How to Spot a Made in USA Fender:

@gball - Here's a photo of what the front of an Eric Johnson Stratocaster headstock looks like:

View attachment 92302

And here's how thet looked in person at my bench.
smitty_p said:
Love it.

No string trees!
Click to expand...

SOP...

20220827_162333.jpg

20220827_162237.jpg


The Tone Rooms
Inspector #20
Luthier's Corner
When Stratocaster Nuts Drive You Nuts - Keeping The 6-Screw Fender Tremolo In Tune:
Thread starterInspector #20 Start dateMar 8, 2021 TagsNone
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chilipeppermaniac
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#141
Eric Johnson Strat experts, String tree?
I recall seeing somewhere that real earlier EJ strat from 2005/6 do have string tree on the headstock. Can anyone validate this to be the case? I know majority EJ out there do not. Shopping form EJ just want to better educate my self. Thanks
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Inspector #20
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#142
heltershelton said:
have you put it through the ringer yet?
you know, heavy duty bends near the headstock and all that?
if it works, you're good to go.

Yes. So far, so good...
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Inspector #20
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#143
Hmmm....so, maybe .046" x .008"???
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chilipeppermaniac
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#144
Robert Herndon said:
Hmmm....so, maybe .046" x .008"???

Umm Well Robert, Let me see. Broken Picks., Frequently worn Nuts, If I remember right, Fairly often worn Saddles.

Maybe 8's are a wee bit light for a heavy handed style.
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Inspector #20
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#145
chilipeppermaniac said:
Umm Well Robert, Let me see. Broken Picks., Frequently worn Nuts, If I remember right, Fairly often worn Saddles.

Maybe 8's are a wee bit light for a heavy handed style.

Maybe!!!!

But, i'm also playing in the studio everyday and playing in bands at night, so my guitars are getting a 6 day a week workout...
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chilipeppermaniac
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#146
Here is my other thought. Strings are cheap enough. Try em and if they suck,. chuck em and go to old faithful
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Inspector #20
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#147
@chilipeppermaniac - Here's a video of us playing "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac. The video is a collage from different shows and soundchecks.

In this song, I play my part mostly fingerpicked. I never back my amp settings down, I just roll guitar volume off to clean things up a bit.


Last edited: Mar 16, 2021
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#148
Rehearsal day.... :)
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#149
The rain turned to a light snow in Cherry Valley. The garage was cold. When we tried to run the heaters, it would blow the breaker, so we had to wing it.

This was our first rehearsal without our #3 guitarist, and it was a big change for me. I'm now having to play everything clean and it feels so strange to me to have no "punch" when I strum my guitar....Sad....
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#150
On the up-side, I can tremolo dive YelloStrat as much as I want with zero tuning issues. I did several 11 semitone dive bombs without any change in tuning.

11 semitones is how far this will go with the bar against the pickguard.
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syscokid
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#151
Robert Herndon said:
@chilipeppermaniac - Here's a video of us playing "Dreams" by Fleetwood Man. The video is a collage from different shows and soundchecks.

In this song, I play my part mostly fingerpicked. I never back my amp settings down, I just roll guitar volume off to clean things up a bit.


Click to expand...Nice! I can't really tell how much your guitar is influencing the sound of the song, unless yours is the only one with a chorus effect that I'm hearing.

The lady lead singer has a very sweet and smooth sounding singing voice.
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#152
syscokid said:
Nice! I can't really tell how much your guitar is influencing the sound of the song, unless yours is the only one with a chorus effect that I'm hearing.

The lady lead singer has a very sweet and smooth sounding singing voice.

I think we are all using chorus on that song.

Watch where we are on the old trailer with the wire railing in front of us. I kind of arpeggiate the chords by picking across the strings backwards, dedicating a single finger to each string of the chord. It's subtle, but I think it gives the song depth...
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#153
The footage of me at 0:36 with the Les Paul is actually footage of "The Break Up Song" so the playing appears totally wrong.
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#154
Tried a lot of different string lengths on this guitar. What I discovered was the strings don't stretch around the post, they stretch between the intonation points.

I used different lengths to give me the amount of pressure that I felt was needed in the nut.

E = 30"

A = 31"

D = 32"

g = 34-1/2"

b = 35-1/2"

e = 36-1/2"

I very quickly cut my new strings to these lengths and installation with vintage hollow-post tuners is super fast.

The strings also stretch within just a few minutes of playing because the taper of the post keeps the winds super tight.

The tuning stability is absolutely on par with my Floyd Rose equipped guitars.
 
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@smitty_p - i developed a specific measurement for each string, when used with vintage tuners, applies the correct amount of pressure across the nut, but allows flawless return to pitch.
 
smitty_p said:
What tuners are you using to get that longer post on the low E string?
Click to expand...

The tuners are a Grover Vintage Set. The low E tuner is part of a more modern Grover set that's substantially longer, which reduces the angle through the nut, which eliminates tuning variantions during tremolo use.
 
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Inspector #20 said:
Under FTC rules, for a product to be called Made in USA, or claimed to be of domestic origin without qualifications or limits on the claim, the product must be "all or virtually all" made in the U.S. The term "United States," as referred to in the Enforcement Policy Statement, includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

If you see a Fender guitar with this label, it is not "Made in USA," but rather it is assembled in California from more than 50% imported components:

View attachment 85513

On these models, the neck will be marked "Corona California" because they are legally prohibited from claiming it as being Made in the USA.

Note that it does not say "Made In Corona California," because it is only assembled there.

Even if the serial number begins with "US," it is still largely assembled from imported parts in California .

Hardware, pickups, screws and even the wood itself is often sourced from Asia and this will change depending on what parts are on hand at the time of assembly - this is known as a "Running Change," and it is why some instruments come with an unusual combination of parts and/features that are different from advertised specifications.

View attachment 85514

A "Made In USA" Fender will have this unique label:

View attachment 85515

It will also have a decal applied over the headstock finish as shown:

View attachment 85516

So before you pay a lot of dough for a "Genuine USA Fender," be sure it really is American Made or it is priced accordingly.

Hope this helps clarify things... :)
Click to expand...

Inspector #20 said:
That's an older anniversary model. That decal was only used on certain variations.

If it is marked as such, then it has meet the requirements.

If it is marked "Made In USA," then its a USA build from mostly domestically sourced parts.

If it is not marked "Made In USA," then it's basically a high priced "Assembled in USA" variant.

The Assembled in California models are quickly identified by any reference to Corona California or an American flag without a statement of country of origin.
Click to expand...
This isn’t entirely correct. Those rules weren’t enforced until 2016, which means models made prior to 2016 will have “Made in USA”, while models made from 2016 onwards wont. Even if there is absolutely no difference between them other than year of manufacture.

The decal on top of the finish also isn’t a sure sign it’s made in USA. Decal on top of finish usually means it’s a reissue and that it’s trying to be vintage correct. I haven’t kept up with current models, so perhaps there are no reissues that aren’t 100% MIA, but there used to be.
 
Astral Traveler said:
This isn’t entirely correct. Those rules weren’t enforced until 2016, which means models made prior to 2016 will have “Made in USA”, while models made from 2016 onwards wont. Even if there is absolutely no difference between them other than year of manufacture.

The decal on top of the finish also isn’t a sure sign it’s made in USA. Decal on top of finish usually means it’s a reissue and that it’s trying to be vintage correct. I haven’t kept up with current models, so perhaps there are no reissues that aren’t 100% MIA, but there used to be.
Click to expand...

Fender has re-decaled a lot of necks to make them apoear to be of California origin.
 
Astral Traveler said:
This isn’t entirely correct. Those rules weren’t enforced until 2016, which means models made prior to 2016 will have “Made in USA”, while models made from 2016 onwards wont. Even if there is absolutely no difference between them other than year of manufacture.
Click to expand...

And, unfortunately, those are still not a Made In USA guitar, but rather a foreign guitar, assembled in California, and charging a USA price.
 
Inspector #20 said:
And, unfortunately, those are still not a Made In USA guitar, but rather a foreign guitar, assembled in California, and charging a USA price.
Click to expand...
That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that before 2016 they would have labels saying “Made in USA”, even if they were no different than the post 2016 models that now don’t say Made in USA.

And assembled in USA is a bit unfair. The wood is still cut, shaped, fitted, and finished right there at the factory in California. Even if the tree isn’t grown there.
 
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Also, as far as I understand, this is Californian legislation, or at least the way it’s enforced? Which is the only reason Gibson can still put “Made in USA” on the back of their headstocks, while Fender can’t.
 
Astral Traveler said:
Also, as far as I understand, this is Californian legislation, or at least the way it’s enforced? Which is the only reason Gibson can still put “Made in USA” on the back of their headstocks, while Fender can’t.
Click to expand...

Its the total percentage of foreign material used under FTC guidelines.

Gibson, although they use foreign sourced woods, like Fender, they use a much larger percentage if USA made goods.

Almost everything Fender uses is China, Korean or Indonesian made.

Even the USA models use a lot of Chinese parts and, in some cases, when you break it down to part numbers, the same China part number is used on both a Squire and a USA model.
 
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Inspector #20 said:
Only on the USA models.

The Corona bodies arrive already painted.
Click to expand...
As far as I know that is interweb myths, and not at all true. But I’d be happy to see some sources of that information.

There was the Fender California series of Stratocasters and Telecasters in the 90’s. Those were mostly put together in USA from some parts made in the US and some parts made in Mexico. They can be identified by the black plastic trussrod plug normally found on Mexican strats, but with a label saying California series, Made in USA. All other Made in USA strats have a walnut trussrod plug, except those with a bullet truss rod nut.
 
Astral Traveler said:
As far as I know that is interweb myths, and not at all true. But I’d be happy to see some sources of that information.

There was the Fender California series of Stratocasters and Telecasters in the 90’s. Those were mostly put together in USA from some parts made in the US and some parts made in Mexico. They can be identified by the black plastic trussrod plug normally found on Mexican strats, but with a label saying California series, Made in USA. All other Made in USA strats have a walnut trussrod plug, except those with a bullet truss rod nut.
Click to expand...

When i was working at Fender in 2022, we received shipments of semi-finished bodies from Cort Indonesia and those were shipped to Corona.

We also received all the body blank shipments. These were already cut into 3 pieces and glued together when we received them. These were also shipped to Corona.

Its a shell game and you cannot make sense of it.
 
Inspector #20 said:
Its the total percentage of foreign material used under FTC guidelines.

Gibson, although they use foreign sourced woods, like Fender, they use a much larger percentage if USA made goods.

Almost everything Fender uses is China, Korean or Indonesian made.

Even the USA models use a lot of Chinese parts and, in some cases, when you break it down to part numbers, the same China part number is used on both a Squire and a USA model.
Click to expand...
I’m by no means an expert on US law, but isn’t it up to each state to enforce the FTC guidelines? Reading the guidelines I see no mentioning of a percentage. Instead they use broader terms that leave some wiggle room for interpretation.
 
Here's a pallet of 3 piece, glued together blanks from Cort Indonesia, heading to Corona.

These will become USA made units.

20220414_055225.jpg
 
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