MIJ Stratocaster - Opinions?

[Scotty477]

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.

[.50 Caliber Bob]

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

[38thBeatle]

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

[headtheball]

Was that shop McGuitars, Bob?

[Brow]

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.

[Henk]

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.

[Scotty477]

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?

[Henk]

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.

[Philly Q]

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.

[38thBeatle]

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.

[Henk]

+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.

[Brow]

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 :)

[Scotty477]

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:

[Henk]

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.

[.50 Caliber Bob]

Was that shop McGuitars, Bob?

Yes, I am pretty sure it was!

Thanks