I've got 3 Fender Jaguar Basses, and noticed that one has "Crafted in Japan" in in very nice kind of fancy script. And the other two have "MADE IN JAPAN" in block letters written on the back. Does anyone know anything about this? Just a thought.
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Crafted in Japan & Made in Japan
- Thread starter Spass Bass
- Start date
bongomania
Commercial User
"Crafted in" means it was put together more carefully(i.e. with better quality control) than "Made in".
j/k.
My cv squier says Crafted In China, first time I've seen that one!
j/k.
My cv squier says Crafted In China, first time I've seen that one!
Typically the CIJ models were made for export, like the original Red and Black Jaguars. They were still producing the sunburst and olympic white ones at the time, but they were for the Japanese market only. Those were labeled Made in Japan. Now that Fender sells all the finishes stateside, they probably haven't changed the location stamp.
From some information I previously had, and I quote:
"The difference between the "Made in Japan" MIJ and the "Crafted in Japan" CIJ models is to do with who was involved with the manufacturing of the guitars. According to a Fender representative it was in the Fender Japan contract that if there was any manufacturer change involving any part of the guitar then the logo would be changed from MIJ to CIJ. So if the manufacturer changed or the manufacturer outsourced some of the making then the logo would be CIJ. Some CIJ Fenders turn up around 1993 and this seems to be because FujiGen was expanding their factory to be able to handle additional contracts (such as the Orville by Gibson contract) and around 1993 outsourced some of the making to other Japanese companies for a while, resulting in a CIJ logo instead of a MIJ logo. The CIJ Fenders from 1997 onwards are because Tokai and Dyna took over the Fender Japan manufacturing contract from FujiGen resulting in a CIJ logo instead of a MIJ logo."
"The difference between the "Made in Japan" MIJ and the "Crafted in Japan" CIJ models is to do with who was involved with the manufacturing of the guitars. According to a Fender representative it was in the Fender Japan contract that if there was any manufacturer change involving any part of the guitar then the logo would be changed from MIJ to CIJ. So if the manufacturer changed or the manufacturer outsourced some of the making then the logo would be CIJ. Some CIJ Fenders turn up around 1993 and this seems to be because FujiGen was expanding their factory to be able to handle additional contracts (such as the Orville by Gibson contract) and around 1993 outsourced some of the making to other Japanese companies for a while, resulting in a CIJ logo instead of a MIJ logo. The CIJ Fenders from 1997 onwards are because Tokai and Dyna took over the Fender Japan manufacturing contract from FujiGen resulting in a CIJ logo instead of a MIJ logo."
This is what I thought as well. Older Japanese Fenders say "Made In" and then at some point they switched to "Crafted In" and I thought they recently switched back.
Yes, correct.
before - MADE IN JAPAN
then became - Crafted in Japan
and now - Made in Japan
notice the difference?
old MIJ had all capital letters while the new MIJ have capital and small letters. I put the details in my blog, perhaps you can check it.
Sure, I notice the difference. Thanks for clearing it up!
Is there a difference in quality between guitars with the different monikers too, or is it just superficial? From my mostly positive experience with Japanese Fenders, I'd guess it's the latter.
u know i was at gtar center the other day and i was playing a couple of the fender aerodyne jazz basses and noticed that the Made in Japan's neck was way lighter in color like a mim neck,squier neck kind of ,while the Crafted in Japan one had a nice darker colored maple that felt way better and less mass produced,the MIJ one had way better responsive pickups though wierddddddddddddddd
Some of the above posts have me re-thinking this but I had always thought it was more of a marketing technique than anything. Kind of like how used cars have become "pre-owned/certified". "Crafted in...." sounds more appealing/more refined than just "Made in.....". Gives the impression that there is an extra element of quality or care in the process.
Well hold on a minute. I just picked up a Geddy Lee jazz in a store today to look at it and it said "Crafted in Japan" on the back. My Geddy Lee at home says it was "Made in Japan". Which is correct?
Both are correct. Depends on the year (period) it was made. Do you know that even both "MADE IN JAPAN" and "Crafted in Japan" stamp appear in one instrument? The JB75 Jazz bass has it.
BTW, you have to confirm how the MIJ is spelled out. Old MIJ had all caps MADE IN JAPAN while new MIJ has Made in Japan.
