is there anywhere to buy new Japanese Fenders ?

i just followed a link to the fender japan page, to which i never even knew existed. and sweet jesus, there are so many more interesting guitars on there than on 'this' fender page. they arent especially cheap, but theres a satisfying lack of black, red and sunburst guitars.

look at this stunner !

http://fenderjapan.co.jp/tn72g-ftmh.html

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Cheers
Steve

Hi guys: you're both in the UK and so am I. I ended up buying my Fiesta '57RI Strat through Charlie Chandler's Guitar Experience out in West London. Ultimately, it was a good way to go because Charlie is a gent who really knows his stuff and is out to help. However, there were various issues with currency fluctuations and other import related issues and it was a long ride only made possible because Charlie was up for hanging in there. Have a careful talk with him before starting, if this is the road you want to travel:

http://www.guitarexperience.co.uk/

Another well-known route to Japanese Fenders in our part of the world is the Japanese Guitar Emporium (Charlie Chandler's MIJs often come through this route, though mine didn't):

http://www.guitaremporium.co.uk/

There have been periodic problems buying guitars from this site, partly due to the fluctuating health of the gentleman who runs it and sometimes for reasons to do with import economics. Depending on those things, it is usually the first port of call for those wanting to buy MIJ fenders this side of the Atlantic. Some dribble-worthy items to be found on that site.

Next. The fella who owns Regent Sounds guitar shop at 4 Denmark St in London makes periodic visits to Japan, buys up batches of MIJ Fenders, ships them home and pops them on the walls. Pay a visit: what you see is what you get so there's no ordering the exact model of your choice, but it's all above board and great guitars are to be had at sensible prices. My MIJ '75RI Jazz Bass came from Regent. Far as I can discover they still don't seem to have a website, but anyhow, you need to go in person.

Next. There's http://www.mijfenders.com . I believe this chap is based in Scotland but I could never get consistent communications going with him and gave up before I started. However, others seem to have had successful experiences here, so...

Last. There's a couple of sellers who seem to regularly offer newly imported MIJ Fenders on ebay.co.uk. I believe one of them is the Scotland-based fella; another is somebody in Switzerland who sells all over Europe and appears to be reliable and sensibly priced. But I have no personal experience to go on so you make your own decisions on this one.

Some leads for you. Any help?

Cheers - C

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There are some great finishes there. Sadly, the US market is stuck with colors that belong on Grand-dad's Toyota Avalon.

Great post Ceri just what the forum is all about swopping info and experiences. I have looked at the sites mentioned previously and would love to add a japanese fender to my collection of US, Mexican, korean and Chinese models.

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ukraider
"money cant buy you love but it can buy guitars!!!!!!"

I've been to the Fender Japan website a few times, myself. They have some pretty cool stuff there, that I've never seen here. I suppose if I ever had the money and was able to go over there, I'd love to pick up a few goodies. I wonder what the procedure would be if you were to visit somewhere on the other side of the world, buy a guitar and bring it back? I suppose you can have it shipped. I imagine it won't be cheap to do so.

One of the nicest instruments I've ever had was a Japanese Fender 50's reissue P-Bass, that I purchased around 1993 or 1994. It had the nicest action without any setup and a hell of a tone. I was foolish to get rid of it.

Buying them in Japan is not a problem, but returning them to the U.S. is an issue. Paying the customs fees and taxes at the port of entry could and would likely be exorbitant.

Buying them new and shipping them here would not be allowed by Fender. Any foreign dealer doing so would lose their Fender authorized dealer status because of regional licensing by Fender. Used instruments are not affected by these licenses.

Yeah, that's what I figured. I've came across a Japanese website that sells Japanese Fenders from the 80's or whatever and the classic lawsuit copies (Greco, etc.) I think the shipping to the US was something around $300 for a P-Bass weight. I'm sure there is probably other issues involved, too.

Use care here. You can get taken!

Yeah, I wouldn't buy them, as tempting it may be. If I'm going to buy anything used, I'd want to play it first.

Hi seismic: with friendly respect, this isn't quite correct. We've had several Forum users here over the years that have bought guitars from Ishibashi (as in sjlen's post, above) and reported good, reliable experiences. Ishibashi are a big dealership in Japan and it doesn't seem to have hurt them any.

It certainly is true that Fender would prefer us to buy US, Mexican and Chinese guitars because they own 100 percent of these businesses and so get all the profit from the sales. Whereas they only own 50 percent of Fender Japan. However, it is perfectly legal for people to import guitars from other countries, and also legal for others, like those listed on this thread, to set themselves up as export-importers of duty paid goods. That's known as a "grey market": big manufacturers don't much like it but it is not against any rules.

It is also true that if folks buy guitars abroad in person and bring them back to their own country they stand a high chance of being stung very heavily for import duties and taxes at the point of entry. Customs officers are very alert to these things and several Forum users have had nasty shocks this way.

Cheers - C

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thanks for all the information, something to tuck away for next time i get the guitar itch. i only got a new one a couple of weeks ago, bit soon for another considering i barely play them

im not fussed about playing one before i got it. i have a MIJ guitar, albeit an '80's one, and id put it on a level approaching an american standard. its certainly better than anything mexican ive got.

in fact, even if these MIJ guitars were exactly the same quality as a MIM (which is no bad thing), id happily pay twice as much for one of the rare, japanese only designs they have.

i find the FSR's produced for 'our' market to be some of the most interesting guitars going, certainly within my price range. looks like fender japan just constantly make FSR's