Satin metallic

Fender Japan has this new finish for the Hybrid II Series, it's called satin metallic. Instruments feature an alder body, rosewood 'board & locking tuners. I love that satin feel since the Highway 1 days. Rest assured, this satin version is definitely not the Highway 1 version when it's excessively thin & very prone to dents. I also like that very clean look over at the headstock. If you missed it, the hardware here sports a metallic sheen to it as well.

Pics: Fender Japan

Friday... Stratified

It's finally Friday. The end of the wretched work week. Well at least I'm working for the next 70 days or so. Whatever happened / did not happen, the week is over. Good riddance.

The urge to Strat today is very strong so out came this one. I'm not averse to rosewood 'board Strats & this is not the only one. Time & again, I would want to play, feel & hear the Strat in action despite being a Tele guy through & through. I also own more Strats than Teles. The one you see above is the Japanese Heritage Strat, currently listing at Swee Lee for $2,149. I bought it some years ago before the price crossed the $2K mark. Everything is stock in this guitar less the pickguard. I kinda dislike white pickguards for both Strats & Teles. I would at least wanna swap the bridge pickup out as it lacks punch for heavy stuff, then again, who does heavy stuff with a bridge single coil? Anyway, it sounds acceptable after hooking up a Tube Screamer in the mix. 

Wishing everyone a good weekend ahead.

Flower power '25

Fender Japan is doing a Summer 2025 revival of the Blue Flower finish. The party pooper in this line up is, of course, the Acoustasonic Tele because it did not exist back in the day. Bodies are alder for the Strat & Tele, do note. Frets are the vintage profile which might be a turn off for contemporary players but once you get used to it, it's as playable as what ever frets you are playing in the mean time. I like the fact that the Tele & Strat stay true to the fret numbers - 21.

Pics: Fender Japan

In: Starmaster

As anticipated, the Starmaster (Japan) is available here (Swee Lee: $2,199). It's a limited run affair so... there.

Pic: Fender

 

Bass as well

The Fender (Japan) models recently featured here with gold hardware - it's available for bass as well.

Ditto the competition stripes. Contrary to convenient assumptions, I'm not anti-bass... 😅

Pics: Fender Japan

BG / WG

Not new, definitely, but given the gold hardware treatment. We all know the proverbial guitar that sports this black finish - gold hardware combo. Here it is...

Nothing, new indeed. The black - gold finish just exudes class & the Les Paul Custom had been an enduring image in this light.

The Fender Japan camp also offer the white - gold combo if black is not your thing. 

Pics: Fender Japan

Kusumi

Fender (Japan) has new Thinline models. Excuse me, not new per se, but new colours. These are referred to as Kusumi colours. The visual reference above suggests Kusumi to mean pastel colours, yes?

Two versions are available, one with gold hardware, the other, nickel / chrome. Being a Tele fan, despite being regurgitations, these are indeed, em... attractive 😅 Note for both versions - brass saddles.

Flamed

Fender (Japan) are really turning things up with the Hybrid II models. You've seen the quilted top version, here's the flame top counterpart. This attractive yet soothing finish is called the sunset orange transparent.

If you prefer a rosewood fretboard, here's the equally tranquil twilight finish.

Pics: Fender Japan

Sparkle-tron

Heads up, folks... Fender Japan has a new Telecaster with a sparkle finish & a pair of Filter Trons. Retailing at the $1.4K mark, it might prove to be a good deal. Note that this is not a vintage iteration of some historic Tele, it's as contemporary as it is but frets are of the narrow-tall type. Current finish available: Black, silver, blue.

Pic: Fender Japan

Offsetting September

Besides the Squier Paranormal Rascal bass, Fender Japan has two other offset models this September which we should know of. This 30" scale length Jaguar bass you see above is the signature model for Mike Kerr (Royal Blood). I don't know him, of course. I have a soft spot for offset basses, especially the scaled down ones but this being a signature offering, it's just visual fodder in the mean time. Expect a S2K + listing for this if it ever makes its way here.

I have no idea what the big deal is with this tune-o-matic / stop tail Jazzmaster, really. First time seeing an offset with dual humbuckers & a non-whammy bridge?

A similar take was done to the Jaguar; equally Japanese but back in 1995, nobody cared because Japanese Fenders were less accessible to the rest of the world (especially State-side) unless your dealer has a special arrangement to bring those in.

Fast forward 2011, Fender's Blacktop Series simplified the HH Jaguar in terms of the electronics & look at how close this was to the aforementioned Japanese HH Jazzmaster. 

At this point in time, it's interesting to see how the Japanese Fenders are being made available outside Japan & Fender has no issues with these being in competition with the American / Mexican counterparts. Prices for Fenders are going up so having a slightly more competitively priced alternative in the guise of the Japanese iteration, with on-par quality compared to the Americans, helps push sales. People are not buying some Fenders but they are buying other Fenders which are still Fenders so in the end, Fender still wins. Get it?

Pics: Fender Japan / Kurnia / G-list