I have a MIJ Mustang that had bad the worst wiring job brand new. Otherwise it's a great guitar. Re-soldiered the wiring myself with zero knowledge 15 years ago, and it's still perfect. Recently bought a 70's small body MIJ Yamaha FL75 that is easily my favorite guitar to play now.
I was accused of fucking around with the wiring when I took my never opened MIJ in for a switching issue. The original work must have been awful - great carpentry though!
Thanks, Willie. I'd recommend looking into them as the first two phases have a dogear P90 style pickup instead of the high gain 'buckers.
There's also the Japanese manufactured Mosrites such as the Ranger and Avenger. I believe they started out as copies but acquired actual licensing from Semie Moseley. Kinda hard to find if you are in the Western hemisphere though.
& Are you referring to the Danelectro 64? The dual lipstick bridge configuration looks interesting ( @masturskater mentioned those pickups earlier in this thread). Would love to try one.
What MIJ Fenders do you have?
I was looking at the Danelectro 64 and 66. There were a few 66s on Reverb and EBay for under $500 but I was worried I might not like the short scale/flat fretboard. At that point I hadn’t owned anything that wasn’t 25.5” scale gor 10+ years (when I briefly owned a Rickenbacker).
I really wanted something with a bridge humbucker and was about to pounce on an MIJ Pawn Shop 72 (which I knew I’d love) when the Craigslist seller responded for the 339 at half the price. I figured if I didn’t like the 339 I could flip it but I enjoy it and can overlook some of the shortcomings just because I didn’t pay an arm and a leg.
My only other electrics right now are an MIJ Squier Strat with System 1 (fake Floyd Rose that I don’t use) trem and a 62’ Telecaster. Both are pretty damn great. Outstanding necks and very resonant.
The Squier was built by Fujigen and the electronics kinda sucked but I replaced the pickups with 57/62s and now it’s very “Strat-y”. It actually “quacks” a little too much for me now in the intermediate positions but it’s a nice playing guitar. These E-Series still go for under $500 and are totally worth it.
The Tele is a TL-62US that my now wife bought for me when we were dating. I think she was checking my browsing history because she got the exact model and color I had been eyeing for months. Best gift ever. She ordered it from Japan before that avenue got blown up. The prices on some of those have gone insane.