It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 12:56 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 39 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3
Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3
Author Message
Post subject: Re: What is my Strat? Fake???
Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2014 11:54 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14049
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
Jeffytune wrote:



No, I think he meant his Father bought it from a Frenchman who sold it cheap because he thought it was a fake.



I hope you are right :(


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: What is my Strat? Fake???
Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2014 11:56 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2008 6:01 pm
Posts: 1479
Location: Los Angeles, USA
orvilleowner wrote:
ebaysux wrote:
EDIT: On another forum an owner of one of these series strats claims they are indeed japan made for international export and the European distributors are the ones that stamped the "made in USA" on it. Also claimed is the bodies are painted in Mexico. So take that all with a grain of salt granted from all I know from the pics that is a Japan strat.


I doubt the Mexican painting part, but the rest of that I can believe/accept.
Not an American part on any of these I've seen over the years. Fender Japan all the way.

Fender USA never used stamps like that for serial numbers or "MIA." (Gibson did, of course.) Fender did stamp codes into some bodies, in unseen spots, but a used much larger font.


Well after seeing the pics now with the pickguard off I can say with great accuracy that it is indeed a genuine Fender strat...but using all or mostly Japan parts. However where it was actually "made" or painted or assembled etc is still a mystery. I have seen both Japan and MIM with that body route and I actually have an older MIM sunburst body with a bathtub route and a gorgeous finish (granted I have never quite seen a bathtub route with that bulge on the left side) and also seen pups like that on Mexis but those pots and selector switch are 100% Japan. As well as I stated earlier the size and location of that hole in the neck pocket screams Japan/Import.

As far as the way they stamped anything as stated earlier this was during a transitional phase and as well I can understand Fender being hush hush about the specifics as anyone who purchased one actually believing this is a USA model was hoodwinked. Maybe not by Fender directly but by whomever stamped it made in USA or whomever sold one knowing what this really was and implied it was a 100% genuine USA model. Granted for all we know maybe the necks were made in the USA or "close enough" :wink: But I would bet my collection that body was not made in the USA.

EDIT: Come to think of it I recall now a friend of mine who has a recording studio in LA has one of those hanging on the wall. I asked him if I could check it out since I am a Strat enthusiast from way back and I was puzzled as I never had seen one like that before. I was suspect it was either a fake or some kind of import that someone was scamming by putting "made in USA" in that neck heel location. Now I know what it was. If I recall correctly it felt kind of heavy so I don't think it was squire basswood..but then again I can not confirm that 100%.

_________________
I'm almost out of stuff to sell.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: What is my Strat? Fake???
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 11:13 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 2:42 am
Posts: 6
Thanks for the info everyone. Good to know it's a fender regardless of where it was made. Fender say on their website 'stamped 'made in USA'' but do not actually say it was made there. Anyway, it's rare so must be more valuable!!! *thinking positively*


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: What is my Strat? Fake???
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 2:23 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:20 pm
Posts: 9640
Location: Indiana
:lol:

Rare doesn't always translate into valuable. In this case, not valuable, and certainly worth less than it cost new. :wink:

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: What is my Strat? Fake???
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 7:33 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2013 1:02 pm
Posts: 23
Nobby001

Your guitar is a real Fender and don't let the many skeptics who have replied deter you. Your guitar is very similar in specification to my own MIA Stratocaster, which was apparently a lower spec guitar made with just enough USA content and workmanship to earn the MIA logo, even if it did not match American Standard specification. Lots of people who have replied here don't understand that Fender built USA origin Strats that were not American Standards.

This was all covered in some detail in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=84239

Plus additional elaboration and background in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=93291

I would be willing to bet the same guy who dated your neck 13-11-90 is the same person who dated the neck in my guitar, as you can see in the photos in that thread.

In those days the necks and bodies were being made in Corona. See the comments by the Fender VP Keith Brawley in the second link above that confirm this.

These International or Export spec guitars seem to have ended up with leftover Japan spec components like the tuners on both our guitars, and dime sized pots and the cheapo plastic/metal box 5-way switch, ceramic pickups, and even the same wiring color. My guitar is unlike yours in that I have the conventional pickup routs (not swimming pool) but notice that many of the South American MIA Strats shown in the links above had the same routs as mine. The body machining clamping holes seem to be the same as mine. You don't have a photo of your trem cover, but mine has the offset center pair of screw holes unlike the Squier models. Who knows why some guitars were stamped Made in USA on the back of the neck?

I am confident you have a real Fender USA Strat built to whatever specs were appropriate to the intended market. Needless to say, Fender never would have wanted foreign market buyers to be aware that some MIA Strats were very different from what was normally sold in the US domestic marker (Am Std) and those differences were never publicized or even acknowledged. For your guitar, you should be clear that it is not an American Standard to anyone who is interested, but it is an interim guitar built more closely to MIM specs in the period the MIM spec guitars were just getting going.

Regarding value, I have seen USA built Squiers sell for as much as $800 on eBay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1989-Fender-Squ ... 4860db3367

However, most USA Squiers sell in the $300-$400 range, so with proper explanation, you may be able to sell your Fender Strat for even more if you wait for the right buyer.

Hope this helps.

Michael


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: What is my Strat? Fake???
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 10:10 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2014 9:50 am
Posts: 1
Nobby001 wrote:
Hi, my father bought me what I always thought to be an American strat for my birthday when I was 16 (20 years ago) but I now think it's a fake. My father collects guitars so it does surprise me that he would got caught but perhaps he new and it was cheap!!?? Anyway, it's a lovely guitar to play so never really had any suspicions until the logo chipped which made me think 'hang on a minute'. I then researched the serial number which is 1001219 and it doesn't seem to be genuine.

So I am right in thinking this is a fake and if so what is it? A tarted up squier? Although it's still a nice guitar to play it still feels tainted!



- Sounds like you like? ?
- Have a good caugth?
- Stay in tune?
- It has perfect intonation? ?
- It is comfortable to Play

Every thing more than this is bullshit ! F. the manufacturer !

Ok, A real Stratocaster is a good Idea, its a great guitar , at last american standard, MIM Standart , and chinese ones realy do not a inteligent buy, they are very expensive for they real valor, have much thing better and cheaper !

The real issue is paid the price for a genuine stratocaster and received a copy ..

At Time... 80% I´m shure that is fake.

[]

Sandro


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: What is my Strat? Fake???
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 1:34 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:20 pm
Posts: 9640
Location: Indiana
Michael7 wrote:
...Your guitar is very similar in specification to my own MIA Stratocaster,...


Absolute horse-hockey. The guitar in this thread is no where near the same quality as a MIA Strat. The OP's guitar is a Squier, and nothing more. It might be a perfectly fine guitar, nothing wrong with a good Squier, and it's possible, maybe probable that the decal is legit, made by/for Fender, but let's not get so carried away by the unscrupulous stamp on the neck heel. :wink:

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: What is my Strat? Fake???
Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2014 8:39 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:33 pm
Posts: 811
What with the rebuilding of the company and the strange transitional models that were being produced by Fender (the Corporation, not necessarily the Factory) at that time, I would have a hard time saying, "No, this is not a genuine Fender," even with all the quirks and anomalies present.

A friend of mine bought a similarly appointed Strat (especially the logo and the tuning keys) from a reputable Authorized Fender Dealer here in Fort Worth during the same time period (~1989/1990). The dealer was honest enough to tell him, "Look, this is from the Fender Company, but it's a weird guitar. I don't know if this is the direction the company is moving or if this is just a weird series, but they play pretty well and have a nice tone. It's up to you." I don't know where the dealer got the guitar, if this was an export-only model.

I think the dealer was so forthright because (1) my friend had bought multiple instruments (guitars, amps, PA systems, etc) from him and (2) in my experience, he's an honest businessman (I bought from him myself). The dealer did not "push" or "promote" the guitar to my friend, he just answered questions when my friend tried it out.

I seem to remember the guitar had a smallish neck; not tiny, but definitely not beefy.

He bought it, played it for a couple of years, and gave it to his brother, to whom he owed some money. I don't know what happened to the guitar after that.

Is it genuine? Sure, why not?
If it plays well, sounds good, and has sentimental value to it--who care where it was made?!? You're not going to get your money back anyway...

_________________
Good Vibes To Y'all!
Blues, Rock and Outlaw Country
Texas Roadhouse Music at It's Finest...


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: What is my Strat? Fake???
Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2014 11:47 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 9:44 am
Posts: 7282
Location: Washington
Screamin Armadillo wrote:
A friend of mine bought a similarly appointed Strat (especially the logo and the tuning keys) from a reputable Authorized Fender Dealer here in Fort Worth during the same time period (~1989/1990).


Similar to Nobby's guitar or similar to Michael7's guitar?

Regarding Nobby's Strat: sometimes a MIJ Stratocaster is just a MIJ Stratocaster.

_________________
Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Image


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 39 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3
Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: ted j and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: