Would you buy this strat for $1200?

I got two MIJ Fenders when they were first released to the USA market I don't have anything good to say I couldn't get rid of them fast enough.

They made a gold show with the MIJ Fender guitars in mind DEADWOOD.............

I can't understand why they used such soft wood

I do dig my Japanese woodworking tool's made by the masters

If I do buy a new guitar it will be this Mayones Hydra Elite 7 Custom 4A QM | Zjon's Guitarstore
 
I'd be happy with a plain ole vanilla fudge Fender USA strat with two point trem. As much as I like The Slime, it doesn't have a trem and I like messing/playing a guitar with trem.
 
I know of the supposed quality of the MIJ Fenders. However, I think some of that may be relative. Fender started making guitars in Japan just a couple of years before the end of the CBS era and well into the current era. They were also made in the Fujigen Gakki factory, which also makes Ibanez. So, there is that added notoriety.

While it is as inaccurate to claim that CBS-era Fenders were universally bad, just as it is inaccurate to say the same about Norlin Gibsons, it is also true that a certain amount of discontent existed at the time with the CBS Fenders, whether justified or not. So, it is conceivable that some of the praise directed at the MIJ Fenders may be a result of a perceived superiority to the CBS Fenders of the time.

It is also true that possibly as much as 80% of the Fenders sold from near the end of 1984 to the middle of 1986 were Japanese-made guitars (“Electric Guitars: The Illustrated Encyclopedia”, Backbeat Books, 2000, page 94).

As CBS sold Fender in 1984, it is possible some of the acclaim enjoyed by the Japanese Fenders may be somewhat psychological, as it signified the end of the maligned CBS era, being that so many of the immediate post-CBS Fenders were Japanese. This is just a hunch. Again, I’m not saying the CBS Fenders were bad, because I didn’t have one then...but I do recall hearing people put them down at the time!

As for the price, I tend to think $1200.00 is a lot for a MIJ. I expect all non-MIA Fenders to represent some sort of a bargain or significant cost savings. The MIJ Strats in the OP just strike me as a pretty average to decent guitar and not worth the price tag. It does make me wonder if the price is an excuse to further jack up the prices for MIA units, since they are now quite a bit more expensive than their MIJ counterparts.
 
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smitty_p said:
I know of the supposed quality of the MIJ Fenders. However, I think some of that may be relative. Fender started making guitars in Japan just a couple of years before the end of the CBS era and well into the current era. They were also made in the Fujigen Gakki factory, which also makes Ibanez. So, there is that added notoriety.

While it is as inaccurate to claim that CBS-era Fenders were universally bad, just as it is inaccurate to say the same about Norlin Gibsons, it is also true that a certain amount of discontent existed at the time with the CBS Fenders, whether justified or not. So, it is conceivable that some of the praise directed at the MIJ Fenders may be a result of a perceived superiority to the CBS Fenders of the time.

It is also true that possibly as much as 80% of the Fenders sold from near the end of 1984 to the middle of 1986 were Japanese-made guitars (“Electric Guitars: The Illustrated Encyclopedia”, Backbeat Books, 2000, page 94).

As CBS sold Fender in 1984, it is possible some of the acclaim enjoyed by the Japanese Fenders may be somewhat psychological, as it signified the end of the maligned CBS era, being that so many of the immediate post-CBS Fenders were Japanese. This is just a hunch. Again, I’m not saying the CBS Fenders were bad, because I didn’t have one then...but I do recall hearing people put them down at the time!

As for the price, I tend to think $1200.00 is a lot for a MIJ. I expect all non-MIA Fenders to represent some sort of a bargain or significant cost savings. The MIJ Strats in the OP just strike me as a pretty average to decent guitar and not worth the price tag. It does make me wonder if the price is an excuse to further jack up the prices for MIA units, since they are now quite a bit more expensive than their MIJ counterparts.
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This seems some sound reasoning to me. I owned a MIJ Tele in the mind-80's, at a time when they were arguably on par quality-wise with the US-made ones (at least the US-made ones right after they came back to making them in America and opened the Brea factory). It was a good guitar at the time. But the two MiJ Strats I had were in the 2000's and by then the quality of the early Brea-made Fenders had been improved dramatically, so I think it positioned the MiJ's a notch or two below pretty much automatically. Agree that the price is too high for what it is.
 
gball said:
This seems some sound reasoning to me. I owned a MIJ Tele in the mind-80's, at a time when they were arguably on par quality-wise with the US-made ones (at least the US-made ones right after they came back to making them in America and opened the Brea factory). It was a good guitar at the time. But the two MiJ Strats I had were in the 2000's and by then the quality of the early Brea-made Fenders had been improved dramatically, so I think it positioned the MiJ's a notch or two below pretty much automatically. Agree that the price is too high for what it is.
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It’s also true that Fujigen was using CNC machinery. So, the early MIJs may have had more consistency than MIAs of the same period.
 
Also, one thing I think I remember hearing about some version of older MIJ Strats was that some were adorned with photo flame skin like fake grain stuff for the see through finishes like Sunburst. Anyone else hear this?
 
chilipeppermaniac said:
Also, one thing I think I remember hearing about some version of older MIJ Strats was that some were adorned with photo flame skin like fake grain stuff for the see through finishes like Sunburst. Anyone else hear this?
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Yup.

Sure did.

Foto-Flame.

The other, other flame.
 
HAHa First and only time I was in Hollyweird, I went to West H and the Whiskey where I saw some no name I would recognize band back in the late 90's.
 
Mr Grumpy said:
I'll never be smart, my years have taught me at least that much...
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Well, I do hope that you give the MIJ hybrid 60s Strat a good try. I would be very interested to know in your opinion if this Strat is worthy of a $1200 guitar.

BTW... Have you ever gotten the chance to play a USA-made G&L "Strat" like their S-500, Legacy, or Comanche models?
 
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