yuominae Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 Hey guys, I don't know if this will interest anyone here, but I'm selling this telecaster to pay for a refret on my Melody Maker. It's an A-serial MIJ tele, double bound with rosewood fretboard. It's in great condition for a guitar from the 80s. There is some slight birdseye on the back of the neck. I've never really been a tele guy and have tried a bunch in the past, but never kept any of them for long. I went to a music shop (something I practically never do) near work in Tokyo and tried a whole load of teles before deciding on this one. It's got a comfortable medium-size neck, beautiful candy-apply finish and it sounds really sweet, but with a growly edge with the tone on full. Comes with a padded gig bag and a chrome ashtray cover for the bridge. Lots of pictures available here in Dropbbox. Asking $570 inclusive of PayPal and shipping to the US. I'm moving away from Japan soon, so I can only have this one for sale until the 12th of September.
yuominae Posted September 1, 2015 Author Posted September 1, 2015 Thanks guys! Motorpriest, thanks for notifying me on the thread, because I didn't get notified of the PM. I sent you a reply
yuominae Posted September 1, 2015 Author Posted September 1, 2015 Thanks for the nice comments guys I'll regret selling this one some day I'm sure, but I need to pay for that Melody Maker's repairs somehow.
yuominae Posted September 1, 2015 Author Posted September 1, 2015 Sorry guys, somebody and TGP just snapped this one up. Even covered the PayPal fees for me, which restorers my faith in TGP.Sorry MotorPriest, I didn't think it'd go this quickly...
motorpriest Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 No sweat. I´ve got something else on the way
yuominae Posted September 1, 2015 Author Posted September 1, 2015 Cool, thanks man! Happy NGD when you get it
serial Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 Great Teles. I was a USA-only snob until I snagged one of the blue flower RIs MIJ in the mid-90s. The "A" serial number ran well into the 1990s, despite what most internet wisdom claims. Mine was a monster guitar that the original owner bought new in 1993. Even the stock electronics were very good. Build quality was better than some of my USA Teles (which is what I preferred then).
yuominae Posted September 1, 2015 Author Posted September 1, 2015 Great Teles. I was a USA-only snob until I snagged one of the blue flower RIs MIJ in the mid-90s. The "A" serial number ran well into the 1990s, despite what most internet wisdom claims. Mine was a monster guitar that the original owner bought new in 1993. Even the stock electronics were very good. Build quality was better than some of my USA Teles (which is what I preferred then). Oh, the A serials ran into the nineties? How interesting and weird. Thanks for the info man! I have the same experience as you, having bought an American vintage 52 after buying this one. The AV tele got sold again within a couple of weeks. Also had an American standard in the past and that one was very disappointing, horrible body wood, horrible bridge etc. I'll get another one of these one day when I visit Japan again with the family
currypowder Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 Great Teles. I was a USA-only snob until I snagged one of the blue flower RIs MIJ in the mid-90s. The "A" serial number ran well into the 1990s, despite what most internet wisdom claims. Mine was a monster guitar that the original owner bought new in 1993. Even the stock electronics were very good. Build quality was better than some of my USA Teles (which is what I preferred then).If this page from Fender is to be believed, then there were A series serial numbers in the 90s, but those guitars would have a "Crafted in Japan" sticker at the base of the neck instead of "Made in Japan".http://www2.fender.com/support/articles/japanese-instruments-product-dating/
serial Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 I take that info with a grain of salt from years of buying/selling/owning them. I don't know that I've seen ANY MIJ Teles with anything other than an 'A' prefix. Maybe that was done on decaled numbers, but serials stamped into Tele bridges are almost always 'A's and I don't believe for a moment that they were all done in 85/86. More likely, they used them until they ran out like the 'S8' and 'S9' decals which ran into 1982.You'll find one in every car-you'll see.
Lockbody Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 I take that info with a grain of salt from years of buying/selling/owning them. I don't know that I've seen ANY MIJ Teles with anything other than an 'A' prefix. Maybe that was done on decaled numbers, but serials stamped into Tele bridges are almost always 'A's and I don't believe for a moment that they were all done in 85/86. More likely, they used them until they ran out like the 'S8' and 'S9' decals which ran into 1982.You'll find one in every car-you'll see.Hmm, I've never seen a "MIJ" A series on anything except an 85-86, either.Just like this:http://www.guitarsjapan.com/fenderchart.html
Lockbody Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 Well hush my mouth. You learn something new every day!http://www.xhefriguitars.com/page14.htmlA + 6 DIGITS 1985-1987, 1997-1998 (Made in Japan) and (Crafted in Japan) This was one of the most confusing serial uber used by Japan. They placed the "A" on the bridge on the Telecasters and some of them could be as late as 1996 (as in the case with many JD Teles. Maybe the transitional guitars from MIJ to the CIJ??)
currypowder Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 My Japanese Tele has an "E" serial number, and it's located under the MIJ decal. Unfortunately, the bridge had been replaced sometime during its life, so I have no way of knowing if it had an A stamped bridge originally. I've always thought of it as a mid 80s build. Of course, this doesn't prove anything, info on Japanese guitars always seems to be thin and sometimes contradictory. All I know is it's a great example of a Tele.
yuominae Posted September 1, 2015 Author Posted September 1, 2015 So fender Japan was overly optimistic when that started out and stamped A serials into ten years worth of bridges?Can't trust Japanese guitar makers.
hamersandstrats Posted September 2, 2015 Posted September 2, 2015 Fender Japan does Candy Apple Red better than the US, that's for sure.
cmatthes Posted September 2, 2015 Posted September 2, 2015 Silver undercoat looks better than gold to me. Maybe why I like the MIJ stuff in that finish.
Boomerang~Junkie Posted September 2, 2015 Posted September 2, 2015 I completely agree - their QC is off the charts. They are extremely nice guitars and unbeatable values for F-stuff. This just reminds me that I should have never sold the two CIJ Strats I once owned - ugh.My CIJ Thinline is unbelievablely nice too and yes it also trounces most of FMC's US stuff I've played or owned. It's the last of them and is a keeper.
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