Which Jap Strat?

Kenny_D · 30-12-2006 10:52pm #1

http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/ubox.cgi?T=syosai&sline=771&print=1&keys2=machida%40ishibashi%2Eco%2Ejp&tid=list3

or

http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/webshop/guitar/esp/edwards/ese87rlt.htm

I'm leaning heavily towards the fender but I'm wondering about the pickups. The edwards has SD's. Both are around the same price

Specs of Fender:

BODY: ALDER 2P
NECK: MAPLE OVAL TYPE, 324 SCALE
FRETBOARD: MAPLE ONE PIECE, 184R, 21F
NUT WIDTH: 42mm
PICKUPS: CLASSICAL VINTAGE DCS-1 X 3
CONTROLS & SWITCH: 1VOL, 2TONE[CTS POTS], 5WAY SW USA
BRIDGE: STEEL BLOCK S8F VINTAGE
COLOR: 2TS

Specs of Edwards:

Body: Alder
Neck: Maple
Fingerboard: Rosewood, 22Frets
Scale: 648mm
Nut: Bone
Neck Joint: Bolt-on
Bridge: Sunchronized Type
Pickups: Front - Seymour Duncan SSL-1
Center - Seymour Duncan SSL-1
Rear - Seymour Duncan SSL-3
Controls: Master Volume, Front Tone,
Center Tone (Dual Mode Switch), 5Way PU Selector
Case: Soft Case

It wasn't me! · 30-12-2006 11:53pm

The Fender is far prettier, therefore get it.

feylya · 30-12-2006 11:55pm

Either way, you're gonna get a fantastic Strat. Personally, I'd go with the Edwards for the 22 frets and the SD's.

Kenny_D · 31-12-2006 12:04am

The fender does look nicer I think but its mainly the sound I'm interested in. Not sure how stock fender pickups compare to the seymours so wondering if its worth it to go for the edwards if it will sound better. Student = broke, so dont want to get something stock then have to spend another 100-300 upgrading the pickups because I'm not happy with the sound. Tis a tough one. Or I could buy something like this and put a set of €300 bare knuckles into it?

http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/ubox.cgi?T=syosai&sline=2271&print=1&keys2=shinsaibashi%40ishibashi%2Eco%2Ejp&tid=list3
or
http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/webshop/guitar/fender-j/st6258us.htm

feylya · 31-12-2006 12:07am

Keep an eye out for Fujigen's too. Seriously, they are real nice guitars.

Kenny_D · 31-12-2006 12:13am

Noted. How much do Ishi charge for shipping?

feylya · 31-12-2006 12:14am

Y16,000 I think. About €120.

Voodu Child · 31-12-2006 12:24am

16,000 for a soft, 18,000 for a hard. Not a hard & fast rule, but in or around

Kenny_D · 31-12-2006 12:49am

Cheers. Sent them an email. Do they take long to reply? I've been between a strat and something else. I think I'm gonna order the other guitar as soon as I get to the credit union and pick up the strat around march

feylya · 31-12-2006 12:50am

It depends whether the work New Years Eve. They're usually fast at answering so you may have an answer when you wake up.

What's the other guitar?

Kenny_D · 31-12-2006 12:55am

A really nice tele. Have wanted one for ages. I think the tele and a strat will keep me happy for a while. Gonna get rid of the Ibanez S series I think. Nice guitar but prob wont use it once I get my tele

feylya · 31-12-2006 12:56am

The perfect setup. Although, a Les Paul or other fixed bridge set neck guitar would be nice too

You know the rules about pics

Kenny_D · 31-12-2006 1:09am

Had a Les Paul. A very sweet 1978 LS80 Tokai Reborn. Fantastic guitar but it weighed so much (1 piece solid mahogany back). Wasnt worth the pain and I dont like sitting while playing. Pics of the Paul here:

http://www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~gstorm/guitar/

Also had a fantastic strat (which will be reaquired soon

) as can be seen here:

and

feylya · 31-12-2006 1:16am

Ah yeah, I think I remember that LP. They have to be heavy, otherwise they just ain't fun

Gorgeous strat. Why did you let it go?

Kenny_D · 31-12-2006 1:20am

I'm mainly an acoustic player and a proper electro-acoustic was badly needed. It went towards funding a nice new acoustic from chris. It was sold to a friend who had a passing interest in guitar. His interest seems to have faded so I intend on buying it back at some stage. Loved it. Really great strat

The les paul was a lot heavier than les pauls I tried out before buying it. I could handle a regular les paul but this particular one weighed a hell of a lot. My back was in bits for days after playing for any decent amount of time.

Asiaprod · 31-12-2006 1:42am

feylya wrote:

It depends whether the work New Years Eve. They're usually fast at answering so you may have an answer when you wake up.

Official Japanese New year vacations are:
Open New Years eve till 9:30pm
Closed all day 1st, 2nd, 3rd (These are the national holidays, some branches may open on the 3rd to prepare for the sales)
Open for business as usual on the 4th, though it is an official half day.
Sales generally start on the 5th.

feylya · 31-12-2006 1:43am

Thanks Asiaprod.

Kenny_D · 31-12-2006 1:48am

Interesting. I presume this 5% thing in the ubox is part of these sales that start in most places in japan on the 5th? Or might it be worth waiting til the 5th to see if there's any further discounts?

Oh and what is that other japanese site that sells second hand guitars? Is it ikebe or are there others?

feylya · 31-12-2006 1:50am

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.ikebe-gakki.com/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dikebe%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG

That's Ikebe Gabbi. Then there's the second hand guitar search engine that Doc K linked to. Don't think it's in the Resources sticky.

Kenny_D · 31-12-2006 1:52am

Yup thats the one. I had the second hand guitar page bookmarked before but cant find it now. Perhaps AsiaProd could provide a link to the second hand guitars on ikebe?

Asiaprod · 31-12-2006 1:53am

GStormcrow wrote:

Interesting. I presume this 5% thing in the ubox is part of these sales that start in most places in japan on the 5th? Or might it be worth waiting til the 5th to see if there's any further discounts?

The sales are usually very good. I would wait unless you find something that you just cannot resist. I just did that, now I have to go and check this beauty out. I just know the price will be frightening

http://1484.bz/c/17012/

feylya · 31-12-2006 1:55am

Saw a PRS Dragon in person yesterday. I'll be staying away from PRS's for a long long time methinks.

Have to say, the bookmatching on that top absolutely sucks.

It wasn't me! · 31-12-2006 1:55am

Oh dear...

Asiaprod · 31-12-2006 1:58am

GStormcrow wrote:

Yup thats the one. I had the second hand guitar page bookmarked before but cant find it now. Perhaps AsiaProd could provide a link to the second hand guitars on ikebe?

ikebe
http://www.ikebe-gakki.com/index.php

www.ikebe-gakki.com/
www.ikebe-gakki.com/realshop/ikebukuro/index.php
www.ikebe-gakki.com/realshop/index.php
www.ikebe-gakki.com/free_search_00.php
www.ikebe-gakki.com/fair.php

Happy Hunting. And a nearly Happy New Year to all from Tokyo

Kenny_D · 31-12-2006 2:00am

Thanks for the help. I'll hang on til the 5th and see if anything nice turns up at a nice price

Asiaprod · 31-12-2006 2:17am

feylya wrote:

Have to say, the bookmatching on that top absolutely sucks.

I am hoping it looks better in person:o Could be used to negotiate a better price.

Karl Hungus · 31-12-2006 2:25am

Speaking of Edwards, I absolutely love this monstrosity!

Kenny_D · 31-12-2006 3:49am

Asiaprod wrote:

I am hoping it looks better in person:o Could be used to negotiate a better price.

And if not, there's another PRS private stock in the same style/colour over on ikebe. Its the santana model though. Price is 1,680,000 yen or €10,685

http://www.ikebe-gakki.com/goods_detail.php?g_id=68653

Asiaprod · 31-12-2006 4:31am

GStormcrow wrote:

And if not, there's another PRS private stock in the same style/colour over on ikebe. Its the santana model though. Price is 1,680,000 yen or €10,685

Ouch:eek: They are available cheaper than that. Though it sure is pretty.

Asiaprod · 31-12-2006 4:34am

Karl Hungus wrote:

Speaking of Edwards, I absolutely love this monstrosity!

Love the finish.

Johnny Storm · 31-12-2006 10:06am

GStormcrow wrote:

The fender does look nicer I think but its mainly the sound I'm interested in. Not sure how stock fender pickups compare to the seymours so wondering if its worth it to go for the edwards if it will sound better.

Sorry if I'm stating the obvious (as usual) but FWIW that Fender in your original post has DiMarzio pups. DMC = DiMarzio Collctetion. Its a beauty IMHO and I think it may also have a nitro finish.

Kenny_D · 31-12-2006 1:49pm

Ah so thats what DCS stands for. Cheers Johnny. Are they better than the SD's?

Voodu Child · 31-12-2006 3:11pm

Karl Hungus wrote:

Speaking of Edwards, I absolutely love this monstrosity!

If batman played a guitar, it would probably look like that.

Doctor J · 31-12-2006 4:04pm

Nah, he'd go for this

Johnny Storm · 31-12-2006 4:36pm

GStormcrow wrote:

Ah so thats what DCS stands for. Cheers Johnny. Are they better than the SD's?

Sorry, I have no clue. The point I was making is that they are (presumeably) a step up on bog standard Fender pups.

Doctor J · 31-12-2006 5:32pm

That one in the u-box ain't much cheaper than a new one, maybe 10,000 Yen or so.

Kenny_D · 31-12-2006 5:45pm

Doctor J wrote:

That one in the u-box ain't much cheaper than a new one, maybe 10,000 Yen or so.

I heard Ishi wont ship new japanese fenders outside japan anymore though

Doctor J · 31-12-2006 5:50pm

There's a few people on Talkbass who've gotten new ones since the supposed ban came in. I think the restriction is to dealers only. Besides, there are more shops than just Ishibashi who sell new Fenders

Kenny_D · 31-12-2006 6:47pm

Got some links? I only know of Ishi and Ikebe but I have no idea how to order from the latter. Looking specifically for a fender tl62b-82TX. Thanks

Karl Hungus · 31-12-2006 6:50pm

Doctor J wrote:

Nah, he'd go for this

That one was just fugly! :eek:

John · 31-12-2006 9:50pm

What's this ban on selling new CIJ Fenders outside of Japan?

feylya · 01-01-2007 3:57pm

I guess they copped on that people were buying better, cheaper Fenders from Japan instead of the American ones. Sure, who'd buy new instruments these days anyway.

John · 01-01-2007 8:04pm

I would, at the right price.

les-paul · 02-01-2007 12:38am

A couple of weeks before Xmas I emailed the girl at Ishibashi who took charge of my Edwards order, asking her about the Fender Japan ban, and she told me that it would only apply to mass dealers, no occasional buyer should have trouble getting one of those beauties from Ishi (but maybe the gearheads in this board don't fall into such category :-P). Either way, it would be interesting to hear from someone who tries to buy a Fender Japan these days...

Voodu Child · 02-01-2007 1:01am

les-paul wrote:

A couple of weeks before Xmas I emailed the girl at Ishibashi who took charge of my Edwards order, asking her about the Fender Japan ban, and she told me that it would only apply to mass dealers, no occasional buyer should have trouble getting one of those beauties from Ishi (but maybe the gearheads in this board don't fall into such category :-P). Either way, it would be interesting to hear from someone who tries to buy a Fender Japan these days...

I asked them after the 'ban' came into place and they said no problem. As it happens, i have no interest in getting one, but I assume most people could if they asked nicely.

Kenny_D · 02-01-2007 3:23pm

Ah thats fine so. I'll prob just get a new one then for the sake of a little bit extra

punchdrunk · 03-01-2007 12:10am

honestly my jap 62ri is the nicest strat i've played next to a real "hank marvin red" 64ish model,i put bare knuckle trilogy pickups on and the thing is a monster! great ballsy sound from the usually cack bridge position

Kenny_D · 03-01-2007 9:03am

Did the pickups come to €300? What pickups were you replacing on the strat?

punchdrunk · 03-01-2007 9:27am

eh got them in the buy and sell for about €150,got a set of their emerald humbuckers for about €100 as well,was one of my great deals of last year!
i was replacing the stock pickups whatever they were,nothing fancy
the difference was probably the most noticable "improvement" in sound quality i've had changing pickups so far,to be fair bareknuckle's hammer most duncans for sound quality,although SD certainly have the edge when it comes to originality/design,but if you just want a great set of strat pickups go with BN

Which Jap Strat?

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