Hey Ya,ll
I was out and about today and stopped in to a music store near my folks house...it's a local "ma and pa" joint but they're pretty well stocked. Anyways, I ran across a Fender (not Squier) E series Strat. It's more of a "standard" in that it doesn't have the System 1 trem (or whatever it's called)...has a traditional 6 point trem. The guitar is in really decent shape...no major flaws at all except that someone turned the output jack over for some reason (probably to make it easier to plug in?). Otherwise, plays nice, sounds great...everything one would expect from an MIJ. I'm sorry...no pictures as it's hanging in a store and I forgot to write down the serial (doh!).

Now I was just snoopin' a bit on Ebay and it looks like the prices on MIJ's in general...asking prices at least, seem to be going for around $500 to $700...does that sound about right for one of these? The one I'm looking at is only $329...is there something I'm missing here? I was going to wait until Sunday as I'm going to a local guitar show but if this is the deal I think it is, I may run back out there before hand and pick it up. Yes, I know to be careful of bogus and fake instruments...I'll check it out very thoroughly before I buy.

Anyways, on that price...thoughts? Does that seem "just about right" or does it sound like a bargain?

As always, thanks!
Jim

The MIJ your looking at is mostly likely a re-issue. As far as price goes... Thats near exactly what I paid for my 67' RI last year. My best advice to you is to check the guitar over VERY well! If possible check the neck pocket and heel of the neck. They should have matching stamps ( ST 62 or something to that effect ) If all checks out it sounds like a good purchase to me. Good luck!

_________________
"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

Well, since this is in a store and not from an individual seller, I doubt it will be likely that I will be able to pull the neck and look at the pocket or anything. I do however plan to pull the trem cover...make sure it's at least "real wood" and not an MIJ neck slapped on some plywood body or something. If nothing else, the "quality" of the trem cavity routing should tell me something too...if it looks like a hack job or something, obviously I won't buy it. As I said before though, I will go over the instrument very carefully. I know that the tuners are stamped "Fender Japan" as are the bridge saddles. I also compared it with a Fender MIM Standard they had on the shelf...the MIJ sounded -A LOT- better (in fact it even sounded better than the 2 MIA's they had) indicating that the pickups are probably MIJ as well.

That said, I get the impression that this instrument is probably legit...I think the guy is pretty straight forward (call it an instinct thing). Of course being that the instrument is obviously used, one never knows until as you say, one takes it a a part. If I do pick it up though (which is very likely at this point), the first thing I will do when I get home is pull the neck and check the neck pocket and such for those stamps. I'll get pictures and if there is anything amiss, I'll take it back and throw a serious sh*t fit until the guy gives me my money back.

Alrighty thumbs...thanks for the comments! I'm grateful!

Peace,
Jim

Happy to help! Hard to say from this end, but all seems legit. MIJ's are extremely fine instruments IMO! No doubt you'll enjoy the guitar as much as the price! I say snatch it up before someone else does!

_________________
"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

If it's legit I say snap it up. Definitely worth the asking price. Here are a few pics. of my 85 MIJ

Yep...except for the color (the one I'm looking at is black) that does in fact look like her! Just curious...on your trem...is it a full size trem block and if so, does it have some sort of hex head screws in the bottom of it? I saw this on a couple of Ebay pics and on the one I'm looking at, it did seem to have these as well (although with the cover on, it was hard to be sure). If yours has these...what the devil are they for?

Thanks!
Jim

Jim, yes it's a full size trem block. The guitar is at my daughters house now so I'll have to look for the hex screws you are talking about. I don't recall anything on it that's not on a standard MIA. My daughter has had it for about a year now. She is learning and catching up with me quickly!

Hey Guys,
Well...I took a run back out to the shop today and took a closer look at the guitar. First, it turns out it -is- a Squier and not a Fender...still MIJ though. The serial number is E533233 which seems to indicate it was still made between '84 and '87 but I can't really tell much else from the serial. Otherwise, the guitar -is- in very good shape and based on what I'm seeing on Ebay at the moment, it still worth the money they're asking.

That said, I'm going to wait for at least a few days. I'm going to go to that guitar show Sunday and see if I can find the one I was looking at in the spring. Depending on how that goes, I found another guy with a Fender E series MIJ who's interested in selling. He says it doesn't have any pickups and it needs a fret job but he only wants $200 for it...and I may even be able to talk him down a bit. If I don't snag either of those, then I'll run back next week and snag the Squier MIJ instead.

As I understand it the Squier MIJ's are still really sweet Strats (this one certainly seems to be)...any comments about this particular Squier series?


Thanks!
Jim

My 1987 Squire MIJ E serial # Stratocaster in fiesta red is a really nice guitar. Very high quality, equal to MIJ Fender guitars of the day, as they were made in the same factory. Go for it!!

Actually...I just brought her home today. I have another thread going with a few pics.