buried with it.
Starting at 4:58, it can be seen that the fret slots are cut too deep for the fret tangs. I see this a lot on Fenders. It can be argued it's not serious, but it's not something I want to see while I'm playing. Sure wish they would take a little more care and get it right. I'm reluctant to call this "great build quality." You didn't address the issue of neck alignment, another big problem with Fenders and most other guitars. I'm talking about looking straight on at the 22nd fret to check whether the distance from the sixth string to the edge of the fingerboard on the bass side is the same as the distance from the first string to the edge of the fingerboard on the treble side. In my opinion, this is the very first point to assess in the evaluation of any guitar. If these distances are unacceptable, as they often are, there's usually nothing that can be done short of a major repair. I would reject that guitar and move on to look at something else.
haha, yes, your post gave me validation. My dad bought me a Squire Pro-tone strat when I was like 7 years old. The neck has bad alignment. I've tried loosening the screws and moving the neck into place, then tightening the screws again but this failed to fix the problem. I'm debating weather I should spend money to have the neck joint fixed up by a luthier. The neck is otherwise pretty good, the hardware is pretty good. If I can fix the neck and get new pickups for under $250 I figure it would be worth it over buying a cheap Fender.
@Autoriff Might be easier to trade it in for a new one. You can get pretty good Squires for not much money these days. See what you can get for yours on a trade, add your $250 to that and then, see what's available. Don’t forget to check the neck alignment on any new guitar you’re considering. ;-)
Dear Darrell, First let me say that I like your reviews a lot. You're one of the few out there who have a real critic view on the guitars. So I'm sure if you recommend something, it's really good. What I like about your videos, is that we now see you in total when you play (not only your hands). Keep on doing what you"re doing - you're a good one.. :-)
I've been playing professionally for 45+ years and have bought and sold hundreds of guitars. Fenders are my favorite, they just sound and feel the best to me, mainly Strats & Teles. After I rediscovered the Lead II, it's my main gigging guitar. The small body, full-size scale and a tone knob you actually have to use. Yes, I started collecting them.
It's closer to a tweaked Duo-sonic. That said, hand feel is VERY different. The Mustang/duo use 24" scales, but their bodies are actually larger than a strat. So this guitar goes the opposite direction.
I remember the Lead I & Lead II from when I was a kid just starting to play. I used to want one so bad. I guess I'm going to be making a nostalia purchase.
@@DrummerGrrrl fender champion 20 is also a neat option in my opinion The cleans sound amazing if you're into that. and a thing many owners of the same model say is that it takes in pedals beautifully. I can't confirm because I don't own any. Source of opinion : I own and love one
Moki this amp is a beast, so many usefull fonctions like line in/out to practice quietly on backing tracks and very cool effects. The voices covers a large variety of styles from clean to metal wich always encourage to discover new tones. The only advice i would give is to replace the vanilla speaker with a celestion, since ive done that it sounds bigger 👌
I have a 79, lead II. The body and neck refinished. A bit different, ceramic x-1 pickups. Then a 78 musicmaster base. They were student models of the time. Pro Junior amp. And a tweed Blues Junior.
@@neagoat I own 2 Strats in Daphne Blue (soon to be 3) and 2 Strats in Surf Green. I've swapped the pickups in all but one of them which is a '57 American Vintage Strat and the 57/62 pickups are amazing. My point is that besides my pointless bragging, I'm annoyed that the Ultras, Professionals, and Originals are not available in one or both of those finishes. Surf Green would look amazing on The Lead II.
Hi Darrell I think that while comparing the body to a strat and talking about the horns you did not notice, that the neck is surrounded by the body only at the highest three frets. Compared to others, that have 6 or even more frets reaching into the body. This increases playbility by a hughe step....
I bought an '80s Hondo Professional copy of the original Lead II and it's the bomb. It made me realise that when I bought a mustang or duo sonic, it wasn't the smaller 24" neck scale that I wanted, but the smaller body. It's so comfortable, plays and sounds amazing, you get the out of phase sound and a great alternative to all the other fender guitars/sounds. I'd definitely buy one of these new Lead IIs if I didn't have my Hondo!
At first, I thought this was the Fender version of what the Les Paul Studio is to the Les Paul Standard, but no. This is it's own unique beast. Very awesome!
I think the extra snap and attack you're hearing is due to the pickup being angled and picking up the string slightly differently than a straight pickup. Dylan from DylanTalksTone made a video on the physics of why the pickups being placed where they are along the string picks up specific frequencies.
i brought a original red one from germany in '82 when i was stationed there. Still have it, eventhough i had the pickups replaced with seymore duncan '57 strat's, & mother of pearl pickguard.
@@haydenlince7420 a Buddy (Brother) from Our Church did All the work, & made it look better than new about 13 yrs. ago. Thanks Bob. it practically plays itself!
I bought this neon Green model in late 2021. I love it. In this video the sound is almost identical to my one. They should make a Lead 1 in yellow with a rosewood board.
Darrell, that is a nice guitar. I fell in love with that guitar. That’s exactly what I was looking, something between Strat and a tele. I own both, US and MX strats, and also a US Tele, I love play them but I really was looking for something in between and this is it. So I’m going for it. Great review and thank you so much for being this up in your channel.
My favourite guitar is a Mexican fender strat I got like 15 years ago, that has a tele mode too. You press a button next to the volume and tone controls, to turn on the bridge pickup when you're either in the neck pickup position or the neck-middle position, so yeah you can have the tele middle position, except on a strat, but it sounds very very much like a tele, it's so useful. It was some special model, fender only made them for one year. So rheyr every rare. But they were cheap at the time when I bought it barely second hand, the first person who bought it was a beginner, who gave up quickly, so it was barely played, basically brand new, and I remember I paid around £250 for it. They probably go for over a grand these days because they're so rare. I wish I could find out the name of the model. It doesn't say it on the guitar anywhere, on the headstock or wherever. If was called something like special or player series. Something similar to that, and it was made in 2005 if I remember correctly. So yeah with my strat you can have the neck and bridge for that tele twang. It sounds better than the actual fender tele I own, it's definitely very similar to a tele, more than good enough to substitute it on a live gig instead of having to bring BOTH a strat and a tele to the gig. I love it because it's 2 guitars in one. Because nothing sounds as good as that neck pickup on a strat for lead tone, so at minimum I always want that, but it ALSO has the tele sound, so it's just brilliant . Also the neck-middle position with the button pressed down is very very interesting. It's like a tele on steroids. I have NEVER heard anything that has as much quack as that. It's got all 3 strat pickups turned on simultaneously. So it's like the middle position of a tele, but with an extra middle pickup added to it. The quack and spank and twang of that is amazing. But I usually just use the neck and bridge together. Not the middle pick up too
Lee Anderton mentioned how much it`s outline looks like a PRS, since it pre-dates the PRS (by quite a while) one wonders if PRS used this as his blueprint??
Damn. I thought the neck pick up was unbeatable, but then the bridge and combo also rocked. I always wanted one when they first came out, but want one even more now. But definitely not green. LOL Thanks.
I much prefer the tonal variety that the Lead III provides, honestly. You can get so many different tones out of that thing, from plenty bright with the bridge humbucker split to super warm on the neck humbucker, and a ton of variety in between.
I bought the more practical Lead 3 last May and I love it. The humbuckers are a better bet! That guitar evokes early spring playing in a garage band long ago, with a few cans of cola, bag of pretzels, a few Boss pedals, crappy drum kit, boomy bass, but great fun!
To current owners out there, just got one used, wanted to double check: When you're in neck pickup only and you flick the phase switch to out of phase is it supposed to entirely cut out the signal? Bridge phase makes no difference, middle clear difference, neck it kills all signal. Is that how it should be? Thanks!
Once again a full comprehensive breakdown video Darrell. What a great guitar...love the new styling and colour...but...a pity Fender have chosen to stay with string trees...they should have slanted the neck a little more and done away with them by now. A new model deserves new styling. I know it wouldn't be classic Fender anymore but hey to me that's progress. Also your playing is sublime as usual. Love your channel.
I like the green, too. Really like your demos. Odd, though, I can't understand why they'd partially shield a guitar. Why not just do it right? I think all guitars should be shielded.
I like the shape... I’d would change pickups (strat size humbuckers w/ series-parallel option for neck only by using or replacing the out-of-phase switch), upgrade pots and rewire to move the volume & tone knob down and move the jack to the side like on a Tele. Most important, I’d put a sticker over the hole were the volume knob & pot used to be :)
I’ve Lead 3 on order in Sienna Sunburst but I think I’ll buy that green too. It’s a pity they have Pau Ferro on the other colours. I’ll never buy a PF board. This is the best demo on RUclips of this new model. Thanks Darrel for taking the time to make this cool axe shine! Most demos show players not understanding the toggles!
I believe the humbucker-equipped model is the Lead III, and that's the one I'd have... in purple, please. I'll admit, though, that the green Lead II is beautiful and will definitely get you noticed. I used to have a black Lead II in the early 80s... Not my favourite guitar, but it was kind of cool.
Lou Fachin I have two original Lead IIs.... where did you get the specific years off of the serial numbers? The Fender website has general years. Thanks!
gorgon the heavy Fender Lead II I bought in 2005 is E0110** and the one that has the more defined contours I bought in 1984 is E0191**..... seems that the one I bought in ‘84 is over 8,000 down the production date from the heavy one.....
You're usually pretty enthused about a new guitar, but this time it went to a whole new level. I like the neon green myself, and I also like the smaller body, compared to a Strat. As Fenders go, it's not outrageously expensive, and it sounded great. Aesthetically, I agree that the roughly symmetrical line from upper to lower horn is a really nice design touch. Cool!
I think it would have been better to test the one with the Humbuckers as is has all the tones this one has except the out of faze one plus two humbuckers as the coils are splitable with the toggle switch.
These reissues are based on the first released Lead Series bodies.... I have two original Lead IIs. One of the bodies has minimal contours and is heavy..... the second one has more profound body contours.....
Soon as I saw the routing I pictured a couple of Duncan Phat Cat P90's in this guitar. If you keep it, perhaps you might try that mod. I think that would be the best of both worlds as a PU choice. For me, the color will look better as it gets some wear and tear.
Darrell, it would be helpful if you regularly mentioned what string gauge you're using when doing guitar reviews. It's not hard to guess, but everybody's different, with the bending and whatnot.
VIDEO SECTIONS:
1. So What Makes It Unique?
2. Let's Check Out the Build Quality! - 2:26
3. What Does It Sound Like? - 7:21
4. Let's Tear It Down! - 12:08
5. Should You Actually Buy One? - 14:49
Link to guitar: imp.i114863.net/advbR
Enjoy!
Yoooo! You got me making the stank face with that both pickups/phase reverse lick. Love it!
Played one in my local shop recently. Couldn't believe how comfortable it was. Really nice.
Adam i know right!
Something that many seem to forget about these Lead series guitars, especially this single coil model, is that the late 70s - early 80s wasn't only metal and shredders, but also disco and funk! The Lead II is perfect for those genres.
I’m exactly looking for a guitar for funk! Thanks for the hint
@@xunliu8696 ya you throw some slapback delay on there paired with a wah pedal and off she goes, it gets real funky.
Yep. Many here do not have any idea about funk,lol.
To my observation, you’re currently the only channel that sat with this guitar and really dug into the cleans. I love the tone! Thanks for this vid. :)
Good point. Getting a good clean tone as a foundation gets overlooked so often, when it should be half of the tone quest!
I dunno why, but for some reason I just appreciate the fact that he takes the time to pull apart even a big brand guitar and look under the hood to check craftsmanship. The man is dedicated to his reviewing. Almost like when you take a car you're thinking of buying to a trusted mechanic
I have a LEAD II I bought in early 81. From a Fender dealer brand new. My first electric guitar. Mine is unique because it has a Lead I decal on it. I didn't know it was a LEAD II until years later when I was looking on the internet. My guess is they had a lead i neck laying around when they built this one.Or maybe the logo was old? I dunno but it's special to me. It is an awesome guitar. Mine is Wine color with RW fretboard (21 frets) . I gotta say it might be the best fender I have..lol.. It sounds great and plays great. I think I will get it out now, I keep it in the original fender case it came with. I had no idea they have done a reissue. Is mine now worth more money?...lol Especially with the wrong decal? I still have the receipt too. It says Lead II, but I never looked at it until I realized the Lead one looked different than mine and I started investigating. The guy at the music store never mentioned the decal being wrong.
Calm down fanboy... geez.
@@thegoodguy44 I like my old guitar, it's probably better than these reissues. It's a nice USA build. Smaller headstock too. I did get it out and play it tonight. It does stay in tune, and the neck is still straight, and the frets are good and no fret sprout like every other rosewood fretboard I have.. It's relic"d by me naturally. The pickups are great.. Yep I am a fan of my guitar. Geez. Get over it. At almost 70 years old being called a "boy" makes me feel real good. Be nice to old people when you grow up. ;o)
Crow I'd go online and see what they are selling for then get an appraisal. I have no idea of the value.
@@davidkastin4240 Well a few years ago they were selling real cheap. And they weren't easy to find. Most seem to be trashed. Mine isn't trashed at all. But I doubt that value has changed yet. They were USA made, right before they started having Strats made in Japan. Now those MIJ guitars are worth money, Squiers or Fender's.. This new version doesn't do much for me..lol... Mine is nicer from what I can see. I don't want to sell it anyway. I see a lot of negativity in the comments here. Thanks for not being one of those. I like all kinds of guitars.. my favorite brand is "Mine". Cheers!
I have two early 80’s Lead IIs.... I just got the Lead III and I must say the reissue is really nice.
I am glad that they reissued the Lead II and Lead III. I am glad they also gave them a moderate price tag and quality control
The Light Green is a great finish I'd say! To have a Fender that captures two of the greatest guitars ever modeled is quite a treat I'd say! I do look forward to it
Would you say
Gorgeous!!
Darrells hair, inspired by There's something about Mary...
darkiee69 😁😁😁
lol.... that made me spit beer out my nose!
Old Guy Disc Golf Eeewwww!
If so, well...it can happen to anyone. Remember to wash your dammed hands.
First thing that "came" to mind. 😁
Awesome comprehensive review from features, to tones through construction. I was not too interested in this series when I first heard about it but definitely giving it a second look now. This is the channel that made me realize modding is something I can not only do with my guitars, but also enjoy doing! So big thanks and kudos for that.
I was always impressed with the Lead II models over the strat. They were always cool looking to me.
U2's The Edge used them back in the '80's.
My first guitar was a Lead II bought back in 79/80. It's a killer guitar. Size does make it real easy. What people don't realise it's config and phase switch gives it the ability to recreate Red Special tones. Mine needs some work so I'm going to investigate wiring in series. Bridge and neck in series with phase switch on is a typical Brian May signature sound
"Sounds like a cocked wah."
Doesnt play Money for Nothing riff🙁
Still love the channel Darrell!
LOLS!
buys a green guitar.
doesn’t edit the teletubies clips into it while playing death metal.
😐
Man that thing sounds a lot like a tele! Not that that’s bad or anything. I love the tone of a tele.
The phase reverse would appeal to Peter Green fans (like me); roll off a touch of tone, add gobs of reverb and you have a good approximation of his Les Paul tone. One of the positions on the Baja Tele with the S-1 switch produced a similar tone. Nice sounding guitar, good comprehensive review. Thanks.
I have a Lead II from back in the day. Always loved it. I’m smaller and it fits well. Started playing in the 70’s as a teen, and after all the years and all the guitars (I’ve had most models) my Black Lead is still by my side. It has an old Seymour Duncan humbucker & plays great. I’ll probably be buried with it.
“Snappier” on the neck pickup could also be due to the angled pickup.
I swear, the week this came out, a heavily modded 81 lead II showed up in my neighborhood shop.😂💯
It might have been my old one!
Mmmm that phase reversal on clean is SO funky!!! Absolutely love the cleans on this guitar!
I looooove that acid green color! So 70's! I had some Micronaut toys in that green. LOL. Showing my age! I'm 52.
Starting at 4:58, it can be seen that the fret slots are cut too deep for the fret tangs. I see this a lot on Fenders. It can be argued it's not serious, but it's not something I want to see while I'm playing. Sure wish they would take a little more care and get it right. I'm reluctant to call this "great build quality." You didn't address the issue of neck alignment, another big problem with Fenders and most other guitars. I'm talking about looking straight on at the 22nd fret to check whether the distance from the sixth string to the edge of the fingerboard on the bass side is the same as the distance from the first string to the edge of the fingerboard on the treble side. In my opinion, this is the very first point to assess in the evaluation of any guitar. If these distances are unacceptable, as they often are, there's usually nothing that can be done short of a major repair. I would reject that guitar and move on to look at something else.
I used to go to school with a Michael Fenemore (Aka Cocks), but you're not him! (He is a muso too btw!)
haha, yes, your post gave me validation. My dad bought me a Squire Pro-tone strat when I was like 7 years old. The neck has bad alignment. I've tried loosening the screws and moving the neck into place, then tightening the screws again but this failed to fix the problem. I'm debating weather I should spend money to have the neck joint fixed up by a luthier. The neck is otherwise pretty good, the hardware is pretty good. If I can fix the neck and get new pickups for under $250 I figure it would be worth it over buying a cheap Fender.
@Autoriff Might be easier to trade it in for a new one. You can get pretty good Squires for not much money these days. See what you can get for yours on a trade, add your $250 to that and then, see what's available. Don’t forget to check the neck alignment on any new guitar you’re considering. ;-)
@@AutoRiff It's what you like.
Dear Darrell,
First let me say that I like your reviews a lot. You're one of the few out there who have a real critic view on the guitars. So I'm sure if you recommend something, it's really good. What I like about your videos, is that we now see you in total when you play (not only your hands).
Keep on doing what you"re doing - you're a good one.. :-)
I've been playing professionally for 45+ years and have bought and sold hundreds of guitars. Fenders are my favorite, they just sound and feel the best to me, mainly Strats & Teles. After I rediscovered the Lead II, it's my main gigging guitar. The small body, full-size scale and a tone knob you actually have to use. Yes, I started collecting them.
I bought a fender player lead ii yesterday morning and it gets delivered on Thursday. I got the gig bag now. I can’t wait to play my new guitar.
Something like a full scale, hard tail version of a Mustang. Quite a distinctive range of sounds.
Id like to hear a tone comparison between this and the Fender Mustang.
They seem similar.
It's closer to a tweaked Duo-sonic. That said, hand feel is VERY different. The Mustang/duo use 24" scales, but their bodies are actually larger than a strat. So this guitar goes the opposite direction.
It is just a mustang with a different scale length for people that hate the small scale. They don't sound any different
I’d swap the bridge pickup with a hot rails hum-bucker like immediately
Dimarzio Chopper best I have heard in that position, pulled my hot rails for it.
I love that green and black combo.
Beautiful guitar ❤
Instead of phase reversal you could wire it for series/parallel which would be cool for an onboard volume and fat boost.
Sounds exactly like a late '90s MIM Mustang short-scale I used to have. Has a similar look.
I remember the Lead I & Lead II from when I was a kid just starting to play. I used to want one so bad. I guess I'm going to be making a nostalia purchase.
I saw this at the NAMM Show. And I played it. Not really perfect and not really worst. This guitar was perfect for beginners.
I click fast, yet I don't have any guitar :(
Get a Squier Bullet Tele, and a used Mustang I amp. They’re cheap as chips, and look, play, and sound awesome.
Artamus: Great advice! I plan to do just that. Before I buy another drum set, even! Ha ha.
@@DrummerGrrrl fender champion 20 is also a neat option in my opinion
The cleans sound amazing if you're into that. and a thing many owners of the same model say is that it takes in pedals beautifully. I can't confirm because I don't own any.
Source of opinion : I own and love one
Moki this amp is a beast, so many usefull fonctions like line in/out to practice quietly on backing tracks and very cool effects. The voices covers a large variety of styles from clean to metal wich always encourage to discover new tones. The only advice i would give is to replace the vanilla speaker with a celestion, since ive done that it sounds bigger 👌
@@Littleboy1800 I might if I get the money. But for now, I'm focusing on saving up to convert my SSS guitar into an hss
Great modding platform. I think I'd go with series parallel with that phase switch.
Darrell they are out of stock at Sweetwater, can I have yours : )
I have a 79, lead II. The body and neck refinished. A bit different, ceramic x-1 pickups. Then a 78 musicmaster base. They were student models of the time. Pro Junior amp. And a tweed Blues Junior.
*New guitar appears*
Darrel: Ooo I cant wait to strip it apart! 😂
9:50 looks like a really interesting technique.
If anyone knows a song good for learning that style of playing please tell me!
Look for more funky songs. That'll do
@@RoyalProtector894 Thanks
Learn some dominant 9th or 7th inversions and funk away.
Thanks for the review Darrell, but are Fender allergic to Daphne Blue and Surf Green....universally loved guitar finishes!
surf green isnt super common, but it has been seen on some models of fender strats
@@neagoat I own 2 Strats in Daphne Blue (soon to be 3) and 2 Strats in Surf Green. I've swapped the pickups in all but one of them which is a '57 American Vintage Strat and the 57/62 pickups are amazing. My point is that besides my pointless bragging, I'm annoyed that the Ultras, Professionals, and Originals are not available in one or both of those finishes. Surf Green would look amazing on The Lead II.
They save those for when they need to sell a bunch of guitars really quickly.
@@Aaron-ox5ny Of course it does...its gorgeous!
Hi Darrell I think that while comparing the body to a strat and talking about the horns you did not notice, that the neck is surrounded by the body only at the highest three frets. Compared to others, that have 6 or even more frets reaching into the body. This increases playbility by a hughe step....
I bought an '80s Hondo Professional copy of the original Lead II and it's the bomb. It made me realise that when I bought a mustang or duo sonic, it wasn't the smaller 24" neck scale that I wanted, but the smaller body. It's so comfortable, plays and sounds amazing, you get the out of phase sound and a great alternative to all the other fender guitars/sounds. I'd definitely buy one of these new Lead IIs if I didn't have my Hondo!
At first, I thought this was the Fender version of what the Les Paul Studio is to the Les Paul Standard, but no. This is it's own unique beast. Very awesome!
I think the extra snap and attack you're hearing is due to the pickup being angled and picking up the string slightly differently than a straight pickup. Dylan from DylanTalksTone made a video on the physics of why the pickups being placed where they are along the string picks up specific frequencies.
Mine just shipped, should have it Saturday....thanks for the overview....well done! You nailed all the salient points 👏🏻👍🏻🎸
i brought a original red one from germany in '82 when i was stationed there. Still have it, eventhough i had the pickups replaced with seymore duncan '57 strat's, & mother of pearl pickguard.
Bet it looks nice. Very mustang like
@@haydenlince7420 a Buddy (Brother) from Our Church did All the work, & made it look better than new about 13 yrs. ago. Thanks Bob. it practically plays itself!
@@davehollamon1985 can imagine it's a dream pal
I bought this neon Green model in late 2021. I love it. In this video the sound is almost identical to my one. They should make a Lead 1 in yellow with a rosewood board.
Darrell, that is a nice guitar. I fell in love with that guitar. That’s exactly what I was looking, something between Strat and a tele. I own both, US and MX strats, and also a US Tele, I love play them but I really was looking for something in between and this is it. So I’m going for it. Great review and thank you so much for being this up in your channel.
My favourite guitar is a Mexican fender strat I got like 15 years ago, that has a tele mode too. You press a button next to the volume and tone controls, to turn on the bridge pickup when you're either in the neck pickup position or the neck-middle position, so yeah you can have the tele middle position, except on a strat, but it sounds very very much like a tele, it's so useful. It was some special model, fender only made them for one year. So rheyr every rare. But they were cheap at the time when I bought it barely second hand, the first person who bought it was a beginner, who gave up quickly, so it was barely played, basically brand new, and I remember I paid around £250 for it. They probably go for over a grand these days because they're so rare. I wish I could find out the name of the model. It doesn't say it on the guitar anywhere, on the headstock or wherever. If was called something like special or player series. Something similar to that, and it was made in 2005 if I remember correctly.
So yeah with my strat you can have the neck and bridge for that tele twang. It sounds better than the actual fender tele I own, it's definitely very similar to a tele, more than good enough to substitute it on a live gig instead of having to bring BOTH a strat and a tele to the gig. I love it because it's 2 guitars in one. Because nothing sounds as good as that neck pickup on a strat for lead tone, so at minimum I always want that, but it ALSO has the tele sound, so it's just brilliant . Also the neck-middle position with the button pressed down is very very interesting. It's like a tele on steroids. I have NEVER heard anything that has as much quack as that. It's got all 3 strat pickups turned on simultaneously. So it's like the middle position of a tele, but with an extra middle pickup added to it. The quack and spank and twang of that is amazing. But I usually just use the neck and bridge together. Not the middle pick up too
Lee Anderton mentioned how much it`s outline looks like a PRS, since it pre-dates the PRS (by quite a while) one wonders if PRS used this as his blueprint??
Lee must be trippin. Doesnt look much like a PRS besides just being a vaguely s-type body
Damn. I thought the neck pick up was unbeatable, but then the bridge and combo also rocked. I always wanted one when they first came out, but want one even more now. But definitely not green. LOL
Thanks.
Darrell, I really enjoy your reviews. It really helps when making my final decision. Cheers!
Reminds me of a double cut away Les Paul. Awesome video man keep on rocking!!!!🤘🤘
Reminds me of PRS !
I always thought of mine as a fender sg. I do have the red with black pickguard and rosewood fretboard so...
Thanks for the great demo. Nice playing!
I much prefer the tonal variety that the Lead III provides, honestly. You can get so many different tones out of that thing, from plenty bright with the bridge humbucker split to super warm on the neck humbucker, and a ton of variety in between.
Everything about this guitar is the opposite of a Gibson. It's lightweight, affordable, and stays in tune.
Sg
@@matthewmcclelland9771 affordable
Darrel can make any guitar do something amazing
That's a pretty awesome guitar. I didn't even notice how different the shape was from the Strat until you held them up side-by-side. I like it!
My first electric was a Japanese Squier Bullet from 1984 that was very similar to this. Mine had the 54 style neck that I still use to this day.
Thank you Darrell! I was hoping you would review this. Love your channel and content.
Dude I didn’t know Ace Ventura played guitar, cooool! 😂 Lovin’ the hair Darrell! 🤘🏻
Kinda Silver Sky-ish with the shape.
But also very Squier Bullet II slimmer strat shape from the 80s.
Very unique guitar for sure.
I honestly like to watch you talk about the guitars more than I like hearing you play them
Really liked the tone from both pickups. Thanks for sharing Darrell :)
I bought the more practical Lead 3 last May and I love it. The humbuckers are a better bet! That guitar evokes early spring playing in a garage band long ago, with a few cans of cola, bag of pretzels, a few Boss pedals, crappy drum kit, boomy bass, but great fun!
You do these things right Darrell! That thing sounds great!
I’m starting to like this guitar, feeling like the combination of tele bridge pickup and strat neck pickup
Love the look of that green finish, black guard and whitr pups
To current owners out there, just got one used, wanted to double check: When you're in neck pickup only and you flick the phase switch to out of phase is it supposed to entirely cut out the signal? Bridge phase makes no difference, middle clear difference, neck it kills all signal. Is that how it should be? Thanks!
I had a Lead II in the 80's. Only guitar I ever had stolen. I still miss it.
Once again a full comprehensive breakdown video Darrell. What a great guitar...love the new styling and colour...but...a pity Fender have chosen to stay with string trees...they should have slanted the neck a little more and done away with them by now. A new model deserves new styling. I know it wouldn't be classic Fender anymore but hey to me that's progress. Also your playing is sublime as usual. Love your channel.
I like the green, too. Really like your demos. Odd, though, I can't understand why they'd partially shield a guitar. Why not just do it right? I think all guitars should be shielded.
The bridge slaps with the block saddles. These used to only be on Custom Shop and American Deluxe Strats.
I like the shape... I’d would change pickups (strat size humbuckers w/ series-parallel option for neck only by using or replacing the out-of-phase switch), upgrade pots and rewire to move the volume & tone knob down and move the jack to the side like on a Tele. Most important, I’d put a sticker over the hole were the volume knob & pot used to be :)
I’ve Lead 3 on order in Sienna Sunburst but I think I’ll buy that green too. It’s a pity they have Pau Ferro on the other colours. I’ll never buy a PF board. This is the best demo on RUclips of this new model. Thanks Darrel for taking the time to make this cool axe shine! Most demos show players not understanding the toggles!
Whoa sweet guitar Darrell, you have the coolest job in the world!
Love the Incredible Hulk green with the black pick guard.
I'd love this with humbuckers and coil splitting
Fender Lead 3
Lead ii bodies are also cut for humbuckers so changing pickups is really easy
Great sound, nice playing dude
I believe the humbucker-equipped model is the Lead III, and that's the one I'd have... in purple, please. I'll admit, though, that the green Lead II is beautiful and will definitely get you noticed. I used to have a black Lead II in the early 80s... Not my favourite guitar, but it was kind of cool.
Great video. Really enjoyed this
Obviously it’s over RUclips with compression but I LOVE that Neck Pickup sound, which is weird for someone who much prefers Humbuckers
Bro, your videos make my day man.
Thank you so much for your content and the effort you put in your videos!
Need a Jem!!!
OMG! I can't believe you just reviewed one of my favorite guitars of all time. I have '72 version. Nice job 👍
Whoops, me bad. Double checked my serial number. Mine is 1980 not 1972.
Lou Fachin I have two original Lead IIs.... where did you get the specific years off of the serial numbers? The Fender website has general years. Thanks!
@@Bernz66 it's been told,. the serials E00. Indicates 1980. E01 Indicates 1981.. 1979 are also E00 up to about E002000ish..
gorgon the heavy Fender Lead II I bought in 2005 is E0110** and the one that has the more defined contours I bought in 1984 is E0191**..... seems that the one I bought in ‘84 is over 8,000 down the production date from the heavy one.....
@@Bernz66.. Yeah..or 1000ish? Don't know if they made them (L2) in '82 thou..?. And don't know how many they made of the Lead ll.. 🤔
You're usually pretty enthused about a new guitar, but this time it went to a whole new level. I like the neon green myself, and I also like the smaller body, compared to a Strat. As Fenders go, it's not outrageously expensive, and it sounded great. Aesthetically, I agree that the roughly symmetrical line from upper to lower horn is a really nice design touch. Cool!
I think it would have been better to test the one with the Humbuckers as is has all the tones this one has except the out of faze one plus two humbuckers as the coils are splitable with the toggle switch.
I also like small-sized guitars.
Can you tell me the wide, thick, and long~ of this guitar?
These reissues are based on the first released Lead Series bodies.... I have two original Lead IIs. One of the bodies has minimal contours and is heavy..... the second one has more profound body contours.....
I think I'd re-wire the phase switch for both pickups in series, similar to a 4-way switch on a Tele...
Thanks for reviewing, I was hoping someone would do that particular guitar. I always enjoy your reviews and how-to vids.
Nice work! I'd probably wire the phase switch to be a series switch ... but yes, cool!
your intro is the coolest to me
I have an original in transparent red (which is checked and fogged crazy style) and with the singlecoil Humbucker setup. I love that green
What would be a better pickup choice?
What a great sounding guitar! I love Fenders and Squiers. Thanks, D.B.!
Soon as I saw the routing I pictured a couple of Duncan Phat Cat P90's in this guitar. If you keep it, perhaps you might try that mod. I think that would be the best of both worlds as a PU choice. For me, the color will look better as it gets some wear and tear.
Darrell, it would be helpful if you regularly mentioned what string gauge you're using when doing guitar reviews. It's not hard to guess, but everybody's different, with the bending and whatnot.
Lookin' good Darrell! Rocking that "Great Wave off Kanagawa" hairdo in this one.
Outstanding bit of kit,great review 🎸🎸
What do you plan to do with the original pickups, now that you've swapped them out? Do they go into other guitars, or just sit in a drawer?
9:09 is the most beautiful piece 🥺 saving this in the comments to listen to on a daily. I need to learn this but not sure what it’s called 🤧🥺
I never knew about that model!!! looks beautiful!