New Fender Japan website

[DreX]

A new Fender Japan site has gone up, which appears to be administered by Fender directly, as it looks to use the same content engine as the U.S. site: http://www.fender.co.jp/

They have a section for "Japan Exclusive" models for each guitar type, http://www.fender.co.jp/guitars/ , but the U.S. version of the site still doesn't show these models.

I see some Fender Japan models missing, but I get the sense that they were discontinued models that hadn't been removed from the old Fender Japan site. It's good to see that the Aerodynes and their other solid models are still being produced and offered, though.

Hopefully this is just a change in website administration and not in manufacturing, because the quality of recent Fender Japan models is so high relative to the price point that it's hard to imagine anything good coming from a change in manufacturing arrangements.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: New Fender Japan website

EDIT - looks like the relationship with the marketer/distributor has ended, hence the new website.

 

[gottalovethe80s]

Re: New Fender Japan website

IIRC earlier there was a notice about how fender japan is changing their manufacturer, maybe that had something to do with this?

 

[Diminished Triad]

FENDER JAPAN

FENDER JAPAN

A new Fender Japan site has gone up, which appears to be administered by Fender directly, as it looks to use the same content engine as the U.S. site: http://www.fender.co.jp/

They have a section for "Japan Exclusive" models for each guitar type, http://www.fender.co.jp/guitars/ , but the U.S. version of the site still doesn't show these models.

I see some Fender Japan models missing, but I get the sense that they were discontinued models that hadn't been removed from the old Fender Japan site. It's good to see that the Aerodynes and their other solid models are still being produced and offered, though.

Hopefully this is just a change in website administration and not in manufacturing, because the quality of recent Fender Japan models is so high relative to the price point that it's hard to imagine anything good coming from a change in manufacturing arrangements.

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE NEW FENDER JAPAN GUITARS ARE MADE AND DISTRIBUTED? Is there a real difference from the USA made Fender guitars today?

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: New Fender Japan website

Distributors are listed on the web site in English.
http://locator.fender.com/ja-JP/distributors/

The about page on the Japanese web site indicates manufacturing is in Corona, but that could be just the boilerplate official statement. There is contact information if you want to dig into any operations inside Japan.

Fender Music Co., Ltd.
3-1-30 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001 3F
E-mail address: Askfender.jp@fender.com

IME - It was a while ago (almost 10 years) but I observed that certain models you really have to walk into a shop inside Japan to acquire them, and getting them out of the country is another issue; declaring the value, inspection, etc. I couldn't just order a model and have it shipped. Worth contacting them now to see if anything has changed.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: New Fender Japan website

Cool. I still wouldn't pay over $700 for any Fender Japan guitar made after the mid-eighties era; the prices they go for online (or at least advertised prices) are insane, and I continue to notice things like poor quality fretboard wood, inferior pickups/electronics, cheap hardware, incorrect/uncomfortable contours and shapes, not to mention the colors, materials and finishes that always just seem "off." They're very well made, but 99% of the time Mexico (or even Squier Indonesia) does a better job/has a more appealing product for the price.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: New Fender Japan website

The prices I've found for Fender Japan are ridiculous. Most are above 1000 dollars and they don't even come with f***king hardcases, but gig bags. And they are generally basswood and seem to be reissues of 50s and 60s Fenders.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: New Fender Japan website

Cool. I still wouldn't pay over $700 for any Fender Japan guitar made after the mid-eighties era; the prices they go for online (or at least advertised prices) are insane, and I continue to notice things like poor quality fretboard wood, inferior pickups/electronics, cheap hardware, incorrect/uncomfortable contours and shapes, not to mention the colors, materials and finishes that always just seem "off." They're very well made, but 99% of the time Mexico (or even Squier Indonesia) does a better job/has a more appealing product for the price.

Typically in Japan, the displayed price is the price (there's no 'haggle' culture there - it's all up-and-up honesty, no dickering; that would be an insult to the customer to be deceitful with the price). But I can say I've never seen web prices on anything when I walked into an actual store.