MIJ Strats Misc Notes
MIJ Strats
Dating your Japanese made Fender by its serial is an inexact science but the following table will give you a reasonable idea of its date of manufacture. NOTE large scale official export to the UK/USA/Europe stopped around 98/99 with the 'B' serial.
*Note: From mid -1997 serials are prefaced by 'Crafted in Japan'. Prior to that exported guitars bore the phrase 'Made in Japan'. There is no intrinsic quality difference in the guitars themselves as far as I can tell from the many I have owned. Beware of Ebay vendors telling you the 'Made in...' is better then 'Crafted in....', or vice versa. It is the specification that counts, not the label.
Note the 3 x ply pickguard and the position of the top middle fixing screw which is mid way between neck and middle pickup. Some other models, such as the '72 and Standard, have it closer to the middle pickup.
Note the staggered pole pickups and, 'Fender' stamped string saddles denoting a fully fledged Reissue rather than one of the 'economy' range that were exported. The knobs and pup covers are aged, ie a parchment colour and the pickguard has a slight green tinge.
62's have a rosewood fretboard on a maple neck. No skunk stripe. Kluson style slotted tuners and a single butterfly type string guide.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model nos. 027-1000 and 027-1020 (left-handed version) were based on the 1962 pre-CBS model and featured:
1. 11 screw laminated 3-ply white/black/white scratchplate.
2. maple neck (no skunk stripe) with 21 fret rosewood fingerboard.
3. Truss rod adjuster at body end of neck
4. One string guide.
5. Vintage Kluson style tuners.
6. Basswood body- except natural and fotoflame finishes which had alder body with basswood cap.
Note:although the original '62 would have been fitted with a three-position pickup selector switch, reissues (thankfully) have five-position switches.
When shopping for a used '60s (or 50's) Reissue note that 'economy' versions were exported with unstamped string saddles and non-staggered pole, pickups.
Bear in mind that this site concentrates on those instruments commonly imported by Fender US into the USA and European markets. Reference to the current Fender Japan site/shop will reveal a mouth watering range of Reissues currently produced but not covered here
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A lot has been said about the quality of Japanese Fender guitars. The bottom line, however, seems to be that often they're as good as or better than US models (in particular the 90's reissue models). US model superiority is largely a myth, though in general Japanese guitars are made of basswood, which is considered inferior to the regular ash or alder.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Note about Fender USA vintage spacing vs the aftermarket tremolo we have listed: Fender vintage tremolos are listed as having a string spacing of 2 7/32" which may lead you to believe that this tremolo that we have listed with a string spacing of 2 3/16" would not fit a genuine Fender vintage style body or aftermarket body drilled to Fender spec's... this is not true, we have installed this tremolo in many custom installations using Fender, Warmoth and WD bodies all drilled to Fender vintage specs for a vintage style tremolo..."
He was right. It fit perfectly. For the record, it was an Allparts tremolo.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have a mid 90's ST57-65L. Yes, the pots are inferior (cheap wiring and pot/switch quality) and yes, the pickups are inferior (horrible ceramic magnets)- thin and colorless. The good news is that the guitar itself is of superior quality, especially the neck which is hard to beat. Many (including myself) prefer them to any U.S. made neck, in that they are really substantial and thick (truly vintage feeling), with an easy to play satin finish unlike the over varnished U.S. models which can be sticky. If you are really lucky you may have one of their ash or alder body guitars. The neck and body of these are as good as any U.S. production Fender guitar (including American Vintage), some feel as good as even U.S. Custom Shop. Otherwise its basswood which some feel is inferior to the traditional U.S. alder or ash. Many however believe this to be nonsense, that basswood is a separate but equal wood with its own character. I agree with this, My 57 Strat is basswood (and I've played alder and ash) - it is super light, very resonant (sounds alive unamplified with a nice ringing tone) and very warm and smooth sounding. Which is good news again, because you can put really chimey/trebly alnico vintage pickups in this guitar (Duncan SSL-1s, Fender 57/62s or Fralins) and never run into "icepick" territory. The bright alnicos are a perfect compilment to the warmer basswood. Soooo...in short, the guitar is a keeper, just replace the wiring harness with CTS hardware, get a set of replacement pickups (the best are mentioned above) and you probably will want to change out the tremolo block (and bridge if you want) with a Callaham or Fender Vintage bridge because the Japanese one is zinc and not steel. Zinc has inferior sustain and tone. All in, if you paid around $350 for the guitar, the upgrade will cost you in the neighborhood of $300. For $650, you basically have the equivalent or better of an Fender American Vintage guitar which go for $1200 new. If all this sound like too much trouble, then sell the Japanese guitar and put it towards a used American Vintage which can be had between $750-$1000. I've spent a long time researching these guitars, so that my two cents. If you go to the Tone Quest website there is an article in their archives about upgrading Japanese Strats.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have pics of MIJ Vintage in my profile, TS and USA Vintage have cloth wires, TS pups have a red and blue dot on the neck and bridge pups cant remember which has what right off and the middle pup has a darker yellow wire. They possibly will have a Custom Shop sticker on them but if they came stock I doubt they will. Just google Texas Specials and USA Vintage and find a pic to compare.
-------------------------------------------------------
nut has "buried" treble strings--too low in the nut
-fix with superglue or change to a bone nut crafed by someone who knows what they are doing. having the strings closer to the top or shallow will allow easier string building.
