OffsetGuitars.com

just bought a lefty 1984 MIJ Fender Strat off ebay for $300.
it was strung right-handed, but i'll flip the nut and hopefully have a nice little back up.
came with a case too!

it does have a few mods, but my main concern was the condition of the neck. the buyer said it was smooth on the back, and i cannot stand a dinged up neck!

anyone have luck with the E Series Japan Fenders?

Is it a 'super Strat' type deal or a more normal model?

Far as I can tell that's an absolute steal, particularly given how hard lefties are to find. The '80s Fender Japan stuff is generally very highly regarded.

it has been modded with a stacked single-coil, so a humbucker, in the bridge. along with a switch that splits the coil.
the body is fairly worn, it looks like. i should get the guitar by Monday.
i'm really looking forward to it!

Well neither is actually E series, but from that era I would call myself EXTREMELY pleased with my SQ series Tele Custom, and my A series Jazzmaster. Both are outstanding, especially the necks.

My E series MIJ strat is my number one guitar. period.

Wow nice score. I've been hunting for a lefty E-Series. $300 is way lower than the going rate on most of the E-series, especially earlier 80's.

moon song wrote:Wow nice score. I've been hunting for a lefty E-Series. $300 is way lower than the going rate on most of the E-series, especially earlier 80's.

well, if i end up buying a 'dream guitar' i've had my eye on, i might be selling this soon... but i really want to give it a good while and go before i decide anything.

I've had some luck getting small dings out of necks by piercing a tiny pinhole (unless the lacquer is cracked, in which case no need) and then putting a wet cloth over it - a touch from a clothes iron or a soldering iron can create a bit of steam to puff the wood back up. Might take several tries.

Sorry for the ignorance, are the 80’s e series Japan some of the better jazz out there in vintage land? Found one for 1k that I’m about to push the button on...

I have a LPB E Series P bass that I grabbed in the mid 90's with HSC for $175. It's got a lot of bumps but it's treated me very very well over the years.

Edit - wow necro thread!

I bought an E series Strat for €100 a few years back. They're going for a lot more these days.

Ah yes, Strat in the offset section. Seems about right.

I had an E series Tele. Loved it.

I've got an E-series black Telecaster Custom just like MatthewK's black Squier, but mine is a Fender, not a Squier. It's a fine guitar, one the guitars I've had the longest.

Like many MIJ and CIJ fenders, the electronics weren't the best, but the rest of the guitar is excellent, in fact, better than most of the 70s fenders it copies.

I replaced the original neck Wide Range humbucker with a Lollar Regal and the bridge single pup with a Lollar special. Pots and caps were replaced too. Now, it rocks.

My second guitar was an E-series stratocaster, one of those Contemporary ones with a floating vibrato (System 1) but with an otherwise standard Stratocaster layout, 3 single coils and what have you.

The pickups were all right but the threads for the fine tuner screws ended up stripping. I think whatever metal they used for the vibrato unit was the weak point, although at that point they had easily lasted 25-30 years, as this was 2009-2010 and the E-series guitars are Fuji-Gen from between 1984-1987.

But the guitar overall was really nice and I sort of regret selling it. The neck especially was magical, and it sounded really well unplugged especially. With new pickups and a vibrato that didn't break it could have been a forever guitar.

Glasgowm82 wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 14, 2020 4:58 am

Sorry for the ignorance, are the 80’s e series Japan some of the better jazz out there in vintage land? Found one for 1k that I’m about to push the button on...

FYI, this was quite a necropost. Don't be afraid to start a new topic if you have a question like this.

The 80's MIJ Fenders are pretty nice guitars, but at $1k there are also a lot of competing options.

Generally, the body and neck are extremely well made, the hardware is OK but not great, and the pickups and electronics are not very Jazzmastery or very good.

I had an E series strat. It played nicely enough but wasn't the greatest strat I've ever played. MIJs are good guitars, especially if you're a modder/pickup swapper, but with their increasing price over the years, they're now running into competition with other guitars that could be argued to be equal or better value for money.