Hi. there's someone offering to trade his made in japan strat, from 1982, he sent me some pics and I wanted to check what is the possible value of this guitar, here are the pictures, let me know if you notice something wrong in the guitar,, I dont see any serial number on the headstock, nor the skunk stripe, again I'm not a fender expert, will be waiting for your posts thanks

sorry he says its a 52 reissue made in japan strat from 1989, and I see now the serial number, how do you see the strat, does it looks all original?

Kind of hard to tell because the headstock pic is so out of focus, but it does look like the serial number is under Fender there. I would see if a clearer headstock pic can be taken.

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Looks more like a Standard model to me. A 50's RI would have a Maple Fretboard.

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

+1. And the missing walnut "tear" and trussrod hole at the nut means it must be a '60s RI neck - but the one-ply pickguard contradicts that.

Either way, those sure as heck are not reissue tuning machines.

It's been modded, whatever it is.

Nice color, though...

Cheers - C

I really don't think it has been modded. In that time period MIJ Standard Strats were put together with what ever parts were in the bins on that particular day.
My 80's MIJ Standard Strat has basically the same neck. The only difference is the string trees.

A little bit of info here: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.black ... andard.htm

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

thanks for the info... theres one picture which makes a close up on the frets near the neck joint, and they look in good shape i think, so if you would put a price tag on it, what would it be? also do you think the pickup covers are naturally yellowed by age or they look reliced?

As near as I can tell from the pics it is all original.


Value, well that is a hard one at times.

I recently bought a Left Handed 80's MIJ Standard Strat for $500.

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

another thing,, do you think mij strats increse their value over the years as american strats do? the guy wants to trade this japan strat for my peavey 6505 head,, do you think it's a fair enough trade? help me out here guys

I just looked at current prices for Peavey 6505 heads on ebay and I would have to say I would pass on the deal. In my personal opinion the guitar may be worth between $300 to $500 and the amp head twice that amount.

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Sure - I guess I was speaking to the idea that it was a reissue. Within which case stuff has been changed.

BTW Chet, you know more than most here about MIJs: assuming this is after all stock, did Japanese Fenders of that period have the neckplate cushion I see in a photo, above?

Cheers - C

First I have to agree that those pics are just so bad that it's really hard to tell much from them. While it's certainly true that it could be that the seller just doesn't know how to use a camera, it's also possible that the bad pics could be hiding something. That said I will make a few general comments...

First since the OP mentioned it, the lack of a "skunk stripe"is consistent with a rosewood fretboard. Most guitar necks with a rosewood fretboard don't have skunk stripes (Fender or otherwise) as the truss rod will be inserted from the front of the neck before the fretboard is attached. In general you only see a skunk stripe on guitars with maple fretboards as the truss rod has to be inserted from the back of the neck.

CDFeather's is quite correct in what he said about the MIJ Strats from this era...it really seems as though they used whatever parts where available at the time a given guitar was assembled. For example I have an '85 Squier MIJ and while the 8 hole pickguard (like the one pictured above) would indicate it's a 50's reissue of some sort, the neck is definitely a '62 reissue. She's certainly a wonderful guitar but she honestly can't be considered as a 50's reissue -or- '62 reissue by any stretch of the imagination...it's basically a "standard" Strat with some reissue parts. In this regards the only way to know for sure is to look at how the parts are stamped (i.e. neck heal and neck pocket of the body). The neck in the picture does look consistent with my '62 reissue but again those pics are just so bad it's hard to tell for sure.

The tuners don't really tell anything either...from the front with the bad pics they look like the tuners that are on my '85. I know mine are in fact stamped "Fender Japan" although I understand that they used a lot of tuners stamped "Gotoh" during this era as well.

A few very small details that I noticed...again hard to tell from the pics but the strap buttons look like they've either been painted or replaced. I don't remember Fender ever using black strap buttons on these. Not a big deal by any means but it does indicate that -something- has been changed on this guitar. Also while it's a bit hard to tell from the pics, to me it looks like the color of the pickup covers is a different shade of "cream" from the knobs...the covers look darker...also possibly indicating that something has been changed. For a guitar of this age, some yellowing is to be expected but if the pup covers and the knobs were all original, they'd be the same color! In the one picture of the headstock it looks like there is a crack or a bad chip there on the "knob" of the headstock...but I suppose it could just be a reflection as well. There also appears to be a bit of a ding in the lower horn. Not unexpected from a guitar of this age but a possible consideration as far as value goes. There also appear to be quite a few scratches on the back of the guitar (including the neck plate)...I would certainly factor that in to price as well.

I'm a bit reluctant to offer any advice here as far as a value goes on this specific guitar. Personally if it were me I would want...in fact I would DEMAND some much better pictures particularly of the headstock with the serial number CLEARLY visible. I would also want to see some good pics of the heal of the neck showing any stamps as well as pictures of the neck pocket and some shots of the body with the pickguard removed. With that said, I know that E-series MIJ Fender Strats typically go for around $500 or so with the E-series Squiers usually going for the $300 - $400 range. However if this is an '89 then it's -NOT- one of the coveted E-series and as such I probably wouldn't go any higher than $350 - $400 tops...but only -if- the seller can provide you with better pics and info. If the seller is unwilling to provide this, then quite honestly I wouldn't go any higher than around $200...there's just too many "unknowns" there.

Now I want to reiterate this issue about the pictures...Ok...I'm a rather cynical person to begin with, but I would NOT make an offer on this instrument without better pics and here's why; because these pics are soooooooooo bad, it's VERY possible this instrument could be a fake...there's plenty of them around! Even if you get a serial number and it checks out as legit (and the logo does appear consistent with this era), without pics of the body there's nothing to indicate this neck wasn't slapped on a cheaper body and there is NOTHING in those pics to indicate that this body is a genuine Fender.

I wanted to mention that because if you look thru these forums, the number one reason people get burned is that they don't check out these details....they see, they want, they buy...and then whine about their own ignorance. Yea...it might be legit but you simply don't know for sure. My advice is caution. Don't be greedy here...if the seller can't prove this instrument is the real deal, then just walk away. If the seller won't provide better pictures that tells me that he/she is either hiding something or simply doesn't want to make a sale (or trade as the case may be).


Anyways, that's my $.02 worth.
Peace,
Jim

Good catch Ceri. I missed that cushion completely.

Personally I have not seen a neck cushion on an 80's MIJ. That does not mean they were never on one, I just haven't seen one.

I would like to see clear pics of the butt end of the neck, neck pocket, and under the pickguard.

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Chet Feathers

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Lotimus is right about the value however according to the Vintage Guitar price guide that's for one in excellent condition so judge yourself accordingly $300 tops would be as far as I'd go.

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My '85 Squier has the neck plate gasket too and as far as I've been able to determine, my '85 is all original. No idea though if that's really normal for MIJ's or if it's simply part of that whole "parts from the bin" thing...

Jim