Had a play around with a Fender "MIJ" Strat today

Don't call me PC. I take great offense as it's a slur.
Nick's right. I'm a Mac guy myself.

Ok...may I call you Mac ? :twisted:

It's certainly not a slur. :D

I bought a Fender MIJ Strat I think in 90. They only made them for a few years. They were considerably cheaper than the American mades so I opted for one. At the time they also had a very cheap version, I think Korean made? Can't remember. Anyway, I opted for the MIJ Strat. It played and sounded very nice. My scratch plate also popped up as yours did. It was something I lived with but annoying. For some reason the thing never fell off. Another problem I had to deal with very quickly was the bridge. It was inferior steel and soon the strings were digging into this causing me to break as many as 3 per gig. I replaced it with a carvin and it was fine after that. I also had to have it refretted after only 2 years. To this day the frets are Ok.
I still have the guitar today. I played it 4 nights a week for about 10 years but it's just sitting now. I often think of selling it and getting an American made one. For the price of that guitar, even with the mods, it was well made. Much better than the Mexican ones out there now. It was strange though. It wasn't quite as nice as the American one but almost a "what's the point?" sort of situation. Glad you got to play one though. There weren't many made!
http://www.GuitarGoGo.com

I thought we got past this, can we just say MIJ ? I took the liberty of getting all PC on the last post.

I'd have to name that guitar "Midge."

A friend of mine had a MIJ Strat and when he traded it at the music store I went there to possibly purchase it. (yeah, I know, but you have to know this store, what they gave him on the trade is what they sold it for) I was about to buy it but it was sitting next to a brand new MIM Strat. This was 1992 so the whole MIM concept was new to me. Long story short the MIM sits in the "Man Cave" as we type. For the same price as my friends used I got this one new. Why did I chose the MIM? It seemed a better guitar. I would have to qualify that his guitar was a victom of its era. It had a humbucker at the bridge but the trem system was not a Floyd but an attempt at a similar locking system. It wasn't good. The finish was a pearl white with a black pick guard, black pickups and the head stock was black. To me it was ugly. My MIM Strat? Nice antique white finish with a white pick guard, three single coils and a standard trem. The head stock is bare maple and it has a rosewood board. The classic Strat look. It was better balanced, and the neck felt better. I did have to add a humbucker (Seymour Duncan Hot Rail) but thats my hang up. Thats my only experience with MIJ Strats other than the guy at the music store trying to sell me one back in 1982 when I bought my first Les Paul. I wouldn't even touch it. :lol:

Wait! Was the 25th Anniversary Strat MIJ? Cause my brother in law has one of those. I absolutely hate that guitar. It doesn't intonate well. :?
Edit: I looked it up, this one is made in USA but was during the CBS years. Nuff said. :lol: Oh, and don't get me wrong, my friends guitar was the only one I've ever played. Not a true sampling and it was made well, I just did not like the way it felt or played.

There's at least one board out there that is about Japanese guitars - isn't there a board out there for everything? Japanaxe It has a lot of information and some really knowledgeable folks.