[ed2000]

Anyone have any knowledge of Crafted In Japan Fender guitars from the years 1997 to 2000.
Specifically:
1- quality of the electronics
2- quality of the pickups
Thanks

 

[GuitaristZ]

japanese fenders are supposed to be good guitars. at least from what I have heard. They are higher quality than MIM strats anyway from what I hear.

 

[Big White Tele]

This is my 97 CIJ 68 ri. The stock switch and pots are marginal, but the pickups are decent. The guitar itself is very good, fit and finish, and playability. this one is a 2 piece body with an offset seam. I replaced the pots, and switch and installed Fralin blues specials. Its a great guitar.

 

[sesroh]

hey big white tele, look under the neck and on the body where the neck attaches. it's actually a 67 strat that they some how had to market as 68s. mine is a 1988 MIJ issue which has the ST-67(? not sure if im missing a letter in there) printed on the neck and on the body.

in regards to MIJ/CIJ, they're incredible guitars. I've tried tons of american and mexican strats and teles but the necks on my japan strats much nicer, IMO. very smooth and fast. my father has an original all stock 1968 strat and the necks on my strats are just as awesome

 

[torndownunit]

Ya, I don't know what exactly they do different with the necks, but every CIJ Fender I have played has had an incredible neck.

I know they use Fender USA pickups on the currrent ones, but I don't what they used from those years. Whatever they are they sound pretty good though. I recorded with one from the mid eighties, and one from the 90's. They were both stock and sounded great.

 

[sesroh]

i keep all my guitars stock. not because they'd really be worth anything like the 60s fenders, but when i see a vintage guitar that isn't stock because of the player's decision to put in new pickups or locking tuners, it disgusts me.

 

[fraser]

hi- i have a 97 cij strat, 63 reissue-
its my favourite guitar all around, the neck feels great- its as good as any strat ive played- beats my 68 strat hands down
i got it brand new and unplayed- still wrapped in shipping plastic wrap in late 97, have been throwing it around for 10 years and it still plays as good as it ever did.
the pickups were fine, but i threw other pickups in it- the originals are still good enough to use elsewhere tho-
the wiring is good- i left it alone with the exception of cutting the tone controls out, but i do that to all my stuff, im sure it was fine if your into that
what blew me away was the quality of the thing- the frets where excellently dressed, everything was tight and perfect- it was even intonated lol- ive seen brand new american strats that needed work out of the box....
if i could i would buy many more of these

 

[sneakypete]

Anyone have any knowledge of Crafted In Japan Fender guitars from the years 1997 to 2000.
Specifically:
1- quality of the electronics
2- quality of the pickups
Thanks

really comes down to the model.　They made a lot in all price ranges so if you go low end can`t really expect too much, go high end and things get much better...but...at some point they went from full size pots and steel switches...like all of my 80s FJs...to the flimsy pots and plastic switches which are now standard on production models. The newer DiMarzio series have 2 piece bodies, good electronics and lacquer finishes but they cost quite a bit more.
Need to knpw what models you`re thinking about to help.

 

[sesroh]

do you know if any sites that have info on the guitars? all i can seem to find are sites to buy the new ones or used 90s ones. i need more info on my 80s MIJ fenders

 

[Ti-Ron]

I reed that tread with a lot of interess 'cause I'm searching a strat right now and I'm looking for a MIM or a MIJ because I don't have the budget to go on a Made with proud in USA . I don't have a lot of money but I don't want to trow away the quality of the axe. Is that means that I have to take a MIJ 'cause the are better than the MIM? Or it's almost the same thing? I'm looking for something like a sunburst or an olympic white with a maple neck.
Thanks for the informations!

 

[sesroh]

MIJ is totally superior to MIM. personally, I play MIJ fenders over american standards. you'll find that MIJ fenders are considerably more than the MIM models unless you buy a MIM classic series new in the shop, but they're over rated. they don't neccesarily have specific year models either. they just have 50s strat, 50s tele, 60s strat, 60s tele and so on. I've played the classic series guitars and have yet to find one with a nice enough neck.

 

[SCREEM]

I love my 54ri strat only second to my other MIJ guitar, both well under $1000 with upgrades, my mia take a backseat to these in mojo factor, that could be attributed to their age though, the greco is 1980 and the 54 is 1990...killer stuff IMO

here's forum member elindso (on the left) rippin' it up on my 54ri :rockon2:

 

[elindso]

I love his strat also.

That guitar I'd put up against any as a great player.

It's a nice neck on a comfortable Body.

 

[sneakypete]

guys...gotta remember Fender Japan makse a bunch of models and the low end stuff is priced that way for a reason, if they can sell a guitar for 4 or $500.oo that means the retailer paid 2-$250.oo so how much did it cost to build? Can`t expecct top quality parts nor do they spend a lot of time and effort putting those together...good starter guitars but...
Best bet in my opinion is used...
The only production models that are using good electronic now are the DiMarzios but they cost, every other CIJ I`ve seen has the cheap electronics and some have US p`ups. I haven`t bought a new guitar in years...always used for me now unless somebody makes me an offer I can`t refuse, a buyer gets more guitar for the same money as a new model might cost.
1997 to 2000 are the years when the switch to the cheaper electronics was made wasn`t it? Most of my FJs are 80s and 90s and the 80s models all came stock with good electronics but I`m not real sure how much of a difference that all makes...the stuff they use now is small and looks cheap but it works...but hey...everything is small over here.

 

[sesroh]

both of mine have american pickups and sound just as good as the 68 strat my father has. after playing my fenders he's come to the conclusion that they play just as nicely. I'm not saying that these are the best guitars out there and compare the the vintage ones in term of absolute quality, but for what they are, they're great. I've played lots of fenders in shops and I can't even really tell the difference other than if they're the deluxe issues with the pretty high quality pick-ups.

 

[elindso]

I'd buy one. I have played a MIM 62? re-issue that is a super player.

It beat everything on the rack at Steve's in Montreal.

That said there was a MIJ Tele there that was killer also.