i was wondering about the mij strats vs a a new mim.

i have a chance to buy a nice 62 reissue strat blue. at least thats what was told it is. said it was from the early 80's maybe1984 or85
what would it be worth
how is the quaulity of the mij vs a new mim strat. seems to me they pretty well have upgraded the new mim's pretty well.

also how are the mij jaguars. i seen a 66 reissue for 600.00. looks new. dont know the year made though
just wondering would i be better off buying a new mim.?
any input or help you can give me about the mij guitars i would be greatful
thanks

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My setups

Gibson les paul trad pro 60's neck
Gibson sg standard 60's neck
Fender mim 1993 strat
Fender 2007 american strat sienna sunburst
Epi humming bird
Peavey calssic 30 and 50
Fender 212
Pignose
Digitec rp500

Japan really puts out some amazing stuff.

I had a '96 Squier Vista Series Jagmaster (MIJ Jaguar neck) that was extremely comfortable to play. I only sold it because I was offered twice what I payed for it, and the fellow who got it is certainly no fool by any means. That neck easily felt as nice as any MIA Fender.

I would take a good look at the strat in question and see how it feels to you, in addition to trying some MIM strats. Then you can decide whether the price point is justifiable.

Pics would really help to give you an idea of what it might be worth.

IMO the MIJ's have some of the best necks Fender ever made,
I have one on my 07 MIM, and it improved the feel 100%.

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1986 Kramer Baretta
1989 Samick "The Samick" Les Paul
2007 Fender Strat MIM Deluxe / 1985 MIJ neck
1990 Epiphone Strat
Marshall JCM 2000 DLS 50 watt / Marshall 1960a 4x12

https://soundcloud.com/jim-slimjim-cassi

I have never been unhappy with any of the MIJ guitars I have owned. I currently own a Tele Thinline Reissue from 1994 and a '62 Strat Reissue of the same vintage. I have been looking at one of the 80s vintage Contemporary Strats that were MIJ and that guitar (in what I think is Candy Apple Red) is a work of art.





Though I also own a number of MIM Teles and Strats with no complaints, I think the older MIJ guitars are superior. The workmanship is just flat out flawless.

No pics of that Contemporary Strat yet, but maybe one of these days...

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

there are some really nice $@! strats out there, but there are also mim guitars that i would play all day long over their mia cousins, if the mij looks and feels good id go for it

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blues - its a religion...

sorry typo there... typed in $@! and it came out like that lol

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blues - its a religion...

lmfao it did it again, my tablet donsent like me typing "j a p"

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blues - its a religion...

Not a fan of some of the MIJ stuff. Many of the coveted 80s MIJ Fenders have Basswood bodies instead of Ash or Alder. On some models, you actually have to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod. They also did some cheesy stuff like the photo flame, where they laminated photos to the neck of the guitar to make it look like it has a cool grain pattern.
The woodwork of the 80s MIJ guitars is generally top notch, but the pickups are garbage. You really need to know what you are doing if even want to do any routing. I tried to expand the neck pickup cavity in a MIJ Basswood body and the wood just fell apart. I have never seen anything like it. I couldn't believe that a factory so well known for putting out top notch stuff would use such cheap wood to save on tooling costs.
That being said, I have played some pretty sweet MIJ stuff, so I know its out there.

Not an appropriate term.

I think the reason that some of the MIJ guitars had the truss rod adjustment on the heel of the neck was due to the fact it was a vintage reissue. So since that was the way a 62 Tele came with it, they simply made it the same.

Regarding the question at hand— if this was the early 1990s, I would hands down choose a MIJ over a MIM. I have worked on some of the older MIM guitars and some of the finish work was a bit spotty. Whereas the MIJ was rival to USA in that era. But Fender's MIM quality has really improved through the 2000s. So now it might be a toss up.... i do know the older MIJ guitars sell for a higher price, compared to a MIM guitar of the same vintage.

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

Xhefri hit the nail on the head with his views of the MIM and MIJ Fenders. I have 3 post 2000 Fenders-2 Strats and a Tele and they are top notch guitars.Some people will say that the pickups are junk and have a knee jerk reaction to swap them out-this is just an urban myth of guitardom and anyone who tells you that is just blowing smokerings.My MIM Jimmie Vaughn Strat is just an incredible guitar and it sounds so much like my original '65 that it's uncanny-so these Tex-Mex pickups are staying put no matter what these "experts" say.My MIM Tele has all the spank of a MIA Tele even though the hardware may not be quite as high in quality as MIA Teles.My other MIM Strat is a lefty that I strung for right hand for doing Hendrix stuff and I have to say that it handles that job quite well and I can nail the Hendrix tone spot on when I run it through my JCM 800 stack-so that's another bit of proof that MIM pups are quite good as is and needn't be swapped.

A good buddy of mine is married to a Japanese girl and when they visit her folks in Japan he makes it a point to pick up deals on used MIJ Fenders and he buys them not only for the great break on the price but because their build quality is beyond comparison.The MIJ '62 reissues should be true to the vibe of the original and the pickups are voiced to sound like the "L" series ('62-'65) Strats and I wouldn't hesitate to buy one as the L series Strats were the best that Fender ever made IMHO.

BTW: I wouldn't worry too much about having to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod as I have never had to adjust the truss rod on my L series Strat for the almost 40 years I've owned it.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

i have these :



the '72 custom is about 2003 MIM, the '62 custom is 1985 MIJ.

no doubt, to me the '62 feels better. but it is hard to compare them as they're very different beasts. the biggest difference is the finish. the 72 has a very glossy neck, which feels really thick, as does the body finish. im not really sure how i have come to that conclusion, i just have. the 62 also has a glossy neck, but feels a lot nicer. im no expert, but comparing the bridge pickups i think the 62 sounds nicer, rounder, but still twangy. whether thats down to quality or the intended voicing of them i dont know. no point comparing the neck pups, the humbucker seems to be very love it or hate it. i love it.

the 62 has aged very nicely, hasnt been played very much at all. one of the screws holding the humbucker in the 72 just dropped out one night while playing, and also one of the tuning pegs broke almost as soon as i got it.

dont get me wrong, i love the 72. i also have a MIM std strat from about 2005 that i brought simply because it completely won me over when i played it. the 62 is easily at least as nice, and tbh is the guitar id save if my house was burning down.