Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Jonny on March 12, 2009, 03:21:51 AM
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What's the say on these guitars? Pretty good quality? US quality?
First thought was that anything Japan was pretty awesome. Was thinking of getting an old Stratocaster maybe.
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They are indeed pretty darn good and are consistent. There seem to be two main categories: the "made in Japan" guitars made for the export market and the "Crafted in Japan" made for the Japanese domestic market.Some say the latter are the best-they certainly seem to use US made pickups and pots/switches and they tend to be available as grey imports and therefore more expensive. I am sure I have over simplified but that is basically my understanding of it. I have a Japanese "made in Japan" Strat and it is very well put together and plays very well. No complaints whatsoever and now that it is played in, a guitar I use a lot.
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As Mr38th says, they're great guitars. This guys imports them for a reasonable price:
www.fareastguitars.co.uk
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my CIJ '62 reissue is much better than my old mex strat, easilyl as good if not better than 2 USA strats i have.
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+1
Been posted before but....
Some differences v USA Strats - MIJ/CIJ have vintage frets and most have 21 rather than 22 frets - there is some variation in neck profiles too - 62 and 57 tend to be more D profile, the 54 reissue is a 'soft V' and is quite a chunky neck if you have wussy hands like me!
My top tip in terms of value for money and quality is a 1984-1987 E series Jap Squier - limited colour range (no sunburst) but otherwise fantastic quality
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IMO older Jap strats are about the same quality as the more modern Mexican output - like the Classic Player range. A vintage reissue doesn't come up to the same standard as the current US vintage reissues though (although, also not the price).
But be warned - lots of basswood on the lesser models: I personally like the sound of basswood strats, but if you have a thing against it, make sure its got an alder body.
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Big Fender Japan fan here...
I have a the following:
CIJ 62 re-issue strat
CIJ 52 re-issue tele
MIJ 62 re-issue custom tele
All three are gorgeous - the MIJ tele (not so sure this is "grey" import in any way, the others are) is possibly the best of the three, but I'm still in "honeymoon" mode :lol:
The CIJ strat is my #1 guitar and beats the hell out of my early 80's JV Squier - but that's mainly because the Squier has a much thinner neck (and it's a bit old and battered now). I loved this neck when I bought it in 82/3, but I wouldn't buy one now - I prefer the chunkier and apparently "more vintage-correct" :roll: necks on my recent CIJ/MIJ guitars.
At present, I personally would ALWAYS buy Fender Japan instead of US. The Mexican Fenders are a very close second for me and they seem to be getting better and better. In fact, the Roadworn tele I tried is probably the best guitar I've ever played, but for me it wasn't £200 better than the MIJ next to it :lol:
I have to confess I've not tried any Custom Shops to compare against the Japanese stuff - but that's only because CS are in a price range that I'm personally not prepared to pay for "just a guitar" :lol:. I'd like to think CS are the dogs-b0ll0cks, but I just don't want to find this out for certain while they cost 2-3 times as much as the guitars I love already!
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I'd like to think CS are the dogs-b0ll0cks, but I just don't want to find this out for certain while they cost 2-3 times as much as the guitars I love already!
You don't want to hear this, but......
they ARE the dogs danglies :P
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Just don't ever try one, Andy! :lol:
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I'd like to think CS are the dogs-b0ll0cks, but I just don't want to find this out for certain while they cost 2-3 times as much as the guitars I love already!
You don't want to hear this, but......
they ARE the dogs danglies :P
That's what I reckon :lol:
Just don't ever try one, Andy! :lol:
Don't worry on that score :lol:
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Away from canine gonads and back on topic, I think Fender Japan are equal (or very close) to USA, better than Mexico, on craftsmanship and attention to detail. But they fall short a bit on quality of hardware and electronics.
The only thing which puts me off is the 7.25" radius, skinny frets thing. I do much prefer a 9.5" radius and bigger frets.
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Away from canine gonads and back on topic, I think Fender Japan are equal (or very close) to USA, better than Mexico, on craftsmanship and attention to detail. But they fall short a bit on quality of hardware and electronics.
The only thing which puts me off is the 7.25" radius, skinny frets thing. I do much prefer a 9.5" radius and bigger frets.
Hmm. That might be an issue for me too.
Thanks for all the responses
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nice guitars. i think the CIJ/MIJ thing is to do with age rather than model- before a certain year, they were MIJ, after, CIJ. Could be wrong, though.
If you're not averse to second-hand, though, just cut out the middle man and get a tokai. though be careful, it's often hard to identify them, and there are fakes (though you could of course say the exact same things about fenders).
or for a little more, get a bacchus or something like that. i've seen bacchuses going on ebay for a similar amount to CIJ Fenders... amazing what a brand name will do to resale values. awesome when you're selling, not so good when you're buying... :lol:
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nice guitars. i think the CIJ/MIJ thing is to do with age rather than model- before a certain year, they were MIJ, after, CIJ. Could be wrong, though.
If you're not averse to second-hand, though, just cut out the middle man and get a tokai. though be careful, it's often hard to identify them, and there are fakes (though you could of course say the exact same things about fenders).
or for a little more, get a bacchus or something like that. i've seen bacchuses going on ebay for a similar amount to CIJ Fenders... amazing what a brand name will do to resale values. awesome when you're selling, not so good when you're buying... :lol:
You mean the Tokai Silver Stars or something like that.
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the cij being export and mij being japan only is a myth, it was just a clause in the original fender japan contract that stated if the factory changed from the original then they had to change from mij.
I have played many many fender usa teles in the shops.. and liked none. My cij is exactly what a tele should be.. thats all i can say on the quality.
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The MIJ strats I've played are very close to, if not on par with, the MIAs. At the very least, closer to them than the MIMs.
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the cij being export and mij being japan only is a myth,
yeah, that's what i meant, i've heard that too, i don't think it's anything to do with quality. :)
You mean the Tokai Silver Stars or something like that.
yeah... silverstars are the CBS strat copies... haven't tried them, but allegedly they're the same quality as the other tokais, except cheaper as people don't want them as much (well, except for they copied the cr@pper sustain block on the trem of the CBS strats, or something like that). goldstars are the 50s and 60s strat copies... springysounds are the strat copies from before about 1984, i think?
not certain :lol:
bear in mind there's a range of different models, ranging from st-50 (around MIJ Fender quality, 3-piece bodies etc.) to st100 (high-end, one-piece body, nitro finish, V neck, etc.). it can be difficult to tell which is which... and a lot of the sellers take advantage of that. :(
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DaveMC quote: before a certain year, they were MIJ, after, CIJ. Could be wrong, though.
No,you're right indeed!The first ones (MIJ) were the JV's (82-84),Japan Vintage.Some of them (83-84) were sent in Europe (only plain colour)but most were made for the Japanese market.It's written under the neck base but you have to take the neck out to see it .Those were made with US PU's.The CIJ's are more recent and not necessarily vintage-correct.
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cheers viking :)
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cheers viking :)
:drink: