Fender Strat

Fender Japan ST54-105LS Stratocaster

This is a Made in Japan '54 reissue Stratocaster from Ikebe Music in Tokyo, Japan. Purchased in June of 1990 and it is still in excellent condition with no modification, whatsoever. The Serial Number starts with the letter 'G'. This is Fender Japan's answer to the Eric Clapton model, with Lace Sensor and mid-boost, but not available in the US. It's not even available in Japan anymore for that matter since this was a limited edition model. The original list price in Japan was 105,000 yen, which is over $1200 at today's exchange rate, but you cannot buy this particular model anymore as it was a limited edition model.

Here are some of its features:

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  Limited edition custom color - translucent navy blue/purple. This model is a limited edition based on ST54-95LS with ash body and translucent paint job, manufactured for Ikebe Music's Revole store in Akihabara, Tokyo. As you can see from the pictures, the workmanship is just about perfect. Note: the hang tag indicates ST54-95LS, pointing to its origin, but it was sold as ST54-105LS due to its custom order status. I believe they made about 20 of these limited Revole models in 1990.


• 
  USA Lace Sensor pickups (gold) with mid boost. Requires a 9 volt battery which goes in a little compartment next to the tremolo plate in the back, which I think is a better design than the real Eric Clapton model. The pickup selector is a 5 way switch. It doesn't have TBX like the real Clapton model, but it's very versatile, as you can get Strat sound as well as Les Paul like fat sound out of this guitar with the mid-boost turned on, and best of all, it's very quiet and noiseless.


• 
  Maple one-piece neck - neck profile is slightly fat, but not a pronounced V shape, with 22 vintage frets (yes, there is an extra fret) and almost no wear, 7.5" radius and great action. Just a great feeling neck.


• 
  Ash body - Although I can't guarantee it, I am 90% certain it's a 1-piece body. If it's a 2 piece, the body joint is so good that you cannot tell. Also, the standard Fender Japan ST54-95LS uses Alder body, not Ash like this one. In any case, the wood grain shows wonderfully through the custom paint job.


• 
  Gold plated parts - some of the gold plating have lost its luster from age and usage, but they are mostly still shiny, contrasting very well with the blue body color.


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  Registration certificate from Fender Japan - for authentication use only - the warranty is good only in Japan and obviously has expired already. Owner's Manual in Japanese included also.


• 
  A genuine G&G Fender Tweed case (with key). The case is just as mint, it even has some of the blue protective plastic on the latches still

Here are some fine print issues:

The guitar is used so it may have some minor scratches but they are almost invisible. The guitar is in extremely mint condition, other than the faded gold plating on areas of heavier contact. There's not a single thing wrong with this guitar. I cannot find any dents or imperfections. The only thing you may want to think about is to replace the 5-way switch since you may be able to improve its quality. It still works fine, but I can hear scratchy noise and contact noise on occasion when changing pickup selection.

The shipping is $60 for the lower 48 states, HI and AK and Canada maybe slightly higher.

For more pictures, please go to http://members.cox.net/guitarpix/ST54/index.shtml

Note: This link has 16 pictures so it may take a while to load.

If you have any questions, please e-mail me. Thank you for looking at my auction