your first/favourite fender-japan?

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HAMAMATSU

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Location
YOKOSUKA, JAPAN.
8) i have bought the fender-japan, 6 in the past and they were all good! some of them were made by fujigen, some were by tokai i guess. i still miss some of them today and regret to have sold them. my first one was ST72-US pickups in black/maple from 1987. this black angel was the first fender-japan baby of mine. the fender-japan ended a few years ago but the japanese fender products still continue to the future it seems today. thats great and TWANG! whats yours & story?
 
I've had 2, a matching set of strat and P-Bass.
E serials, maple necks with skunk stripe. Good ones.
I sold the P-bass because the neck was too big for my little chimp hands.
Kept the contemporary strat with the system 1 trem.
I have better pics of them somewhere.

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I have owned several MIJ Fenders; Extrad, Custom Edition, ORDER MADE, but most of what I have left now are a few E serial necks & bodies that were parted together to make some great Strats. 8)
I also have a F serial '57 neck, and an I serial '54 neck that are ready for future projects.
I have a mint condition lefty '68 reissue maple cap neck; the maple cap is very nicely figured & flamed. I have it on an old right hand E serial body. It is one of my favorite Strats. :)
 
I’ve had a bunch of them. All very well made. but I tend to trade up over time.

The Strats I still own are the 1978 hard tail Fender USA that was my brother’s who passed away. It was the first really good guitar I got to play as a teenager and would sneak in his room and plug it in when he was at work...

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and my Tokai Springys (a 1979 ST100 and a 1981 CAR ST80).

I would put my 79 ST100 up against any Strat. That thing is a jewel.

The ST100

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The ST80 and its cousin.

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But all of the MIJ Fender Strats I've owned were very well made guitars.
 
I'll post some of them since I never get tired of looking at pictures of guitars. 8)

1985/86 Crafted in Japan Strat

Wavy 6 screw pick guard

"A" serial number

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1995 Jerry Donahue Telecaster. Previous owner switched out tuners for Spertzels.

"A" serial number

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For me what it often comes down to is wood. I like denser woods it seems. The painted guitars often feel lightweight and I suspect there is alder under there. They don't seem to sustain as well as denser ash in my opinion. I think that is why I sold them. The flame top I kinda wish I still had.... 8)
 
Over a period of about 30 years I have owned a ton of Fender Japan examples, most all Strats, then a few Teles, Jags, & Jazzmasters to boot.
I have owned regular production, ORDER MADE stamped, Custom Edition, Extrad, etc.
I still have several regular production, E serial range Strats. :)
The one that really sticks out in my mind is an ORDER MADE stamped ST62; metallic green paint (a bit lighter in tone than a true Sherwood Green) on a light weight alder body, gold hardware, and the fingerboard was Brazilian rosewood. The neck was also the thickest neck I have ever played on any Fender Japan guitar. The order number was K6**. I really ****ed up when I sold that guitar. :cry:
 
I am the lucky ST-62 Custom Edition 1992 made owner, 3TS nitro finish. It seems to be a custom order becase the neck is a bit (just a bit) slimer than regular. It sounds as a good old strat should sound. It has USA pickups stock.
 
Looks like all of my Fenders were made by Fujigen if I have it right? Tokai began making guitars for Fender in Japan in 1997?

Now I need to look for a Tokai built Fender and see how it compares to my Springys. 8)
 
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