Hey all, I've come to you for some advice.

The background information:
Recently I purchased a Vista series MIJ Jagmaster for an absolute steal.. and the neck is just stellar. I couldn't be more happy with it. My other guitar is a 1996 Custom Shop John Page-era 1957 Stratocaster.. which is likely the finest guitar I've ever had the chance to either play or own.

What bothers me though is this MIJ jagmaster neck is so nice, it is making me question whether it is at all worth having so much invested into a Custom Shop strat for only a negligeable increase in playability.

And so I recently began looking into Japanese-made strats, since these seem to have incredible value as far as a quality instrument goes. I am considering 'down-grading' my Custom Shop strat in favor of a Japanese model, and pocket the difference.

What do you all think about the mid-80's MIJ Squiers? Do you suppose they might be in the same ballpark as my current strat? I know the JV series is fabled, and there is also the E series which would be immensely more affordable.

I guess what I am asking is.. is there a MIJ guitar that will be relatively close to a CS strat? Thanks.

The strat in question:

I guess it would all depend on just how well your MIJ Strat plays and sounds in comparison to your Custom Strat. Personally I'd keep them both. I'd love to see a post of both of them. No way would I part with a '57 reissue of any artist Strat, they're just too sweet.... Just IMHO....
Good luck which ever way you decide.

I would say the Japanese Squire would be comparable to an American made production model from the late 80's up to now. Your custom shop strat will probably still be a better guitar. The MIJ Fender's are also known to be of amazing quality and cheaper than the US made equivelant.

If I were you I'd hang on to the Custom Shop strat at least until you've found another guitar that measures up. I'm not saying the Japanese guitars can't touch the Custom shop, but if such a thing exists it's probably a fluke. It was however well documented that the 80's Japanese Fender/Squire guitars rivaled the quality of the production models of the time.

I have a 06 SRV CS a 87 USA standard and a MIJ Squire... I have put Fat 50's CS pick ups in it but it is my main player..... I wont go as far as to say it is better than the SRV but i pick it up more than all of them. They are total Gem's...Its undoubtably in my mind a better guitar than my 87 US strat... I will buy more MIJ squires they are a 2k guitar for $400.....

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Hi tornado i don't have a custom shop strat but i've played a few . i do have a 94 usa std and i'm lucky enough to have 2 mid 80's fender mij strats , one is a 85 57 reissue and the other a 89 std . the mij guitars get more playtime than my USA one and more often than not it's my 57 reissue i go to , one of the fellow forumites snowy who lives in my town has a dave gilmoure nos custom shop , and playing the mij next to the CS playability wise theres nothing in it and as for sound i put the same bridge pup into the mij as is in the DG and it sounds just as sweet . i missed out on a 80's mij squire last week for £50 , buggers
Only you can decide if one is as good as the other , i would say to try a fender mij out and see what you think , cheers
Alan

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I have a Japanese A series Squier from the mid-'80s. It's a really sweet playing guitar and plays just as well as a top of the line Fender. It has a short 24.75" scale which makes it very easy to do bends on and what not.

I am not a believer in MIJ Fenders. I had access to a MIJ 80s Squire in the early 90s. It played and sounded great, but with heavy use from 2 players, the hardware and frets wore rather quickly, and the instrument was unplayable after just a few years.
I looked at a MIJ 62 Tele last year, but the body felt dead and just did not resonate well. It was a decent player but needed some pretty serious upgrades.
Keep in mind most MIJ Fenders from that time frame have basswood bodies. Some have photos under the lacquer to make it look like a flamed maple neck (photoflame). While the consensus seems to be that these guitars are excellent quality, the pickups are generally considered sub par.
I would do some serious thinking before I gave up that custom shop. A Japanese Fender would be a poor substitute.