Fender KOA Korean Strat ??
Sonny
I was pretty amazed of how one of these felt when I was browsing the store
the other day.
I did notice the differant hardware,, seemed pretty heavy,, but seemed put
together pretty good and played/felt nice... Didn't have time to plug it
in,, Duncan designed P.U.'s... any input on overall ????
Mark Bedingfield
I've not played one personally but there's not a lot of good feedback. I
love Korean stuff tho. Still if you've played it and it plays good
that's all that matters. I would have thought the hardware would be the
same as a MIM or MIA?
As far as pups go, none of my Fenders or Squiers have original pups.
Wouldn't worry about that;-)
Mark
Sonny
"Mark Bedingfield" <atar...@nomorespampleaseoptusnet.com.au> wrote in
message news:479bbbea$0$10472$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au...
I really didn't get a chance to check it out that much, ( had to go pick
wifey up at her class,, ;-). When I say hardware, I noticed Two allen screws
at the bridge??, just different, and in other aspects?
I have a Fender Jazz Bass 24 that I really like ( made in Korea) with Duncan
designed ( active, alltho I'm still not sure if it's the P.U.'s or the
circuit?,, only got it to have in the studio ), and was wondering if this
was made in the similar manner??
My first concern is always how the neck feels,, and this felt GOOD,,,then I
listen to how it sustains unplugged, and it blew away the new Standard I
wanted / went for, to buy,,, so I went home empty handed,, once again,,
perplexed :-(
Sonny
Squier
The only thing to watch for (if it matters to you) is that
depending on the import model several after market parts or
bolt on parts such as the neck (due to an odd sized neck pocket
on the body( may or may not fit properly. Bridge size, saddle type, etc.
And even the pickguard size might not be an exact fit from MIM or MIA.
This may not mean anything to you but might along the way.
Obviously pups can be changed, and pots etc.. but sometimes even
how the tuners mount can be different from OEM or standard replacement tuners.
So if fixing or replacing anything in the future keep that in mind.
Then again many imports have direct standard replacements parts so.. ????
If it feels good and sounds good to you and plays nicely then
that's all the opinion (from yourself) you need. (imho)
HowMayIBurdenYou Inc.
>> MIM or MIA?
>>
>> As far as pups go, none of my Fenders or Squiers have original pups.
>> Wouldn't worry about that;-)
>>
Fenders are meant to be customized .
Even the switches are shit on low end crap.
तत् त्वं असि
www.tonequest.com/articles/articlle8.htm
SERIALIZATION:http://www.strat-talk.com/index.php?pid=4
Fujigen-Gakki factory:http://www.daeschler.com/articles/fujigen/
The wood...i.e. "YMMV":http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.blackman4/
tips.htm
MIJ on market: http://tinyurl.com/2995l5
Don Evans
So, what's your point here? You links point to Japanese guitars, and the
only time Korean instruments are mentioned is to point out that Samick makes
more of them than the Japanese manufacturers.
To the OP ... I have a Korean Fender that I'd say is made very well. To be
truthful, it seems more machined than crafted, which can be a good thing in
the absence of good craftmanship. If you like it, that's what's important.
Don
Mark Bedingfield
> ??? ???? ??? wrote:
>> On Jan 27, 8:13 am, "HowMayIBurdenYou Inc." <DickSu...@me.com> wrote:
>>> Sonny wrote:I would have thought the hardware would be the same as a
>>>>> MIM or MIA?
>>>>> As far as pups go, none of my Fenders or Squiers have original
>>>>> pups. Wouldn't worry about that;-)
>>> Fenders are meant to be customized .
>>> Even the switches are shit on low end crap.
>> www.tonequest.com/articles/articlle8.htm
>>
>> SERIALIZATION:http://www.strat-talk.com/index.php?pid=4
>>
>> Fujigen-Gakki factory:http://www.daeschler.com/articles/fujigen/
>>
>> The wood...i.e. "YMMV":http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.blackman4/
>> tips.htm
>>
>> MIJ on market: http://tinyurl.com/2995l5
>
> So, what's your point here? You links point to Japanese guitars, and the
> only time Korean instruments are mentioned is to point out that Samick makes
> more of them than the Japanese manufacturers.
They don't any more and haven't for years. IIRC its all Cort now in
Korea. Which isn't a bad thing tho. Old Samicks are bloody awesome, I
own one Squier and a early Samick SG (made by Samick when the were
making Epiphone) both blow spots of most Fenders and Epiphones. Tho in
both cases the pups and electronics were dreadful. Actually now I think
about it, they weren't dreadful. The Squiers output jacks and switches
died after about 15 years of abuse and I only changed the pots because I
wanted different values to accommodate the pup changes. they weren't
noisy and worked fine. Still even my MIM 50's Fender has had pup changes;-)
>
> To the OP ... I have a Korean Fender that I'd say is made very well. To be
> truthful, it seems more machined than crafted, which can be a good thing in
> the absence of good craftmanship. If you like it, that's what's important.
My Squier in particular is a beautiful guitar. Well Crafted. Better than
any MIM, MII, MIC, as good as any CIJ/MIJ/MIA. Plays like buttah and
sounds awesome too. Nearly forgot I have a Fender Catalina (MIK) also
brilliant. Don't know which factory it came out of tho, I'm guessing
Samick or Vester for its age.
Half the hassle with saying MIK is this or that is knowing which factory
it came from and when. Have a look on the FDP Squier forum, I've been
involved in lengthy discussions trying to glean Squier history. There is
sweet FA in the way of records held by Fender or their contractors.
What MIK model do you have Don?
Mark
Don Evans
I have one of those FMT Telecasters. It took me a bit to realize the neck
is a little thin for me, and now I don't use it much ... probably wouldn't
get enough for it to warrant selling it, so I bring it out every once in a
while. I showed it to my guitar tech and he was pretty impressed with the
fit and finish.
Don
Mark Bedingfield
One of these?
http://www.fender.com/products//search.php?partno=0262000520
Width or depth? My Squier BSB is a 41mm nut. Better for chords, an
incredible finish for a budget guitar. Didn't take much to do up. In
fact I could have gigged with it out of the packet. Getting more used to
it and can actually play it quite quick now. Its very comfy.
MIJ and MIK are 43mm and MIM is 42mm (vintage).
Mark
Don Evans
Yep, that's the one ... mine is the color they don't show, the transparent
red. This is mine.
http://tinyurl.com/2jw47j
The neck is too thin from front to back, actually. The radius is 12" I
think, and you can bend clear across the fingerboard. Yours is pretty
narrow compared to mine ... 1 11/16 (42.86 mm to you). I guess mine is
sort of a "shredder" neck. My hands stay more relaxed with a deeper neck
profile.
Don
Mark Bedingfield
Actually that sounds a lot like my MIK Strat. 43mm nut and 12" radius.
Its Damn quick. And you bend like buggery without fretting out. My CIJ
Strat and MIC Tele are set a little too low. I was actually intending to
raise the action on those 2 today. I gave them the comfortably numb test
and both fretted out. Pity because they are both REAL low.
My CIJ is a deep C neck, I didn't think I would be very fast on it but
surprisingly it is. Still hard to beat that V tho;-) 7.25" or otherwise.
Mark
White Spirit
> Don Evans wrote:
>> So, what's your point here? You links point to Japanese guitars, and
>> the only time Korean instruments are mentioned is to point out that
>> Samick makes more of them than the Japanese manufacturers.
Mulay is quite good at missing the point. When he isn't missing the
point by a wide margin, he'll just make one up and claim he was right
all along.
> They don't any more and haven't for years. IIRC its all Cort now in
> Korea.
Cort in Indonesia now. The Korean Cort ones that are worth getting hold
of have a gold logo, or are the early ones assembled from Japanese
parts. The Indonesian ones are good quality, but some of them are
amazing guitars.
> My Squier in particular is a beautiful guitar. Well Crafted. Better than
> any MIM, MII, MIC, as good as any CIJ/MIJ/MIA. Plays like buttah and
> sounds awesome too. Nearly forgot I have a Fender Catalina (MIK) also
> brilliant. Don't know which factory it came out of tho, I'm guessing
> Samick or Vester for its age.
The Vester ones I've seen are pretty laughable.
> Half the hassle with saying MIK is this or that is knowing which factory
> it came from and when. Have a look on the FDP Squier forum, I've been
> involved in lengthy discussions trying to glean Squier history. There is
> sweet FA in the way of records held by Fender or their contractors.
I believe the Fender Koa Strats/Teles are made by Cort in Korea. They
look really nice and well made.
तत् त्वं असि
>
> - Show quoted text -
?
Ans:
High quality; MIJ Strats, mid 80's.
www.tonequest.com/articles/articlle8.htm
Fujigen-Gakki factory: http://www.daeschler.com/articles/fujigen/
MIJ on market: http://tinyurl.com/2995l5
Although frets will need replacing / upgrade from skinny and PUPS
should be upgraded. mvm
Mark Bedingfield
> Mark Bedingfield wrote:
>
>> Don Evans wrote:
>
>>> So, what's your point here? You links point to Japanese guitars, and
>>> the only time Korean instruments are mentioned is to point out that
>>> Samick makes more of them than the Japanese manufacturers.
>
> Mulay is quite good at missing the point. When he isn't missing the
> point by a wide margin, he'll just make one up and claim he was right
> all along.
>
>> They don't any more and haven't for years. IIRC its all Cort now in
>> Korea.
>
> Cort in Indonesia now. The Korean Cort ones that are worth getting hold
> of have a gold logo, or are the early ones assembled from Japanese
> parts. The Indonesian ones are good quality, but some of them are
> amazing guitars.
Have you tried the Indian Standards? They make MIM's look stupid. Well
at least the ones I played did. Strangely even the new Bullets are good.
>> My Squier in particular is a beautiful guitar. Well Crafted. Better
>> than any MIM, MII, MIC, as good as any CIJ/MIJ/MIA. Plays like buttah
>> and sounds awesome too. Nearly forgot I have a Fender Catalina (MIK)
>> also brilliant. Don't know which factory it came out of tho, I'm
>> guessing Samick or Vester for its age.
>
> The Vester ones I've seen are pretty laughable.
I only remember they used cheesy tuners, but its been a while since they
were available. After the Squier II iirc. TBH I suspect my Cat is Samick.
>> Half the hassle with saying MIK is this or that is knowing which
>> factory it came from and when. Have a look on the FDP Squier forum,
>> I've been involved in lengthy discussions trying to glean Squier
>> history. There is sweet FA in the way of records held by Fender or
>> their contractors.
>
> I believe the Fender Koa Strats/Teles are made by Cort in Korea. They
> look really nice and well made.
Thats been my understanding. I think Lee Waun posted some negitive
comments about them. Can't recall what it was tho.
Hows that new S9 going?
Mark
Dauntless
I've got one and wouldn't trade it for anything.
Any mods I've done were for my own taste, not because it needed it.
--
Dauntless
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in
a
pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly
used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming--WOW--What a ride!!!"
-Stuart Wilde-
"If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend
to view every problem as a nail."
-Maslow-
"Religion is sitting in a church thinking about fishing.
Spirituality is fishing and thinking about God."
-Unknown-
"White Spirit" <wsp...@homechoice.co.uk> wrote in message
news:fnktal$1rs$1...@registered.motzarella.org...
White Spirit
> White Spirit wrote:
>> Cort in Indonesia now. The Korean Cort ones that are worth getting
>> hold of have a gold logo, or are the early ones assembled from
>> Japanese parts. The Indonesian ones are good quality, but some of
>> them are amazing guitars.
> Have you tried the Indian Standards? They make MIM's look stupid. Well
> at least the ones I played did. Strangely even the new Bullets are good.
I haven't tried them, but they do look impressive. With MIM standards,
if you pick out a nice one it'll be a great guitar. I have one. The
Mexican vintage reissues are unsurpassed - easily as good as the best
Japanese guitars, imo.
>> The Vester ones I've seen are pretty laughable.
> I only remember they used cheesy tuners, but its been a while since they
> were available. After the Squier II iirc. TBH I suspect my Cat is Samick.
My first proper guitar is a Vester-made Squier. The neck has a defect
in the wood, the pickup selector never worked reliably, the nut was
notched the same size for all strings, and the tuners are crap. But, it
sounds amazing, and I like the way it plays (as long as I don't play too
fast on it). The only Stratocaster I've played where I've liked the
standard pickups. I've pretty much retired it now.
>> I believe the Fender Koa Strats/Teles are made by Cort in Korea. They
>> look really nice and well made.
> Thats been my understanding. I think Lee Waun posted some negitive
> comments about them. Can't recall what it was tho.
Now I think of it, the Tele I saw had strange small markings in the wood
on the neck, right at the opposite side of the neck that has the dot
markers at the edge of the fretboard. Obviously something from the
factory, but it was odd that it got through QC. The guitar otherwise
was sound. The Strat I saw was flawless. I didn't try it - there was a
risk I might like it too much...
> Hows that new S9 going?
Haven't played it properly yet. It needs a refret. It does play
amazingly well without a proper setup, though. I need to get a new
scratchplate as well because the aftermarket one that came with it was
cut to fit the body, and not very well. I don't know whether the body
was drilled for it. I'm going to have a look before I get pickups and a
scratchplate.
The neck is amazing - nice thick maple. The radius looks 9.5" but I
haven't measured. The body weighs quite a bit, but I don't mind that -
it's still half the weight of a Les Paul :)
Yeah, it's going to be a great guitar when it's all set up. I haven't
decided which pickups yet. I might try a set of DiMarzios this time
(Fast Track 2 and a Chopper), or maybe something different.
Mark Bedingfield
> Mark Bedingfield wrote:
>
>> White Spirit wrote:
>
>>> Cort in Indonesia now. The Korean Cort ones that are worth getting
>>> hold of have a gold logo, or are the early ones assembled from
>>> Japanese parts. The Indonesian ones are good quality, but some of
>>> them are amazing guitars.
>
>> Have you tried the Indian Standards? They make MIM's look stupid. Well
>> at least the ones I played did. Strangely even the new Bullets are good.
>
> I haven't tried them, but they do look impressive. With MIM standards,
> if you pick out a nice one it'll be a great guitar. I have one. The
> Mexican vintage reissues are unsurpassed - easily as good as the best
> Japanese guitars, imo.
I have one;-) MIM 50's. Yes the neck is as good as any MIJ/CIJ I ever
played. For gods sake don't try a new Squier Standard, you might buy
another one;-) Tho I especially like this one;
http://www.squierguitars.com/products/search.php?partno=0301200505
Don't know what I'd do with another Strat.
>
>>> The Vester ones I've seen are pretty laughable.
>
>> I only remember they used cheesy tuners, but its been a while since
>> they were available. After the Squier II iirc. TBH I suspect my Cat is
>> Samick.
>
> My first proper guitar is a Vester-made Squier. The neck has a defect
> in the wood, the pickup selector never worked reliably, the nut was
> notched the same size for all strings, and the tuners are crap. But, it
> sounds amazing, and I like the way it plays (as long as I don't play too
> fast on it). The only Stratocaster I've played where I've liked the
> standard pickups. I've pretty much retired it now.
Ceramic? They'd have to be.
>
>>> I believe the Fender Koa Strats/Teles are made by Cort in Korea.
>>> They look really nice and well made.
>
>> Thats been my understanding. I think Lee Waun posted some negitive
>> comments about them. Can't recall what it was tho.
>
> Now I think of it, the Tele I saw had strange small markings in the wood
> on the neck, right at the opposite side of the neck that has the dot
> markers at the edge of the fretboard. Obviously something from the
> factory, but it was odd that it got through QC. The guitar otherwise
> was sound. The Strat I saw was flawless. I didn't try it - there was a
> risk I might like it too much...
>
>> Hows that new S9 going?
>
> Haven't played it properly yet. It needs a refret. It does play
> amazingly well without a proper setup, though. I need to get a new
> scratchplate as well because the aftermarket one that came with it was
> cut to fit the body, and not very well. I don't know whether the body
> was drilled for it. I'm going to have a look before I get pickups and a
> scratchplate.
>
> The neck is amazing - nice thick maple. The radius looks 9.5" but I
> haven't measured. The body weighs quite a bit, but I don't mind that -
> it's still half the weight of a Les Paul :)
>
> Yeah, it's going to be a great guitar when it's all set up. I haven't
> decided which pickups yet. I might try a set of DiMarzios this time
> (Fast Track 2 and a Chopper), or maybe something different.
Should be 12". Tho I dunno about the maple models. Yeah they are a
little heavy. Its odd putting the SG on after playing the S9.
Mark
White Spirit
> White Spirit wrote:
>> I haven't tried them, but they do look impressive. With MIM
>> standards, if you pick out a nice one it'll be a great guitar. I have
>> one. The Mexican vintage reissues are unsurpassed - easily as good as
>> the best Japanese guitars, imo.
> I have one;-) MIM 50's. Yes the neck is as good as any MIJ/CIJ I ever
> played.
I have a black one. I also have the '60s Reverse' model. It's not a
true late '60s reissue, but the neck is up to the same standard as the
authentic reissues.
> For gods sake don't try a new Squier Standard, you might buy
> another one;-) Tho I especially like this one;
> http://www.squierguitars.com/products/search.php?partno=0301200505
Hey, don't show me things like that! If you click on the deluxe ones, I
have the Hot Rails model but the Standard Deluxe in white looks pretty
nice as well.
> Don't know what I'd do with another Strat.
I'm starting to think the same thing myself.
>> My first proper guitar is a Vester-made Squier. The neck has a defect
>> in the wood, the pickup selector never worked reliably, the nut was
>> notched the same size for all strings, and the tuners are crap. But,
>> it sounds amazing, and I like the way it plays (as long as I don't
>> play too fast on it). The only Stratocaster I've played where I've
>> liked the standard pickups. I've pretty much retired it now.
> Ceramic? They'd have to be.
Yeah. Very microphonic as well these days, so I keep the gain down. A
bit, anyway :)
>>> Hows that new S9 going?
>> Haven't played it properly yet. It needs a refret. It does play
>> amazingly well without a proper setup, though. I need to get a new
>> scratchplate as well because the aftermarket one that came with it was
>> cut to fit the body, and not very well. I don't know whether the body
>> was drilled for it. I'm going to have a look before I get pickups and
>> a scratchplate.
>> The neck is amazing - nice thick maple. The radius looks 9.5" but I
>> haven't measured. The body weighs quite a bit, but I don't mind that
>> - it's still half the weight of a Les Paul :)
>> Yeah, it's going to be a great guitar when it's all set up. I haven't
>> decided which pickups yet. I might try a set of DiMarzios this time
>> (Fast Track 2 and a Chopper), or maybe something different.
> Should be 12". Tho I dunno about the maple models. Yeah they are a
> little heavy. Its odd putting the SG on after playing the S9.
It has a rosewood fretboard. It probably is 12" radius then. It does
make a nice change from the others. It feels like a good quality
American one :)
Mark Bedingfield
That's the ticket laddy. Can bend soooo easy;-) Stark contrast to the
high 7.25 on my MIM.
Mark
White Spirit
> White Spirit wrote:
It's funny, I don't have a problem bending on 7.25" radius guitars.
Maybe it's because I'm so used to them. The radius of the fretboard
means the string is being bent across and upwards, so perhaps that
results in more friction on the frets?
Mark Bedingfield
Got my action a tad too low atm, I give it the comfortably numb test;-)
Mark
White Spirit
> Got my action a tad too low atm, I give it the comfortably numb test;-)
I give them the Dave Murray test :)