Not a Tokai but a Fender JV Strat

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JohnA

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Am I correct in thinking a JV strat shouldn't have 'made in Japan' on the base of the neck?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Japan-JV-Series-1957-Stratocaster-RI-Vintage-MIJ_W0QQitemZ270159445787QQihZ017QQcategoryZ38082QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem
 
No, the Fender Japan models either had Made in Japan, or, more recently, Crafted in Japan in that position on the neck.

I've never been able to get a decent explanation of the difference between the two - everyone seems to have thier own theories on which of the two is "best", and it's usually whichever one they are trying to sell at the time. :eek: If anyone could explain the difference between Made in J & Crafted in J, I'd love to hear it.
 
Im lead to belive that MIJ means it was Made in Japan :p

Crafted in Japan i was told means it was crafted in Japan for only the domestic market and not exported :-? but im not sure
 
Yes, that's one of the theories I've heard, but there are others. With regard to John's original point, maybe I misread the point he intended to make. Yes, the MIJ guitars did carry a label, but possibly the original JV series didn't.

I never had an early Squier or MIJ guitar; it seems that most of us made a choice, back in the early 80s, whether we were in the Squier camp or the Tokai camp - I chose Tokai. Not sure why, I think I just reckoned that a Tokai Strat was cooler than a Squier. There was actually probably little to choose between them in terms of quality.
 
As far as I know from about 1984 - 89 they all had 'made in Japan' on the neck from about '90 onwards the had 'crafted in Japan'

I'm pretty certain this was just an image thing, not really anything significant do do with the guitar's quality.

My question related to the early (1982-83) JV series, I thought they didn't have anything on the base of the neck, I know mine doesn't but maybe some did??
 
This link will tell you ALL about JV fender even down to the last screw :wink:

http://www.21frets.com/

Take a look :eek:
 
I have been led to believe some of the japanese companies claiming crafted in japan are making the parts and having them put together in Korea and China, as i said this is what i've been led to believe. This came from a so far very reliable sorce.......Cheers ....Mick
 
leadguitar_323 said:
I have been led to believe some of the japanese companies claiming crafted in japan are making the parts and having them put together in Korea and China, as i said this is what i've been led to believe. This came from a so far very reliable sorce.......Cheers ....Mick
Click to expand...

Mick, this doesn't make much sense to me. All of Fender Japan's guitars are now marked CIJ, it wouldn't make financial sense to ship them from Japan to Korea for assembly and then ship them back to Japan for sale, maybe the ones for the Korean Market???

After all the design of most Fender guitars means assembly is the smallest part of the job.
 
1982 Fender JV have made in japan on the headstock....

sometime in early 1983 theis was moved to the neck back...there were no JV crafted in japan..that is much later than JV

also i doubt very much if that is a 1982 JV as the ser no indicates a later date....

i would like to see the neck date......its not that hard to take a neck off...
 
villager said:
1982 Fender JV have made in japan on the headstock....

sometime in early 1983 theis was moved to the neck back...there were no JV crafted in japan..that is much later than JV

also i doubt very much if that is a 1982 JV as the ser no indicates a later date....

i would like to see the neck date......its not that hard to take a neck off...
Click to expand...

Cheers Mark, I really don't need a new strat!! Apart from maybe that mint new Springy you've just put up :wink:
 
villager said:
thats a scarily mint guitar....
Click to expand...

It's funny, I lust after these mint guitars but my two favourite players are my black JV & LS80 goldtop which are both far from mint.
 
the JVs I own and have seen say MIJ under the Fender logo on the headstock but not at the base of the neck. There are unlimited theories on why they changed from MIJ to CIJ but I`ve yet to read one that is definitive...and all I`ve read comes from people outside Japan...most folks here couldn`t care less it seems. As to which is better... matter of taste I guess one has to take into account the custom editions, FJ can and have produced some outstanding guitars ever since they began building...both MIJ and CIJ. Based on the ones I own I prefer my MIJs and there are very few production CIJs that I`d buy...the current top end DiMarzio being one. I also have some great order mades . The neck butt dates should put to rest any doubts about any early FJs.
 
villager said:
i would like to see the neck date......its not that hard to take a neck off...
Click to expand...

I hear ya man; I can take a Strat from strings, to no strings, neck off, photos, neck back on, new strings on, & playing, within 60 minutes

Funny how some here make docuementation sound like a 9 month pregnancy :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: ...........
 
JV 94279 seems too high of a serial number to be mid 82.

I own serial number JV 01833, which is from the second month of manufacture (I think it was April 82 or thereabouts).
 
The serial number indicates that it was made between Dec 83 untill Feb 1984. :wink:

So it cant be 1982 its one of the last ones made

So it will be interesting to see the neck date :eek:
 
the ser no's are not always very accurate to date the guitar...neck date is best way...

there are some with early neck dates where the ser no indicates later...maybe the plate was swopped at some time, or they didnt follow the ser no/date system all the time...lol...who knows...

neck date is easy to look at and should be on ANY JV auction for authenticity...
 
villager said:
neck date is easy to look at and should be on ANY JV auction for authenticity...
Click to expand...

+1 villager; any brand of guitar with a date or any form of usable, comparable docuementation should always be included in stock photos, even if it is not included in an eBay listing, the seller will have it for reference upon request from a potential buyer

The neck date should be an advantage in selling the item, and any seller should be take advantage of selling points like that, unless it's not what it's advertised as
 
only one of my JVs does not have a pencil date...does have the small greenish blue sticker on the back of the headstock. JVs can be more accurately dated by serials than later production models though obviously not as precise as the pencil date...then again, because of the feeding frenzy on old MIJs, sellers over here are better at getting gaijin to buy their guitars... so how do any of us really know the FJs we have are 100% genuine?

whitetele095.jpg


whitetele106.jpg


whitetele107.jpg
 
when you have taken apart as many JV's as I have you know whats genuine and whats not...the pencilled neck date is only ever written in 2 distict handwriting styles for every JV i have ever seen, and always under the lacquer, also the body shape, and the routing pocket on JV's are very distinct, the pickups are only 3 possible types..again distinct, etc etc ...
 

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