Query: Jap Fender Vs USA Fender strat

[lilbrisket]

Hey there fellow softies

I recently played a friends strat for a period of one month and the Fender Strat is the most beautiful guitar Iv EVER played (in terms of FEEL), it was a mexican made fender strat.
I love the strat so much for its tone and especially its feel to the point where id like to buy one.. Now here is my question.
We all know mexican made fender strats are generally low quality But what is the difference between a Japanese Fender Strat and a USA fender strat and why is the price difference so huge? arent USA and Japan manufacturers just as good? or are there noticeable differences in feel, playablilty and tone?
Jap Strats are reasonably priced(davis guitar sells for 900) but some american strats are like 2000$..Why is that??

Appreciate ur feedback or opinions guys

 

[Ized]

this topic has been discussed to death many times already. A simple search would generate the inputs you need.

 

[teokiatuan]

nothing would beat your ears and your hands

it's like asking which meepok is the best, but not trying them all out.
go try one out yourself.that would be the best way to find out.

 

[lightice]

We all know mexican made fender strats are generally low quality
Appreciate ur feedback or opinions guys

This is a very blanket statement, the mexican plant puts out good quality guitars as well. I've played many mex strats made 06 and after that are of very good quality.

The only difference is that the fretwork on full maple necks isn't as good as the american ones. The fretwork for the jap ones be it rosewood or maple isn't as detailed as the american ones as well. Its inbetween.

To answer the rest of your question:

Production costs are the main difference. The jap factory is a contracted factory, the american factory is fender's own.

Feel, playability and tone really is very subjective, its best to try them all.
Jap strats are mostly based on re-issue designs of particular years.

The american standard/series are continued development to more modern tastes while their other offerings appeal to different groups of people.

If money is a concern, pick out a good used mexican strat, the pots they use are CTS ones, which are the same as american.

Also, jap fenders are not meant for export, its meant for local jap consumers.

The main differences are neck shapes , neck sizes , electronics and some jap models use basswood.

 

[Ex14]

and i heard jap strats have a lacquered neck (like alot of lacquer) so some ppl don't like it

 

[Danelectrico]

as other posters have said, the JP fenders are basically reissues and hence maintain the vintage specs. the ones i have owned and played (strat, tele, jazzmaster) were from the reissue series and I found the neck to have excessive lacquer, a vintage 7.25" radius and small vintage frets. not my ideal playing guitars.

i've never managed to bond with any JP fenders, but then again it's all really a matter of personal taste. the guitars sound alright, no doubt (all except the jazzmaster which just didn't sound at all like a vintage jazzmaster). however for me it came down to whether I liked the neck profile. I didn't.

 

[ymmak]

I personally do not consider jap strats as reissues. Well, they do have some semblance of those vintage strats of that era, but you can easily identify some differences. For one, the body isnt the tradition alder or ash, but basswood. And I dont think lacquer-overkill necks are vintage specs as well.

 

[lightice]

They are named after the year they are reissuing.

The mid range onwards Jap ones are alder or ash.

Have a look at the specs on their website:
http://www.fenderjapan.co.jp/fender/2008fender/stratocaster.htm

5 of the 6 reissue ranges use ash or alder, only 1 of 6 use basswood.

Satin the neck and it plays like a MIM or MIA.

Based on current production fenders, the jap ones are most period correct reissues.

 

[Ized]

american strats are not in the price range of 2000.....more like 1.5k now at swee lee for an american standard.

the highway ones are even cheaper.

 

[lightice]

09 price hike, once this batch of strats at SL goes out, the US street price for a standard strat is USD1270.
HW1 is now around USD900

 

[HIMYNAMEISARTHUR]

jap strats are NOT reissues..that is a hige misconception many softies make..jap strats like st-72 is BASED on the 72 strat, not the exact model...personally i feel guitars are something personal, if u liek it alot, u shld buy it..i have played squiers dat i liked more den some jap fenders, in terms of tone and feel, so i suggest u try many strats till u find one u like, or better still make one yourself...cos only YOU noe wad suits you best.

 

[Whitestrat]

american strats are not in the price range of 2000.....more like 1.5k now at swee lee for an american standard.

the highway ones are even cheaper.

The Standard is ALMOST the bottom of the barrel for MIA Fenders. The AVRIs, Hot Rods, Deluxes and artist series fetch much higher... Although it's odd. The Strat began as a workhorse guitar. Seems odd that the American Standard is the lowest range of the MIAs.

Aren't highway 1s discontinued?

 

[Whitestrat]

We all know mexican made fender strats are generally low quality

One of the BEST strats I've played to date is the Classic Player series. and it's MIM. Beats the hell out of many custom shop strats I've tried... Research these, and you'll know why...

 

[Ized]

The Standard is ALMOST the bottom of the barrel for MIA Fenders. The AVRIs, Hot Rods, Deluxes and artist series fetch much higher... Although it's odd. The Strat began as a workhorse guitar. Seems odd that the American Standard is the lowest range of the MIAs.

Aren't highway 1s discontinued?

I think the 2008 american standards are really good workhorse guitars. I just tried one at Goose's place....really awesome tone and playability at a rock bottom price which was something you couldnt get with an MIA standard even just a few years back.

I do hope that fender USA is making their standards more value for money rather than cutting corners like gibson. Or maybe that piece i tried was just a really good one and not a lemon.

 

[lightice]

HW1s are still available.

The recent price hike has put the MIA standards out of reach of many.
Its no longer 1.5-1.6k SGD. Except for pre-price hike stocks.

The american standard has always remained a workhorse guitar. I wouldn't say it's bottom of the barrel. There are lots of features on the guitar that makes it possibly the favorite guitar of many many players. Especially the new 08 standard. Contrary to popular belief and scorn, fender does listen to their customers.

Its possibly more inline with the tradition of a strat, affordable workhorse.
When it first appeared, the strat was USD300 , in today's currency around USD1.8k. It still is higher than even after the recent price hike.

A MIA standard is USD1.2-1.3k.

I think the contributing factors are the following:

AVRI - different tooling as the necks are 7.25" , thin coat of nitro, pickups
hot rod - full nitro coating, different pickups, different neck shapes
deluxe - added binding for tele. S1 switching for both. noiseless pickups
artists - you pay for endorsements and whatever customizations for the artist

 

[lightice]

jap strats are NOT reissues..that is a hige misconception many softies make..jap strats like st-72 is BASED on the 72 strat, not the exact model...

The custom shop reissues are not exact copies either.

The Jap VSP ones are pretty much the most period accurate guitars from fender japan. And their prices are also the highest of all jap fenders. Around 1.5k SGD delivered.

 

[eieio]

i always wanted to ask abt this neck size thing, diff in japan & usa neck profile..
is the measurement made at the curve, say 7.25", then got this c & v, size at saddle & at different fret level?

 

[Danelectrico]

jap strats are NOT reissues..that is a hige misconception many softies make..jap strats like st-72 is BASED on the 72 strat, not the exact model...

Well, then it would be a misconception made by a lot of people no?

Including people that specialise in parallel importing and exporting them to other countries...
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.blackman4/models.htm

...and websites that purport to provide info on Strats...
http://www.strat-central.com/japan.htm
http://www.xhefriguitars.com/page9.html

...and Jaguars...
http://www.fenderjaguar.net/reissue.htm

...and the thousands of other people referring to CIJ Fenders as "reissues" or "RI" on forums or their own websites, just based on a simple google search.

Just as a matter of semantics, reissue does not mean an outright copy with every exact feature intact. The term reissue means it is based on a certain model from that era and boasts features and parts consistent with production then. It was never intended to be a perfect copy...even in a specific year of production there would often be some differences in the guitars being produced from one batch to another...there wasn't one perfect model used as the blueprint for all. It's not like say the Fender Andy Summers Custom Shop Tribute Telecaster which is a ding for ding replica of the exact iconic one-in-the-world guitar. http://www.fender.com/summers/

Yes there often is some artistic licence applied in producing RI models - e.g. some CIJ RIs have basswood bodies, CIJ Jazzmaster RIs have what are essentially strat pickups under the hood of the Jazzmaster pickup cover, the MIM 72 Telecaster Deluxe and Custom humbucker does not use Seth Lover's original design including the Cunife magnets etc.

The confusion if any is probably caused by people who use the word "reissue" and "copy" (or "replica") interchangeably. They are not. I reckon the term "reissue" in general would refer to an original item (or model of something) made by the original company / manufacturer, that is subsequently released and made available again after being unavailable for a time. This definition would already contain within it the assumption that it is not a perfect copy with all the materials, parts and build specifications of the original or first issue model.

This probably says alot about the state of my life, but I'm actually finding this topic pretty interesting

 

[HIMYNAMEISARTHUR]

take a look at the official fender jap website..the models are remake of their vintage counterparts thus not reissues...texas special pickups didnt exist in the 50s however the '50s' jap strats are equipped with them,thus technically they are not reissues.so would you consider the road worn series's 50's strat a reissue? yes most parts of the guitars are period correct, however, it isnt very accurate to the actual guitar made in that particular year...


however when you look at customshop reissues, details up to the pick up winding , routing and the construction, is recreated, and the difference between the original and the reissue is negligible,eg. the decal font,.and that is a reissue

 

[Whitestrat]

Well, then it would be a misconception made by a lot of people no?

The CIJ/MIJs are as much accurate reissues as the AVRI 57/62s, which by themselves don't mean squat either...