Kanda Shokai had to cease Greco Fender copy production as part of its agreement with Fender to not compete with the Fender Japan guitars and unused Greco neck and body parts were used by FujiGen for some of the Fender JV Squiers. The early JV Squiers often used neck and body parts that were originally meant for Greco Fender copies. These early "JVs" are extremely accurate reproductions of the classic models and are highly sought by guitar collectors, especially in Europe. Initial shipments to Europe had Fender's logo in large script on the headstock with a small "Squier Series" decal but quickly this gave way to a large Squier logo with a small "by Fender" decal. These early Squiers are referred to as "JV Squiers" due to those two letters being the prefix on the serial number stamped on the neck plate that stand for "Japanese Vintage". These were made in the FujiGen Gakki factory in Japan - then also used by Ibanez - using original factory blueprints. When initially launched in Europe in the early 1980s the Squier range offered classic reproductions of Fender's most popular models: '57 and '62 Stratocasters, '57 and '62 Precision Basses, '52 Telecasters and '62 Jazz Bass.
#Squier guitar serial number lookup series
Over time the Squier series has slowly evolved to include original model designs and production has moved from Japan to various other Asian countries such as Korea and China. They were generally reproductions of 1970s models with the main difference being that they had Japanese made pickups whereas the initial JV series used Fender American made pickups. Soon after a second series followed and these were called the SQ series as seen from the prefix to their serial numbers. These were very accurate reproductions of classic 1950s and 1960s Fender guitar models.
The first Fender Japan guitars produced were the Squier JV series. Tokai was seriously considered to start building the first Japanese made Fenders but after a breakdown in negotiations FujiGen Gakki was chosen instead. Further negotiations between Fender and guitar factories were done. This arrangement benefited Fender because it removed the Greco Fender copies which were selling at much lower prices than the American made Fenders in Japan and also benefited Kanda Shokai because it could now distribute Japanese made Fender branded guitars in Japan. Kanda Shokai own the Greco brand name and one of the conditions of the Fender Japan agreement was that Kanda Shokai cease production of its own Greco Fender copies. Yamano Gakki are also known for once being part of Epiphone Japan. Fender began negotiations with several Japanese musical instrument distributors and reached an agreement with Yamano Gakki and Kanda Shokai to establish Fender Japan. In the early 1980s, Japanese labor and production costs were much lower than in America and to compete with the Japanese made guitars, Fender decided to move the lower priced Fender guitar production from America to Japan.įender were also losing sales in Japan to Japanese guitar brands such as Tōkai and Greco, so the establishment of Fender Japan would benefit Fender in Japan as well as overseas. The lower priced Fender guitars were made in America and could not compete with the Japanese made Fender copies lower prices.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s Fender was facing competition from lower priced Japanese made guitars. Until the introduction of the Fender Squier series, Fender had never produced lower priced guitars based on their main Stratocaster and Telecaster designs and had always used different model designs for their lower priced guitars. Before the Fender Squier series were introduced in 1982, Fender were making lower priced guitars such as the Fender Lead series at their Fullerton California plant. It produces models mostly derived from the Fender line of products but at lower cost, and are marketed similarly in providing high quality instruments at affordable prices for novice players.įender, under the ownership of CBS, acquired the Squier brand name in the mid to late 1960s when it bought a USA based string making firm, but it lay dormant for many years. Squier is a second-line brand of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.
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