It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:35 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 19 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
Post subject: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 11:47 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:02 pm
Posts: 1978
Location: Manchester
Absolutely stoked to have won this on ebay, this was one of the guitars I lusted after in my teens, it's a beautiful colour and the black headstock MIJ Strats are just great to look at.

Image

Image

Image

Collecting from the seller next week.

_________________
Image
Image my stuff on soundcloud


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 12:08 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2010 4:21 pm
Posts: 986
Location: moon base #9
Awesome! Where is the cable jack?

_________________
My ability to spell is in direct proportion to the amount of coffee I've had.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 12:13 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:02 pm
Posts: 1978
Location: Manchester
The socket's a non-standard side mounted affair.

Image

_________________
Image
Image my stuff on soundcloud


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 12:53 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Sat Apr 23, 2011 8:44 am
Posts: 604
Location: Richmond, VA
Nice guitar! I remember them as well. They had an interesting looking locking nut for the tremolo too.

Enjoy it and post up some soundcloud clips with it! 8)


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 1:06 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:02 pm
Posts: 1978
Location: Manchester
Yeah, the old System II tremolo. First job is to figure out how that locks in place, I hardtail all my Strats as soon as I get them home.

Just noticed this has those classy F-stamped control knobs. Definitely something Fender should start making again.

_________________
Image
Image my stuff on soundcloud


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 1:27 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 6:35 pm
Posts: 1212
Location: No way
Congrats , Frank ! Really nice. I figure I spend too little time on ebay. Haven't seen any competitions or lottery there . Good luck with locking it . I have no tip - have only seen that kinda trem on pictures. I like how the headstock-color 'flows' through the rosewood and further into the pickguard . Stylish 8)

_________________
ImageA-man


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 1:34 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:02 pm
Posts: 1978
Location: Manchester
Paid £300 which is $480, probably more than the real market value but as someone once said "the quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten".

Even Scott Grove approves of these guitars.


_________________
Image
Image my stuff on soundcloud


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 1:40 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:32 pm
Posts: 235
Location: Rossendale, UK
Nice guitar Frank!
I remember lusting after one when they were released.
The locking nut is a joy to use!

_________________
Chris


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 2:14 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 6:35 pm
Posts: 1212
Location: No way
Sorry , english is my second language- I did not think through what you wrote,Frank . Of course you won the auction . :lol:

I have never heard Scott Grove say anything negative about Fender Japan - my impression is that he always holds them over the american ones.
I myself has got a tele thinline MIJ , and this very Forum has assured me that it is from 85-86 , according to serial numbers. ( I am still doubting it a bit , as I have read that there was some confusion about those numbers back in the days - and the person who sold it said it was 5-6 years old ) That doesn't bother me at all - it is a superb tele , just switched the neck pup for my own likings

_________________
ImageA-man


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 3:00 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:02 pm
Posts: 1978
Location: Manchester
I've got an 88 MIJ Telecaster which is just astounding. And I had a 1986 E series Squier MIJ Strat once so I know how good they are. Without guitars of this quality coming from Japan we wouldn't have had the Fender revival in the late 1980s that transformed the company into a world leader again. Can't wait to get my hands on this guitar now.

_________________
Image
Image my stuff on soundcloud


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:16 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:03 am
Posts: 9449
Location: NL Canada
Congrats on getting such a lovely addition to your guitarsenal.MIJ Fenders are of incredible quality.I was looking at some MIJ Fenders at the Guitars Japan site a couple of nights ago and I almost shorted out my keyboard with the droolfest it started.

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 9:51 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:02 pm
Posts: 1978
Location: Manchester
Guitar's here in my hands now and I'm £300 ($480) lighter in the wallet.

I'd forgotten just how exceptionally well made these 1980s MIJ Strats were, this guitar really is beautifully put together. Very little fret wear considering how old the guitar is, neck's lovely and straight, a really nice guitar for the money. Lucky for me the seller had specified collection only so I was the only one bidding. I guess everyone wants MIA and MIM these days.

I just ran it through the amp very briefly to get an idea of the sound and the bridge humbucker has quite a nice kick to it, good for that edgy 1980s hair metal sound. Single coils are a little weaker than standard US pickups but still have that Strat character to them.

Unfortunately the guitar's had a typical "well intentioned amateur" setup done. Strings are too light, feel like 9-42, action is so low it's got some fret buzz, nowhere near enough neck relief and the pickups are jacked up too close to the strings. I'll bring it under control tonight and post some sound clips tomorrow when I can crank the amp up a bit.

Tremolo is pretty much useless even with the locking nut though! Does some good divebombs but it's not set floating so there's no way to pull up to try to return the strings to pitch when they drift. And boy, do they drift. That's getting hardtailed very rapidly. Jack socket needs a quick tighten too, other than that the thing's been looked after very well.

I'm guessing this finish is Burgundy Mist, difficult to say with Fender Japan as they kind of go their own way with colour schemes. Either way it's a really classy looking guitar. And this has the one thing I utterly love about 1980s Fenders, thick poly coat on the back of the neck. You can keep your satin finish thin nitro, I'll take this every time. And those F-stamped control knobs are a touch of class, Fender PLEASE reissue these.

The guitar's going to get modded though. I've been on the lookout for a reasonably-priced Strat to fit an internal Roland hex pickup on and this is ideally suited to the job. The 13-pin socket will go where the standard jack is and I'll get local luthier Ged Green to rout the top for a standard Strat jack plate.Pickguard's too nice to cut into (and impossible to replace now) so I'll fit a new one with cutouts for the Roland GK switches and hex pickup. And I'll think about some Bareknuckle pickups.

Definitely a keeper, this one's staying with me.

_________________
Image
Image my stuff on soundcloud


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:51 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:02 pm
Posts: 1978
Location: Manchester
Literally five minutes with an allen key and a screwdriver and she's back to playing right. Learn to adjust the truss rod people, it'll keep your guitars playing properly, save you paying someone to fix it for you and in a lot of cases it'll rescue a guitar you thought was unplayable.

_________________
Image
Image my stuff on soundcloud


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 11:18 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 7:06 am
Posts: 1662
Real nice addition, and your mods will have this thing sound quit nice I bet. :D
mud


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: NGD - MIJ 1980s Contemporary Stratocaster
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 12:29 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2012 3:49 pm
Posts: 409
WDD: Whoopdeedoo! :arrow: :lol:


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 19 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: