bubs_42 Posted July 20, 2019 Posted July 20, 2019 I love the Fender MIJ Tele's and Strats. I have one of my MIJ Teles for sale, because I have three of them.
FGJ Posted July 21, 2019 Posted July 21, 2019 My first guitar was an early 80s MIJ Fender Squire Strat, which I regret ever selling. It was a great guitar. I think I sold it because I wanted a hotter-sounding super-strat with a Floyd. But the Strat played and sounded great stock...... And then there's the '73 Toyota Land Cruser I still kick myself for ever selling for 3 grand. It was so perfect, it'd cost me at least 25 grand to replace it with one in the same condition... Oh, wait, that's a MIJ vehicle...
currypowder Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 While I'm a lover of MIJ guitars from the late 70s on, I do have a soft spot for that period from '79 to -82. I especially like the upper end of Greco Super Real series of '80-'81, those guitars equipped with the famed Maxon Dry Zs. Below is my collection of Super Real Era Grecos. 1980 Greco EGF-1200 - The one that finally surpassed (by a very thin margin) my long standing #1 (2002 Tokai LS-320). This model was designed to copy a '58 burst with thin frets and a fairly large neck. It's as good or better than any LP I've played. 1981 Greco SA-1200 - Like the EGF-1200, this is the one that knocked off my long time #1 335, an early 80s Gibson Dot Reissue. I love the finish and birdseye maple top and back. As good as the Dry Zs sound in the EFG, I think they are even better matched to a semi-hollow. 1980 Greco EGF-1800 - A higher priced guitar than the 1200 at the time (given it's solid maple top vs. maple with a flame veneer). I believe this particular guitar is part of a special store run that all have a similar top and finish color. I got this one cheap as it had a broken headstock which has since been repaired. This pick is before the repair and cleaning, but gives you a good idea of the color and subtle figuring of the top. 1982 Greco EGF-1600 Limited Edition - Probably the rarest Greco in my collection. In the early 80s, Greco mede a few copies of the Gibson Limited Edition and Super Customs made famous by Neal Schon. Although this model has an early 1982 serial number, it has all of the features of a Super Real including the headstock inlay and Dry Z pickups. It also has a 3 piece maple neck where most of the other models I've seen have a 5-piece (with thin strips of a darker wood between the maple pieces). So it's likely a special order. Needed a fret level and some minor veneer repair on the back (it was lifting up in a couple of places. The 1600 Limited Edition has a maple cap with flame veneer. There is supposedly an EGF-2500 model which has a solid flame maple cap, but I've only seen evidence of one of those ever.
currypowder Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 Although I love the Super Real Grecos, my vintage MIJ collection isn't limited to them. Here are a few others. 1979 Greco SV-600 - A smaller bodied semi-hollow, way before the 339. I do think it's a little bigger than a 339, but still very comfortable to play and equipped with a set of Maxon PU-2s which are very nice sounding. 1980 Tokai LS-120 Reborn Old - Not the top of the heap (that would be an LS-200 of the era). Similar to the Greco EGF-1200 but with a set of DiMarzio PAFs. While I give a slight nod to the EGF-1200, this one definitely plays and sound great. The "Reborn Old" name was only used for about 6 months in 1980 as Tokai transitioned from "Les Paul Reborn" to "Love Rock". 1980 Burny FLG-150 - Another brand and model in the same range as the Greco EGF-1200 and Tokai LS-120. This model has a set of early Duncan 59s. I'm not the biggest fan of Duncans, but this set fits perfectly. It's heavy at about 10.5 pounds, but it has a tone with a ton of bottom end, rattles the windows when cranked. 1975 HS Anderson HS-4 - A phenomenal early upper end MIJ LP Custom with a solid birdseye maple top. The pickups and some of the hardware isn't original. I will eventually replace the plastic with the original black color and get new pickups, though I haven't decided what to put in there yet.
polara Posted July 22, 2019 Author Posted July 22, 2019 50 minutes ago, currypowder said: Although I love the Super Real Grecos, my vintage MIJ collection isn't limited to them. Here are a few others. 1979 Greco SV-600 - A smaller bodied semi-hollow, way before the 339. I do think it's a little bigger than a 339, but still very comfortable to play and equipped with a set of Maxon PU-2s which are very nice sounding. 1980 Tokai LS-120 Reborn Old - Not the top of the heap (that would be an LS-200 of the era). Similar to the Greco EGF-1200 but with a set of DiMarzio PAFs. While I give a slight nod to the EGF-1200, this one definitely plays and sound great. The "Reborn Old" name was only used for about 6 months in 1980 as Tokai transitioned from "Les Paul Reborn" to "Love Rock". 1980 Burny FLG-150 - Another brand and model in the same range as the Greco EGF-1200 and Tokai LS-120. This model has a set of early Duncan 59s. I'm not the biggest fan of Duncans, but this set fits perfectly. It's heavy at about 10.5 pounds, but it has a tone with a ton of bottom end, rattles the windows when cranked. 1975 HS Anderson HS-4 - A phenomenal early upper end MIJ LP Custom with a solid birdseye maple neck. The pickups and some of the hardware isn't original. I will eventually replace the plastic with the original black color and get new pickups, though I haven't decided what to put in there yet. You have some fantastic guitars there...
Hamer95USA Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 The guitar in the pictures isn't mine, but is very similiar in appearance to the guitar that I used to own. Having owned a bolt on neck Les Paul copy (make unknown, sold) that I bought from a friend, a Peavey T-15 (sold), and the 1981 Ibanez Destroyer II guitar (that I traded to Guitar Center to buy a 1996 Gibson Les Paul Custom a number of years ago, I should have kept it! ), I've been a fan of MIJ guitars. The Destroyer II was one of the best built Explorer style guitars until I played my friend's Hamer Standard (red flame maple top with crown inlays & binding around the body) with the Kahler tremolo bridge (aftermarket) when I moved to Hayward, CA in 1990. My current favorite guitar is my '87 Fender Japan Contemporary Strat: 1987 Fender Japan Contemporary Strat Guitar George
Dave Scepter Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 USA!.. USA!.. USA!.. just kidding, I love my Asian Sensations 🇯🇵
BubbaVO Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Dave Scepter said: just kidding, I love my Asian Sensations 🇯🇵 Paging Mr. Kraft....
chromium Posted July 23, 2019 Posted July 23, 2019 4 hours ago, Dave Scepter said: USA!.. USA!.. USA!.. just kidding, I love my Asian Sensations 🇯🇵 Mine is one of those rare USA Charvels... handcrafted by tiny luthiers inside of a PO Box in Ft. Worth, TX
ARM OF HAMER Posted July 23, 2019 Posted July 23, 2019 This one was a beast.................in more ways than one.It played and sounded great. I loved the Yamaha Weddington and owned many of the Classic and the Custom models The Yamaha SA guitars Tons of Yamaha guitars through the years.
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