Fender Stratocaster body Country of origin?

musicalstash

Any ideas of the country of origin of thid Fender guitar body. 

It was sold as being a japanese body but  I have a feeling its mexican due to the routing layout and cnc hole which I have not seen on a japanese body. 

https://ibb.co/1vy17vR

https://ibb.co/1r2jHvr

https://ibb.co/s3LfzZf

https://ibb.co/n3yXTJy

crunchman

Does it matter?  The Mexican stuff is just as good as the Japanese stuff.

ICBM

Pretty sure that's a 90s 'California Series' - made in Mexico, assembled in USA.

It's also a block and veneer one, if that matters.

Funkfingers

1) Measure the spacing of the vibrato fulcrum screws. MIM is typically 52.5mm. MIJ could be up to 55mm.

2) Zooming in on the routs, there is a ghostly line about 1mm down into the cavity. This could be yellow wood stain but it could also be evidence of a veneer.

Is there anywhere where the grain on the front continues deep into the routs? Conversely, are there any vertical glue joints visible in the cavity that do not continue to the front and back of the body? 

I associate veneers with MIM Standard series guitars.

ICBM

Funkfingers said:

2) Zooming in on the routs, there is a ghostly line about 1mm down into the cavity. This could be yellow wood stain but it could also be evidence of a veneer.

Is there anywhere where the grain on the front continues deep into the routs? Conversely, are there any vertical glue joints visible in the cavity that do not continue to the front and back of the body?

I associate veneers with MIM Standard series guitars.

It's definitely a veneer. Not only is there no corresponding centre join next to the neck pocket (you would see it near where that fine finish crack is), between the bridge pivot screw holes and behind the bridge, the sunburst on the back follows the edge of the belly cut, not the edge of the body.

That 'opened out' looking wood grain is very typical of them too.

It could be a Mex Standard, but I think they always had three marker holes.

One thing it definitely is not, is Japanese.

musicalstash

ICBM said:

Pretty sure that's a 90s 'California Series' - made in Mexico, assembled in USA.

It's also a block and veneer one, if that matters.

Just measured the screw holes centre to centre they measure appropriately 57mm is this too wide to be an mexican series?  from a quick look online it does look very much like the california series bodies in both colour and routing. 

Funkfingers

crunchman said:

Does it matter?

It would if the seller had artificially inflated the price on the basis of one country of origin supposedly being superior to the other.

musicalstash said:

Any ideas 

1) Contact the seller. Express your concern that the item was misdescribed. Suggest a partial refund as the alternative to opening a mis-selling claim. 

2) Open a complaint. Claim a full refund on the basis that the item was deliberately misdescribed with the intention of extracting a higher price under false pretences.

3) If you have only paid a modest sum for the body, swallow your pride. Enjoy your guitar project.

musicalstash

Funkfingers said:

crunchman said:

Does it matter?

It would if the seller had artificially inflated the price on the basis of one country of origin supposedly being superior to the other.

musicalstash said:

Any ideas 

1) Contact the seller. Express your concern that the item was misdescribed. Suggest a partial refund as the alternative to opening a mis-selling claim. 

2) Open a complaint. Claim a full refund on the basis that the item was deliberately misdescribed with the intention of extracting a higher price under false pretences.

3) If you have only paid a modest sum for the body, swallow your pride. Enjoy your guitar project.

Thanks,  It's was a partcaster guitar which I bought solely for the neck and trying to recoup some of the costs by selling the rest of the parts.

It's just that I put it up as mexican possibly Japanese but don't want to mislead anyone. 

ICBM

musicalstash said:

Just measured the screw holes centre to centre they measure appropriately 57mm is this too wide to be an mexican series? 

Definitely not a Mex Standard.

I'm pretty sure it's a California. These guitars were labeled as Made In USA, but from what I remember the main components were Mexican, and some of the hardware - and definitely the assembly - were USA so they qualified on a value-added basis.

GoldenEraGuitars

That’s definitely not a Japanese body. Measure the neck pocket too.. a Japanese pocket will be wider than a US standard one