Exactly how does this Ishibashi thing work?

[Jerry J]

HELP! Let me say this one more time - HELP!

My previous post was regarding the AV '62 Tele Custom. It will take at least 3 months to get an AV '62 Tele in sunburst. My latest thought is why not MIJ/CIJ. Anyway, here is a link to the Ishibashii website for a guitar I believe is the MIJ version of the '62 custom. But before I order, I want to make sure I'm getting the same or better quality as the AV '62 RI. Am I?

LINK

1) How does ordering work from Japan?

2) How can this be so cheap (~ $600 US for the MIJ vice $1400 US for the MIA)?

3) How does payment work? Is it as simple as ordering from say Musician's Friend by credit card?

4) How do I communicate w/ these folks, I can barely understand their website?

5) How does shipping work and is US Customs involved?

6) How are the US Texas Special pups?

7) I assume at this low cost, a case isn't included?

Any advice or links to previous posts would be appreciated.

TIA

PS - I feel bad about not buying a MIA guitar but at this price and quality plus I don't have to wait 3+ months for the thing, I can't afford to pass it up.

[Geo]

Jerry, Opps, see my post on your other thread.
I included some info there.

[jwells393]

I have a few Japanese Fenders. The workmanship is superb. Some complain about the small pots and plastic switch. These are simple and inexpensive to replace. If you have question go here

http://www.ishibashi-music.com/

There's an e-mail link and a phone number. Give them a call if you're serious.

If you like a Bigsby Tele, the CIJ 62 RI's with Bigsby usually go for $600 or less on Ebay. There's currently on Ebay now. It's a sunburst.

[Mark Davis]

Remember you have to add $120-140 shipping and sometimes have to pay duty taxes. All the electronics besides the pickups are lower quality than the USA models so is the hardware which is made by ping. SO your basicly buying the body and neck which is great workmanship on the wood way better than the USA models.

SO what it boils down to is your gonna spend about $800 by the time it gets to the USA and you still wont have a case. By the time you replace all the pots switches knobs control panel etc and usually the pickups your gonna be in the $1000 range still wont have a case add $100-150 for a case and it ends up being the same as the USA model.

The USA model is fine as is needs zero mods. You can also return the USA model to a store if you happen not to bond with it on the made in Japan model if you dont like it you would have to sell it which is easy they sell for more used than new.

[dangerine49]

I bought a slightly used Strat from them and it was definitely worthwhile. I got a natural ash Strat with Texas Specials shipped for $520. The better models do not require any upgrades. The tuners on mine were Schallers. Mine came with a thin Fender gig bag, so a case of some kind will be required. I got a Musicians Friend blem for $50. The electronics on the newer ones are decent. I did need to replace the output jack, but that was a buck or two. They take credit cards but there is a 4% charge for that I think. You can email them and ask any questions you want. They will even put a hold on a guitar for 24 - 48 hours. The other thing to keep in mind that you will not have a warranty here since it is outside of their region. Mine arrived via US Postal Service with 4 days of supplying my credit card info. There was no additional customs charge, and I've never heard of anyone in the U.S. being charged customs tax.

Unfortunately the exchange rate of the Dollar against the Yen has not been in our favor, so the net price here in the U.S. has been creeping up, but you can still get a relative bargain against MIA's. Their quality is top notch.

Their website used to be pretty good, but Fender USA gave them flak about it since it was cutting into domestic sales. So now it's pretty funky and hard to navigate. The new English translations are a riot though. 8)

[Geo]

dangerine49,

There was no mention of a card charge (as yet) in the
I quote received Tuesday. They do charge for a bank wire
of funds though. Think it is 3,000 Yen extra.

The case....no problem here, I have plenty at home to use
but I mostly use a gig bag anyway.

[Jerry J]

Geo,

How did you get the email to work. Everytime I tried it, it failed and sadly, I can't read Japanese. And what was or will be the final cost to you including everything (sorry if you already said that)??

Mark,

I also hear what you say... how do you return a Japanese guitar? I know that the local GC will take the guitar back if I'm not satisfied. Also, and not to sound like Archie Bunker, but our exchange rate and trade balance suck. My purchase just might be enough to swing things around for the Good Ole' US of A. Just like when I bought that Suburban Z71 last summer for my wife and kiddies, only to discover after I got it home that it was made in Monterrey, Mexico.

Whats a poor boy to do?

[Mark Davis]

I personally dont care where my guitars are made I just like to get what I think is the best value for my $$.

The $$ to yen ratio isnt good right now so the Made in Japan Fenders are alot higher priced than they used to be.

If you are able to wait awhile you can probably find a made in japan 62 that someone has already bought and made all the changes that alot of people make which is replacing all the lower quality parts. Guitargai also carrys the better top pof the line made in Japan models look there also for ideas.

I am neck sensitive because my vision is so bad blind in L eye 20/800 in R eye if the neck doesnt feel right I cant play it. So for me buying one from Japan is out of the question just for the simple fact I wouldnt spend $120 to send it back even for a full credit your looking at $120 for it to be shipped both ways $240 to ship a $600 guitar back and forth is sorta dumb.

The problem with the USA models is the workmanship is hit and miss. The Japan made models are always flawless I have never seen a Japan Fender with bad workmanship and almost every USA made Fender has some sort of flaw.

[dangerine49]

Originally Posted by Geo

dangerine49,

There was no mention of a card charge (as yet) in the
I quote received Tuesday. They do charge for a bank wire
of funds though. Think it is 3,000 Yen extra.

The case....no problem here, I have plenty at home to use
but I mostly use a gig bag anyway.

Send an email to Koichi: web-shop@ishibashi.co.jp

I don't think it was clearly stated about the credit card fee, or else I misunderstood something. I was happy either way at the time because I was saving over $150 on a new one. Not sure, this was a couple of years ago. If you decide to buy, make sure they give you a final price in Yen for everything and what conversion rate they will be using.

[blind radish]

I came dang close. Finally though, I got one dead mint on eBay for just under 650 with hard case and shipping. No mods except copper shield on the back of the pickguard.

My opinion ... it is a guitar to make you cry. I tried a couple MIAs and they were fine, but each had a flaw or two ... and although minor .... seems like a Fender in the $1,000 - $1,400 range ought to be spot on.

The only thing that I might say about the many CIJ.s that I have considered on ebay is that the location of the body joint (where the two pieces of blank are glued prior to shaping) is kind of a crap shoot.

Since it is off center (haven't seen many in the center bookmarked fashion) having the joint near the lower bout is makes the top look better ... or at least less noticable depending on how light the sunburst finish is.

Many folks don't care, I'm sure.

My point .. this guitar is not just a player but kind of a classic looker ... and buying from Japan is kind of "take what you get."

You most likely won't get a lemon, but YOUR 62 will come sight unseen by your eyes.

Still, it's a gotta-have tele in my book. Getting mine 7 months ago has put a stopper in the GAS bottle for all that time.

good luck, the end of your search will be its own reward.

[dangerine49]

Whoops, cloned it.

[Geo]

Jerry, I cut and pasted that particular email address into
>send to< on the "send new messages" thing in the
regular email section of my service.
I couldn't send one to them right off their site link.

BTW, they have two sites and one old and one new.
The colors in both appear to all be available.
Think? there are 7 total.

Cost quote (delivered) this week earlier was around
$685. I have not checked today but the $ to Yen
went down a tad in the last few weeks.
(My grandson is climbing all over me right now.)

[sneakyjapan]

Contact Koichi...a he, or Noriko a she. Recently I got an reply from a staff member named Ace, so there are 3 folks who will respond. I have bought a few from them and they have always been very helpful and ask for pics if you need em.

[Rick 381]

I e-mailed them and was contacted by Noriko. She told me the total cost and I e-mailed a card number. The next day she contacted me and said the guitar was shipped. A week later it was at my door(and that was after customs sat on it for 3 days). It was as painless as possible!! I've had a harder time buying a guitar while standing in a store. If the shipping wasn't so expensive I'd buy all my stuff from Ishibashi and Noriko.

[Silverface]

Don't forget you're also sacrificing any warranty coverage in the US. Fender's warranties don't apply to "gray market" imports like those from Ishibashi. If you need warranty service, you get to ship the guitar back to Japan for work.

[Jerry J]

Someone was kind enough to send me a lead on the exact MIA '62 Custom Tele in Sunburst I want. Nice price and in very nice condition.

I just got one small hurdle... Honey, can I? I promise no more guitars after this one....

[jwells393]

Silverface wrote:

Don't forget you're also sacrificing any warranty coverage in the US. Fender's warranties don't apply to "gray market" imports like those from Ishibashi. If you need warranty service, you get to ship the guitar back to Japan for work.

Have you ever read the disclaimer on the Fender site telling what the warranty doesn't cover. You'll find it really doesn't cover much.

[blind radish]

Originally Posted by Rick 381

I e-mailed a card number.

All sounds good except for this part .... I just can't see emailing my credit card number to a faceless person in Japan.

No offense to Noriko

[The Wookie]

Just remember this.

It's easier to ask for forgiveness later, than to ask for permission now!

&

My wife argues that her shoes don't cost as much as my guitars. I tell her my guitars only go up in value over time.

I picked up a MIJ Tele Custom through SchmeeBay a couple years ago and love it! Right from the Land of the Rising Sun including the flat $100 shipping. The fit is tight, solid as a rock, light as a feather and it sounds good. I've had lots of people tell me it's the best they've played, and I'd buy MIJ / CIJ again anytime.

A side note:
In mid March I was loitering in my local GC, I walked along the Fender wall and ran my fingers down the sides of the necks and found 90% (A LOT) of every fiddle neck had the fret ends sticking out and snagging my fingers!!! "Winter Humidity" was the explanation by the manager which it utterly B.S.

With quality running that high it's no wonder *** Fenders are a force to deal with. My crystal ball tells me that in 10 years those *** strats from the 80's/90's are going to start sky rocketing, just like those CBS era ones are doing now. Then we'll all be kicking outselves in the ass because we didn't get that butterscotch CIJ Reissue Tele for $600 or that MIJ 62 RI CAR strat for $475 when we had that chance!!!

[Rick 381]

Originally Posted by blind radish

All sounds good except for this part .... I just can't see emailing my credit card number to a faceless person in Japan.

No offense to Noriko

That would have bothered me except, Ishibashi is a very reputable company, and it was a debit card for an account that never has more than a hundred in it except when I transfer $ for a guitar purchase.

They do have a secure site for cards also.

[sneakyjapan]

same applies for us gaijin over here with MIAs. Acoustic companies that offer lifetime warranties over there give us 6 months here. Not very inspiring.

[kingalingus]

What kind of finish or clear coat do they use in Japan? Nitro, Poly-raz-mataz?

[moonshiner]

Last I saw... There was an imported, brand new... CIJ 62RI w/bigsby double bound sunburst at a local shop here... If you want, I can see if they still have it and if they can ship it.. They are a reputible shop (with three locations) but not a chain like GC... Last I saw.. it was like $850 new... (Fender does import certain CIJ models... Paisley's for one that I can think of...)

Or I can give you the # and you can call yourself...

If you want me to check, it won't be until next week as I'll be heading down to St. Louis for a show early and I am at work until 11pm...

It's up to you...

PM me if you want... or post..

[hookstrapped]

I have an early 90s MIJ 72 Thinline and a new CIJ 72 Custom. A few comments on the comments here:

- shipping is closer to $75 and the guitar arrives in 3-4 days
- I did not have to pay customs duties
- small pots don't bother me
- I love the Japanese WRHB; I replaced the bridge pickup in the Custom with an OC Duff but I would very likely replace the pickups in a MIA because I replace pickups
- tuners are fine
- workmanship, fit and finish on the neck and body better than my AV RI
- the email link on the Ishibashi site works fine; the web-shop folks speak (write) very good English and are very helpful