"Fender Japan?"

[Diminished Triad]

Does anyone know what "Fender Japan" means today?
There are some nice looking pictures and descriptions of "Fender Japan" bass guitars online and I know a couple years back Fender USA took over the Japan business (or that line of Fender products).

How do the recent Fender Japan bass guitars compare with USA models at the same price?
Thanks for any info you can share!

 

[mjsmanahan35]

Re: "Fender Japan?"

Fender 62reissue Precision Bass with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound SPB-3 Pickups, https://youtu.be/_INMEhbojOI
https://youtu.be/BjUKQTUZLgY

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[ginormous]

Re: "Fender Japan?"

According to wiki, the various pre-FMIC Japanese guitars were made by Fuji-Gen, Tokai and Dyna Gakki (one of the companies making Greco guitars).

Tokai was part of the deal, on the condition that it stop making their Fender copies with the Tokai name.

If you find one of those, you're good. They're solid products.

As regarding today, FMIC took over the Japanese manufacturing and distribution in April of 2015.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Japan

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: "Fender Japan?"

I believe that the new guitars themselves are the same quality as old "Fender Japan" models with some designations and specs shuffled.

I admire Fender Japan's construction consistency, but to me the materials and details are always far off from Fender America... Thin chrome, cheap wiring/electronics/hardware, plasticky finishes, incorrect contours and shapes, inferior quality frets and fretboard wood... I have one with a particularly sloppy neck. A lot of people were excited for Fender Japan instruments in the eighties, but for me their time has passed.

Not to say there aren't good ones but I prefer Mexican Fenders or even better-range Squiers; I love my Indonesian VM '70s Jazz four string. I'm amazed at what people pay for Fender Japan instruments.

 

[ginormous]

Re: "Fender Japan?"

I haven't played a Japanese Fender from the 1980s lately, but from what I recall there was an absolute reason why Fender was p.o.'ed at Tokai -- they got the details right.
This was in contrast to the 80s American Fenders, which had a well-deserved rep for being lackluster.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: "Fender Japan?"

Ehh, maybe it's (multiple) fluke(s.) But over a series of guitars, I've lost affinity for Fender Japan. Still, a lot of people don't seem to share my experiences:

Progressing from the JV series, to the E-series etc. and onward, MIJ Fenders/Squiers shed features and quality got worse as time wore on. Things like brass shielding, standard size pots, quality pickups/wiring/switches etc. disappeared. Telecasters got a flimsy bridge and saddles. Finishes became brittle and toy-like. The plastic parts feel cheap, break easily, and retain mold-marks. I've had to replace three Japanese Jaguar/Jazzmaster vibratos with US units, because the stock Japanese ones are unusable/unstable and click. I had one guitar that needed a re-fret in a pitiful short period of time; when new, that guitar's frets were rough as sandpaper.

In particular I've seen a lot of MIJ fretboards that are very open/irregular grain, look/feel terrible. The Japanese Klusons wear/break even with lubrication, and aren't interchangeable with at least a couple other standard US-made or import Kluson replacements. Did I mention that the aforementioned brittle plastic and thin chrome also age really poorly? And with the inch-thick finishes, they don't make convincing 'relics' either.

Sure they still tend to sound good... If you replace the main dodgy hardware/electronic items. But even if you plan on replacing everything you can unbolt, there are still immutable aspects of their foundation which annoy me. In my opinion they were only ever any good for the first few years they were produced, and it aided that perception that they were made in an era when US manufacturing was its own crisis. Fender Japan might be better at using a router or not cross-threading a screw than Mexico/Indonesia, but the rest of the guitar usually feels like a cheap copy to me.

Advantages: a few unavailable finishes/specs that you can't get in the US seems to be the main driver; block/bound necks etc. ? They're not worth the $700 - $1000 that I see them going for new/used on some websites. But they have that "legend" and are somewhat forbidden fruit, not being regularly available in stores.

...That said, I love this VM Squier bass; some have one piece bodies that I've seen in stores. Excellent build quality. None of the problems I mentioned above

 

[ginormous]

Re: "Fender Japan?"

In my opinion they were only ever any good for the first few years they were produced, and it aided that perception that they were made in an era when US manufacturing was its own crisis. Fender Japan might be better at using a router or not cross-threading a screw than Mexico/Indonesia, but the rest of the guitar usually feels like a cheap copy to me.

I think we're basically in agreement. The "first few years" of which you speak appears to coincide with when Fender Japan wasn't being managed directly by FMIC.
It was the joint venture between CBS Fender, Kanda Shokai and Yamano Gakki, during which time CBS still owned the company and was floundering badly.

The window here would seem to be when FujiGen and Dyna were doing the Japanese home market manufacturing, as it was those companies that made the Japanese exports.
Some of the necks were made by yet another company, Atlansia.

If you really want a decent bargain in 80s Fender knockoffs, look for a Hoshino (Ibanez) bass.
I played one of their P-basses, and was floored. Satin finish, loud yet quiet pickups with lots of tonal character, excellent woodworking, and no dead spots.