I read over the thread. We have all seen the made in japan strats and the necks all have it clearly marked made in japan either under the logo o the head stock or on the back of the neck. It makes little sense that Fender USA would call up Fender Japan and ask for them to make a few hundred of those necks and omit the made in japan markings or ask them to remove it manually and ship them over.

What are the odds that these might be the first of the really high quality counter fits hitting the North American market?

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"In God we trusted, in Kansas we busted"

I guess. Ahh.. whatever, I am going with the theory that some guys in the late 80's might have gotten themselves some little bottles of acetone and carefully removed the "Made in Japan" marking from the neck.

The magic $10 ingredient from MIJ to MIA..

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"In God we trusted, in Kansas we busted"

Welcome to the 'club' darkogav I've got a 25-4300 and love it.



I would say... ZERO.

These are real, dyed in the wool, Japanese Fenders. They are killer instruments too. Given all the other odd variables on them, the fact some have no place of origin is one of the less weird things. Don't overlook the history of Fender at that time - there really wasn't much in the way of Fender USA then and Fender Japan was producing a hell of a lot of guitars to sustain demand in America, as well as elsewhere.

Mine is one of the ones which does have MIJ on the headstock. It is also the only sunburst one I have seen with a rosewood fingerboard - all the other bursts (which don't seem to say MIJ) have maple/maple necks.

They're just one of life's little mysteries, which I think makes these guitars that much more interesting to own... and guarantees more MOJO (the one mod you cannot buy!)

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Mater tua criceta fuit, et pater tuo redoluit bacarum sambucus

Sure, okay, I can go with that. Is it just me or are these guitars a lot LOT heavier compared to other MIA Fenders? When I go into a store and try a AVRI or any other -- it seems paper light compared to mine. It can't be just the trem on it that's making them so much heavier.

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"In God we trusted, in Kansas we busted"

I've never weighed the body on mine, but agree the guitar is no featherweight. The balance is good though and with a two inch strap it's not uncomfortable for extended periods of playing.

I've had the whole Spyder trem on mine off and it is bloody heavy - heavier than an OFR for example.

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Mater tua criceta fuit, et pater tuo redoluit bacarum sambucus

Quote:
Tuco: You want to know who you are? Huh? You want to know who's son you are? You don't, I do, everybody does... you're the son of a thousand fathers, all bastards like you. Quote:


In my country, that can be taken as a compliment.



@ darkogav - No mate, the acetone theory doesn't hold water. Unless it was done by Fender, or is a mass conspiracy involving Fender dealers across the globe. Remember, many of us bought these Strats new in the original box.
As for being counterfeit, well the quality is arguably as good or better than the US Fenders of the time.
If you were going to fake a guitar so well, why would you choose one with features that stand out like Dognuts?
Anyway guys, keep on playing the bastards

Goodonyaz ...Mark.

Guess I'll add mine to the mix. I'm kind of in a quandary of what to do with her. The Kahler is overkill for anything I do and makes changing string a bit of a PIA. I could put up with it but it's in need of a fret job. With these not worth much I'm not sure I want to put the money into a fret job. But she can't play out the way she is. I thought about maybe trying to take on the fret job myself, but not sure I'm up to the task. I know I'm asking a biased audience, but what is your opinions? It's loaded with a Red, Blue, and Silver lace pickups. I got it off of ebay back in 2000 and this is the way she came, but by looking at all of yours I'm guessing it was probably a swap. The only red, blue, silver laces I've seen standard have been on the strat plus lines. Like everyone else, no country of origin with the same locking nut and Kahler Spyder... I did happen to find a NOS Kahler Spyder that I've switched out because some of the allens were stripped, so I have the old one I can scrounge parts from if I ever need em.

Here she is!

Hi!

First post.

I'll have to take then upload some photos of mine but it's the same as boxbang's...

Hopefully I can shed a little light, and a little mystery.

I have a vintage white Kahler Spyder-equipped E-Series that I bought in July of 1988, new, from George's Music in Springfield, PA (near Philadelphia). There were two or three in the store at the time (they only sold new product, btw), and I wanted the vintage white so I could be just like Yngwie (insert uproarious laughter here...).

At the time I bought it, I was taking lessons there, and was friends with several employees as I was in a modestly well-known band.

When I bought it (it retailed at about $600.00 as I recall), I was told by the Salesman that it was American. I specifically recall that as I didn't want an overseas product. I labored under the belief that it was American for many years until I started trying to do a little research online.

It was sold to me with a molded Fender USA case.

Now, I believe that the Sales guy (who was friends with me and wouldn't have lied just to move a Japanese version...) was simply mistaken.

What I've heard is that Corona was for all intents, closed during this period, and Fender wanted to maintain a perception of a USA presence, so they had the "Made In Japan" removed from the headstock.

Mine shows no Country of origin. I always did find that weird. But you can rest assured that they are not counterfeits, as I bought mine new in "88 from a reputable dealer, albeit an apparently mistaken one.

Sadly, becuase I was young, I removed the bridge pickup and installed a Dimarzio HS-3 (again,.....I'm Yngwie...). I hated the sound so then installed a Duncan J.B. Jr.

...and then I lost the original pickup.

So now I'm on a quest for a period correct bridge pickup from the Fuji-Gen plant.

That's my story....

Anyway, photos to come if anybody wants to see guitar or case or both...

Edit - my mistake - mine has a maple neck, not rosewood...

Great story; that's what I kind of recall my experience when I saw the other "mystery" Strat without a country of origin - the version that had a figured maple top and HSS pickups. The local stores considered them USA models.

The only thing is that the time of no USA factory was earlier than 1988; it was 1985. From what I've read CBS really shut down in late summer/early fall of 1984. The company was sold (but not CBS's humongous, expensive to operate factory) in February 1985. They got Corona up and running by October 1985, but output was as low as 7-10 guitars per day. They had ramped that up to 150 per day by some time in 1987, but they were still filling in with MIJ product. I've read that they couldn't even do the first significant runs of American Standard Teles until kind of late in 1987 because they just didn't have the capacity. It could be that these were the "fill in" models, but they couldn't just remove any "Made in Japan" that was under the finish, these really had to be spec'ed and ordered this way from Fender Japan/FujiGen.

It looks like there's been some input by a Fender Staff member on this thread, but geez, with the numbers of these out there, and the fact that most of us paid USA-quality dollars for them,....it sure would be nice to have confirmation one way or another.

Secretly, I am still hoping it's American,...or maybe Martian.

Photos (for anyone interested)











I am in the process of restoring it. Have found a period-correct bridge pickup (until/unless I ever find the original), and am giving it all the TLC it richly deserves. I was also able to find replacement parts for the Kahler.

Nice looking guitar - thanks for sharing the pictures. Similar spec to mine, although mine is sunburst and has a rosewood FB (I've still not seen one the same!).

A little something to watch out for when you've got it apart - the wood between the bridge posts and bridge pickup is not particularly substantial given the amount of pressure put on it by the strings and mad whammying. Mine had a couple of hairline cracks running through the wood there. A bit of cyanoacrylate and it was solid as a rock again and has probably saved me a much more complex and expensive repair down the line. You might like to check yours too.

As for restoration and how far you should go, I asked similar questions about mine as it had been abused and plundered for parts before I got it. Lots of bits from the nut and bridge were missing and the electronics were all shonky. I settled for a bit of a half-way house, because they are not (yet) hugely valuable or collectable. The bridge and nut are now perfect, thanks to whammiworld in Vegas where I was able to buy original parts. The pickups are now correct, from the right year and from the fuji-gen factory, but the switch and pots are US spec - sort of 'best of both worlds'.

As yours looks that much closer to original spec to start with, I can see that getting it back as-near-as-dammit original is a good move. I think these guitars are 'closet keepers' - they play really nicely, there aren't many of them around, they have a story, and they have MOJO.

I can only see their value and their collectability increasing as time passes.

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Mater tua criceta fuit, et pater tuo redoluit bacarum sambucus

Nobby,

Thanks for the heads-up on possible issues around the Kahler posts, as I'll have the pickguard off this weekend. I had the Kahler off last night as I thorougly cleaned the bridge and put on new trem posts from wammiworld.

My big issue is deciding if I want the dings and small divots professionally repaired,...I am leaning that way, even though I know the guitar isin't worth it.

The Schaller straplocks are off, and I'm awaiting new Fender strap buttons and felts in the mail now.

Hopefully this weekend I can solder in the single coil, and contact spray and clean up the solder joints on the 5-way switch. I'm hoping to keep the original switch.

G'day Geckochameleon, It's good to see another one. The dings don't look too bad on yours but good luck if you go ahead with the restoration.
I just played mine last night for the first time in months ......still in tune



I really should replace some parts on the Spyder, I've just been putting it off.
Also, it bugs me (slightly) that I have the wrong screw pattern on the pickguard. I might look for a replacement, although the pick damage on the current one is kinda cool (caused by my pointy bone pick).
Anyhow, they're definitely worth doing up and keeping.
Goodonya ...Mark.

Geckochameleon, thanks for sharing...your story of when you bought yours matches my experience closely, right down to the price, and that the salesman believed it was American made... although I went for Clapton rather than Yngwie!

also, until I saw your post, I didn't think about it, but my Spyderstrat also came in a "Fender USA" flight case.