# Good price for a 89 mij strat?



## Evilmusician (Apr 13, 2007)

Got a chance at one but don't know alot about em heres a pic 








I offered 450 seems thats what there going for around on ebay what you guys think he wants 525 cheers!


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## Guest (Dec 29, 2007)

I think that's a great price. The MiJ Fenders are fantastic.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

double posted


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

yup as long as the frets are still in decent shape, its worth in the $500 range. they often sell for more-good, quality guitars. if he takes $450 youre getting a good deal. $525 is a reasonable price-


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## Evilmusician (Apr 13, 2007)

thanks for replies guys .With all gear out there gets a bit overwhelming sometimes :food-smiley-004:


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

the MIJ are realy nice player, if you're looking for a guitar that will keep it's value doh, spend a bit more and get USA one, MIJ will never increase in value like a USA one will.


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

find out what model number it is, should say in the neck pocket if the seller doesn`t know. Makes a difference in terms of wood, electronics and p`ups.


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## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

I respectfully disagree, al3d... MIJ Fenders will, like their American cousins, only go up in value... it's the famous brand name that keeps the value high. Plus, Japanese gear long ago stopped being the butt of jokes for blissfully ignorant North Americans. These days I am seeing MIJ Fenders being advertised on Craigslist for values not all that far from those of American models from the same period... and far outpacing Mexican counterparts.

That said, I just bought a Strat clone made my a German-owned company that has its guitars built in Indonesia. Honey-tinged nitro natural finish and that classic triple single coil lineup. Playablity-wise, it kicks ass and it cost significantly less than a used Mexican Strat. If it weren't for me being long leery of the somewhat repugnant name (Stagg), I might have pleasantly discovered these guitars a long time ago now... a lot of guitar for the money. And not to knock Mexican Fenders, either - I have a MIM tele from '93 that's a wonderful instrument. My point being that you don't always have to shell out large in order to get a great player.

If you're going after playability as opposed to authenticity, there are just tons of really great options out there. However, some people also want investment potential, and in that case I can only recommend the originators of classics - Gibson, Fender, Gretsch and a handful of others. However, I'd still contend that a vintage MIJ Fender is a solid investment that can only appreciate.

In any case, to the OP who started this thread - hope you get it, man. She looks like a real beaut. If it were me I'd also be looking at Tokai Strats from the 80s... fantastic guitars and quite faithful copies.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

I would concur with the $525 price being pretty good. These are nice guitars.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

and i concur with maxer's post- the prices on these is rising, weve been seeing it- although an american reissue will be worth more, they wont appreciate or depreciate any more than will the japanese ones. as long as there is a market for each, there will be no real difference, dollar for dollar.


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## kous (Apr 12, 2007)

I agree. The prices are going up and it will continue. If you compare the craftsmanship to the price it is a very good deal. Actually, the prices of new Fender Japan went up as well due to the rising cost of materials. 

If I had to guess, it looks like a ST-50. Basswood body, Gotohs, normal "pots and pans". I'm thinking its pretty much the basic standard model.

For playability, I prefer Japanese over American or Mexican. Something about that neck that makes it just right. And like Maxer said, I'd check out the old Tokai copies as well. They were made in the same factory anyway!


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

value comes down to where one lives eh. The rosewood tele I got a few years ago has just about tripled in value since I bought it...and not only in Japan. Prices on the earliest Japanese Fenders has been steadily on the rise for a while now and Europeans seem to be willing to pay just about anything for em...including many other MIJ makers from the 70s and 80s. With the announcement here in Japan that e-bay will be tying up with Yahoo Japan in the near future, expect prices to rise even more as the number of bidders increases on both sites due to cross bidding.
As for the one in question here I wouldn`t even hazard a guess as to value without knowing the model number but regular production FJ models from the 90s have nowhere near the value of the 80s ones, but that does not include the custom editions, shop orders or ExTrads from that decade...some on line folks seem to think quality dropped in the 90s but judging from the ones I own from the series I just mentioned, that ain`t true one iota. 
I agree that prices will continue to rise...for certain models...many of the production models are very average but when the company decides to build a special run for a chain of shops or an anniversary....well, they can be special indeed. On the other hand, sellers now seen to think any model from the 80s is collectable, or even good...they ain`t so be careful, they made their share of crap back then too.
If I could not get a model number from the seller on the one pictured here, I`d pass but thats just me...you might be able to sell it for at least as much as you paid because of the feeding frenzy on MIJs from that era nowadays. good luck and I`d really like to know more about the guitar if you go for it.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Did all MIJ Fenders from the 80s have 7.25" necks with vintages frets?


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Well, i respect everyone's opinion. If you want to spend 525$ on a basswood body guitar with alnico clone pups be my guess. THE ONLY japan made guitars worth there money are the NON EXPORT ones. the one made for export to the US and Europe are'nt even worth the wood they were made of. MIM are 10 times better then those with actuall alder body and good Pups.

Their seems to be some realy good CIJ or MIJ, but they are the None Export ones with are TOTALY different guitars, but still not as good as the US ones because of many reason. Every aspect of the instrument is just slightly cheaper basicaly. The CIJ are made by fender specs and can NOT be exported to Europe or USA, that would be plane stupid realy!. So the export version is the lower end of fender guitars after the MIM models. 

If a CIJ as the JV serial number then she's a keeper as it's made between 1982 and 1984. Now as the seller told you what model is it and what year it is?.


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## Slidewinder (Apr 7, 2006)

al3d, I don't know where you're getting your information but that is absolute nonsense. I've been building for over 25 years and have seen some great guitars come out of Japan, all of them for export. Alder bodies and alnico pickups wound as well or better than anything coming out of the US in the 80's. As a matter of fact Fender USA was going to pull the plug on japan making their guitars because players could tell the difference and japanese guitars were outselling US built ones by quite a wide margin.
True there have been a couple of duds, but I've played US built strats and les pauls that I'd consider good instruments to hang on a wall and look at. As stage instruments they were garbage.

Do you honestly believe that they made the non export and export guitars in different factories? At that time the reason a lot of guitars were made only for the japanese market is because of copyright infringements which wouldn't allow them to be sold in the US. Asian countries had no such policies and didn't respects copyrights. Many still don't.
That being said, the huge majority of strats being made up until around 1986 were top qulity. Even the first Squires out of Japan in the late 70's/early 80's sounded and played great. A friend has one and you wouldn't believe how good that guitar sounds.
The Squire name was used so Fender could let people know they were made overseas and go for an american product. It didn't work and they went back to the regular Fender logo, although some still said Squire.
Definitly not the same guitars as todays Squires.

"not worth the wood they're made of. MIM strats were 10 times better"? Where do you get that reasoning? Have you ever played mexican strats from the 80's? The huge majority of them were garbage, regardless of the wood they used. Bad necks, soft frets, and neck/body matches that refused to hold a setup well for any length of time.
Quality control was awful and believe it or not a huge number of them had basswood bodies covered with an alder veneer.
While there were some alder bodies made most were basswood, and it wasn't till around 2000 that mexican strats started using alder as a standard body wood.
I'm not a fan of basswood for single coils and don't build with it, but almost all the Japanese strats I looked at had alder bodies, some with a veneer on the front for a more pronounced grain.
If this strat has an alder body(remove the neck and check the pocket) and pickups that are alnicos and not bar magnets then 525 is a great price for what is probably an excellent guitar.
Pick it up and play it if you can. If it's built as well as it looks you've scored.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Slidewinder, well, like i said earlier, we all have our own personnal opinion and tast in instruments. mine does'nt inclue most Jap made Strats. If you like them, that's good for you, they are simply not for me.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

Robert1950 said:


> Did all MIJ Fenders from the 80s have 7.25" necks with vintages frets?


i think just the vintage reissue models did

slidewinder is right, a lot of single coil pups dont sound right with basswood. the thing about the japanese guitars is the tolerances are closer, from vintage fenders mia to present ones you see this, most notably with sloppy neck pockets- even my 07 mim tele has a sloppy pocket- a gap of almost 1mm on the treble side. dont see this on any of my japanese strats. my favourite guitar is a 97 cij, 3 peice basswood- the finish is so thin that youd swear it wasnt polyester if it wasnt so shiny still-its paper thin- awesome guitar. i suspect if it was alder or ash it would rival any guitar ever made anywhere.


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

al3d said:


> Well, i respect everyone's opinion. If you want to spend 525$ on a basswood body guitar with alnico clone pups be my guess. THE ONLY japan made guitars worth there money are the NON EXPORT ones. the one made for export to the US and Europe are'nt even worth the wood they were made of. MIM are 10 times better then those with actuall alder body and good Pups.
> 
> Their seems to be some realy good CIJ or MIJ, but they are the None Export ones with are TOTALY different guitars, but still not as good as the US ones because of many reason. Every aspect of the instrument is just slightly cheaper basicaly. The CIJ are made by fender specs and can NOT be exported to Europe or USA, that would be plane stupid realy!. So the export version is the lower end of fender guitars after the MIM models.
> 
> If a CIJ as the JV serial number then she's a keeper as it's made between 1982 and 1984. Now as the seller told you what model is it and what year it is?.



I'm going to go ahead and completely dismiss your opinion on MIJ fenders. Don't take it personally because I am basing my dismissal on the information you present in your post not you as a person. Simply put you are 100%, capital W wrong. You are, obviously, misinformed and should not be stating most of your objections to Japanese Fenders as fact.

Next point: There is NOTHING wrong with REAL Basswood bodies. Problem with Basswood arose in the 80's and 90's when a couple makers were using Basswood to describe any whitish wood that came their way. 

True Basswood is a fine wood that is used by makers like Suhr, Tyler, Anderson, Grosh, Music Man and many other makers....lots of those makers are uber high end boutique guys. John Suhr and Tom Anderson call basswood with a maple top one of the 'holy grail' combos in guitar making.


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

Slidewinder said:


> al3d, I don't know where you're getting your information but that is absolute nonsense. I've been building for over 25 years and have seen some great guitars come out of Japan, all of them for export. Alder bodies and alnico pickups wound as well or better than anything coming out of the US in the 80's. As a matter of fact Fender USA was going to pull the plug on japan making their guitars because players could tell the difference and japanese guitars were outselling US built ones by quite a wide margin.
> True there have been a couple of duds, but I've played US built strats and les pauls that I'd consider good instruments to hang on a wall and look at. As stage instruments they were garbage.
> 
> Do you honestly believe that they made the non export and export guitars in different factories? At that time the reason a lot of guitars were made only for the japanese market is because of copyright infringements which wouldn't allow them to be sold in the US. Asian countries had no such policies and didn't respects copyrights. Many still don't.
> ...


+1

sounds like a great deal on a cool guitar.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Archer, like i said to Slidewinder, you are totaly in your right to not agree with me. we are all entitled to our own opinion. Ive done quite a bit of research actually on the MIJ and CIJ and tried more then i can count and could'nt wrap my head on buying any of them. Same issue as many people hated the 70's strat, and many only swore by them..

That's what's so cool about music...there's stuff for EVERYONE..

:rockon2:


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

al3d said:


> That's what's so cool about music...there's stuff for EVERYONE..
> 
> :rockon2:


I agree with you on that 100%

Cheers mate. Have a great new years eve.


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

I've got an early 80's MIJ strat that kicks the crap out of any of the american made ones of the time. I sold two MIA strats I have when I picked up that MIJ. It was just three times the guitar they other two were. One was a 79 and the other was an 83. The fit, finish and sound of the MIJ was just heads above the others. Alot of guitars have come and gone in the 20 some years since I got it, but it's still here. That has to say something.


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## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

I own a 1986 MIJ Squire double fat strat. It is an extremely well built guitar that plays and sounds great. 

$525 for one of these guitars is a good price. If you like the guitar and it is in good shape go for it, you will have a great guitar.


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

al3d...the JVs were MIJ, the switch to CIJ came sometime late 90s...by that time the JVs were long out of production. But thats not to say they weren`t making great guitars...they were, I own some top notch 90s MIJ custon editions, an ExTrad strat as well as a few early JVs. As for domestic and exports...I have never found anything that points to there ever being such a thing, and that includes scowering the books I have on the subject. I have however read that Fender Japan exported mainly basswood...and that seems to come from mostly people outside Japan... but that doesn`t mean they weren`t exporting alder, ash and sen guitars. My best FJs are every bit as well made, as nice and as great playing as my F/USA custom shops. 
I was told last summer by a shop manager in this city that Japanese Fenders are being made in three factories and onother makes the basses...I was told last week by staff at the same shop that Fender Japan has necks and/or bodies made in China and semt to Japan for assembly. 
Theres a lot of bad info on all kinds of MIJs on the web and a lot of it seems to come from non Japanese folks, and everybody is real sure what they say is correct...but I`ve read so many conflicting opinions they simply can not all be right. 
Has the FJ pictured in this thread even been I.D`d yet?


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## Evilmusician (Apr 13, 2007)

Got it guys ! for even less then I thought :rockon:


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

they ain`t the Rockettes butchu know...


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Evilmusician said:


> Got it guys ! for even less then I thought :rockon:


Good Good..have you check what year and model it is?..i read after all the reissue were pretty nice, yours looked a BIT like a 62 reissie.


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## Evilmusician (Apr 13, 2007)

yup 89, 62 reissue w American 57 pups comes with originals also :rockon:


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## kous (Apr 12, 2007)

Looks like a 57 body and a 62 neck


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

Fender Japan does not list their guitars as reissues like F/USA does, so they are not always precise replicas of Amerrican models. If it was made for the domestic market, it could be anything including a shop order that were made to specs of the chain stores in Japan...they still do this...certain models made exclusively for certain chains and not sold by anybody else and they do not show up in any catalogs.
When it comes to Fender Japan the one rule I`ve learned is...there are no rules.


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## Evilmusician (Apr 13, 2007)

Cool thats good to know ,as i know very little about fenders to be honest most of em look the same to me lol ! ,but if it plays and sounds good then ,its all good! thanks for the help guys :rockon:


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## Evilmusician (Apr 13, 2007)

Got the guitar plays and sounds great ,neck is awesome ,not a ding anywhere and plays like butter ! glad I took the chance !:rockon:


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

theres one on the Japanese web right now with a BIN price of 40,ooo yen...about $370.oo US...

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/102804470


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## kous (Apr 12, 2007)

Hey Pete,

Would you happen to know the range of years that Fender Japan made a specific LPB colour? I have one with a Q serial, and its metallic and bright. The new ones out (I believe) are OLPB, ULB, and LPB but they are all darker compared to the LPB that I have. I really like this colour and was wanting a body for my spare neck.

Sorry to change the topic


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

I believe there`d be no way of know for sure because FJ builds shop orders all the time, so whether they only built a production series in that color and/or shop orders, only the company would really know...and they don`t like to reveal info on numbers...at least not to this gaijin...I asked before.


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## kous (Apr 12, 2007)

I got mine from a music store in Fukuoka. I specifically ordered one from the online twang catalogue. This was around 2004 I believe. But the guitar I got, from the serial, dates it 1993/1994 so I think it was a display model. I'm not sure if its a store model though. 

I guess I have to go back and look for one myself :frown:

The weird thing is for non-Japanese, Japanese speaking people, they either love you or they're scared of you ha,ha,ha! :wink:


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

every custom order I own is stamped that way on the neck and in the pocket. 
Living here for so many years has changed my opinion on the country and the people a great deal. Many of us seem to have this ideal of Japan before we arrive and spend time here, lost my rose colored glasses after the first couple of years.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

well..sorry to revive this thread..but i'de just like to mentionned that i basicaly just turned a new leaf toward MIJ and CIJ strats...when i had made those statments, i had tried a few and they were SHIT...but i bought one yesturday that is just BLOWING my mind...simply a cool cat man. it's a Flammed chery red strat, ebony board, HSS config with a "real" original Floyd rose...jsut a beauty


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## sneakypete (Feb 2, 2006)

is it a Foto Flame?...if so should be a sticker on the back of the headstock...find the Hamburglar in the flame on the neck.


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## kous (Apr 12, 2007)

sneakypete said:


> is it a Foto Flame?...if so should be a sticker on the back of the headstock...find the Hamburglar in the flame on the neck.


My guess is a fotoflame as well. 21 fret with a vintage style neck plate. But ebony fretboard?
It could possibly be the 22 fret with contour heel. I'm not sure if it came in a cherry burst, but I know there was a wine-red burst colour. Doesn't have the sticker or the hamburglar though.


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## hoser (Feb 2, 2006)

I'll take an 80s MIJ Fender over an MIA any day. My 89 MIJ tele slays every other one I've played, or owned. Great value for really kickass guitars.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

kous said:


> My guess is a fotoflame as well. 21 fret with a vintage style neck plate. But ebony fretboard?
> It could possibly be the 22 fret with contour heel. I'm not sure if it came in a cherry burst, but I know there was a wine-red burst colour. Doesn't have the sticker or the hamburglar though.


it's a more of a dark red-wine actually..not as much cherry..hehe. as no sticker on the back of the headstock doh.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

hoser said:


> My 89 MIJ tele slays every other one I've played, or owned.


So...just for numbers' sake and the record...how many have you played?


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## hoser (Feb 2, 2006)

smorgdonkey said:


> So...just for numbers' sake and the record...how many have you played?


well, I'll try to remember...I've been playing for just over 20 years now.
personally I've owned 2 US strats, an 80's MIJ squier strat, an MIM strat, a US tele, an MIM tele, and an MIJ tele. the only one I still have is the MIJ tele.
I've played at least a dozen or so at various stores over the years when looking to buy, or at friends/jams...
My father is a fender guy, and I've played all of his over the years....just venturing a guess here but I'd estimate he's owned at least a half dozen strats and teles, of all makes (US, MIM and MIJ).
so in total, just estimating it's gotta be about 30 or more.

Personally, the perfect tele for me, is the 80s basswood MIJ. I've owned mine since 89 and it's still my go to guitar.


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

iaresee said:


> I think that's a great price. The MiJ Fenders are fantastic.


Some are. Others are horrible though. Not sure if they only exported the good/bad/indifferent ones, but certainly in the 90s in Japan there were a wide range with prices to match. I had one that cost maybe $4~500, and it was at best OK. Eventually gave it to a friend because I just didn't play it once I started to find old 70s Tokais at the used guitar marts in Kyoto & Osaka...it was a dog in comparison. 
OTOH, they also had some higher end models, some of which were really good...
That said, that sounds a fair price esp. in comparison to a MIM. Can you compromise and offer $500? Can you play it first to make sure you like it? I found the necks varied a lot on MIJ strats (isn't that true of all strats though?), and some I just hated.


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## Metal#J# (Jan 1, 2007)

I had 7 of them at one point. I much prefered them over MIA Strats. My favorite was burgandy mist with a single bridge hum, one volume knob, no pickguard and she locked up at both ends. What a player........:rockon2: Sadly, after years of regular playing it needed a fret job and the a local guy butchered it on me. 

J


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