2012, Fender Headstock reads:

Fender Stratocaster
"Made on Planet Earth"

Haha - exactly!

From now on I shall only be buying guitars made by humans. My patriotic duty.

No more Martian guitars for me!

...Unless they play nicely, that is...

Cheers - C

Imagine how much they'd be willing to pay for a guitar made of wood available only (as far as we're told) on this 3rd rock?

Seems to me that the only way to go for a all american guitar is the customshop then. Aslong as you source your own tuners localy.

One great thing about this hair splitting thread is that its certainly ending the american vs mexican nonsense.

For the record. some of the japanese clone guitars of the mid seventies to early eighties had fender on the run. Thats why they bought the plant that was producing them and started fender japan.
Pickup a looked after 79-81 tokai breezy or springysound and you will find it holds its own with any american production strat or tele, cbs or post cbs era's (handcrafted art pieces aside). Orvilleowner is the bloke who's most likely to know the exact details but im pretty sure gibson bought the les paul manufacturing side of that plant and used it for their japanese guitars. Note also the lawsuit was only threatened to force sale.

_________________
No no and no

perfect, well said

I thought one overly expletive answer deserved another . Obviously Jay and I can both be a bit long winded, particularly in regards to issues that we feel a bit passionate about...and I don't think there's anything wrong with that in either case.

Of course I could probably have just summarized all of that simply by saying "either you like 'em or you don't". In light of any data, facts or supposition in the end it ultimately comes down to personal preference and/or personal perception.

So I will simply end my soap box lecture by quoting the immortal words of the late, great Frank Zappa... "Shut up and play your guitar!"

Peace to all,
Jim

Fellas, you've done me a huge favor. I used to be regarded as the "windy" one round here. Now everyone can see what a master of concision I really am...

Keep up the noble work, gents...

- C

my highway1 says "mih"

MADE IN HEAVEN!!! and it feels like it too

i can see this mia/mim thing is adding barriers to the fender massive!
it dont matter! its how it feels,,,

it happened to hip-hop with east and west!

The Federal Trade Commission today announced settlements with six companies that would resolve allegations that the companies made misleading "Made in USA" claims for a variety of products. The FTC has charged that The Stanley Works, American Honda Corporation, Kubota Tractor Corporation, Johnson Worldwide Associates, Inc., USDrives Corporation, and Rand International Leisure Products, Ltd. misrepresented that certain of their products are made in the United States, i.e., that all, or virtually all, of the parts of the products are made in the United States, and the labor in manufacturing the products is performed in the United States. According to the FTC, these representations were false or misleading because these products were actually made with significant foreign components or labor. In each of the cases, the proposed settlement would prohibit the companies from misrepresenting the extent to which their products are made in the United States.

In December 1997, after a comprehensive policy review, the FTC concluded that "Made in USA" advertising and labeling claims will continue to conform to the "all or virtually all" standard that traditionally has been applied by the Commission. Under this standard, voluntary, unqualified U.S. origin claims must be substantiated by evidence that a product is "all or virtually all" made in the United States. In addition, the agency issued an Enforcement Policy Statement outlining the factors the Commission will consider in determining whether a U.S. origin claim is "deceptive." In December 1998, the FTC issued a new business guide: "Complying with the Made in USA Standard" that describes the principles of the FTC's law and policy governing such claims and uses examples to help businesses comply with the law.


P.S. I have read articles in the past were fender says the HWY1 is 80 to 85% American made.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Now the plot thickens!

BigJay, it would be dishonest of us to let you continue under this misapprehension any longer. Whilst there really are some professional musicians here and many more of us who gig and sometimes get paid for it, none of us are actually writing "Professional Musician" under our name.

That is done for us by the Forum's software, based upon how many posts we've done. You will notice that it no longer says "Hobbyist" beneath your name - ever since your 100th post.

Just don't want you to feel anyone's pretending to be something they're not...

Cheers - C

That is a news release from the Federal Trade Commisions web site it was released in 1999. Here is more on the agreements that were reached with the companies.

In all of the cases, the proposed settlements include a "safe harbor" provision that permits the companies to represent that any of the products covered under their respective orders are made in the USA, as long as all, or virtually all, of the components of such products are of U.S. origin, and that all, or virtually all, of the labor in manufacturing such products, is performed in the United States. In addition, each of the proposed settlements contain a number of recordkeeping and reporting requirements designed to assist the FTC in monitoring compliance with the terms of the orders.

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson