🇯🇵 Fender Returns

Thanks Donald Trump for imposing strange laws and causing everything to price hike instantly. This trip to Japan again was my response to his recent actions. I have been eyeing a top-of-the-line Fender Stratocaster for a long while now. And in April, I knew I had to purchase one before it is too late.

After getting the Gibson Les Paul from Shinjuku at the start of this year for way cheaper than I would find elsewhere, I knew going back to Japan was the answer. Little did I know I almost couldn't make it back home with this Fender Ultra 2 Stratocaster.

My favourite colour for Stratocasters was always the Vintage Sunburst finish, because my first Squier Bullet Stratocaster was in this colour. The golden Squier Classic Vibe I still have on hand at the moment is the only exception, because it pays tribute to Lincoln Brewster's golden Strat.

The icing on the cake was an ebony fretboard instead of rosewood. Tonally I cannot differentiate both kinds of wood, but visually I sure can. Coupled with my favourite Fender noiseless pickups, I am super convinced this was the model I needed to hunt down.

The hunt wasn't easy though. I roamed Osaka for 3 days searching for this particular model in this particular colour, and it was sold out everywhere. All other colours retails for cheaper but are all still on the shelves. Clearly many others are eyeing this same guitar model.

It was only at Tokyo's guitar street that I finally found what I'm looking for. Ochanomizu, that's the name of that street. It is the most popular guitar street in Japan and almost every musician in Japan knows of it. 

On the 16th of May, after testing the guitar and making sure it is not damaged, I made the purchase as fast as I could and hand-carried the guitar all the way back to Singapore, exactly like how I did 5 months ago.

With this, I have 2 out of 3 guitars in my life plan hunted down. The final one is also the toughest one to find, a 1969 Thinline Telecaster in Butterscotch Blonde. I would say it is near impossible unless I find a custom builder.

But alas, I'm just very happy I now own two of the most iconic guitars ever to be created, a Gibson Les Paul in Heritage Cherry Sunburst and a Fender Stratocaster in Vintage Sunburst!