The Vintage V6 Icon Full Review: Don't buy a Fender Stratocaster until you have tried this guitar!

 

I was recently given the opportunity to try out a loan Vintage V6 Icon electric guitar.  Given that this is a cheap to mid priced guitar modelled on the Fender Stratocaster was I really going to fall in love with it?

In this article I am going to share my thoughts on the Vintage V6 Icon after having played with it for for a few weeks.  

I have jammed with this guitar...

I have taken this guitar to band practise...

... and I have simply grabbed it throughout the day as I have worked from home.  By now I think I know it pretty well but would I recommend it and why?

What were my initial impressions?

My initial impressions were summed up in my first YouTube video about this guitar which can be seen below:

Here are the specifications of the Vintage V6 Icon as lifted from the Vintage website...

Vibrato:

The Wilkinson WVC vibrato bridge featured on the Vintage V6 is a masterpiece of detail. Positive location, 6 screw design provides return to pitch accuracy; perpendicular bend, high grade steel saddles enhance tonality and ‘snap’. Ground base plate corner provides authentic looks. Stagger drilled cast block significantly enhances return to pitch accuracy and classic vintage tone. The ‘push-in’ delrin-bushed arm with variable tension provides the arm feel that suits your style.

Pickups:

Balanced set of Wilkinson WVS vintage-voiced Alnico V pickups, with staggered, chamfered edge pole pieces, for authentic tone and contemporary power. Reverse wound, reverse polarity centre pickup provides hum cancelling in switch position 2 and 4. 

Controls:

Single master Volume control with Tone control 1 for the neck and middle pickup, with 'Custom Mod' Tone control 2 for bridge pickup. Five-way selector switch.

Machine Heads:

Wilkinson WJ55 patented E-Z-Lok machine heads. Simple, effective locking action for increased tuning stability. Staggered string post heights provide correct string rake angle for smooth vibrato action and correct playing tension.

Neck:

Hard rock Maple with classic Vintage ‘soft C’ profile for instant comfort, speed, accuracy and great feel.

Fingerboard:

Traditional 10" radius rosewood fingerboard provides positive feel and superior playability.

Frets:

22 Medium profile frets add to comfort, accuracy and overall positive feel of the Vintage V6.

Scale Length:

25.5" / 648mm.

Nut:

43mm GraphTech® nut, smooth and friction free.

Headstock:

Classic Vintage headstock design for balance and visual appeal.

The V6™ is an original Vintage® ICON Series guitar designed in the UK by the Vintage® design team.

So after a few weeks what can I say about the Vintage V6 Icon?

Firstly we need to just acknowledge that this guitar is priced around £329.  It is essentially a budget instrument and not a high end instrument.  It is approximately half the price of a Fender Player Series Stratocaster, so it is perhaps not fair to compare them?

To be honest, the more I try out different S-Styles from different companies, I am finding the Fender products to increasingly lack value in comparison.  Yes you get the brand name on the headstock and yes Fender designed the original Stratocaster, but we can't all afford the price tag and if you are not worried about the brand and more worried about getting a delightfully playable guitar then it probably pays to look around.

Whilst the V6 Icon is not original in terms of it being an S-Style, there is originality in aspects of the guitar that perhaps are not that well known but absolutely make this guitar worth checking out.

Watch my video review of the Vintage V6 Icon.

What are the aspects that don't work for me?

• The tuners feel cheap and it feels like the energy that I put in to tuning each string doesn't equal the change in tension that takes place.  That's not to say that I have had problems with tuning and this is very much a subjective thought, but I feel like there is a bit of slack in the mechanism of tuning.
• On the neck in places the coating on the fretboard has seeped onto the maple neck at the back thus showing what looks like poor painting skills.  These are blemishes and not major problems and are barely noticeable.
• I was expecting the guitar to not have a string tree as the staggered tuners were supposed to form a break angle on the top strings that I thought didn't need a string tree.  It isn't a problem, the tuning stability is exceptional but I thought I would highlight this.
• Tightening the tremelo arm requires an awkward process as the tightening grub screw is under the bridge.  So with one hand you need to push the arm down and then use the other to position the allen key (which is provided) and then tighten the grub screw.  Seems a little awkward but then it is not like you would do this action all the time.

What aspects worked for me?

• The tuning stability, even with using the tremolo, is exceptional.  I once tried a new Fender Vintera 50's Strat and it didn't keep in tune even if I didn't use the tremolo.  I have picked up the V6 Icon after a couple of days and it is still in tune.  Even my PRS SE Starla THAT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A TREM, doesn't stay in tune as good as this.  For this point alone, this guitar is a joy to play.
• The tones on the guitar are lovely.  With the middle pickup being wired out of phase to the neck and bridge pickups position 2 and 4 on the five way switch there is no 60Hz hum. This is deliberate and it is awesome when using overdrive.  In these positions what you hear are the notes and not noise.  I especially love the clean tones and found myself enjoying positions 2, 3, and 4 on the V6 Icon mostly.  This is the first S-Type where I have loved strumming clean chords and not found myself complaining about the influence of the G string.
• The playability of the 10" radius rosewood neck is fantastic.  The guitar is strung with nine gauge strings (a little light for me) and I found it so easy to play with string bends being an absolute joy.
• The relic finish.  I am starting to find that I love relic finishes.  This guitar is not heavily finished in this way but enough to make it look played in.  The best bit is the removed lacquer on the neck.  It makes for a much more playable guitar.  For me the relic finish makes me feel relaxed about dinging the guitar (not that I have dinged this loan guitar, I have still been careful as it is not mine!)
• The weight of the guitar makes it easy to gig for a couple of hours easily.

Who should buy this guitar?

Firstly this guitar would make an awesome starter guitar that would easily hold it's own with intermediate and more expert guitarists.  What I mean by that is that you could buy it initially and not feel the need to upgrade for a number of years.  I have been playing for many years and I would be happy to have this in my collection and gig with it.

What would make the guitar REALLY special?

If only I could have one that was customised to my own specifications....

Yep, this is possible.  The V6 Icon guitar is a great base model from which to upgrade etc.  Vintage actually have a Pro Shop initiative that allows guitarists to select any of their styles of guitars and then specify modifications such as finish, level of relic, type of hardware and pickups etc.

To do this with Fender you would be spending thousands of pounds, whereas with Vintage you could get the S-Style with your choice of specifications for less than £1000 depending upon what is specified and you can get it in about three months.  Awesome!

It is this initiative that would stop me from buying this particular V6 Icon, because I would want one that I could spec up using the Pro-Shop!

Find out about the Vintage Pro Shop - Click here.

Final comments.

I initially had low expectations about this guitar until I received it.  Whilst there are some minor blemishes with the finish on the neck, this guitar could very easily sit in my collection and I would play it every day.  The tuning stability is exceptional and I love the tones from the Wilkinson Alnico V pickups.  This guitar feels robust and I would be very happy to use it as one of my guitars when I go out doing gigs.  Personally, if I was to buy one, I would go for a UK Pro Shop model because this is a seriously cool initiative that is accessible in terms of price compared to that of similar options with Fender etc.

It sounds great, does a great job of being in tune and with the relic finish looks cool.  What's not to love?

What to find out more about this particular guitar? Click here.

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