MIJ Fenders?

Are you talking about a Squier?

Or are Squiers Korean?

 

there is a few japanese sites selling them. I think one of the popular ones is ishibashi.com could be wrong on this one though.


P.S. MIJ Fenders a good since they have better quality control, you'll see most of them will be pretty equal were as most fenders range from p.o.s. to dream bass in quality.

 

www.ishibashi-music.com

Good selection, great service. Even has the Kanda (special edition type stuff) but beware shipping is pricey (about $120 to the states) but takes only a few days

 

MIJ Fenders are a thing of the past.

I think you're looking for CIJ Fenders, which are available from Japan.

 

Sorry to bump this, but CIJ?

i just ordered a Fender Japan 70-85US from them(in the lack of getting a real 70's precision and the lack of credit card so i can register at ebay...)(yeah... my 72 didnt become mine afterall...)
i know fender japan aint bad, but is it a BIG difference on them? and someone can explain was this Kanda thing is? I think mine is a kanda...(its the most expensive p bass model..)

 

Fender Japan neck heels are no longer stamped Made in Japan (MIJ) but now are Crafted in Japan (CIJ)

Kanda is according to their site:

which is basically just dealer special orders that aren't in the regular catalog with different color options, the occasional Badass, or a slightly different set of electronics.



The bass you bought is a Kanda model, a very nice one at that. Congrats man.

 

Wich means.. the basses are not Machine made? (thats what i put in the word "Crafted")

Thanks for the help.

 

Nope, same thing, just fancy marketing. Crafted sounds better, that's all.

 

ah, ok... u know how they stand up against original 70's precisions? im probaly gonna change the bridge and repaint it...

 

Not really, I want a CIJ '70's Precision, the white/rosewood one with a Badass II but I haven't the money yet.

My '78 is my holy grail.

 

ok.
they guy from fender japan explains it to me as having the "apperance" of a 70'S precision.... im not sure what he mean about that, but i guess ill figure... if i dont like it, fender japan is easily sold basses here in norway...

 

Does he just mean its the same asthetically as a 70's P ? horseshoe bitty etc, well, stuff like that i'd assume

 

the mail i got:
"Thank you for your reply. This is Noriko from Ishibashi.
Fender USA has made some kinds of the original 70's precision bass.
So that, it is very hard to clear the average model....
The Fender Japan PB70-85US comes with an appearance of late '70s.
The original late '70s precision comes thick finish, heavy ash body and
powerful sound.
The reissue PB70-85US comes with thin finish, ash body and vintage pickups.
An appearance on the reissue is in beautiful. The sound is like '60s."

 

a 70's P bass that sounds like the 60's, woah, mind boggling!

by thin finish maybe they mean its partially translucent?

 

well, it use fender 62 reissue pups, thats probaly why..

and the finish on it is transperent, that might be what he mean about it... im gonna refinish it, and find some fat sounding pups for it anyway(probaly some seymour duncans...)

 

The big difference between MIJ and CIJ is a bit more than the wording. Not necessarily in order, but offa the top of my head here's some info:

Now, MIJ has stood for a few things over the years, but its always been intended as a less expensive Fender alternative. In the early 80's, the MIJ stuff was as good or better quality than the US made stuff(JV serial numbered Fender Japan instruments of the early 80's can demand a hefty price tag). Around 84 (give or take) while Fender switched ownership, there was a period of time when ALL Fenders were MIJ (wether they said US or not).

The craze for reissue Fenders started with Japanese made ones. In the 'Smith' era, Fender tried some reissues in america and they were awful (wrong headstock shape, etc). Japan, on the other hand started making them right...This tradition of attention to detail is why you see Fender Japan making such cool limited run re-issues to this day.

MIJ Fenders were made in Japan, for export. At the time, they were the middle tier of the Fender line in terms of price (not necessarily build quality). For a while during the early 90's Fender had expanded it's lines to include "Made in Korea", "Made in Mexico", "Made in Japan" and "Made in America". The grades of instruments followed in that order, Korea being the cheapest, and America being the most expensive.

This structure was not only costly to run, but Fender realized that it was canibalizing it's OWN American made instruments. People were choosing Japanese Fenders over American ones, even when price wasn't a consideration. So...they killed the MIJ Fenders. And *slightly* increased the build on the MIM instruments. AND MIM instruments didn't take as much shipping, were cheap (cheap labor) and easy to get into the US (Thanks, NAFTA).

...But that's not the end of Japan & Fender. The market for Fenders in Japan is HUGE. They're very popular, and with a booming vintage instrument craze, Fender moved to "Crafted in Japan" instruments. These are NOT intended for export, and are made specifically to the tastes of the Japanese market, in both attention to detail and also model/configuration. They are built to a very high standard, although they sometimes use woods that are local to that part of the world.

 

BurningSkies has the history pretty much as I remember it. I have a 1980s Strat that I bought cheap several years ago and is better than 95% of Strats I have played. The Fralin pickups help. A few years ago some Japanese friends bought a "not for export" Tele from Ishibashi and brought it here for me during a trip. It is made out of Senn (a relative of Ash) that is superbly crafted with fantastic tone. I would have no problem buying a Fender Japan bass from Ishibashi. If you go to http://www.ishibashi-music.com/fenderjp/ you can find the basses available. When looking at the models the second set of digits is the suggested list price in thousands of yen. This may be different from the actual price charged by Ishibashi. But it does give you a hint at the quality of the wood and electronics. For instance the PB62-70US is a "Precision Bass, 1962 style, 70,000 Yen list price, with US pickups". The JB75-90US is a "Jazz Bass, 1975 Style, 90,000 Yen list price, with US pickups". Another source of Japanese Fender stuff if www.guitargai.com. He takes care of the hassle of customs and import duties so you won't have to. But I would probably deal directly with Ishibashi.

 

Just one thing, what about the fender Aerodynes, they are all MIJ/CIJ , but there are 2 models, one of which is specifically export

Dont think it has a baring on anything, just saying