NGD: 1996 Fender MIJ ST-62, Daphne Blue (I think)

[Devanatha]

I've never owned a Japanese Fender before, so this was a nice surprise. Build quality seems very good, the neck feels really good (a nice, moderate D shape) and the pickups sound great. And look at that lovely, dark rosewood! The pots, the switch, the output jack and the wiring were all of budget quality, though, so I just replaced with quality stuff (and shielded the guitar while I was in there).

I like this much better than an Eric Johnson Stratocaster I recently sold. Could never bond with that one, but this one feels like a friend already.

The neck heel is stamped with July 1996 and the code ST-62 DEX2. Does anyone know what the last part of that code means? Haven't been able to find conclusive information on the net about this.

Also, this looks like Daphne Blue to me. Or is it Fender Japan's idea of Sonic Blue? Doesn't really matter, I like the colour. Too bad about that ding, though.

 

[Si G X]

Yeah that's Daphne ... I had a Japanese Mustang the same colour.

 

[jondanger]

Great color. The DEX2 stamp has been discussed here before and nobody seems to know what it means. Some vague consensus that the EX portion stands for “export” but other than that, a mystery. Congrats! A beautiful guitar, I love Japanese Fenders.

 

[Devanatha]

Great color. The DEX2 stamp has been discussed here before and nobody seems to know what it means. Some vague consensus that the EX portion stands for “export” but other than that, a mystery. Congrats! A beautiful guitar, I love Japanese Fenders.

Thanks! I just read that someone asked Fender USA about that code, and even they had no idea. So a mystery it shall remain.

Yeah that's Daphne ... I had a Japanese Mustang the same colour.

Thanks! Good to know that for sure. Not that it really matters, but OCD.

 

[jfgesquire]

Beautiful!

I built almost an exact clone, with my own name on the headstock.

 

[Devanatha]

Beautiful!

I built almost an exact clone, with my own name on the headstock.

View attachment 911625

Whoa! Great work.

 

[jfgesquire]

Whoa! Great work.

It’s like I copied your photo right down to the wood deck! Sorry for the creepiness.

Funny thing about Strats… when I’m sitting around the house, I pick up the Tele which sounds good at low volume or unplugged. But when a show is on the line out comes the Strat. It doesn’t sound like much unplugged with the floating bridge, but it just feels so much more trustworthy on stage.

It looks like your bridge is floating, too. And by how the strings go over the bridge pickup it looks like that bridge is the wider vintage US string spacing. Is it on those older MIJs?

 

[archetype]

Great color. The DEX2 stamp has been discussed here before and nobody seems to know what it means. Some vague consensus that the EX portion stands for “export” but other than that, a mystery. Congrats! A beautiful guitar, I love Japanese Fenders.

D = D-profile neck, EX = Export, 2 = ...no idea. My D-profile neck has a lot of taper and is fat by the 10th fret.

Archetype_ST-62EX2_6

• archetype
• Oct 21, 2021

 

[Fretting out]

Great color. The DEX2 stamp has been discussed here before and nobody seems to know what it means. Some vague consensus that the EX portion stands for “export” but other than that, a mystery. Congrats! A beautiful guitar, I love Japanese Fenders.

Yup exactly the “EX” is “export” although the uninformed will try to say they are “extrad” which was Japan’s top of the line models akin to the custom shop

Extrads are always marked “extrad” never “ex”

I got the fender Japan bug at one point and did a deep dive

 

[Devanatha]

It looks like your bridge is floating, too. And by how the strings go over the bridge pickup it looks like that bridge is the wider vintage US string spacing. Is it on those older MIJs?

A Strat bridge it made to be floating, isn't it? I find that it stays in tune perfectly if it does. I set it up to a halfnote upbend on the high E and full note on the B.

 

[Devanatha]

Yup exactly the “EX” is “export” although the uninformed will try to say they are “extrad” which was Japan’s top of the line models akin to the custom shop

Extrads are always marked “extrad” never “ex”

Someone over at strat-talk.com says that a lot of domestic Japan Fenders also have that same code, and that it could mean Extra (not Extrad). Doesn't really matter to me.

 

[jfgesquire]

A Strat bridge it made to be floating, isn't it? I find that it stays in tune perfectly if it does. I set it up to a halfnote upbend on the high E and full note on the B.

It is, but a lot of people "deck it" or "block it".

https://www.strat-talk.com/threads/blocked-vs-decked.219821/

Mine is set up about the same as yours, and I can pick mine up by the strings and it stays in tune.

 

[archetype]

Someone over at strat-talk.com says that a lot of domestic Japan Fenders also have that same code, and that it could mean Extra (not Extrad). Doesn't really matter to me.

I saw that post. I'd need to see some corroboration of that to have confidence in it, as that's the first I've heard of it. It's also quite possible that some export models were sold domestically to fill dealer orders. Compared to Fender USA, Fender Japan was inconsistent with features, models, and market channels.

 

[Censport]

That's beautiful, congrats and HNGD!

My first good Strat was an '84 Japanese Squire which I still have and play to this day. Love the necks on them, so I have a few classic MIJ Strats and Teles in the collection now.