Would you buy this strat for $1200?

Mr Grumpy

Mr Grumpy

Ambassador of Comings and Goings
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Just looking around and saw these MIJ hybrid 60s strat.

US vintage pickups.
Flatter 9.5" radius neck.
Locking tuners.
2-point trem.
The fretwork and necks are supposed to be really nice.
High quality vintage wiring/parts (used to be a problem with MIJ guitars).

They are in the same shop I got my junior from, so good to try out, and they set the guitar up well.

It would cost me $1200 here in Korea: [버즈비] [2018 Hybrid 시리즈 출시!! Fende USA 픽업이 장착된] Fender Japan Hybrid 60s Stratocaster

Any thoughts?

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Quite a few interesting colours:

Fender-Japan-Hybrid-60s-Stratocaster_12.jpg

Fender-Japan-Hybrid-60s-Stratocaster_13.jpg

Fender-Japan-Hybrid-60s-Stratocaster_14.jpg


Here's the spec:

Fender-Japan-Hybrid-60s-Stratocaster_15.jpg


With the American Professionals now priced closed to $2000, maybe these MIJ are a good buy (no case...). On the other hand, I paid over $1000 for a MIJ custom tele and never much liked playing it...

Maybe I'll pop to Seoul and try one out.
 
Gahr said:
But, ahem, you KNOW, you want a dual P90 SG Special...
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It does almost always come down to that, 'tis true.

I'm actually thinking about a LP special or junior or studio or faded because they are not silly prices. The jnr is all the SG I want really (although the PG special does look super cool, and if I spot one in Korea then I'll check it out. There was a 2019 '61 that sold in Seoul recently before I noticed it which was probably a good thing because the '61 SG is probably the only humbucker SG I'd want, probably...).
 
Love the strat-----how does that compare in US dollars??? I wouldnt pay 1200 for --well anything really -- unles I could flip for 5k! :)

I have a Jr-- 2015-- and DC Jr form 1982--- LOVE them both very much---
Have a Mexican Strat---238.00 used---- LOVE IT VERY MUCH--

SO well there ya go--Im of no help
 
^ thank you, you were of absolutely no help. :D

The MIJ is 1200 US, and I know already that you reckon a $50 squire is an equal guitar... o_O The rumours have always been with the MIJ stuff, and this particular guitar is no different, that they're as good or better than a US made instrument and cheaper. Personally, that has not been my experience, the couple of US made Fenders I've come across (not owned) seemed a lot nice than my MIJ tele, but maybe this one is different - at least I can play it to check before buying (like I didn't do with the MIJ tele - a nice guitar, but just didn't blow me away which I felt is should for over $1000).

Now, haven't you got a Peavey to recommend at $20 on the used market! :bash:

While I'm at it, your 2015 jnr does piss me off a bit because there's one here, new, for sale (I've seen it for a couple of years now and always quite fancied it), but at $1000, knowing what you paid for yours, it doesn't make sense. Those 2015s with the decent case were blown out for under (some a lot under) $500 in the USofA, and that's a fantastic deal.

A 2018 Gibson jnr, not so different from your 2015, is one thousand and bloody five hundred of your imperial dollars... :sick:

Gahr has fuked up this thread already because, as per usual, he kinda got it spot on because I probably can't spent $1200 on Strat when there's Gibsons out there at similar money. I would like a nice Strat though, been jimmying for a Strat for a couple of years now.

:io:
 
Tough one. My experience with MIJ Strats has not been that good: I listened to the hype and have had two. The electronics and pickups were pathetic, and the other hardware MIM level. The rest ok but merely average. Overall, not worth the money IMO, but they do look nice.

The MiA is more money but the better value if you ask me.
 
I don't really know much about MIJ Fenders (or Fenders in general, for that matter), but I do know this: One of the guys I used to play with back in the day had a MIJ Telecaster. It is one of the best guitars I have ever played. It both felt and sounded great. Stayed in tune, quiet, killer tone. If the quality wasn't up to standard, we sure didn't notice. But it's a long time ago though...
 
chilipeppermaniac said:
Gball, My Fender Steve Harris Bass was a MIJ bass. I never did think to look at the electronics. I just assumed they are MI US parts. Do you think they are?
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Don't know. The two that I had were wired up with really questionable components and the pickups were a joke. I bought the guitars because a local shop was blowing them out the door for like $600 each (at a time when they were normally like $800 and an American was about $1k), and I had heard great things about the MIJ Fenders, so I grabbed them and figured at worst I could get my money back. At the time I also had an American Standard Strat to compare them to and it was no contest - the AmStd was superior in every possible way, so to me a much better value as I would have spent more than the difference bringing them up to the same level and even then the American one was simply better made. Maybe since then they have upped the game, and it does claim they are using USA pickups (though it doesn't make the same claim about the electronics or hardware) so it's possible they are worth the cash, but to me I would rather pay a bit more and get the sure thing with the sure resale.
 
Mr Grumpy said:
Any thoughts?
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To get one of these MIJ Hybrids new in the USA, would be about $1200 to $1300 shipped from Japan. I hope you get a chance to try one. Maybe it'll be an exceptional guitar for $1200.
Truss_rod said:
Whoa the Candy Tangerine is jaw dropping....
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My one and only Strat is an '01 American Deluxe in Candy Tangerine. It is a beautiful color... :yesway:
 
gball said:
Don't know. The two that I had were wired up with really questionable components and the pickups were a joke. I bought the guitars because a local shop was blowing them out the door for like $600 each (at a time when they were normally like $800 and an American was about $1k), and I had heard great things about the MIJ Fenders, so I grabbed them and figured at worst I could get my money back. At the time I also had an American Standard Strat to compare them to and it was no contest - the AmStd was superior in every possible way, so to me a much better value as I would have spent more than the difference bringing them up to the same level and even then the American one was simply better made. Maybe since then they have upped the game, and it does claim they are using USA pickups (though it doesn't make the same claim about the electronics or hardware) so it's possible they are worth the cash, but to me I would rather pay a bit more and get the sure thing with the sure resale.
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Well Gball, I know my STEVE Harris Bass has USA Seymour Duncan pups and likely has American electronics. Easy enough to check. Also, No questions needed, it is a bad ass bass.
 
chilipeppermaniac said:
Well Gball, I know my STEVE Harris Bass has USA Seymour Duncan pups and likely has American electronics. Easy enough to check. Also, No questions needed, it is a bad ass bass.
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I don't doubt it, and it doesn't surprise me that they are using upgraded bits in a signature model, especially for a guy like Steve Harris. When I got the ones I had, it must have been 15 or so years ago, and the ones in the OP seem very similar to what I had other than the locking tuners and 2-point Trem (they were even called '60's Strat') so I am just reacting to that question and think that if what they are selling now is about the same as that then Grumpy would be better off with the American Strat, even for more money. Sometimes saving a little now costs you more in the long run.
 
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