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Yuta Tanaka, an employee of second-hand guitar store Shimokura Second Hands in Tokyo. He was referring to the electric guitars domestically produced decades ago that are copies of famous U.S. brands. The hottest sellers are electric guitars produced by Japanese manufacturers in the 1970s and 1980s that were copies of such famous U.S. brands as Fender and Gibson.

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famous U.S. brands as Fender and Gibson.

those guitar names were the inspiration of the Characters' names in Van Damme's movie Cyborg

Japan was so good at copying Fender started manufacturing in the country apparently

Not only the so-called 'Japanese lawsuit guitars' of the 1970s; several of which (at that time) were better than the US produced ones. But also many of the local acoustic brands at the time are exquisite guitars. Kohno, Yairi are world-class and many from the era feature Brazillian Rosewood as the tone woods. Tokai and Orville are stand outs for the electrics. The 1970s Ibanez 335 copy is as good as the original Gibson.

Think there might be a problem if you biggest selling point is it’s a copy? Might want to have tried 40 years ago an original?

The reason their prices are rising is that people (i.e. as Jaymann pointed out) considered them to be better.

Also in terms of the acoustics some of them are very distinctive and have a tonal character totally different from their western counterparts.

I've visited a lot of guitar shops in Japan. As some posters have pointed out, SOME of the acoustic guitars were well made. Many of the electrics not so. I played a 1962 fretless Fender Precision bass, a Rickenbacker, and a Gibson SG. I still have them. And except for one or two Japanese basses (both Yamahas) that I experimented with during my tours around the country, I'll stay with what I've got, thank you.

The first guitar I picked up in Japan was a lawsuit era Burny Les Paul, it's a nice instrument. I don't have a lot of experience with Gibsons from that era but I wouldn't say my modern Gibsons are better.

The further the 70s get in the past will only raise the prices of guitars from back then, although inflation and covid stimulus checks have pumped the price of anything collectable over the last couple of years.

I had a J-made Univox in high school before I could afford a Gibson SG. But I still picked up an Ibanez as well. All history for me now but brings back some old memories.

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