Fender Japan, Ltd. Was the joint-venture between Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, Kanda Shokai (神田商会) and Yamano Gakki (山野楽器) which operated the Japanese business of Fender musical instruments from 1982 to 2015. The venture involved the domestic production and sale of Fender instruments for the Japanese market.

• Fender Japan Catalog 2014

1. The MIJ (Made in Japan) and CIJ (Crafted in Japan) guitars are very high quality. The Japanese are, as many of you know, masters at copying—as these guitars testify. In fact, the new Fender USA management guys 'almost cried' when they traveled to Japan and saw the quality.
2. Oct 01, 2014  The bubble, is the fact that the Fender Japan Stratocaster Flame ’57 or '62 Reissue, as it was officially designated in the UK, had absolutely nothing to do with premium maple facing, and everything to do with premium maple faking. The front and rear of the body were not veneered with genuine, highly-figured wood, but overlaid with a type of.

The most important thing to keep in mind when dating a Fender is the highly modular nature of the designs. Like Henry Ford, part of Leo Fender's genius was in optimizing the company's production efficiency.

His guitars were built en masse by an entire factory, not a single luthier toiling over one instrument at a time. Features like bolt-on necks and pickups wired into the pickguard all helped the Fender factory churn out guitar after guitar, day after day. This also means that various parts used on a particular guitar may have come from different points in time, so no single number can absolutely define when the instrument was built.Instead, the best approach to dating a Fender is to combine indicators from the design of the instrument, the dates found on the neck and body, along with the serial number. Once you have the information you need, if you're interested in selling your Fender, you can use Reverb to get it in front of the largest audience of musicians in the worldDesign Changes and FeaturesPerhaps the best place to start when dating your Fender is to get an approximate idea of the era based on the instrument's design and components. This can be a tall order for someone less versed in guitar history, but we do have some resources here on Reverb to help you out.For starters, there's the Reverb Price Guide which has thousands of entries with pictures and details on various guitars and other gear.

Some browsing around the can definitely help you find which model you have.We also have some other blog posts related to Fender that can hopefully be of some help. There's and that follows the evolution of the most popular Fender guitar of all. Similarly, take a look at for general timeline of the history of everyone's favorite offset guitar. For Fender during the turning point era of the mid-'60s, check outBody and Neck DatesThrough much of Fender's production history, Fender workers would print or write a production date on both bodies and necks where the two pieces meet. These dates will tell when the original part was manufactured, but are not exact indicators of when the guitar was actually put together and finished.Here is what the neck date and body date look like from a 1952 Telecaster:If you're not comfortable removing the neck of a guitar to peek at the date marker, I encourage you to take it to a local tech or luthier.I will also mention briefly pot-codes as a resource (numbers on the internal potentiometers of the guitar). These can definitely be useful in cases where no other numbers exist, but just tell when the pot itself was made.

Who knows how long it was waiting in the Fender factory before finding its way into a Tele?Serial NumbersLike the body and neck dates, using serial numbers to date a Fender is not a sure bet. At many points in Fender's history, serial number usage overlapped again owing to the modular manner of production. Below we'll go into detail about the various serial number schemes employed by Fender as far back as 1950. There are certainly plenty of exceptions, so again, using serial numbers in conjunction with other dating methods is always the best bet.Click on the links here to jump directly to the serial number style that matches your instrument:.The Early Years: 1950 - 1954In the early years, Fender serial numbers schemes were specific to the model. Esquires, Broadcasters and Telecasters shared a serial number sequence, while the landmark Precision Bass had its own system. In this early period, the serial number can be found on the bridge of the instrument (see image).Here are the rough serial number ranges for the early Esquires and Telecasters. 161 to to 1 to 61 to 04701951 - 19520475 to 08401952 - 19530848 to 18971953 - 1954Also, for the first half or so of 1954, the inaugural run of Stratocasters had a distinct number sequence all under number 6000.Classic Serial Numbers - 1954 - 1963By mid-1954, Fender began using a universal serial number sequence for all its instruments.

At this time, the location of the serial number also shifted from the bridge to the neckplate (the metal plate located on back of where the neck meets the body).Here's how the serial numbers break down from 1954 to the beginning of 1963, though there are some areas of inconsistency in this era. 0L00001 to L20000 to L59000 to L999991965F Series - CBS Era 1965 - 1976After the CBS purchase of Fender in 1965, the factory switched to a new serial sequence with numbers that continued the same general format used prior to the takeover. These are generally referred to as F series due the large Fender branded F on the neckplates of the era. This period also saw a switch from the orginal four-bolt neckplate of the '60s to a three-bolt neckplate in just one example of cost-saving costs introduced under CBS. 100000 to 110000late to 200000 to 210000 to 250000 to 280000 to 300000 to 340000 to 370000 to 500000 to 580000 to 690000 to Post 1976Starting in 1976, Fender transitioned to a new serial number scheme and moved the placement of most serial numbers to the headstock of the instrument. Depending on the era and model, the number can be found on either the front or back of the headstock. After a short period of overlap with the old system, the post-76 numbers will start with a letter that indicates the decade, followed by a number that indicates the year of that decade.

The decade letter codes break down like this: S = 1970s, E = 1980s, N = 1990s, Z = 2000s. In the 2000s, you'll also see serials starting with a DZ which indicates the Deluxe series, but the format is otherwise the same.For example, a serial number with N4 would be from 1994. One starting with Z5 would be from 2005.This scheme is not 100% consistent due to a number of production factors, such as Fender producing more serialized decals than needed in a given year.

This is particularly pronounced in the transitional period of the mid-'80s, though the system has been pretty much on point since about 1990.After 2009, the letter changed to a format starting with US then two digits that tell the year of the current decade.Here's the breakdown of Post-1976 American-made Fender serials. Fender Japan serial numbers can usually be found on the back of the neck near the neck joint.

Though examples also exist with the number on the headstock or the neck-plate in the case of certain early reissue models. Up until 1997, the serial was paired with the words 'Made in Japan.' In 1982, Fender expanded operations with a series of instruments produced in Japan by the Fuji Gen Gakki company. Like the US serial numbers, MIJ (made in Japan) serials start with a letter or pair of letters that indicate the rough year of production. This system, however, is notoriously inconsistent and incomplete, which makes dating by serial number even less reliable for MIJ Fenders.Here's a breakdown of serials for the 'Made in Japan' era.

K + 6 digits1990 - 1991L + 6 digits1991 - 1992M + 6 digits1992 - 1993N + 6 digits1993 - 1994O + 6 digits1993 - 1994P + 6 digits1993 - 1994Q + 6 digits1993 - 1994S + 6 digits1994 - 1995T + 6 digits1994 - 1995U + 6 digits1995 - 1996N + 5 digits1995 - 1996V + 6 digits1996 - 1997Crafted in Japan Serial NumbersIn 1997, Fender changed the 'Made in Japan' decal to say 'Crafted in Japan.' There is some overlap with the earlier 'MIJ' serials, so it's important to note if your instrument carries the 'Made in Japan' or 'Crafted in Japan' decal. MZ3 + 5 or 6 digits2003MZ4 + 5 or 6 digits2004MZ5 + 5 or 6 digits2005MZ6 + 5 or 6 digits2006MZ7 + 5 or 6 digits2007MZ8 + 5 or 6 digits2008MZ9 + 5 or 6 digits2009MX10 + 6 digits2010MX11 + 6 digits2011MX12 + 6 digits2012MX13 + 6 digits2013MX14 + 6 digits2014ExceptionsThere are a number of exceptions to all these serial number schemes. As mentioned above, many reissue models use serial numbers that don't really correlate to their age.

Additionally, there have been plenty of artist models, limited editions and other rare models that use a unique serial number. Examples include the 35th anniversary series, many of the uniquely finished Strats from the early '80s, as well as various export-specific models which carry a serial number starting with FN.Again, the serial number alone in any of these cases is not definitive and the best approach is to combine that with other methods like the neck and body dates, as well as just the features of the specific instrument. If you have any questions as to what Fender you're dealing with, I encourage you to seek out a local guitar shop or luthier to help figure it out.

Fender Japan was founded in 1982 during a major transitional phase for Fender. To compete with inexpensive Japanese copies of Fender guitars and basses, Fender commissioned the FugiGen Gakki factory to produce a line of more affordable guitars in Japan, and so began the MIJ ('Made In Japan') era of Fender. From the very first reissues of the Jazzmaster and Jaguar to new oddball designs, exclusive finishes and variations on staple models, MIJ Fenders kept the company above water while they waited for their new US factory to start production. CIJ ('Crafted In Japan') guitars and basses began appearing in the early '90s as Japanese production was shifted from FugiGen to Tokai and Dyna Gakki factories, a relationship that lasted until 2015 when Fender took over the Japanese manufacturing entirely.

Fender Japan Catalog 2014

Here you'll find Reverb's massive selection of all things MIJ and CIJ Fender, instruments of superb quality and unique flair that arguably saved this iconic brand.