Fender '72 CIJ Stratocaster

Japanese Special Edition CIJ '72 reissue Strat, Vintage yellow-white color from the Japan Custom Colors shop. Has a vintage bridge/tremolo system and Gotoh tuners. C-style maple neck, maple finger board with 21 vintage style frets. Came with a (cheap) gig bag and wrenches for truss rod and bridge. Checked the serial number on Fender's site and it has a 2004-2005 production date. Has three USA Vintage '57 p'ups.

This guitar sounds great, although the Vintage '57 p'ups can be a little noisy, but not more than other strats. I have an American Deluxe strat with SCN p'ups which is way less noisy, but also sounds a little darker than the '72. I play through a Fender Hot Rod or a Fender Blues reissue and use stomp boxes for distortion, chorus, etc. and the '72 sounds really good. Brighter than my other strat, but I can use the tone controls to take off some of the high end and get a good sound for jazz/ fusion as well as really nasty, raunchy sounds too. It can cover a lot of bases. I'm considering replacing the '57 p'ups but I'm going to play it out a bunch before I decide. The only thing I've noticed is that the vintage pickups seem to have a lower output and not as much body as I'd like, but this guitar sounds tons better than Mexican and other lower end strats.

The guitar lives up to the reputation Fender's Japanese builders. Exceptional work and attention to detail; a very solid guitar that doesn't feel cheap or weird or slapped together. I would definitely buy another CIJ Fender.

No worries about this guitar breaking down and I would take this to a gig without a backup. I've only had it for a month, but I'm not concerned about working with this instrument.

I've never used Fender's customer support and, after searching their site, would have no idea where to start if there were warranty issues or any other problems. I've found Fender's site for Japan, but can't really navigate to find the guitar/warranty info I want, even with the Google translation. It IS a Fender so I would hope that I would be dealing with Fender USA, regardless. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Overall, this is a really great guitar and reasonably priced. You seem to get a lot of quality for the price with the CIJ Fenders. I also own and '87 PRS Standard, Godin LG Signature and the American Deluxe Strat. I don't really compare my guitars to one another, but the '72 is a nice addition to the arsenal and I would not hesitate to grab it as I'm running out the door to teach or gig. The vintage frets have a little different feel (and was my main concern about buying this guitar) but I seem to be able to adjust from guitar to guitar. They don't seem to freak me out like I tought they would. I've played for over twenty years and teach/freelance for a living so I play a wide variety of music and the '72 can handle it. I just wish it came with a better gig bag.......

ST 72-58US Fender Crafted In Japan.
BODY: BASSWOOD
NECK: MAPLE OVALTYPE, 324SCALE
FRETBOARD: ROSEWOOD(ST72-58US/R) or MAPLE ONE PIECE(ST72-58US/M), 184R, 21F
PICKUPS: ST-VINTAGE(USA) x3 Passive
CONTROLS & SWITCH: 1VOL, 2TONE, 5WAY SW
BRIDGE: DIECAST BLOCK S5D CURRENT
COLOR: BLK, OWH , Mine is Olympic White with Maple Neck.
Soft Case and Certificate

A beautiful 1972 Stratocaster

I was stunned, I replace the pick ups with Dimarzio;s and Its versatile! From Nu Metal to Jazz.

I hooked up on Orange amp Tube and its became a beast ! ALso work very well with Tech 21 amps.

Not noisy.

It looks like its custom built from USA, no joke. This Japs really took pride in doing everything.

Strong as an Ox! Dependable in every way.

Very friendly, Ishibashi music

I have been playing for 20 years. I have always asked for Fender like the one on In Trance Scorpions Album ( Ul Roth Fender) just like mine now :)

Lost? I will buy it again

Worth every penny,