BrokenByDefault wrote:I don't think we should be making assumptions about their availability just yet. Fender have plenty of signature guitars which they still continue to produce years after their initial release, for example, the Jim Root Telecaster has been in the Fender catalog for a number of years and is still in production.
It's obviously a question of demand - but Japan is a little different from the US in how Fender markets guitars. I have seen signature models from certain other very big acts come and go within *months* there. (For example, try to find an Inoran Jazzmaster #1 or any of the AKB48 guitars.) Summer is often the time when Fender does these big promotional campaigns, with big displays in stores advertising new signature models, and often by fall when demand for guitars in general picks up again, they're completely gone.
I think the safest thing to do is assume they won't be around very long. Like I said, it's possible they'll do further production runs if the demand is high, but I definitely would not count on that. I think someone *can* and probably should make the assumption that they'll be around a short time. If you're wrong, no harm done - you just got to play your guitar early. If a person holds out hoping they'll stick around a while, though, there's a good chance they'll miss out.
There's always the used market in that case - it's not the end of the world - but it's just going to be more difficult.