Members freakk guitarist Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 what is the general opinion on thease. i know japanese guitars (atleast the ones ive owned) are amazing, they play very very well, and feel incredibly sturdy. how would a 62 custom MIA tele stack up to a MIJ of the same guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bullzeye Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 from what i hear the japanese fenders are better than the MIA strats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members weebz Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 I posted a thread about the MIJ aerodyne series the other day and it got nothing but praise from everyone here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bullzeye Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 isn't that why they shut down the japanese factory because the jap strats were better?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 no... because they are still producing guitars and never stopped. 80s FJs are among my favorites... but that doesn`t mean they are all keepers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EvanS Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 Originally posted by bullzeye isn't that why they shut down the japanese factory because the jap strats were better?? The MIJ rep -was- getting a little out of control. My first guitar teacher had a wonderful MIJ strat that whipped the hell out of the other teachers' USA strats... amazing acoustic sound, even better plugged in, etc. I know people were actively seeking out Japanese stuff over American in the 80s in my area - I've talked to a number of guys. But I think the biggest factor, and the ultimate bottom line, was cost. It was just cheaper to move operations to Korea and drop the cost even lower. Fender, like everyone else, realized the killer market was in the entry-level stuff, and they stood to make cash hand over fist from the Korean and later Indonesian production. The fact that the Japanese quality was a bit of an embarassment and probably helped end production there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bgmacaw Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 They're good guitars but there is a ton of hype about them. A lot of this has been driven by EBay sellers of them who've made a killing on the mythical Japanese mojo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members santos Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 I've read a lot of positives about the MIJ stuff here, but I don't have much knowledge. When were Fenders produced in Japan? Are some styles or models more desireable? I guess I just want to know what to look for, in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ExtraGum Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 H Y P E I pick up soooo many Japanese Fenders that are mediocre at best... Basswood body Zinc inertia block Ceramic pups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim gueguen Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 Fender started offering Japanese produced guitars in 1982, and continues to this day, although sales are largely limited to Japan at the moment except for specific models, like the recent Antigua Strat reissue. Fender is currently looking for a new Japanese factory, as Fujigen Gakki, the primary producer of Japanese Fenders since 1982(and the makers of the Japanese Ibanezes) is dropping guitar production at the end of this year to concentrate on its car parts division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Norcal_GIT_r Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 I have a 95 MIJ Tele that is one of the very nicest best built and playing Fenders I've ever experienced. Earlier this year I went to buy a tele, and went to GC to try some out. Well I tried over 15 different models of teles and not a one felt as nice or sounded as nice as my MIJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators The Eristic Posted June 8, 2005 Moderators Share Posted June 8, 2005 Originally posted by ExtraGum .Basswood body Basswood can be a great wood. Some of the most sought after Fender Japan guitars are basswood. Also, Tom Anderson and many other boutique guys charge way more than $600 for guitars with basswood bodies. ;^) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rlee111 Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 I own 2 MIJ 50's reissue strats and they sound and feel like the bees bollocks I {censored} you not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EvanS Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 Originally posted by tim gueguen dropping guitar production at the end of this year to concentrate on its car parts division. Will they be making.... fenders??! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ExtraGum Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 Originally posted by The Eristic Basswood can be a great wood. OK. But basswood is used as a cost saving measure, not because it is highly desireable in a traditional strat-style guitar. That's why when basswood is used on MIJ Fenders, other cost-cutting measures like a pot-metal trem block and crappy electronics are likely. Many such MIJ I've seen have been very, very comparable to the MIM standard series, but often sell for $500+ used. New MIK Fenders in that price range are just as, if not more, consistent and tend to have better woods, hardware and electronics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EvanS Posted June 8, 2005 Members Share Posted June 8, 2005 Originally posted by ExtraGum OK. But basswood is used as a cost saving measure, not because it is highly desireable in a traditional strat-style guitar. That's why when basswood is used on MIJ Fenders, other cost-cutting measures like a pot-metal trem block and crappy electronics are likely.Many such MIJ I've seen have been very, very comparable to the MIM standard series, but often sell for $500+ used. New MIK Fenders in that price range are just as, if not more, consistent and tend to have better woods, hardware and electronics. I'm with you except for teh very last part - many MIK Fenders I've played have had terrible electronics right out of the case. Bad switches, crackling pots, bad grounds, the works. Everything else is acceptable or above... especially the necks, which seem to be a definite notch above the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim gueguen Posted June 9, 2005 Members Share Posted June 9, 2005 Originally posted by EvanS Will they be making.... fenders??! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... From what i've heard they make dashboards and stuff like that. Go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted June 9, 2005 Members Share Posted June 9, 2005 evidently some of our distinguished members haven`t updated their data on Fender Japan since the 80s. I own several guitars from then and precisely none are basswood, some have US made p`ups, all have full size pots and steel switches and there are some models from back then that are all lacquer finished. The attached pic is my latest JV strat and should be a hint as to the p`ups. FJ used ash, alder, sen and basswood for guitars, plus I own an all walnut tele as well as another that is all rosewood, both from the 90s. FJ never stopped producing guitars, not sure how that story got started. It is very possible that FJ exported only basswood guitars and kept the good stuff for the domestic market and the internet has made buying from Japan very easy so lumping all FJs as basswood is simply misinformed. As far as I know there still are flights from America to Japan, come on over and see. Folks outside Japan don`t seem to be aware of the guitars made to order for the chain shops over here either, many of which are easily on par with anything Fender USA made, except the guitars Leo himself made of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wyatt Posted June 9, 2005 Members Share Posted June 9, 2005 There is a lot of misconception on this . The most important thing to remember are the FenderJapan and Fender-USA are two completely seperate companies. FenderUSA does not own Fender-Japan. Instead, Fender-USA licensed the Fender name and all sales rights to Asia to a company that was then incoprorated as Fender-Japan. Licensing is a great way to get some money and royalties from your brand name without actaully having to build the infrastructure and distribution network yourself. Anyway, from '82 through the mid-90's, Fender-USA would buy and import guitars from Fender-Japan as their mid-priced (relatively speaking) guitar line. Eventually, with the NAFTA, it became more affordable for Fender-USA to just build these guitars themselves in Mexico, and they phased out buying guitars from Fender-Japan (lately, they have been importing a few limited runs, like the Paisley Strat, the Antigua Strats and Teles, the Bigsby Teles, etc.). That said, Fender-Japan still makes dozens of models that they sale and distribute throughout Asia, where they have full rights to the Fender name. All US-built Fenders have to be bought and imported by Fender-Japan to reach an Asian store. As to quality, the legend that the Japanese-build Fenders were better than the US ones is entirely the product of one book, The Guitar Handbook where the author stated an opinion that Japanese-built lawsuit guitars had gotten better than the original American brands. That one quote form 1982 has blown into this whole myth about Fender and everyone else being worried about Japanese quality. The fact is, the fit and finish of a Japanese guitar is generally great, their strongest point, but Fender-USA rarely imported anything that wasn't basswood and didn't have unreliable OEM parts on them. If you have ever truly dealt with the crappy trem and tuners on a MIJ '6 RI or soemthing, you know what I mean. FJ does offer some great equivalent to the US RI series , but those aren't what you see here in the States. And they are they comparitvely priced to MIA RI's once yu pay duty/shipping etc. They are great guitars, and good bang for the buck, but I don't believe they stand out as being better than most MIA Fenders. At least with the MIA RI series, I get higher qulaity electronics and hardware. I mean, well, I don;t know what to say, I don't want to malign the Japanese Fenders I have had a few and they were nice pieces, and well priced (a few years ago you could get one used for $350), but I just want to put the bed any myth that they are considered better built or worried Fender-USA in the least. The decision to drop MIJ Fenders was a financial one. -Y. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hookstrapped Posted June 9, 2005 Members Share Posted June 9, 2005 Originally posted by Wyatt As to quality, the legend that the Japanese-build Fenders were better than the US ones is entirely the product of one book, The Guitar Handbook where the author stated an opinion that Japanese-built lawsuit guitars had gotten better than the original American brands. That one quote form 1982 has blown into this whole myth about Fender and everyone else being worried about Japanese quality.The fact is, the fit and finish of a Japanese guitar is generally great, their strongest point, but Fender-USA rarely imported anything that wasn't basswood and didn't have unreliable OEM parts on them. If you have ever truly dealt with the crappy trem and tuners on a MIJ '6 RI or soemthing, you know what I mean. FJ does offer some great equivalent to the US RI series , but those aren't what you see here in the States. And they are they comparitvely priced to MIA RI's once yu pay duty/shipping etc.They are great guitars, and good bang for the buck, but I don't believe they stand out as being better than most MIA Fenders. At least with the MIA RI series, I get higher qulaity electronics and hardware. In an otherwise good post, this stuff that Fender Japan quality is entirely the product of some book is rather ridiculous. It's the product of players' experience. My luthier, who has a mid-80s Tele, steered me to Fender Japan. He is a Gold Level Fender repair man and he believes Fender Japan has the best most consistent quality -- over MIA. Go to the TDPRI -- lots of Fender Japan fans who base their opinion on experience, not some book. What Fender USA imported from Japan, the lesser quality stuff, is kind of moot now (except for the used models floating around). If you want high quality Fender Japan guitars, the ones that get hyped, order from Ishibashi. And duty / shipping on a domestic (Japanese) market high quality Fender Japan model is $75. That puts it nowhere near a comparable MIA model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators The Eristic Posted June 9, 2005 Moderators Share Posted June 9, 2005 Originally posted by hookstrapped And duty / shipping on a domestic (Japanese) market high quality Fender Japan model is $75. That puts it nowhere near a comparable MIA model. FJ '52 RI Ash bodies, US pickups, streets for about half the price of the MIA '52 RI. Btw, here's my FJ masterpiece: http://community.webshots.com/photo/112416336/228456735uGYThm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted June 9, 2005 Members Share Posted June 9, 2005 never read the book. I base my opinion on the guitars I have in my hands. If someone plays the best that FJ has to offer and believes Fender USA stuff is superior then that opinion is, as far as I`m concerned, justified and should be acknowledged and respected. But unless and until the ExTrads or the custom editions or the ST62-115s, or any other of the high end FJ models are actually played and compared the F/USA models, then it is an opinion based on something other than experience. I do own a F/USA team built strat and the Keith tele that was made for the Japanese market by the F/USA custom shop so I did compare. Should be mentioned that it appears there is a knot in the wood of the custom shop strat that is popping out of the top of the strat, I`ll know for sure in a few years I guess but it sure looks like one. This is not a regular production model mind you but a custom shop. I do love both of those guitars but my ExTrad and custom editions are equal in every way. Again, come on over and see for yourselves the best that FJ makes/made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mazi Bee Posted June 9, 2005 Members Share Posted June 9, 2005 Originally posted by ExtraGum OK. But basswood is used as a cost saving measure, not because it is highly desireable in a traditional strat-style guitar. If it is a cost cutting measure, why do they use them on guitars that cost $2000 and up like the Peavey Wolfgang, the Ibanez JEM, and many Tom Anderson and Suhr guitars? Because it's a great tonewood, that's why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted June 9, 2005 Members Share Posted June 9, 2005 I read that John Suhr likes using the basswood body maple cap combo... he`s no slouch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted June 9, 2005 Members Share Posted June 9, 2005 and to reverse the situation...over here new MIA Fenders are priced about double what they go for in America. It is notable that most of the MIJ guitars from the 80s, not only Fenders, are becoming very collectable in Japan and cost more now than they did then. Call it hype if you want to but surely not all buyers over here have been hypnotized by whats written on the web or in books, in English by the way not Japanese, about the quality of the old FJs... and even if they did, why would folks continue to buy them? If they fell for the hype... I hate that word... bought one and felt....well, this is extremely average... why would they buy more? Sure you can fool somebody once or even twice but repeatedly? I understand some players may not like MIJs and thats fine but I can`t just sit idly by when people make completely false, misinformed or uninformed statements about the entire line-up of FJs when they haven`t even seen the entire line-up... I`ll say it again... if somebody plays FJs best and doesn`t like it for whatever reason and let me repeat, not all FJs are great, their low end stuff is priced that way for a reason then as today, well thats life, no guitar is all things to all peolpe. I`m not trying to convert anybody here I just think to make a blanket statement one should have as much data as possible and thats obvioulsly not the case for some opinions in this thread and getting info on FJ is a constant surprise because I frequently see models on the Japanese web that I had no idea existed so I have to reevaluate my data all the time.OK... back to playing...Oh and Wyatt... I doubt you`ve laid anything to rest...this debate will go on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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