Mfr Date:  1986.  This was my very first guitar.  Well, not the actual one.  I traded my first guitar in on the 1990 Les Paul Studio.  And of course, later I wish I had it back not only because of sentimental value, but because it was a unique instrument that you don't see everyday.  About 5 years later I called around and I found some folks that knew the guy that bought it and the next couple owners because it had bounced around.  Well it turned out it was practically in my back yard at a shop and had been there for some time.  So I went and checked it out and I had apparently missed it by only a couple weeks.  So then I setup a recurring search on eBay to send me emails with likely candidates for this make an model.  It took over a year.  As I understand it, Fender only made these Japanese models from 1985 to 1988, so there aren't a lot out there.  There is a corresponding Strat to this Tele model.

Color:  Black.  None more black.

Pickups:  Stock MIJ S/S/HB setup

Neck:  Very chunky, wide neck.  Could benefit from bigger frets.

Hardware:  The made-for-Fender Kahler System I tremolo had some issues when I got it.  Some of the threaded holes were stripped out on the bridge plate and there were some problems on a spring plate under the saddles.  I paid through the nose to get some of these parts online.  I got them and pretty much had to rebuild the bridge from scratch.  I wasn't able to find an original trem bar.  At least not one that looked like the one I used to have. 

Electrical:  Stock.  Master Volume, Master Tone.  The two switches towards the neck are on/off for each of the single coils.  The last one is a three way which is on/off/on and I think one of those positions in coil-tapped, but I haven't really checked it out.

Mods: 

• Installed Schaller straplocks, 9/2004

• Rebuilt bridge, 8/13/2005