Need Fender Japan Advice

StevePirates · Post by **StevePirates** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 5:26 am

Hi. I've decided to get either an OTM or an OLP compstang from Fender Japan; or the Cobain mustang.

The biggest thing I like about the japanese mustangs is the matching headstock.
What is the best way to order from Fender Japan? There are a few eBay vendors, but they're asking over $1000 for an OTM new ... which seems pricey. There's one used OTM for $599, which seems reasonable, but not great.

Based on google translation of pages, it looks like I could get a Mustang from a Japanese store for $800, plus shipping. But I'm not sure how to tell which places are reputable.

tl;dr Please help me figure out how to order from Japan. Thanks.

If I can't figure it out, the GC here has a Cobain mustang on clearance. I could get that, if someone could help me match the headstock. The thing that I'm not sure about the Cobstang is the neck vs bridge radius. Anyone want to drop some knowledge on me?

gusman2x · Post by **gusman2x** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 6:13 am

I've not noticed any issues whatsoever with the tom and 7.25 board on my kc mustang. In fact, it plays as one of my best guitars, and i have a pretty low action on it.

I've heard ishibashi is one of the best companies in Japan to deal with. I think it will be very costly though to get one shipped, and then pay the import duty.

Cymbaline · Post by **Cymbaline** » Thu Jul 18, 2013 8:19 pm

+1 for the KC Mustang. Best guitar I've ever played.

kypdurron · Post by **kypdurron** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 11:14 am

What Gusman said. When youre trying to save some money, ordering new stuff directly from overseas is usually not the way to go.

It may be the way to go if what you want is not available where you live. but getting exactly what you want will cost you usually more than getting what is available where you live.

serfx · Post by **serfx** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 4:20 pm

kypdurron wrote:(sic) getting exactly what you want will cost you usually more than getting what is available where you live.

^This

StevePirates · Post by **StevePirates** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:05 pm

kypdurron wrote: When youre trying to save some money, ordering new stuff directly from overseas is usually not the way to go.

Yeah, that's good advice.

I'm not looking to "get a deal" I'm just looking to not spend twice what something actually costs just because I can't figure out which stores are reputable. I think I just need to do more research. My only real sense of urgency stems from the fact that they discontinued the OTM color. Or maybe I should just get something here and have it refinished.

kypdurron · Post by **kypdurron** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 11:18 am

here's one on Ishibashi. http://translate.googleusercontent.com/ ... s2hhY92ixw

But I think you can get them used in the USA from time to time.

StevePirates · Post by **StevePirates** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 3:51 pm

Thanks Kyp! That blue sure is pretty.

This is the one I'm eyeing.

Based on the URLs, I think that this one might actually be the same guitar from the same store. And I think that this one here is also the same. That's the sort of stuff I'm trying to figure out. I've never ordered a guitar from an international merchant.

By contrast, this ebay store's listing has the same guitar for $250 more. Based on the earlier recommendation that Ishibashi is legit (which has been the general consensus on other boards), at this point I'm assuming that the ebay guy is just cranking up the price for the export market. But, if I hadn't had the good advice about Ishibashi, I'd be concerned that the deal was too good to be true, because I have no practical way of checking out that store.

kypdurron · Post by **kypdurron** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 6:26 pm

some more aspects:

Fender usually won't allow their retailers to export new guitars, not from USA to Europe and also not from Japan to USA or Europe. So, any guitar you get from Ishibashi should be legally used/2nd hand. That can mean they just take it out of the box and put it in a gigbag to ship it to you. But it can also mean the guitar really had a previous owner. So just check back with them what you actually buy.

Then, with international shipping and tax, the guitar from Japan propably isn't the better deal than the used one at 599 you saw. Depending on how used it is maybe.

That ebay seller claims his guitars are new, so maybe he is avoiding that ban somehow. Or maybe he is just buying the guitars at japanese retails prices and adds to the price for his own business.

StevePirates · Post by **StevePirates** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 4:08 am

So, what you're saying is buy the danged KC 'stang and bribe cooter to make it pretty colors.

kypdurron · Post by **kypdurron** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 7:04 am

not pushing you into any direction, just saying: "before deciding to order from Japan, get in touch with the seller for information about the actual guitar (because what they sell should be a used guitar in some way)", and "calculate in all the costs of import to avoid unwanted surprises".

StevePirates · Post by **StevePirates** » Tue Jul 23, 2013 4:37 am

I appreciate all the feedback. It's good to bounce ideas off of people, you've brought up a few things I hadn't really considered. I'll figure it out at some point.