Fender strat: American or Japanese.

  • Thread starter Thread starter smilestoned
  • Start date Start date
"If you want to buy a guitar as an investment and hang it on your wall, you may do better buying a USA made Strat. However, if you want a guitar that sounds great at an affordable price it would be hard to beat the MIJ reissue Strats from the 90s."

thats true, but your gonna have to wait about 30 years for it to be worth more than you paid for it.

alot of people say that the CBS era strats are garbage. There is one artist that played exclusively on CBS strats...thats Jimi Hendrix. Eddie Kramer said that Jimi liked brand new strats right off the wall of a muisic store.

That reinforces my feelings about strats. The sound of the instrument is 90% in the players hands, not the instrument itself.

Jimmy Vaughn said that Stevie Ray could get his tone out of a peice of shit solid state amp and a cheap ass strat knockoff...put them in his hands and his tone would be there.
 
I believe CBS owned Fender from about 1967 to 1982.During that 15 year period,the USA Fender stuff was "corporatized" i.e run by cigar-smoking suits who didn't know a tone pot from a potted plant.So the quality suffered a bit during those years,when the corporate bottom line was more important than QC.And that's maybe why the vintage gear and more recent USA stuff has a better reputation than the CBS produced guitars.
Tom

have an '83 American Standard Strat,tobacco sunburst
 
philboyd studge said:
Hey Firebird,

Does that mean my MIJ '86 strat isn't a worthless piece of crap after all?
Click to expand...

I haven't been able to find much info on the Fender guitars made in the 80s. However, I wouldn't call it "a worthless piece of crap." All the Fender guitars from that era were imports because when Bill Schultz and his colleagues bought the company from CBS in 85 all they got was the name, the patents and some parts that were left in stock. They didn't get any buildings or machines to build guitars with. They didn't start making guitars in the USA until 87.

They hadn't started the big hole routing and fotoflame stuff yet, so I don't think there would be anything wrong with your guitar. But, A lot of people will trash it just because it says Made in Japan. If you wanted to sell it, it won't bring as high a price, but if you don't want to sell it that doesn't matter.
 
Nope, I don't want to sell it. With the micro tuners it stays in tune like you wouldn't believe...even when using the whammy bar a lot. I think I paid $300 for it in '86 with a case.
 
I don't rtash it simply cuz it's says made in Japan, I trash it cuz I've owned about 6 of them, and all them sucked.

The bottom line is the best USA made strats will blow the doors off a MIJ strat in all aspects. I've seen late 50's USA made strats that are still touring and holding up well. I rarely had a tremelo system in a MIJ strat last more then 3 months. Without re&re'ing the hardware, a MIU Strat will never attain the longevity.

There's only one Stratocaster. The USA Fender.
It's as American as apple pie and Chevrolet and the classic strat tone has never been the MIJ Strats.

It's a useless debate cuz those who own them will defend them and thats natural, but when you really step outside of the bias, there no way you can hold up a MIJ copy as the champion of Fender Strats.
 
Of all six you owned, were all of them 60's reissues with "Made in Japan" down by the neck joint?

I've played MIJ Strats. Loved the way they PLAYED. Didn't love the sound because, of course, the electronics are crap. Swap out the pickups and the trem. E-bay works wonders. Many luthiers who probably know more about guitars than most anybody on this bbs, have said that MIJ Strats are some of the finest guitars attatched to the Fender name. These guys make Strat style guitars that blow aways ANY MIA Strat I don't care what year. So they know all about what a great Strat is.

The guy behind the counter of my local superstore (yeah yeah I know) owns an early sixties MIA Strat, and 3 MIJ Strat 60's reissues. He loves them both equally. Now I know what you're thinking but he wasn't some zit faced 16 year old kid. He has been playing guitar for longer than i've been alive. Go figure, a guy at a superstore who actually knows his stuff. Sure, he still wanted to make me think that MIJ Strats go for $600 but anyways...that's his job.
 
We're not saying that all MIJ Strats are great guitars, just the ones made in the Fugi Gen Gakki factory during the 90s.

Furthermore, There is nothing wrong with the electronics in these guitars. They're as good as any Fender made any time. All the best electronic parts come from Japan and it's been that way for at least 25 years.
 
well there ya go, the MIJ strats I owned were from the 80's.
In the 90's I bought an Ibanez witha Floyd. It was a damn good guitar. Much better than any of the MIJ Strat's I had owned previous to that.

But Guitar Man, do you seriously think a MIJ 60's re-issue is better than a real vintage 60's US Strat?
You sound like you're coming from the angle that guitar luthiers know more about a guitar than the guys they are taking specs from and building them for(players like Clapton, Beck and Blackmore)?? I'd say thes eplayers know lots about STrats too, and none of them have sacked there vintage collections for MIJ 60's re-issues, as good as that guitar may be for it's price range,.
 
I don't think anybody is saying that the MIJ Strats from the 90s are better then the USA made Guitars from the 50s, 60s 70s or even the early 80s. But, I think they are just as good as any of those guitars and better than anything that Fender in making now. Better yet, you can buy one for only about $350.00!
 
Ace2000 said:
well there ya go, the MIJ strats I owned were from the 80's.
In the 90's I bought an Ibanez witha Floyd. It was a damn good guitar. Much better than any of the MIJ Strat's I had owned previous to that.

But Guitar Man, do you seriously think a MIJ 60's re-issue is better than a real vintage 60's US Strat?
You sound like you're coming from the angle that guitar luthiers know more about a guitar than the guys they are taking specs from and building them for(players like Clapton, Beck and Blackmore)?? I'd say thes eplayers know lots about STrats too, and none of them have sacked there vintage collections for MIJ 60's re-issues, as good as that guitar may be for it's price range,.
Click to expand...

I never said they were better. I said many people like them just as much as the sixties strats. If you think that Clapton is playing a stock Fender, you're living in a fool's paradise. Now, if guitar god X has the choice between a 40 year old guitar and a reasonably priced import that plays just as well, guitar god x is going to choose the vintage guitar every time. Partially snob appeal, partially the fact that the wood has been aging for 40 years. The vintage is going to sound better.

Yes, I would say that whoever built the guitar is going to know more about it than the guy playing it. Because HE BUILT IT. Show me a luthier that doesn't play guitar.
 
Ya, Jimi Hendrix to name one.

can I pose a different question about assembly line Fenders made TODAY.???

which would you rather get a MIM re-issue, or a MIJ STRat?

I think the MIM re-issues are alright, much better after you re&re the hardware and circuitry., but what are your opinions?

anybody own one care to give an opinion?
 
"Ya, Jimi Hendrix to name one. "

*cough*

I meant somebody at the factory...
 
Leo had a lot of guys that would play his guitars and amps and offer advice, but none of them were on the payroll.

About the MIMs, I think they're okay guitars. I don't think I would buy one, but I wouldn't buy one made in the USA ether.
 
Stump has one, he seems to like it....when he can keep strings on it.
 
Got to join this,
I got one of each, the Jap sounds nicer but has far less volume, the US has jumbo frets and I call it the "Dream Machine" it really is, however the Jap has a fabulous 7.5 radius fret board, which is great for clean chords, I wouldn't part with either, Iv'e also owned 2 CBS strats and a CBS tele but the current two both are really great to play. I have set them both up, filed and dressed the frets on both, I think out of the box the US played better but it is also a maple fret board.
But when it come down to it a machine is a machine and a good machinist can be from any place on the planet.
I once lived in the 3rd world for a few years and I saw some machinists that were as good as any I have worked with in 5 countries, so I guess what I am trying to say is just because a thing is made in any country, don't necessarily rubbish it.
 
Clive Hugh makes a very good point. A lot of people seem to think that all of the great craftsman are in the USA and that simply isn't true. There are great craftsman who take pride in there work all over the world. Some might be better than those here at home.
 
Luthier that didn't play guitar

There is a local luthier in Provo, UT named Ken Sitka. He doesn't play guitar but he makes the best sounding acoustic guitars. It's pretty funny how that works sometimes. I put him right up there with the best luthiers for custom guitars in the nation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top