Late 90's MIJ Fenders...

[the guy who invented fire]

How do these stack up against the new MIM Classic Fenders? I am pretty sure that most of the late 90's MIJ Guitars have Poplar bodies which is ok, they have what looks like the same hardware that is found on the newer MIM Classic stuff as well as is the Jimmy Vaughan Strats. Somebody tell me more about these guitars.

Thanks

 

[Falstaff]

Re: Late 90's MIJ Fenders...

I am not sure the exact age of mine, but I have a couple of recent "CIJ" Fenders that are excellent...Alder bodies, USA pickups, great finishes, and great workmanship. They stack up with anything out there, IMHO. The 'crafted' is just a change in semantics because "made in Japan" used to have a negative connotation. It's not like the C guitars are better than the M guitars at all...it's the same thing. I owned a few MIJ guitars back in the early/mid 90s and the newer ones are just a little nicer...more substantial and 'expensive' feeling. YMMV, of course.

There may be a slight drop in quality between the guitars made for the Japanese market and the ones imported to the USA (which may have been not quite as slick in terms of materials and electronics) back ten or so years ago. I will probably replace the pickups on mine because I don't like Texas Specials much, but I think they are good right out of the box. A lot of people dis the switch and pots in both the Japanese market guitars and the imported ones as well, so you might wanna figure that in.

Fender Japan is still turning out great instruments and I think they are a great deal not so much for the price (they are not super cheap) as for the price/quality relationship, if that makes any sense. If you can get an older one, those are great deals too, as are Tokai and some of the other manufacturers.

You may hear that the older Japanese guitars are better, but in my experience that isn't the case. Both new and old are great. At least for the Fenders. The Tokai are another story altogether.

Try www.guitargai.com for more info.

 

[sooperunkn]

Re: Late 90's MIJ Fenders...

I am not sure the exact age of mine, but I have a couple of recent "CIJ" Fenders that are excellent...Alder bodies, USA pickups, great finishes, and great workmanship. They stack up with anything out there, IMHO. The 'crafted' is just a change in semantics because "made in Japan" used to have a negative connotation. It's not like the C guitars are better than the M guitars at all...it's the same thing. I owned a few MIJ guitars back in the early/mid 90s and the newer ones are just a little nicer...more substantial and 'expensive' feeling. YMMV, of course.

There may be a slight drop in quality between the guitars made for the Japanese market and the ones imported to the USA (which may have been not quite as slick in terms of materials and electronics) back ten or so years ago. I will probably replace the pickups on mine because I don't like Texas Specials much, but I think they are good right out of the box. A lot of people dis the switch and pots in both the Japanese market guitars and the imported ones as well, so you might wanna figure that in.

Fender Japan is still turning out great instruments and I think they are a great deal not so much for the price (they are not super cheap) as for the price/quality relationship, if that makes any sense. If you can get an older one, those are great deals too, as are Tokai and some of the other manufacturers.

You may hear that the older Japanese guitars are better, but in my experience that isn't the case. Both new and old are great. At least for the Fenders. The Tokai are another story altogether.

Try www.guitargai.com for more info.

Hey Falstaff,

Fellow Bostonian here! You guys are talking about Japanese Fenders but you're not being specific on the models. I'm eyeing this Japanese Jazzmaster (LEFTY) from 1990 and was wondering if this guitar fits into the descriptions given in the earlier posts. This baby's loaded with SD Antiquitys, so I'm all set there!!!! But regarding the pots and tuners... should I be prepared to replace those eventually? I'm pretty sure the body is Basswood as well, which I'm not too siked about but it'll do.

Anyone have a Japanese Jazzmaster out there?

 

[Falstaff]

Re: Late 90's MIJ Fenders...

Hey...enjoying the weather?

I was mostly talking Teles and Strats, but I would assume the same hold for the other guitars. I think that a lot of folks replace the pots and caps anyway...and the other folks don't know what pots and caps are and don't care 'cause they like how the guitar sounds!

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: Late 90's MIJ Fenders...

But regarding the pots and tuners... should I be prepared to replace those eventually? I'm pretty sure the body is Basswood as well, which I'm not too siked about but it'll do.

I have a first year MIJ Telecaster.

The tuners from all the ones I have seen don't need to be changed. Most tuning problems I have encountered with mine and others is the nut not being cut right or it needing to be lubed a bit so that the string passes through it freely and doesn't bind up.

I'm also a Bostonian....gigging in the snow sucks!

 

[Dangerine49]

Re: Late 90's MIJ Fenders...

MIJ and CIJ (post-1997) Fenders use basswood, alder and ash as body woods depending on the model. FJ never used poplar AFAIK. The pickups are either Japanese or MIA depending on the model. Japanese Fender quality usually approaches that of MIA Fenders. The lower end ones are at least as good as MIM's.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Late 90's MIJ Fenders...

The Fender company is a very good outline for 'you get what you pay for.'
As many used Fenders as there are out in circulation, it almost seems crazy to purchase a new one. Some people argue that the Japanese strats are better than the Americans, but like all guitars, there are gems in the bunch and turds. I still prefer the American Series over all the others, until you get to Custom Shop level.

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Late 90's MIJ Fenders...

My main gigging strat is an MIJ 57 ri. With Duncan pickups, I would put it at equivalent quality to the MIA '62 ri I had before it.