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Gibson Vintage Reissues Made For Japan


mking

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I have seen some of these vintage looking reissues on various sites for sale and the location of the guitar is in Japan. This guitar is in Ashville NC, says it was made for the Japanese market, the data sheet says "Made In USA-No", yet on the back of the headstock is the Gibson Custom Shop label. It is a 2009 LG-2 that replicates the 40's banner guitars. Does anyone have any info on these guitars? Are they made in Japan authorized by Gibson? Thanks.

 

https://reverb.com/item/760768-gibson-lg-2-2009?device=ios-app

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Most would probably know: This Gibson Montana model was apparently released in Japan only. Gibson sometimes has "special exclusive" releases for certain markets.

 

No idea what meaning is of "Made In USA-No" on the spec sheet. Very curious.

 

 

.

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They often make models exclusively for the Japanese market. not sure what that stamp on the headstock means.... but no, they aren't built in Japan unless they are fake which that doesn't appear to be.

 

 

-Keith

 

edit: I see the spec sheet now. the reason it says "no" next to made in usa is to show that it will NOT have a made in USA stamp on the headstock (vintage correct) NOT to mean that it isn't made in America

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I have one of these from a limited run they did in 2012....they are really really nice. Similar to the American eagle, but better specs in my opinion...sunburst and rectangular thru saddle bridge. Street price when new was about $2000. Don't see them resold very often...A great find for someone looking at LG-2s.

 

<-------avitar.

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  • 5 years later...
15 hours ago, Chartist said:

I believe that “made in the USA-no” means that it is not supposed to be released in the US market. Still made in Montana. 

If you look at the edit portion of the answer given above by "modoc_333" (back in 2015), you will see the correct answer.  At the time, he worked for a Gibson dealer (and perhaps still does).  His information would be accurate, as it came from Gibson.

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6 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Is there any difference between guitars that go to Japan and the ones that say here. Why is Japan so special? Do they do that for other countries?

I lived there for two years.

I believe Gibson made guitars with details specified by their dealers in Japan, who understand what their customers want. Gibson has done the same thing for some of their larger US dealers as well.

I have a 1943 SJ re-issue that was made as part of a run for Fuller's Vintage in Houston, with specs that are different from what you see on most SJ models. 

It's not like a custom one-off, and it wasn't priced like one.

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11 minutes ago, j45nick said:

I believe Gibson made guitars with details specified by their dealers in Japan, who understand what their customers want. Gibson has done the same thing for some of their larger US dealers as well.

I have a 1943 SJ re-issue that was made as part of a run for Fuller's Vintage in Houston, with specs that are different from what you see on most SJ models. 

It's not like a custom one-off, and it wasn't priced like one.

Yeah I know guitar makers do special runs for stores, just wondered why one country gets special treatment. It drives me nuts when I am looking for a guitar on Reverb and 90% of them are in Japan and cost a fortune and I'm not paying for shipping back the the USA.

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2 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Yeah I know guitar makers do special runs for stores, just wondered why one country gets special treatment. It drives me nuts when I am looking for a guitar on Reverb and 90% of them are in Japan and cost a fortune and I'm not paying for shipping back the the USA.

I think it has to do with how fanatical Japanese people are about vintage guitars.The signature models Gibson does with Japanese artists are also only available there as well ( I know cause I tried to order one once and was told NO).

Except for some very rare occasions where  American dealers acquire them directly and I’ve seen that happen maybe on 2 or 3 occasions since Reverb has been around.
 

I know the Billie Joe Armstrong J 180 that he was playing around the release of his signature J 180 was a Japanese market edition  with the Pinless Bridge that some producer he worked with had at his studio ... BJA liked that guitar so much he kept it and he played it live a ton .I believe Japanese shops request that feature a lot on the J 180’s they get I’ve never seen one like that ordered by an American shop.His signature J 180 came with a normal bridge .

You can see the pinless Bridge model here:

JC

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yeah, my "1942 J-45 Legend" was a model that was originally only for the Japanese market. It looks like CME " bought out" the rights to order this model for their store? Not sure why, but it is the only Banner style J-45 I've seen without the 2 pearl dots on the bridge beside the pins (The new J-35 reissue is the same) When I did research on it prior to buying, the only demos/reviews were from Japan. 

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14 hours ago, Red 333 said:

Yes. My Legend has the two pearl dots.

I just started looking and it seems like pretty much all J-45's do. Am I right in this? 

Seems odd that they would have this particular model without them. I don't particularly like the pearl dots, so I guess it works out. 

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5 minutes ago, jvi said:

used to be the dots covered screws, I wonder if that is still the case ?

That used to be the case with Kalamazoo made J-45s. Not with Bozeman-made models, except for a brief two or three year period in the nineties. 

Red 333

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10 hours ago, Mr.Woody said:

I just started looking and it seems like pretty much all J-45's do. Am I right in this? 

Seems odd that they would have this particular model without them. I don't particularly like the pearl dots, so I guess it works out. 

Maybe yours is a reissue of a Banner J-45 that had a replaced bridge, lol (replacements often forgo the bolts and the pearl dots that cover them)!

I believe (but it's impossible to know) that all Kalamazoo made J-45s had pearl dots to cover the mounting bolt holes in the bridge, as use of the bolts seems consistent throughout the years of production there. 

Except for a few short years in the nineties, Bozemam did/does not use bolts to mount bridges on the J-45,  adjustable bridge models excepted, so the dots (which functioned to cover said bolt holes) were mainly a cosmetic nod to tradition. Bozeman has built many J-45 models over the years, and I don't really know if they eschewed the (non functional) dots from time to time. Wait, I do  know of one model--yours! 

Maybe some other J-45 owners will chime in if they have a dotless bridge.

Red 333

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