Fender 70's Stratocaster Electric Guitar

Not much of a secret,the Fender guitars made in Japan are among some of the finest available,especially for the money.The quality is right up there with the Fender guitars produced in America in the late 50's,and early 60's.There is a hard to describe feel called vintage that nearly every guitar player craves.Many of these Japanese made instruments provide this unique experience.There is just that intangible "right" feeling built in.The guitars produced in Japan in the 80's are particularly good at capturing that vintage vibe.The necks and bodies are made from high quality woods,the electronics are very good,and the tuners,bridge and other hardware are all excellent.I think that many of the mid 80's instruments feel more vintage than the American Standard strats produced currently.The American Custom Shop models are very good,but they cost four times what it would cost to pick up a nice 20 year old Japanes Stratocaster.All in all the MIJ's represent one of the best values in the working mans market.

A solidly built guitar with a vintage look and feel. I have several Strats in my collection - American, Japanese and Mexican built - and this is tied for #1 with my MIM Roadhouse reissue.

Pros: Solid build, pure early 70's look and sound. Looks, sounds and feels like a Strat is supposed to. Some may say the pickups need to be replaced on these models, but the sound is what a early 1970's Stratocaster should sound like..if you don't like the sound, buy a different guitar. Also, the fact it is MIM means less expensive and contrary to popular belief, built as well or in some cases better than a MIA version (especially with this particular model - Google some reviews on both MIA and MIM versions and see what I mean. Also, my 2 favorite Strats are both MIM models and I own 2 MIA's and a MIJ.)

Cons: I only have a few minor issues with mine that were easily fixed and one that requires a small investment. The slots in the nut were cut too deep and it needed to be replaced ($10). I prefer a 5 spring tremelo for stability and this one only came with 3 ($3). The only expensive fix will be to have it re-fretted with jumbo or medium jumbo frets, which is just a personal preference and would have to be done with many vintage reissue Strats that come with medium frets ($250-300 to have done professionally, less if you have skills. Either way, the guitar is worth a small investment for the sound and overall playability.)

Overall, even with a future re-fret to be done at some point when the current frets wear out, it will be worth the investment. Happy I bought it and would buy another.