Hmmm. Backtrack a bit.

AmDlx Ash Strats and MIA and expensive
MIK Lite Ash Strats are not. I guess you already now that these do come with Duncans. They're Special Ed, bilt for fender by the Korean factory under license and supervision. Same as the CIJs that end up in FenderUSA's inventory, like the Electric 12. Those are built in Japan in factories like Fujigen, and sold domestically by FJapan, but FenderUSA brings some over.

It's all in the serial numbers.

For Strats:

010/011 - MIA
013 - MIM
026 - MIK
027 - CIJ

Maybe. It's as much as Bents wants to charge for it. A lot, lah.

For that price, it puts you smack in the middle of order-CIJ-from-Ishi territory.

Which gets you: more choice, potentially more value for $, probably a better guitar with the relevant bragging rights (pwn those MIMs heh heh), and a damn headache dealing with KDRM.

First batch of ESPs from Shibuya's ESP shop. Have a good look at their vintage collection. Those guitars are impressive, but don't look to well cared for.

The wall of Gibsons comes from the vintage room in the Shibuya Ishi, cos no other Ishi I've been to has the wooden display cabinets.

I guess the picture taker must've then moved on to Ikebe-Gakki, which is the underground one on the other side of Shibuya, next to a couple of other stores.

Memories indeed

Why? CK knows Kirk ah?

I see wher everdying is coming from. If I only had a certain amount of money, I'd put it in the best I can afford. If the best could be better, why not hold out for a bit more? It's not about what brand is on the headstock or what. A guitar is the sum of its parts really, and if you're gonna put that money down, there's no point putting it down on parts that you don't really fancy.

Everdying clearly doesn't share the budget constraint problem a newbie has, and clearly has developed an eye for guitars.

I know there are great Squiers out there, but if I had money to spend, I'd try to get the best I can afford, and something I really want. Simple as that.

Hmmm i wanna come to. Friday ah? What time? Got work on the same day.

What time does Bents close?
How about the next public hol? Are they open?

How about everdying taking a day off on the weekend?

Only if you're gonna play it.

Ok, so it's Sat the 5th, 12 noon...

So how do we know who's who?

Maybe we should all have nametags. Or wear a black t-shirt

What are you all talking about, recognising each other? Why is that important?

The important thing is recognising the guitars

We know what Zakk, ahem, blacktrix is bringing. So list down what you're bringing, and it's easier to match the owner to the guitar.

If given the right nurturing and parenting, it'll grow into a big boy!

Behringer is great when it comes to reverse engineering.

you call those flame wars?

hah.

back in my day..... blah blah blah insert several jamtanking miscreants blah blah blah...

That's just wrong...

She should be bent over doggy...

Where do you think the jack plugs in?

But got to remember to sand it smooooooth, dun wan splinters.

They used the Sher-wood CAB-acrylic lacquer on the original H1s, and those are quite matte and they'd wear thru eventually. But it was not nitro, and it didn't have the VOC content nitro does, and so did not exceed environmental regulations.

Now that they say they're using thin nitro, and when they say that it usually means it's 2-3 nitro clearcoats over a poly layer, but in this cas i believe it's the nitro clear over the CAB-acrylic. This kills the overly-matte appearance of the original H1 but retains the wear-thruability. The modern nitro they use is not the same as the original type from the 50's. It's less brittle these days, and more resistant to cold-checking and UV yellowing.

I may be wrong, tho.

That would be me.

Shipping charges are listed on the site. 10k yen, including insurance = RM315.

Then there's the 10% sales tax for Customs. If you get PosLaju to deliver to your door it'll cost more than if you go straight to Customs to pick up.

Overall, it is a bit cheaper, but not by much... A mid-range CIJ will still cost nearly 3k to bring in. The plus side is getting something rare.