Guitars that are Made In Japan or MIJ for short. These guitars have been making waves since the 1980’s for being as high quality (or maybe even higher) and more affordable that their American counterparts. There has been tons of copies out there or what we call ‘lawsuit’ guitars that look, feel and maybe play as good as their American counterparts.
I’ve personally have had the pleasure of owning a few MIJ guitars from various brands such as Jackson, Ibanez and Fender, mostly made from the 1990’s. Some which are still with me and some are not.
In today’s setting we aren’t seeing as many of these MIJ guitars from the major brands, Ibanez and ESP aside since they are Japanese companies, probably because the cost is way higher now and I assume the quality is probably on par with American made guitars.
Let us go through a couple of guitars I have and a quick write up about them.
I have a Japanese Fender Aerodyne Stratocaster made in 2018 in the Fujigen factory. Pricing is nowhere near the American made Fenders, but having used it for awhile now, it plays beautifully. Construction is amazing for the price too. No sharp fret ends and frets are nicely rolled, but not too much. Nut is cut well and just plays and feels good overall after a quick setup. It is definitely more affordable probably because of some of the parts used, vs the American ones, this has the standard bridge, pickups and other electronics that seem to be the same ones as the Fender Standards made in Mexico. Compared to a few Fender Standard MIM Stratocasters, this one is definitely built and plays better in my humble opinion. Would higher quality parts then make this a contender to challenge MIA models? Unfortunately we will not really know since there aren’t such options for stock guitars. Better bridge, pickups, switches and pot changes might do the trick, but that will probably set you back another $400-600 at least.
Next, the Ibanez RG550. Based on the serials, it is probably one of the first few batches of the RG550 from 1987. I’ve had this guitar since the year 2000 and it is still an amazing workhorse. Other than worn out frets, this guitar still keeps up with newer made shredder guitars. It stays well in tune after a few dives from the floating Floyd Rose style bridge and I can get the action pretty low. It is holding up really well for a 30+ year old guitar. These weren’t affordable guitars back when they came out as they cost around $600-700 in 1987’s money, which is approximately $1500 today based on some smart calculations I did not work out myself. I still use this guitar pretty frequently as it works for heavier music and lead playing. A guitar that has been heavily used for that many years definitely tells you something about its build.
With some minor modifications, (just the pots, 5-way switch and pickups) this guitar really does keep up and sounds amazing.
Do check back soon as I will post reviews and sound clips, maybe even videos, of the above mentioned guitars.
So what makes these MIJ guitars so expensive now?
When there are MIJ guitars they do cost a hefty sum today. The ESPs, Caprisons, Ibanez Prestiges, Jackson MJs, etc. are all well in range of $3000 to $4000 each. Pretty much the same as American made models from other big names brands. Are they just as good? I haven’t had the luxury of comparing them side by side yet, but hopefully I will soon.
In closing I will still always trust the MIJ quality and construction and if they cost less than MIA models, then you bet I will definitely get them over the MIA ones.