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NGD: MIJ Stratocaster (I think I need help Identifying it)


walleyealx

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Got this at a pawn shop today for less than the cost of a new MIM strat and it came with a hard case.

 

It's basically flawless except that the "made in japan" was rubbed/sanded off.

 

According to the serial number it was made in the Fujijen Plant in 1986. The stamp on the heel and in the guitar body says '98. I guess this just could've been a stamping mistake in the factory but I don't know.

 

Also, the stamps on the heel and in the neck pocket read: ST-62DEX and ST-62D, respectively. That makes me believe that it's a 62 reissue.

 

Any other input??

 

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I'd say it's definitely from the 90s. Most (maybe all) the Japanese Fenders and Squiers from the 80s have the 'Made In Japan' on the headstock, not the flat of the back of the neck. Some 'Made In Japan' guitars were so stamped in that area, but very often, 'Crafter in Japan' guitars are stamped there.

 

Kind of odd that someone would remove the 'Made in Japan', but leave the serial number. What are the first few characters of your serial number?

 

Here's one I just got. '62 Reissue. I'm assuming mine is from 1996 because of the 50th Anniversary tag.

 

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What's missing at the base of the neck is "Crafted in Japan" The "A" in the serial number makes it a CIJ from 1998.

 

Crafted in Japan' followed by:

A + " * 1997 - 1998

B + " * 1998 - 1999

O + 6 digits 1997 - 2000

P + " 1999 - 2002

Q + " 2002 - 2004

R + " 2005 -

 

Very nice looking, enjoy.

 

 

I just picked up a lefty "E" series '62 RI that is fantastic. Gotta love the strat.

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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the neck has a skunk stripe on it. The '62 RI's don't have the skunk.

 

 

Those aren't 62 RI tuners either.

 

My mid late 80s 62 ri has the sticker OVER the clearcoat. I have no idea what it has stamped in the pocket because i have the neck right where I want it finally after 20 years. It has a metal pickguard under the plastic one. It weighs nothing. like 6 pounds. The SN starts with a V and is stamped into the neck plate. I think. I can't remember. Maybe that's my kramer. It has no skunk stripe. It came with a 3-position switch and I had the 5 position installed before I took it home.

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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the neck has a skunk stripe on it. The '62 RI's don't have the skunk.

 

I meant to type 'Not a '62 Reissue'. :lol:

 

As in, mine is of similar vintage, but not a Reissue at all. No vintage tuners, no neck pocket truss rod adjustment.

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I meant to type '
Not
a '62 Reissue'.
:lol:

As in, mine is of similar vintage, but not a Reissue at all. No vintage tuners, no neck pocket truss rod adjustment.

 

From past readings of yours, I knew you were very knowledgeable about strats so I was a bit perplexed when you said your guitar was a '62 RI. Sorry, didn't mean any harm.

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From past readings of yours, I knew you were very knowledgeable about strats so I was a bit perplexed when you said your guitar was a '62 RI. Sorry, didn't mean any harm.

 

'Sall good... Amazing how much of a difference one tiny word can make... esp when that word is 'not'.

 

:lol:

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I have never seen an MIJ with a date like that in the pocket, have seen em with the same markings on the neck though. All my `80s FJs have a pencil date on the neck butt, not all have Made in Japan on the headstock, model markings should match on both the neck and body, from the little we can see here appears to be a body matched to a neck, possibly did not leave the factory that way. Making a mistake with the neck date, `spose it`s possible, anything is possible with FJ but 1986 and 1998...seems far fetched. Do MIMs have a pocket date stamped like that? I have some early `90s FJs with a pencil date others with the date written on a piece of masking tape stuck under the pick guard. Since MIJ Fenders are so sought after these days could be a previous owner of this one scratched the CIJ off the base of the neck though I have seen some MIJs here that had that removed a long time ago evidently, looks like some people didn`t see how popular the MIJs would become all these years later and might have been ashamed of the MIJ thing. Still, if it sounds good and plays good it is good.

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1986 was a bit of a weird year for Fender. It was the first year of production at the new Corona plant. That year they built only AVRI guitars in the US. AFAIK, and I could be wrong, that year they built all other Fender production guitars except for the reissues in Japan.

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might just be production codes since there was more than one factory making them, I`ve seen all kinds of stuff in neck pockets. And as far as I know Fender Japan never named any of their models reissues, American Fender builds those, it seems only people outside Japan can`t stop calling them reissues. True, FJs are based on US models, thats why they use certain years in model numbers but they don`t have to be precise copies of the originals...but even F/USA keeps changing and reissuing their reissues. How many changes have been made to the `52 RI teles? I have a lot of FJ catalogs going back a ways and nowhere do they mention the term reissue, so if you buy an FJ and it has a skunk stripe or a string tree or a neck shape...the list is long...and it doesn`t fit the US versions, thats why. They even had a model that featured a US made micro tile neck with US tuners, a 2 point Standard type bridge married to an MIJ body made around those mysterious years concerned with the Corona plant. Theres a lot of weird FJ stuff out there and so far I`ve never net nor heard of anybody who has all the answers.

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