Fenix Stratocaster Copy

I paid ??190.00 for my Korian Fenix Strat. 21 frets, Solid Alder body, Maple neck with rosewood finger board. It has the standard strat 5 way pickup selector 1 volume and 2 tone controls, s, s, s pickup configuration, Standard Strat bridge / trem system but with an upgrade on the saddles.
I think it was Total Guitar that carried out a comparison between the Squire and the Fenix Strat. The outcome was that if you exchanged the pickups in the Fenix it would be better than the Squire. Mine was brand spanking new when I brought her and the first thing I did was strip out all the electrics and replace with Vintage Strat which I brought from a friend who was upgrading his own Strat. Since then I have sanded her back to bare wood and resprayed to get rid of the cheep looks. I've also cut the headstock to a shape I like. I've also given her a new set of saddles but kept the original tuning keys as they do the job perfectly. People are always asking how I get my sound even those who have original starts are envious. Love it. I would never get rid of my baby as she is as good as any Strat.

The sound is better than any strat due to adding the back pickup to the tone pot so that I have control over it. This is something that Strats wouldn't normally have which gives me different sounds. The pickups do have a small hum in front, middle and back position but as I've already said they are from a vintage start so expected. Selecting the out of phase position have no hum. I use my baby through a Marshall 100w JCM 900 with an old 1970's 4x12 cab. I use various stomp boxes all laid out in a peddle board. Due to a brilliant guitar and the effects I use I can get most strat sounds from blues to hard rock.

When I first picked up the guitar from the shop it was as good as it could be. The attention to detail was flawless. The only thing I never liked was the cheep red and white finish which is why she is now a nice matalic blue with a matching scratch plate (blue / silver tortoise shell). Although I did this years ago there are now other guitars that look similar. The action is first class for me. I say that because my son is not so keen but then he uses a PRS and has never liked Strats.

My baby has done many gigs which started from the first week I got her. She has never let me down. Even when I have broken a string though a gig, once tuned, thats it. Like most guitars there is slight movement the more I bend them but that's it. I know that Fender and Fenix had a Court battle over the Fenix Strat copy as it was to close for comfort but hey, they produced a top quality guitar for a fraction of the cost. I wouldn't say my guitar was similar to a Squire Strat more like a top quality American Strat.

Unfortunately there is no customer support now as Fenix no longer trade, although I have heard that Young Chang who produced them, now trade under another name. Not sure though as it was hearsay.

I have been playing for many years although, there are a lot of players out there who have played for a shorter time who are much better. I own an Indie IPR LTD Edition which I am just about to carry out a pickup upgrade on. To be honest, when I brought my Fenix I didn't know a lot about guitars so relied heavily on what I had read in magazines. I do know that when i picked it up and played her, I was hooked and brought it there and then without trying anything else. If she was stolen or lost and I had to replace her I would look for a similar guitar made of the same matererials and customise all over again. The only thing I'm thinking about now is whether to fit a floating trem?

Like written below. typical Strat features. This is an early one, Serial E9...., they built it in two versions, light and heavy ones. This is the heavy version, massive wood of the body, so it might be alder or basswood no ash. The finish is absolutely flawless. Like some mentioned before, the PU'S are noiseless single coils like Lace Sensors, no humbuckers at all. The slim neck and the gorgous tremolo unit are the keepers on this guitar. Best Strat neck I've ever played and best tremolo unit. These features should be on a Standard US Fender and you're in heaven.

It's a great pro guitar, but the PU's could be better. The original ones lack the twang in the deeper mids and basses. It sounds pretty well-balanced for rhythm stuff, but for solos it only works on the high strings. You can work it out easily by changing the PU's, the substance of this guitar is really worth to do it.

Easy to get a real low action on this guitar, together with the slim neck it's a real pleasure to play. The build quality is like a US Fender of the 70's, not of nowadays. The great tremolo unit works perfect (no dive bombs, buy your Floyd Roses), stays in tune and is very sensitive.

Definitely this guitar is build to play. It works as a pro instrument, naturally you can depend on it. If you use it without a backup, that's just a personal choice. The strap buttons are much better than the ones on US strats.

Not in contact to any customer support, so I don't know.

First of all, let's kill the fairytales. Young Chang is a trademark and one of the best producers of pianos for a very long time. So if anybody mentioned, the guy Young Chang was working for Fender, forget it. I don't know anything about who made the guitars or are the early guitars made in Japan. I know only one thing, this is a really great strat, a pleasure to play. I play guitars for 35+ years and was the owner of a Vintage Guitar Shop, so maybe I know enough about guitars. These early Fenix strats are real keepers, buy one and you will not regret it.

OK, all of the usual Strat stuff, but the three single coils are humbuckers, looking like Lace Sensors, probably made by Gotoh, nice solid wood body, either ash or alder, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, 21 frets, finished in a nice burst, with a very cool Gotoh two point synchronised vibrato, usual one volume, two tones, although see below for one of the tones new function. Serial numbered and made in Korea in about 1991 Based on the fact that everything you'd expect is there and very nice quality it all is as well, I'll give this full marks, as if it had more, it wouldnt be what it is:)
I have also added a Deaf Eddie Fat-O-Caster, and set of Fender Custom Shop Fat 50s.

I play high octane blues, classic rocks, a bit of jazz, and even use it to play some classical type stuff...Strats are versatile anyway. I'm running it thru a Guytronix 1/2 watt Class A tube head, a Minimat 2 watt Class A tube head, and for serious outdoor work a 30watt orange Class A tube head, and either a 1 x 12 custom built cab with a Celestion Alnico blue or a 4 x 12 custom built cab with 4 Celestion greenbacks. When gigging it also goes through a Tube Screamer and a Wah wah.
This guitar can do anything that my 4 other Strats can do. There is nothing to dislike about this guitar, even the headstock shape is pretty cool with a bit of the CBS big headstock flare. No guitar sounds a 10, but...

This came to me from a fellow musician, so setup was immaterial. I set the guitar up to my own taste and it holds everything superbly, mainly down to the brilliant vibrato unit...this is a tad special.

It earns it's money 2-3 times a week, I doubt it could possibly wear out, the finish is outstanding in every detail. This is one of two gigging guitars I use. The other a well modded Mexican Jimmie Vaughan, is sometimes taken as a backup, but used at more "sedate" venues. With the pickups and electronics and hardware on this I know it is as reliable as a guitar can get.

Sadly Young Chang no longer make guitars. They are however among the Top 3 most respected paino makers in the Far East, the other being Yamaha and Samick.

Been playing for 24 years now, and this is one of 5 Strats I own, as well as the Jimmie Vaughan, a late CBS 79, a 2005 American Deluxe and a 1994 Jeff Beck Artist with the baseball bat neck. If it were stolen, I would certainly look for another of these earlier Fenixs, as the later ones had a headstock that isn't to my taste, but in the absence I'd have to look at a Japanese Fender or a Japanese Squier JV, both of which Young Chang had a hand in. These are pretty special guitars, and playability wise despite the fact that I love the soft V neck on the Jimmie Vaughan, I'd rate this higher, everything about it says quality and the vibrato unit is a work of art, but then what would you expect from Japanese Gotoh hardware. It's not quite up to my American Deluxe, but only by virtue of the fact that I love the Samarium Cobalt pickups and S1 switching and it can't match the Jeff Beck Artist, as for me, with the neck, roller nut and build is probably as clsoe as I'll ever get to the perfect Strat, but I don't need an American Series, as they are only as good as this, and they fetch at least ??550 used.
These guitars already have cult status in Germany and I can see why, quite superb.

To be straight, like many of the other contributors I like these old Korean Fenix Strats. I regretted selling my first one - it had a mahogany(!) body with peppermint green (turquoise) finish, an one-piece maple neck with Fender-style headstock, nicely working Gotoh trem, Gotoh tuners, and three Fenix humbuckers (looking similar to Fender Lace Sensor PUs) and three-layer-pickguard with Strat-style wiring. I replaced the bridge PU with a Seymor Duncan Hot Rail - it was a "killer" (to quote the succeeding owner, a pro guitarist for many years).

So I scored two similar ones at ebay lately, one in metallic blue and the other in creme finish. Both have Fender-shaped headstocks (60's size), rather slim maple necks with beautiful rosewood fingerboards, and slightly oversized Strat bodies wich are quite heavy. According to the weight they might be made from mahogany too, but I'm not sure - even my guitar repair pro didn't find out. Serial numbers begin with E1 and E9 - if Fenix used the Fender numbering system (which I don't know) they might be built in '81 and '89. The trems are Fender 60's copies, the well-working tuners from Gotoh. Both came in anything but well-kept condition, but after cleaning and some adjustments they look and play fine. Excellent woods, proper hardware.

The blue one is still original, the PUs are Fenix humbuckers with closed caps, in size and look reminding of Fender Lace Sensor. Totally noiseless, great clean Strat sound with punch and twang, but for my ears they lack a bit of character when distorted (but I don't like the sound of EC playing Lace Sensor either - at least much less than his old "Blackie"). Still good enough for rehearsing - I mainly play blues, 70's style rock, funk and similar stuff, using and old Dam Armstrong Tube amp with Digitech RP1 and a 100 W Marshall Valvestate for rehearsals, live I play a Peavey Classic 30.
The creme one came with some weird amateur rewiring that didn't work out at all, so I put in two American Standard Strat PUs (neck/bridge) and a Jackson SC (middle). For a Rolling Stones Cover Show I brought it as backup for my (unmodified) Fender Jap Strat, my regular all-purpose performer. During the soundcheck I decided to swap - the Fenix seemed to fit much better, sounded warmer, richer and delivered easier action.

Absolutely no complaints. As the former owners of both guitars obviously did not treat them very well, it took relatively little work to get them going, and it paid off. I usually prefer thick necks (like 54's or Jeff Beck Strats), but I got along with these very well crafted slim D shape necks very quickly. As a Strat player you would not expect a low action like on a Les Paul or an SG, but it's still very comfortable and easy. Otherwise (sound control, bridge, trem, tuners) there's no difference to other fine Strat copies like Fernandes or Tokai - maybe except for the weight.

1. Will this guitar withstand live playing? No doubt.
2. Does the hardware seem like it will last? Oh yeah.
3. Is the finish good enough to last? As an aging specialist you would have to spend some extra hours on these guitars.
4. Are the strap buttons solid? An extra bonus point for the strap buttons - the best and safest non-locking ones I've ever seen!
5. Can you depend on it? Looks very much like.
6. Would you use it on a gig without a backup? No - I NEVER play without a backup

My first Fenix (the one I sold) I bought new in a guitar store, and it had a bad (microphonic) wiring on the bridge PU - it took two or three weeks, then they delivered a new one, which was was built in by the guitar shop (Guitar Village in Hamburg, Germany) without any complications. But I doubt that the company still exists, so I have no further expectations.

I've been playing on a semi-professional level for more than twenty years. I'd never join a recording session without my '72 Strat or my '79 Tokai Tele, but as I rehearse in different locations it is very comfortable to have a guitar in every practising place instead of carrying it around the whole day - these Fenix Guitars are best choice, high value for little money. Even if you leave them off case in an unheated room, they are still in tune at the next band meeting. And the financial loss in case of burglary is limited (but losing a good guitar is annoying anyway).
I'm not sure if these old Fenix Strats really get sought-after collectors items - but they sure deserve it.

Stratocaster, alder body, maple neck, tobacco sunburst finish, 21 medium frets, gotoh type tuners, vintage 6 hole fender type bridge (american screw spacing), 3 pickups (noiseless, Lace Sensor type), 3 knobs (volume, tone , tone)
Early model serial E9xxxxx, made by Young Chang (old logo), Fender 50's headstock shape, probably made in the 80's, maybe Korea but could be Japan as this is a quality crafted instrument

The guitar is full sounding acoustically unplugged (a good signal), plugged it has a traditional strat sound, warmer and darker, the pickups are moiseless and have more output than standard single coils but not as much as a humbucker.
I like the sound a lot, clean and distorted, as with all strat (S-S-S)type guitars that I've played, the bridge pickup feels weak to me

Bought it used from a pawnshop, the setup was a disaster. With the truss rod adjusted, frets dressed, pots changed, bridge cleaned and adjusted, the guitar turned ina a professional instrument, low action without buzz, spot on intonation (the intonation is excellent indeed), no noise, the finish is outstanding, the 3 piece alder body seems can hardly be seen, the neck is one of the most comfortable I've played

this guitar is almost 20 years old and it seems it will last another 20 at least, the strap buttons are completly reliable (no need of strap locks), the bridge stays in tune with light use (if you want dive bombing effects better get locking tuners)

don't think there's any, Young Chang did a very good job anyway

I've been playing for 25 years, tha last 20 professionally (gigs, sessions, teaching, music for commercials, etc), my main guitar is a PRS gold top, also have an Ibanez JS, and several strats assembled by me. This guitar is as good as a Japanese Fender (with alder body), the neck is more comfortable that the one on my friend's 62'reissue, dony be fooled by the hype or the price, this is a professional instrument

Standard Stratocaster Tobacco Sunburst, 1 piece maple neck, 21 medium frets, Fender 50's headstock shape, Alder Body (3 piece very well matched), 3 noiseless single coils (a la Lace Sensors), 3 knobs (vol, tone, tone), 6 hole vintage type bridge (american screw spacing), excellent strap buttons, don't know where it was made (maybe Korea, but the string trees are identical to the japanesse Fender standard strat and the serial E9xxxx and the headstock shape indicates an early model so it may have been made in Japan)

When I bought at a pawnshop the set up was horrible, acction way too high, bridge blocked by the 6 screws, the pot where about to die, the idea was to change the whole electronics as the neck and body felt fantastic but after changing the pots, cleaning the electronics, the sound was very good (think of Lace Sensors but warmer or darker), acoustically the instrument is very full sounding, plugged has a nice strat caracteristic sound with more bass (except for the bridge pickup that too trebly for me but happens to me with every strat I've tried so far), gotoh type tuners do their job

bought it used, after adjusting the truss rod doing a slight fret dressing and cleaning the bridge parts I can have a very low action with no buzz and a spot on intonation (the intonation is remakable!!)

this guitar is almost 20 years old, after a pro set up is a professional instrument, very reliable, whit these strap buttons you don't need strap locks (like my PRS), tremolo use is as every vintage strat, if it's correctly set up won't go out of tune with soft use, otherwise you'll need locking tuners. The neck is one of the most comfortable necks I've tried (a bit flatter that a vintage neck, maybe 9,5"

don't think there's any, Young Chang did these guitars very well anyway, had it for a few years, no problems

I play guitar since 14 (I'm 39), played professionally (gigs, sessions, teaching) for the last 20 years, owned a lot of gear (Ibanez, Fender, PRS, Marshall), I still have my PRS gold top an Ibanez JS, this Fenix and a couple of strats I built myself. This guitar is as good as a japanese Fender (but with alder body) or a starndard american strat for a fraction of the price.

My Fenix Strat is from the early ninties. Korean made by Young Cheng. The great builder from Korea. It has an alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. Quality material. It has en Fender(ish) bridge, very steady and quality tuners. How hard you pull your strings, it will always stay in tune (perhaps Fender could give these boys a ring!) Factory standard pups (very nice, bluesy and awfull quiet) They sound like vintage Fenders. Furthermore it has all you want from a Strat so..

If you are into blues, you could not find a better axe (if you cannot afford a high range Fender that is) Forget about the Mex and Japs. I use it with a Fender Blues de Luxe and here you are. Majestic sound, lot of punch and bluesy all the way. I also use it with a Marshall MG 100DFX to catch that JOHN FRUSCIANTE sound.
Beautifull clean.

Action, fit and finish 100% (since the ninties)!

It will outlive most of us and certainly most guitars that are now in use

Is there Custom Support? And even so I don't think u will ever use it.

I play since the seventies. For fun and semi-pro. Have used a good lot of guitars, mostly Fender but nowadays I only play the Fenix. Become more vintage every day. If I could find another for a resonable price I would not hesitate at all. This axe is here to stay

I quess it was made in the early eighties. The headstock is different from the ninties model and it don't have those lace alike pu's.
The body is made of Alder and it has a maple neck with rosewood.
It has a beautifull Fender Vintage style bridge which is very steady.
Good tuners also so nothing to complain.

Here it comes..... FANTASTIC SOUND, SUSTAIN AND QUIET!!!
Far better than all the Strat copies available and better then the current Fender Mex Strats. If u are into Blues and Rock: BUY ONE NOW(if u can find one as they are rare these days)

Everything in the right place, at the right heigt. Very good finish. It will last a lifetime.

As I said; it will last a lifetime.

Give the man an award for the best made copy ever.

I have owned numerous guitars over the past thirty year. Have bought and sold Fenders, Gibsons, Ibanez etc. FENIX guitars I will never sell. They will be with me till the end..

Mine is done at the end of the 80's. Blonde white body with the rosewood fretboard. Left handed model.(Someone before me have plyed it right handed, obviously some Hendrix fan according to drilled whole on the other horn and nasty crackles next to the neck jointment. Fortunately doesn't effect on the sound anyway.)Made in Korea. Usual features for the vintage strat. Even the headstock goes close to fender. But slighly different with more sharp curving on the rounded top. From the distance you won't see the difference at all. Solid body wood which weights a lot! However great balanced and you won't get tired with it!

Well, I changed the neck and bridge pickups for Fender noiseless. The middle is still original I suppose. Well the fender is a little bit more powerful than the original, but nothing like you would be really happy of the difference. Electrics work fine. No noise from spots or pick up selector. Sound is bassy but not muddy. Not so woody than my Maya has. Too thick and solid paint work for that.

Here comes the point. I have set this 'blonde babe' with 11 strings and still it is so easy to work. I have played all-night-long gigs and I'm still able to continue at 5 o'clock in the morning if needs!! (And I'm not some C-chording rhythm guitar player without balls.) You can get really rock with this baby and you have all the nasty sounds without to be overdriven.

Never turned me down. Always ready to go. Hardware so good, that when you once tune it, you propably don't need to re-tune it during the gig. That has happened though. Nice ivory blonde. Looks on stage spot-light kind of greenish white?!?

I was born in 69' and active guitar slingering started in the beguinning of 80's. Have seen & played & owned this and that. Let me put this clear; This precise Fenix is the best electric guitar so far I had. Easier to play than most of the strats I have experienced. It's faster than my old trusty Ibanez Roadstar series II. And if you know roadstar guitars, you know they're not that bad either. The money I paid is really bargain for the left handed pro-tone instrument. Very solid according to x-owner's beating..you know, it still rocks!

I currently have 4 fenix guitars, 3 six strings Strat style and one Jazz Bass style . I Don't know the year of manufacture and the headstocks are different shapes. One is Fender shaped, the other two Strats have a wider headstock shape non Fender style, and the Jazz bass has a Fender style(ish) with a bevelled top edge - nice.

Lets go for the Fender style one first.

Fender shaped headstock - serial No. E905781. 3 colour sunburst, white 3 ply pickguard, 3 pickups looking like Lace Sensors but these are apparently stacked humbuckers. They certaibly are a lot quieter than a standard single coil and produce a really nice strat tone. No direct comparison 'cause I sold my Fender Strat years ago.
5 position selecter, Strat standard ;'vintage' style trem with ESP stamped on the bridge sections.

Let me emphasise what I am now convinced of with these guitars. USA Strat, Jap Strat, Tokai Strat, Fenix Strat. That is my opinion of the ratings in order of build and sound quality. Fenis are very close to Tokai in the quality stakes. Here's why they are so good.

Solid Alder body. (Try to buy one of these under #60.00 and that's just for the body)This one has a rosewood fingerboard on a slim hard rock maple neck. The neck (on all of them) is very nicely finished and equal to Fender in feel and quality.
The whole feel of these guitars is right. You know what I mean here, just pick one up (if you can find one) and you will know what I mean.
The weight, balance and great tonal quality is evident as soon as you start to play. On each occasion I have bought one of these guitars, I have escaped quickly before the seller changed their mind 'cause I always expect them to say thery made a mistake with the price and it's another hundred pounds on top. These guitars are a well kept secret...or should I say 'were'.

21 frets, medium/small, well finished ans smooth edged.
Position markers are a creamy coloured substance, may be plastic and are neat and level.
The trusrod access is at the headstock end and all have a black inser around the aperture like Fenders do. The string trees are really neat looking, black platic bodies with metal roller type ends for the string guides. These little touches make the guitars for me - the trem cover is recessed into the body so its flush, the neck plate sits in a black plastic guard to prevent damage to the body finish - nice.
The front of the body contour is gentle and very comfortable whilst the rear contour is fairly deep and again very confortable. There is nothing weird or wonderful about these guitars, they are a straighforward Strat'and a lot of guitar for the money. Get one. If you already have one and you want to sell if for next to nothing, let me know.
The body on the sunburst one is a 3 piece Alder with a tidy grain that almost matches. The lacquer finish is perfect on the front but alas this one does have some lacquer streaking on the rear. By this I mean that there are some visible lines in the lacquer and if I had paid #600 plus for the guitar I would be bloody annoyed - but i didn't. It cost a great deal less than that. (In fact my Fender Lonestar Stratocaster DID cost over #600 and that had some lacquer streaks on it too.)
A Tokai Strat will set you back #300 - as will a nice Jap' Strat.
You can usually get these Fenix Strats for under #200 - sometimes half that...'cause people just don't realise what they have got.
Don't forget that Fenix are made by Young Chang who made Strats for Fender - the story is that he made better guitars under his own brand name of Fenix and this got him into trouble with Fender.I can understand why as well. This suburst model has the Fender shaped headstock and an earlier serial numbert than the other two guitars so could guess that these were 'lawsuit' models ( a well used term nowadays for anything resembling anything else) meaning that Young Chang had to change them.
Hence we now have the wider headstock (can't descrive it any better than this because its unlike

Likme I said, a bright rich and full tone on this one. Not the loudest of pickups with a resistance of around 6.5, but they are very quiet. Think how much you would pay for some noiseless pickups - these are perfectly adequate unless you have a particular favourite brand.
I use a Marshall VS65R and a HH VS musician 100 reverb 2 X 12 from the 70's. Whichever amp I use, this sounds like a strat through it.

Action is what you make it - except that a guitar needs to have been well put together in the first place. These are very well put together.
As soon as I got this one (it is at least 10 years old according to the previous owner) I cut off the strings, cleaned the guitar, checked all the screws etc for tightness, put 2 more springs on the trem (now has 5) fitted a set of de addarios 9's and lowered the string height. I needed to re set the intonation for every string but after 45 minutes work it was like a new guitar. No fret buzz which is unusual with low action unless a guitar tech has dressed the frets and adjusted the trussrod. The 2nd tone pot seems to turn too much within its sleeve so could need replacing but the guitar is getting on a bit now. It had been sat in the case unused for the last 8 years so needed a little TLC.

I know of a few pro's who use these guitars - apart from a few gearheads in an audience, nobody gives a shit what make of guitar you play but they will notice if it doesn't play in tune or has a flat dull tone. We all know about the less expensive instruments mass produced and shipped around under different brand names or importers names - all made by the same factory - well Fenix guitars are NOT like these at all. Someone takes a pride in these guitars and you will notice that difference immediately.
Look on the internet ands you will see Fenix guitars in many players gear lists - I personally have a Gibson les Paul DC, and several great quality hand made guitars - and 4 Fenix guitars. What does that tell you? I won't suggest that Fenix are the same as hand made guitars, but hand made guitars aren't the same either. I know 'cause I build guitars myself from scratch. My guitars begin with quality hardwood. So do Fenix. When you have a good quality wood you have the basis for a quality guitar. These are pro standard instruments.

No dealings with Fenix or Young Chang - but if I met him I'd shake his hand. Great guitars for an unbelieveable price.
(I just saw a Fenix Jazz Bass on the internet for sale at $599 !!!!)
I don't know of any retail outlet for Fenix guitars in the UK.
If anyone has any information on these guitars, whatever the model I would be interested to know please.

I've been playing for 34 years (I started V young) and I am an ex professional. I have a studio and I own many guitars. It's nice to own a name make guitar but not if it doesn't play well. To get a non name guitar that plays as well as Fenix is a pleasant surprise and a fact I feel I must shar with other playsers, although I was very tempted to keep it to myself. There is a real danger that I could end up buying lots of these guitars but they don't really come up for sale that often - no wonder.
As I said earlier, Think Fender USA, Fender Japan, early Tokai, FENIX.
A pro' quality, players guitar for 'starter' money.

Anyone with knowledge on serial number dating please drop me a line.