Were all Pre-Fender IMPORT Charvels made by Chushin Gakki?

[mateo69]

Hey everyone, I have been searching online and I can find all the info about company ownership, AMIC being sold to FMIC in late 2002, but haven't been able to confirm whether all the Pre-FMIC IMPORT Charvels were made by Chushin Gakki.

Specifically, the PRO SERIES models shown in the 2002 Charvel catalog.

Can anyone confirm this?

I just bought what is supposed to be a 2002 Charvel Traditional and it's being shipped to me. From the pics I've seen, it does have a MIJ sticker on the heel of the neck, but I can't seem to find any info on these models anywhere online.

I found a 2002 Charvel catalog scan with some specs, but not much else.

Can anyone enlighten me about these models (Standard, Traditional, Model A) and how the quality compares to the older MIJ models?

Thanks!

Mateo

[Rich#6]

first no not all were made in japan.
the 2002 charvels are very high quality. that catalog is all you'll find. compared to the older ones, the necks are oiled and qtrsawn compated to flatsawn and poly. pickups are better and compared to the model series the trems are better.

[mateo69]

first no not all were made in japan.

Rich, thanks for the info, but aside from the USA models, do you know where else the IMPORT models were made? And how would someone tell the difference between them?

[coloradoman25]

indonesia

[Rich#6]

some korea too. the ones with the dot inlays have the dots far apart on the korean ones. serial numbers are a big clue too.

[VitaminG]

indonesia

India, yes. Not sure about Indonesia

[mateo69]

serial numbers are a big clue too.

the guitar in question has a serial # of 020300xx

is it YY/MM/Prod#? 2002/March/Prod#

[Rich#6]

pretty sure that's a mij model. with these the first 2 are the year the rest have no meaning.

[mateo69]

Thanks Rich and everyone else for the info!

So, were all the MIJ 'Pro Series' models made by Chushin Gakki? or was there another factory in Japan making them?

I would love to know how many of these 'Pro Series' models were made before Charvel/Jackson was sold to Fender.

[Rich#6]

yes only one japnese factory. who knows but they didn't sell well so there aren't that many of they. (dont' let that scare you these are awesome guitars- I just sold a journyman last week).

[Cygnus X1]

Indiana?

[mateo69]

Thanks again Rich!!

If the quality is anything like my late 80's Model 3DR, then I'll be one happy camper....and after searching to find more information, I found ANOTHER 'Pro Series' that I just bought.

I can't wait to get my hands on both of these bad boys!

[RacerX]

Usually 8 digit ser # indicates India. Starts with 02 = Made in 2002

[Rich#6]

The 2002 charvels had odd serial numbers for MIj guitars.

[mateo69]

Usually 8 digit ser # indicates India.

I've searched high and low, but can't find any info that supports that the 'Pro Series' were made in India.

Everything I can find points to MIJ and one of the guitars I bought even has the 'Made In Japan' sticker on the heel of the neck.

My main concern is with the other guitar I bought, which doesn't have a sticker on the heel and has some non-standard features.