1970’s Vintage Kimbara N121 MIJ Stratocaster + UPGRADES + Hard Case

Description

1970s Vintage Kimbara N121 MIJ Stratocaster + UPGRADES + Hard Case

A Kimbara Made In Japan Strat is a vintage, Japanese-made electric guitar from the 1970s, typically produced in the Matsumoku factory, renowned for its excellent build quality and value. From the ‘law suit’ era when these instruments were often considered superior to the Fender production models of the time.

This is a real collectors item !

Kimbara was a brand that produced a range of musical instruments, including acoustic and electric guitars, in Japan during the 1970s and early 1980s. Their "Strat style" guitars are highly regarded by players and collectors for their craftsmanship. This one is in absolutely superb condition and shows almost no signs of wear. There are a few very minor ‘dings’ but the body and neck are in superb ‘almost new’ condition which is astonishing for a guitar of this age. The natural finish has a really gorgeous ‘toffee apple’ glow. Fretwork is excellent with a super smooth feel along the fret edges.


The guitar features a natural finish 3-piece Sen (Japanese Ash) body and a maple neck with large headstock. The neck is of the thicker style of 70’s Stratocasters. It also has a heavy trem block consistent with higher quality Stratocaster models. Neck measurements are as follows:

Width at nut: 42.6 mm

Width at 12th Fret: 52.1 mm

Depth at nut: 23 mm

Depth at 12th Fret: 24.7 mm


The criticism of MIJ guitars from this era is that the original pickups and other electronics might need upgrading to achieve a high-end tone. This has been done on this guitar with a significant upgrade comprising :

Pickups replaced with a set of of Roswell SK52 ‘63 style vintage Alnico 5 pickups (which sound fantastic)

Replacement CTS pots A250 Vol / B250 Tone

New orange drop capacitor

New tone bleed circuit

New CRL style premium quality 5 way selector switch by Musiclilly

In addition to electrics, the following upgrades/changes have been made

The original pickups are significantly larger than standard single coils and as such the original pickguard does not properly fit with the new pickups. I have accordingly changed the pickguard and control knobs to match the new parts.

The original alloy bridge saddles have been upgraded to Fender bent steel saddles

New screws have been used for pickguard and back plate fitting

New felt pads have been used at the strap button screws

The tuners are the ‘trapezoidal’ type often seen on entry level models. The tuners fitted are a step up from these ‘normal’ trapezoidal tuners but to be fair would be the one remaining area of upgrade which would benefit the guitar. I had initially intended to change them but decided this option would best be left to any purchaser who might have their own preference or who indeed may not want to change and drill further holes in the headstock.

Original fittings comprised a 3-way selector switch used on Kimbara models primarily produced during the 1970s. These guitars were part of the initial Kimbara electric guitar range, which was introduced in the UK market in the second half of 1974 by the distributor Fletcher Coppock & Newman (FCN). The 3-way switch was standard on Kimbara model N121, as it was a direct copy of the original Fender Stratocaster design which used a 3-way switch until 1977. By March of 1978, these specific models were replaced with newer versions, suggesting that the era of Kimbara Strats with only a 3-way switch ended around that time. Later Kimbara models would have likely adopted the more modern 5-way selector switch, following the industry standard set by Fender in 1977

The original fully loaded pickguard with the original pickups and electrics, including 3 way switch, is shown in the photos and is included.

The guitar has been fully cleaned and polished, frets polished, action set low, intonation adjusted, trem set slightly floating and set up with a new set of Ernie Ball Super Slinky 009-042 strings. It plays fantastically well and sounds superb. This is, in my opinion, a far higher quality guitar than any Made in Mexico Fender, and indeed many USA Fenders, and at a fraction of the price. It is a professional level instrument in superb condition. It comes with a top quality heavy duty hard case still bearing a sticker from the famous McCormack's Music Store in Glasgow which closed in 2011 - google it and read the history. It was the store I bought my first guitar from in 1979.

Please review all the photos and check out the video link for a close up view and short demo - hear just how good it sounds (despite the playing).

https://youtu.be/byeGK-NbJ0k
Check it out for yourself before you buy.

Any questions please just ask and I will try my best to answer.

Thanks for looking.

Posted: 2 hours ago

Ad ID: 1510335920