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Fender Made in Japan!
- Thread starter Double E
- Start date
So what happened to Fender Japan not being able to sell here? At least that’s what I thought. What factory are these coming out of?
Did they kiss and make up? I was under the impression they were two separate companies.....yes? no? Sorry if I’ve been under a rock. Haha
Did they kiss and make up? I was under the impression they were two separate companies.....yes? no? Sorry if I’ve been under a rock. Haha
I wish they'd market the Japanese medium scale basses here.
I found this on the Gear 4 Music website. Looks like you have to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod. Basswood body. Don’t know if It comes with a Gigbag if ordered from Fender. Doesn’t look to be available in the US through any retailers other than the Fender website itself. 7.25 radius, 1.65 width at the “bone” nut.
“Full Description
Comfortably Versatile
Beneath its midnight black finish and golden hardware lies a beautifully lightweight basswood body. This lets you play long sessions without straining your shoulders, perfect for jamming all day and performing all night. Basswood is also a great choice for the body, since it helps keep the Precision's overall tone balanced. It will handle almost any musical style you throw at it.
Traditional Playing Feel
A predominant feature on the Japanese made Fenders were their U-shaped neck profile. This type of profile was ideal for small hands since it lets your thumb naturally rest closer to the edge of the neck, providing you with better reach across the fingerboard.
The fingerboard is also equipped with vintage frets, a slightly modern take on the original's vintage tall frets. Vintage tall frets were perfect if you favoured finger work and bends since it took less effort to press down the string and hear the note. The vintage frets enhances this design with modern comfort.
Recapture the Tones of the 60s
For extra authenticity, the Fender Traditional Precision Bass is fitted with a vintage split single-coil pickup, recapturing the rocking tones of the 60s to give you a truly classic playing experience. Its beautifully warm sound and incredible punch lets you create rich soundscapes, perfect for a variety of musical genres.
Despite only have one pickup, the MIJ P-Bass still offers a versatile performance. Its stunning sustain and bell-like high-end makes it suit a variety of playing-styles, while its tone and volume controls gives you all the tonal adjustments you need for any setting.
A Classic Look with Modern Reliability
For that added vintage look, The MIJ Midnight P-Bass features a selection of vintage-style hardware. They've also been given a gold finish to create a classy look that pairs beautifully with its midnight black body and headstock. While the tuners may look vintage, they still offer an incredibly stable tuning.
The additional bone nut also adds to the MIJ Precision's stunning looks while enhancing the tone's natural resonance and sustain. Bone is the perfect material for guitar nuts, featuring a long life and helping the overall tone remain balanced. This type of nut naturally self-lubricates, helping the guitar stay in tune for longer when compared to modern materials.
Fender 'Made in Japan'
The Made in Japan series from Fender introduces you to the craft and style of Fender Japan, providing you with one-off runs that embrace Fender's history. Fender Japan was first created back in 1982 to sell Fender guitars to the Japanese market. These were built in Japan to keep the price down to rival the Fender imitations that were being sold.
These Japanese productions were manufactured by FujiGen Gakki and marked as 'Made in Japan' (MIJ) until around 1992. It was then that production started moving to Tokai Gakki and Dyna Gakki, with these being marked as 'Crafted in Japan' (CIJ). It wasn't until 2015 when Fender itself took over the Japanese line, bringing you a whole new experience with classic designs in its 'Made in Japan' guitars.
The History of the Precision Bass
Debuted in late 1951, the Precision Bass guitar was not only Fender's first bass guitar, it was the world's first bass guitar - a new kind of instrument. The Precision Bass (often shortened to P-Bass), has spent well over half a century at the very heart of music everywhere.
With its two-horned solid body and fretted neck, the Precision Bass profoundly revolutionised music. Reigning ever since as a must-have instrument, this elegantly simple and enormously powerful instrument is the worldwide standard for bass tonality, performance, reliability, and overall excellence.
Specifications
“Full Description
Comfortably Versatile
Beneath its midnight black finish and golden hardware lies a beautifully lightweight basswood body. This lets you play long sessions without straining your shoulders, perfect for jamming all day and performing all night. Basswood is also a great choice for the body, since it helps keep the Precision's overall tone balanced. It will handle almost any musical style you throw at it.
Traditional Playing Feel
A predominant feature on the Japanese made Fenders were their U-shaped neck profile. This type of profile was ideal for small hands since it lets your thumb naturally rest closer to the edge of the neck, providing you with better reach across the fingerboard.
The fingerboard is also equipped with vintage frets, a slightly modern take on the original's vintage tall frets. Vintage tall frets were perfect if you favoured finger work and bends since it took less effort to press down the string and hear the note. The vintage frets enhances this design with modern comfort.
Recapture the Tones of the 60s
For extra authenticity, the Fender Traditional Precision Bass is fitted with a vintage split single-coil pickup, recapturing the rocking tones of the 60s to give you a truly classic playing experience. Its beautifully warm sound and incredible punch lets you create rich soundscapes, perfect for a variety of musical genres.
Despite only have one pickup, the MIJ P-Bass still offers a versatile performance. Its stunning sustain and bell-like high-end makes it suit a variety of playing-styles, while its tone and volume controls gives you all the tonal adjustments you need for any setting.
A Classic Look with Modern Reliability
For that added vintage look, The MIJ Midnight P-Bass features a selection of vintage-style hardware. They've also been given a gold finish to create a classy look that pairs beautifully with its midnight black body and headstock. While the tuners may look vintage, they still offer an incredibly stable tuning.
The additional bone nut also adds to the MIJ Precision's stunning looks while enhancing the tone's natural resonance and sustain. Bone is the perfect material for guitar nuts, featuring a long life and helping the overall tone remain balanced. This type of nut naturally self-lubricates, helping the guitar stay in tune for longer when compared to modern materials.
Fender 'Made in Japan'
The Made in Japan series from Fender introduces you to the craft and style of Fender Japan, providing you with one-off runs that embrace Fender's history. Fender Japan was first created back in 1982 to sell Fender guitars to the Japanese market. These were built in Japan to keep the price down to rival the Fender imitations that were being sold.
These Japanese productions were manufactured by FujiGen Gakki and marked as 'Made in Japan' (MIJ) until around 1992. It was then that production started moving to Tokai Gakki and Dyna Gakki, with these being marked as 'Crafted in Japan' (CIJ). It wasn't until 2015 when Fender itself took over the Japanese line, bringing you a whole new experience with classic designs in its 'Made in Japan' guitars.
The History of the Precision Bass
Debuted in late 1951, the Precision Bass guitar was not only Fender's first bass guitar, it was the world's first bass guitar - a new kind of instrument. The Precision Bass (often shortened to P-Bass), has spent well over half a century at the very heart of music everywhere.
With its two-horned solid body and fretted neck, the Precision Bass profoundly revolutionised music. Reigning ever since as a must-have instrument, this elegantly simple and enormously powerful instrument is the worldwide standard for bass tonality, performance, reliability, and overall excellence.
Specifications
- Model Number: 5564600306
- Series: Made in Japan Traditional
- Body: Basswood
- Shape: Precision Bass
- Bridge: 4-Saddle Vintage-Style
- Construction: Bolt-On
- Finish: Gloss Polyurethane
- Colour: Black
- Neck: Maple
- Profile: ''U'' shape
- Scale Length: 34''
- Fingerboard: Rosewood
- Radius: 7.25''
- Frets: 20 Vintage
- Inlays: White Dots
- Nut: Bone
- Nut Width: 1.650'' (42mm)
- Middle Pickup: Vintage Split Single-Coil Precision Bass
- Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone
- Tuners: Vintage-Style
- Control Knobs: Knurled Flat Top
- Pickguard: 3-Ply Black/White/Black
- Hardware: Gold
- Strings: Fender USA Bass 7250M, NPS. (.045 - .105 Gauges)
- Case Included: Gig Bag”
The way the excerpt from the article posted by MCF is worded, it sounds like these are not made by Fender Japan... but rather by Fender, in Japan in the "craft and style of Fender Japan".
I just bought a player series 5 days ago. Not regretting it at all but that is one fine looking p bass.
Limited slections right now, but with NAMM fast approaching my guess is there may be more coming. This looks like a test run to determine the viability of importing the Japanese instruments again.
I think the reason it was stopped years ago was becasue the price points were similar to the MIM stuff and cheaper than the MIA and it was cannibalizing those two lines. The thinking probably is, with the average American made Fender sitting around 1500, there is a need for an instrument at the 1000 dollars or a price point just below that. The Japanese made stuff now fills that void. Plus, customers have been asking for a long time. I suspect this is only the start and it will be a good thing for the brand.
Limited slections right now, but with NAMM fast approaching my guess is there may be more coming. This looks like a test run to determine the viability of importing the Japanese instruments again.
I think the reason it was stopped years ago was becasue the price points were similar to the MIM stuff and cheaper than the MIA and it was cannibalizing those two lines. The thinking probably is, with the average American made Fender sitting around 1500, there is a need for an instrument at the 1000 dollars or a price point just below that. The Japanese made stuff now fills that void. Plus, customers have been asking for a long time. I suspect this is only the start and it will be a good thing for the brand.
I wander if certain vendor will get them and add some candies to it?
I just sent an e-mail to ask for it...
I just sent an e-mail to ask for it...
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I would aspire to own this, if they offered it with a maple fretboard.
Hope there’ll be more to come. I’m speculating here, but with trade issues in uncertain flux, it’s an additional source for them to make sure they have solid <$1000 guitars available in the US. Heck, POTUS threatened to completely close the border with Mexico on Friday...
Defunct means "no longer existing"... this is actually a new line of instruments. Maybe you intended something different and the meaning does not translate correctly.
Defunct means what it means in Italian and in effect this word, as in general all non-trivial English words, originated from Latin.
So, don’t worry, I know what defunct means ... with only one bass in production the idea of a Fender Japan production line is definitely defunct ... will they restart producing again? FMIC market strategies ... but, personally, I don’t see many reasons why two different lines of cheap instruments should be kept alive ... MIM is clearly sufficient
Well the line is definitely not defunct by the clear definition of the term. This is apparently a newly introduced line of instruments, made in Japan, that are a tribute to the original Fender Japan instruments which are not sold in the US market.
Fender Japan is effectively defunct in our country, but if you checked the Fender USA website you would clearly see that they are promoting these instruments as a new offering and the article linked earlier in this thread reinforces this.
These are not leftover instruments from the Fender Japan product line that was cut off several years ago from our market.
I thought perhaps you meant "useless" and were just being funny but the translation from Italian was off. You do hail from Italy, correct? I was not challenging your intelligence. My apologies if it was taken that way.
Sorry buddy, it’s not defunct anymore. That’s sort of the whole point of this thread.
Just for the sake of clarification... Fender Japan was never defunct. They just stopped exporting their products to the US (and other?) markets. In fact they currently have a pretty broad product line that is not represented by this new "Made in Japan" series now available here in America.
I don't know all of the details but that is my understanding. Fender Japan is not controlled by the same folks that produce Fender instruments for the USA.
