Buying a used guitar out of Japan - listing terms, the Fernandes Sustainer, 100V amps and the box-size problem

[RenSynthJp]

Seeing the old KMI sustainer thread further down this board reminded me that one of the easier ways to get a factory sustainer guitar is a used Fernandes from Japan - and that buying anything with strings out of Japan has a few traps worth writing down. These are practical notes, not a sales pitch.

Why Japan at all

A lot of Japanese-market guitars never left the country: Fernandes models with the factory Sustainer, Japan-only Ibanez and ESP lines (ESP's Japanese custom shop line is not the same thing as the export ESP LTD range), Tokai's vintage-style builds, and guitars made at Fujigen, the factory behind many well-known brands and now selling under its own name. The domestic second-hand market is deep - Yahoo Auctions Japan, Mercari and the big music-store chains - but most of those sellers only ship inside Japan, which is why people end up using a proxy.

Reading a Japanese listing

- ジャンク (junk) - sold as-is, untested or with a known fault. Fine for a project body, not for a player.
- 動作確認済み - the seller says they checked it works. 美品 good condition, ハードケース付き / ギグバッグ付き hard case / gig bag included.
- ネック反り neck bow, 順反り relief toward the strings, 逆反り back bow, トラスロッド余裕あり the truss rod still has adjustment left.
- フレット残り fret height remaining, often given as a percentage or 8分 / 9分 (80% / 90%).
- 改造 modified, リフィニッシュ refinished, PU交換 pickups swapped. On a sustainer guitar, ask whether the driver and circuit are original and working before you bid.

Model numbers search better than brand names, and photos of the neck, fret ends and the control cavity tell you more than any description.

Amps and pedals: 100V

Japan runs on 100V. A Japanese-market tube amp on a 120V US outlet runs over its design voltage unless it has a voltage selector, so either budget for a step-down transformer or look for multi-voltage units. Most pedals are 9V DC, so only the wall adapter matters there.

The box-size problem

International couriers charge on the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight, and volumetric weight is length x width x height / 5000 (cm to kg) - measured on the shipping box, not the guitar. A guitar box of roughly 110 x 45 x 15 cm works out to 110 x 45 x 15 / 5000 = 14.85 kg, whatever the guitar actually weighs. That is the number to plan around, and it is why an electric in a slim box costs far less to ship than an acoustic in a hard case.

For US addresses, OneMall currently quotes ECMS, DHL and Japan Post EMS (DDP, for declared values up to USD 2,500); the live quote for your address is what counts. Since August 29, 2025, US-bound parcels of any value go through customs and pay applicable duties, taxes and fees - the $800 de minimis exemption no longer applies - so add that in before comparing with a local price.

The OneMall team wrote a longer guide to buying vintage and new Japanese guitars from Japan with the brand overview, where each type of guitar tends to turn up, and the step-by-step proxy process. Disclosure: OneMall is a commercial Japan proxy-shopping service and that article is the source for parts of this post.

Has anyone here put a Fernandes Sustainer guitar next to a retrofitted sustainer? Curious how the factory version compares on feedback control.