Product Overview
The Japanese brands springing up during the 70s to capitalise on a declining quality of production coming out of the American makers certainly featured some quirky branding, and this one, the "Straighter" from Fresher, was no exception. Visually, from the obvious inspiration for the guitar shape and function, to the logo and name, this one is smack bang in the "lawsuit" era of Japanese guitar production.
Never really exported to markets outside of Japan, Fresher isn't really a household name. It's story began in 1973 when Fresher guitars were introduced by the Kyowa Company, Ltd., of Nagoya, the region being one of the principal guitar-making regions in Japan. Kyowa were a trading company that, amongst other things, were mucb later responsible for Caparison Guitars, a brand we at bmusic imported for some years and for which we made our payments to Kyowa.
Fresher guitars were built by the Matsumoto Musical Instrument Manufacturers’ Association, a consortium of suppliers in the Matsumoto region. An organization, interestingly, which did not include either Fujigen Gakki or Matsumoku, the area’s more famous manufacturers. Fresher later on became known for their quirkier builds, incorporating curious switching options and effects built in to the guitars.
This particular guitar is much more traditional, however, and clearly a "lawsuit" Strat. It features a 3-way blade selector switch, wired to 50s Strat configuration after needing some resoldering work. Cosmetically the guitar is in wonderful condition, particuarly considering it's nearly half a century since it left the factory.
WEIGHT: 3.689kg
#vintageandused
