JV (UK) Price Guide (Export)
This is something which I have tried to avoid getting into, for some very good reasons, but I am constantly asked what you would expect to pay for a JV guitar, so I have looked at the range of the prices around at the various dealers here in the UK over the last couple of years or so, from dealer ads in guitar magazines etc. (They have been very few and far between), and have come up with an average price bracket for the Stratocaster model.
Lets face it, they will never attain the holy grail status of the "real thing" and therefore not reach the same insane prices (thank god!). And from what I have seen over the last five or so years, prices for export JV's have moved up, but not an awful lot. My 'personal' feeling is that they (unmodified guitars) will definitely increase in value over the years to come (especially the very early models), albeit slowly, and probably not to a huge extent.
When looking for a Squier JV guitar, especially the Stratocasters, please be aware that unlike the consistently high (JV)vintage spec of the export guitars, Japanese domestic models were built in differing grades of vintage accuracy, and it should always be remembered that one of the reasons for the high prices and desireability of export JV guitars is their full 'JV' vintage spec and *American pickups (*Export 'Squier' JV Strat and domestic 'Fender' JV only), which makes the equally high price asked by some dealers for some lower end domestic JV numbered guitars somewhat unjustified in my opinion (for more info go to the Domestic JV page).
Also be aware when you are considering purchasing a JV Stratocaster, that if you see the term "fitted with Fender vintage single coil pickups"; It is worth remembering that all JV Strat pickups (except the SST-30 plus one or two others, which are Fender made but not vintage style) are Fender vintage single coils, only some are made in Japan (for domestic Squier Strats) and some are made in the USA (for domestic Fender and export SquierStrats).
So without futher ado, I will (foolishly) stick my neck out and tell you all what I have seen over the past year or so. All Prices UK pounds and approximate! for a standard unmodified full export JV spec guitar.
Dealer / Ebay Prices (Stratocasters only.
This section has been updated to reflect todays market.
Squier logo JV Stratocaster: Good original cond.......£400 - £500
Excellent original cond.......£500 - £600
First issue Fender logo JV Stratocaster. Good original cond.......£800 - £1000
Excellent original cond......£1000 +
In the case of the much rarer very early 'F logo models, a few exhibit rare details in themselves, with flatter fingerboard radiuses, five way switches and pre-1982 dated level pole USA pickups as an example (these can be of added importance to a die hard collector). It is a difficult call when dealing with these very early ones because they are just so hard to find, and so prices tend to be fairly high and more variable than with the second issue models.
Ten years ago the Squier brand JV Stratocaster models used to fetch about £100 GBP or so more than the JV Telecaster models, but these days the price range is similar.
NOTE: This is not an attempt to fix or hype the market , Just my personal observations'of current UK prices.
(eBay sales blurb)
A personal comment
It has been said by some ebay sellers of domestic JV guitars, that Squier JV export quality, playability etc is a myth created by some idividuals who are intent on inflating export model prices.
Just let me say that as far as I am personally aware, no such 'Myth' ever existed, and the very real specification differences of export models over domestic models seems to have been confused by some domestic model sellers with a non existent quality issue between higher end domestics and exports.
Here is my brief Q & A rundown of D v's EX (Squier brand Stratocasters mainly in question).
Q. Are the higher end domestic Squier Strats (SST-45, SST-50 / 55) constructed as well as the export Squier JV Strats?
A. Yes.
Q. Do domestic Squier JV's follow the same vintage accuracy as the export models?
A. Domestic vintage accuracy varies, but generally, no.
Q. Do domestic Squier JV Strats have American pickups fitted?
A. No.
Q. Do the cloth wired USA units of the export Strats sound better than the Japanese SQ-4 and 5 units?
A. In my experience both the cloth wired USA and Japanese SQ-4 / SQ-5 pickups are very good units, as are the domestic Japanese pickups for all Squier JV Basses, and there is very little to choose between them in terms of sound quality.
Q. Are the top line domestic Squiers and export Squiers easy to tell apart externally?
A. Generally no, except for lower end domestic JV SST-30 etc models, which have flat pole ceramic bar magnet pickups and covered no-slot tuners, and all domestic Squier JV Basses, which have different tuners to the export models vintage style units.
Main top line Squier Stratocaster external differences include: Round blue model type stickers affixed to the back of the headstock on domestic Squier JV's, and the lack of a "Pickup made in USA" sticker on the pickguard of same Japanese home market Squier models (Note: stickers are often missing).
Q. Are the Squier brand domestic models as collectable as the Squier brand exports in the UK?
A. No, as this is due in part to the export's slightly closer vintage accuracy and American pickups.
Q. Was it the first export Squier JV guitars that started the whole JV Phenominen in the UK?
A. Yes, as the first Japanese Fender JV's were relatively unknown to those outside of Japan back then, it was the export Squier JV Strats that the UK and Europe were all talking about, and in my opinion it has been only in the past few years that Japan has seen the stir that the export JV's have caused overseas, and this has resulted in a lot of Japanese owners and dealers selling their own domestic models abroad (via ebay mostly).
Finally, I feel the need to put the record straight about some recent sales (eBay) blurb about the so called rarity and superiority of domestic JV Fender guitars (Strats in particular), over their export Squier counterparts.
First of all, the export JV Squier Strat is the highest end JV Squier model available, and is comparable to the domestic Fender ST-65, in that they both share exactly the same pickguards, pickups, controls and finish , and in some cases the same alder wood bodies, and the only real differences being in the decal type (except for the earliest Fender logo Squiers, where the difference is in the headstock tip decal, plus nearly always a sen ash body and often an extra routing). The exception being the Fender JV ST'57-115 and ST'62-115, which have a nitro finish and all USA made parts).
The ST-85 models also have a nitro finish (according to the catalogue), but logo aside are the same as export Squier JV Strats in every other respect.
This (in my opinion) does not qualify the domestic Fender '65 and '85 grade guitars as being higher up the JV ladder compared to the export Squier JV's.
Neither are they particularly rare (Only a guitar like a pre-war Martin D-45 could justifiably be classified as"rare" as there were only 91ever made, and I use the term relatively rare when refering to 1st issue Squier JV's as relative to all JV production, they are rare) as they were made for the Japanese market from 1982 to 1984, albeit with a slight change of decal spec in 1983 (though it would be logical to assume that less of these domestic Fenders were produced than the export Squier brand version).
So there you have it! what you get for your extra bucks in an ST'57-65 and ST'62-65 Fender JV Strat, is a different decal, and the safe knowledge that you will nearly always get an alder wood body.
A mint ST'62-115.....Mmmm.......Now that for me is a slightly different matter!.....: )
One last note: If you see a domestic Fender JV Strat listed as a top line ST'62-115 or ST'57-115, and it has the same pot's and cap as those shown on the JV Stratocaster page, then it is either an ST-65 or an ST-85, because only ST-115's have American CTS pots (Shown Here!)
Happy Hunting!
