Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Scotty477 on December 01, 2007, 02:14:32 AM
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Does anyone have a MIJ Strat here?
I'm no expert on strats in general, so I'm looking to see what difference (if any) there is between a MIA and MIJ Strat.
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I think its fair to say that the Japanese strats are at least as good as the USA made ones.
I have a MIJ strat, and was delighted with it as soon as I got it.
There are 2 types you can get, which are basswood bodys with stock pickups, or alder body with texas specials.
The weakness of MIJ is the electronics, but these can be swapped out fairly simply (especially if you are looking to upgrade to Bareknuckle pick ups).
What you have to get is a "non-export" model, which is one that Fender didn't want to leave Japan, as the quality is better than the ones that they do export. This limits your purchasing options, but these websites might be usefull...
http://www.guitaremporium.co.uk/
A good informative website, though the person who runs it was very rude and unhelpful when I emailed him, so I chose not to purchase from here, but its worth a look around, even if only to find out what you want to buy.
http://www.fareastguitars.co.uk/
These are second hand guitars that he imports from Japan, though they are in near mint condition (and any blemishes are well noted in the extensive photographs).
I cant find the website where I purchased mine, but I'll have a route round and if I find it Ill post it here. It was a shop based in Northern Ireland, selling brand new japanese fenders, for slightly cheaper than the guitar emporium, and they also had an exellent return policy, so that you had 10 days with the guitar, and if you didn't like it you could return it for your money back, no questions asked! The guitar emporium agreed to pricematch this website, but not to the return policy, and I didn't like to buy "blind" so to speak, when there was an option of effectively "try before you buy".
38th Beatle is a member of these forums who has USA strat and a Jap strat, so I'd seek out his opinions, as he was very helpfull when I was asking around before I bought my guitar.
Hope this helps....(and sorry If I'm rambling!)
Mark
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Great answer Bob-you pretty much covered the ground I would have and I can only endorse what you have said. There are, as Bob says, two distinctions with the guitars made for export and those for the Japanese domestic market- basswood and alder respectively( though there are some "non export" guitars made of ash though I have seen more Teles than Strats). There is nothing wrong in basswood per se but having played both types, I must admit that the "non export" models do seem to be nicer all round-not that there is anything greatly wrong with any Japanese made Fenders.The electrics are their weakness and I do find the bridge to be a little unstablel but nothing that causes any great issues. I see elsewhere that you are keen on blues in which case I am glad to see you around and I hope that you get in that band. I play bass in a blues/funk band
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Was that shop McGuitars (http://mcguitars.co.uk/shop/), Bob?
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I have both MIJ (84-87 made) and USA (1993 made) Strats.
Both play really well, but I find myself playing the Jap strat more at the minute. I dunno if it's because it's an older guitar, but I just prefer the feel of the Jap 1.
In the USA 1 I have a Crawler in the bridge with Irish Tours in middle and neck, and I plan to put a VHII/Irish Tour/Irish Tour combo in the Jap strat in the near future.
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Ive had a 90's USA and a 80's MIJ Fender and Fernandes. The USA had the best hardware and setup of them all but after tweaking the 80's MIJ played just as good but sounded better acoustically, the MIJ was a heavier ash which i like best.
The old MIJ Fernandes i bought for next to nothing, it was a HSS and it was in pretty bad shape, it took me some time to get it playable again but after i fixated the broken bridge it played good enough for my purposes back then, the pickups werent that bad either at least alot better then the MIJ Fender. Also after getting the neck back into its proper shape i could set the action very low, even lower then the others if i wanted. It could be that i was a bit too carefull with the USA Fender though, but anyway, had a really good time with the Fernandes so maybe its a guitar to consider if you want a cheap MIJ strat. Ow and i would suggest a ash body with maple/rosewood neck, they just sound so classic stratlike that you allmost have to love it. The Fernandes also had a bit fatter neck if i recall correctly, which suited me prefectly.
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Thanks for that people.
The only thing I'd like to know is how you can tell an export strat from the ones the were meant to stay in Japan?
I've had zero experience with basswood and very little with alder. I'm assuming that they have different serial numbers?
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Actually i have been snooping around just now and found some terrific bargains like the '62 Fender USA reissue from around 2000. Appearently they sold that many the used market isnt interested in them, and they are really nice.
The cost of a japanese strat is way higher then they are when i had my strats, im guesstimating that the USA reissues cost 50% more then the MIJ fender strats. Maybe there is some kind of hype going atm.
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Not answering your question, but I'd just like to say if you're buying new(ish) don't rule out MIM Fenders.
The build and finish quality is excellent (and seems to be improving all the time), timber quality's good and the pots and switches are US so they don't need replacing (unlike all far eastern guitars).
My Mexican Robert Cray Strat is every bit as good as any of the seven or eight 80s/90s US Strats I've owned.
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I think that "made in Japan" means an "export" model and therefore most likely to be basswood and "crafted in Japan" is a "non export" model and therefore likely to be alder. Not 100% reliable but a general rule AFAIK. There is a sister site to that of Far East guitars and I seem to recall there was a lot of useful info.I haven't had time to check it out today but will try to unless you get to it first.
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+1 on what Philly Q said
I do really think just trying out some different strat samples in local shops would be better then trusting on a brands reputation. I do think, like with gibson there is some variation in quality, an old squire strat can just as well be the perfect MIJ strat youre looking for. In the end the keepers are always the best players IMO.
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The old MIJ Squire/Squier Strats have a great reputation, so don't let the name on the headstock fool you.
I know a guy that owns about 7 or 8 strats, several of which are Jap Squier Strats and he prefers them to his USA 1s :)
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Thanks again for all the info there.
With regard to MIM Strats, my only experience is from a few years ago trying out several in a store, with a friend. Of all the ones that we tried only one really felt ok to play.
Maybe I'll have another look at MIM's if the MIJ one doesn't pan out.
As an aside the best Strat shape that I've ever played wasn't a Fender. It was a Fernandes. It had a natural finish with a maple neck and looked pretty plain but it played like a dream.
Wish I'd bought it now :roll:
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Yeah Fernandes has a different feel to it, its a bit fatter and chunkier IMO. But you should love that factor.
Im not going the strat road again, im 'spoiled by gibson'. I do have a selfmade Tele though(errr self assembled i mean), i always seem to nudge the volume pots on a strat when things get funky nowadays .... :oops:
Thats something to consider also, my Tele is a Alder/Walnut/maple/rosewood one which sounds very bright but still has nice round mids.
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Was that shop McGuitars (http://mcguitars.co.uk/shop/), Bob?
Yes, I am pretty sure it was!
Thanks
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My MIJ 57R Strat will hold up against any US-made Strat. Easily.
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I have a 54-Reissue Jap Strat and the build quality is excellent - upgraded the electrics and pups (Texas Specials, sorry but I got them in the USA for £65.....) - with few exceptions, the Jap Strats have vintage-style frets and only 21 of them - you get 22 on the USA ones.
I have owned (bought and sold) many Jap Squier Strats and my cost v quality recommendation would be to go for an E-Series MIJ Squier - they are post JV series but the build quality and most fittings are excellent - much better than the 'Silver Series' which you see quite often on eBay. Change the electrics and pups and you have an excellent Strat for not much £££.
Mike
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I got rid of the Texas Specials in mine too - replaced with a trio of Lace Sensors, Red in the bridge, Silver in the middle and Blue in the neck.
Replaced the tuners too, I don't like the split-shaft ones and also fitted a Tremol-No to lock off the trem.
It's a $%&#ing beast now.
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Fundamentally, any MIJ Fender is going to be basically good and any shortcomings are fixable and worthwhile. I'd echo Mr Ed's comments-on mine the tuners are not that great and I am considering blocking off the trem the old fashioned way or maybe a temelo-no as has been mentioned already.At some point I will probably go for a callaham bridge and trem block but the guitar is worth spending money on for sure ( it has Bareknuckle Slowhands in it for instance). I would say that construction and finish are easily on a par with my old US Strat-having said that, the old one is my "go to" guitar because I have had her so long. I am currently thing of retiring the old girl and am looking at either promoting the MIM Tele I have or getting yet another Strat-I have tried a couple of the MIM "Player" models and both felt extremely good but I only played them "unplugged" in a noisy environment so couldn't really judge and so did not buy as I was pushed for time. They are worth looking at as Philly said. Check out Far East guitars too as he tends to have great quality 2nd hand grey imports from Japan- the "crafted in Japan" models I mentioned earlier.
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It should be added that the 'crafted in Japan' label is the internal market designation from 1997 onwards - prior to that it was 'Made in Japan' as after about 1998 Fender Japan didn't (officially) export 'Fender' labelled guitars on all but a special basis (even though you could always buy them in UK and Europe).
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Thanks for the advice.
There certainly seems to be a lot of variation out there for Strats in general.
I'll be keeping a close eye on ebay for a bit now.
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I got rid of the Texas Specials in mine too - replaced with a trio of Lace Sensors, Red in the bridge, Silver in the middle and Blue in the neck.
Replaced the tuners too, I don't like the split-shaft ones and also fitted a Tremol-No to lock off the trem.
It's a #$%!& beast now.
How is the red one in the bridge? I'm currently looking at different options for my strat, leaning towards going HSS as I always find the bridge singlecoil too thin and weak compared to the neck and middle, and its too twangy/not compressed enough for rock imho.
fwiw, I've had good experience with MIM Fender products, currently got a MIM neck on my strat and it feels great once you sand the shine off the finish. Also had a MIM '57 style neck that I bought from PhilKing which was really nice, just not my style. I found that on the modern MIM necks, the rosewood was more comfy, tried my mates which has a maple neck and the sides kinda digged into my fingers a bit :\
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How is the red one in the bridge? I'm currently looking at different options for my strat, leaning towards going HSS as I always find the bridge singlecoil too thin and weak compared to the neck and middle, and its too twangy/not compressed enough for rock imho.
That was exactly my dilemma. For choice, I'd have a humbucker in the bridge but the Red Lace Sensor is really hot, it's not as hot as a humbucker alone... but when I use it with my clean boost on my JCM900's dirty channel, it wails like a humbucker. Tone and sustain up the wazoo! Cleans up quite well, especially in position two which mixes with the Silver which is supposed to sound like a slightly fatter 70's singlecoil. The Blue at the neck is like a classic 50's singlecoil and they are a lot quieter than regular singles but do retain the thin glassy characteristics.
Dirty channel, lots of gain and just the Red is noticeably fatter than a singlecoil, hotter too... but for me you really need a clean boost or an EQ set with a mid-range hump to drive it into 'bucker territory.
They sound "true" enough to me to warrant having a Strat but still have enough power to melt your face. Singlecoils, real low power ones, are not for me but I still adore Strats.
Very worth it, it gave my Strat a whole new lease of life and prevented me from having to get it routed.
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I just bought a Japanese Strat on ebay :D
The price was just too good to pass up and it had a hard case. Seller is 100% as well.
I'll post picks on a new thread when I get it.
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Cool, looking forward to the pics.
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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Japan-Fender-Stratocaster-Case-Strat-not-Squier_W0QQitemZ180188789602QQihZ008QQcategoryZ33039QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
If it was this one then you got it for a song.......
Real bargain
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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Japan-Fender-Stratocaster-Case-Strat-not-Squier_W0QQitemZ180188789602QQihZ008QQcategoryZ33039QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
If it was this one then you got it for a song.......
Real bargain
It was indeed this one :)
It was a bit of a leap of faith as the pics weren't the greatest but I'm confident that all will be well.
It had only been listed for a few hours and I kind of had a feeling that it wasn't going to be there in the morning.
I'll let you know how it looks when I get it.
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The Stat arrived this morning and I'm pleased to say it was exactly as described.
It does need set up but I think I'm going to treat this as a project and modify it to my liking.
I'm thinking Irish Tour pup's initially and then I'll take a look at the rest. It has Gotoh keys which at first look seem to keep good tuning, although the 5 spring trem needs to really pushed to get any action.
What can I say? For a couple of hundred quid I'm happy :D
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Congratulations!
The E series is very highly regarded together with the JV series.
I have tried a JV last week, it came very close to an original 60's strat ive played some years ago. The pickups needed a good kick in the rear tho....
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I have a 54 MIJ strat and a 62 MIJ tele custom. The strat is from 82 and the tele from about 92. The neck on the tele is exactly the same shape and feel as the neck on my real 1962 tele. The difference is the pickups and body wood. The strat is very different to a 54 (I have played a 54, 56 and I own a 57). The older necks were much fatter than this one is, though the newer MIJ models are closer (I had a Hank Marvin which had a 54 neck which was massive). I also have a MIM strat, which has a nice C shape generic feel neck. Overall, I would have no problem in buying either the MIJ or MIM, but the MIJ is more accurate for the vintage feel.
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I played a MIM 50's classic player selected out of a bunch yesterday, amazing little guitar and so powerfull compared to the others! Nice maple neck/ash body or alder body dont know anymore, but it sounded very bright and sparkly. Also the 'soft V' chunky neck shape was just perfect for my hands. Amazing little guitar, and so light!
The only offputting thing was its horrible setup which makes me think about how good it will be when properly setup, and the feel of the poly finish was kind of weird too.
It sounded better then the MIJ JV IMHO.
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Yeah, the Classic Player Strats are great! :D The bodies are alder, and the poly finish is supposed to be thinner than usual so the body resonance is less "damped".
I like the wiring on the '50s model too, you get neck+bridge in position 4 instead of neck+middle. I'm going to copy that on my Strat.
The only reason I didn't get a Classic Player was that I really didn't want a tremolo - so I got my hardtail Robert Cray Strat instead.
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The only reason I didn't get a Classic Player was that I really didn't want a tremolo - so I got my hardtail Robert Cray Strat instead.
Same here, BUT on the other side i would like to have one since i dont even have 1 guitar with tremelo anymore :oops:
The pickups on the classic players are great, its just a total finished package which is kind of appealing. On the other hand i seem to get something really nice out of my efforts on old guitars.
Ill be letting this whole strat thing sink in a bit more untill i find something im 100% sure i want. Im pretty sure it will have a maple neck and alder or ash body, prefer a good sounding alder body most, but if i cant find one ash would be fine.
Makes me wonder if a floyd would be much better then a vintage type tremelo.
EDIT: I would like to add that out of the 5 classic players i tried 3 were absolute firewood(sounded really dull and flimsy acoustically), one was reasonable for a maple/rosewood/ash combination but i dont think this combination works that well unless you really have it made perfectly, its kindoff a complex sound which just has to be tweaked the right way IMO.
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I've joined this thread a bit late, but I have a MIJ '57 re-issue Strat I bought as my main gigging guitar in 1997. It proved to be a real 'winner' at less than half the price of an American version.
The only draw back ( to be nit picking ) - being that the pots and electrics where the smaller import type, and although they never failed on me, I did not rest until I had replaced them with CTS pots and sheilded the pickup cavities e.t.c. Still great for the price though !
I must stress however, that it gigged and sounded good straight out of the box, with the usual minimum tweaking and fret / fret board cleaning.
It has proved very versatile, and prior to obtaining a Baja Tele, was the only guitar that was the sonic equivalent of a Swiss army knife.
F.F.
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Yeah, the Classic Player Strats are great! :D The bodies are alder, and the poly finish is supposed to be thinner than usual so the body resonance is less "damped".
I like the wiring on the '50s model too, you get neck+bridge in position 4 instead of neck+middle. I'm going to copy that on my Strat.
The only reason I didn't get a Classic Player was that I really didn't want a tremolo - so I got my hardtail Robert Cray Strat instead.
FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!