Arguably the original “big in Japan” band, it’s no surprise that the Ventures were among the first artists to receive Fender Japan signature instruments. When the band’s co-founders Don Wilson and Bob Bogle first toured Japan in 1962 (their booking agent didn’t have enough money for the whole group), rock ‘n’ roll was essentially entirely unknown to the Japanese people. Japanese booking agents tried giving the pair a stand-up bassist and drummer as a backing band, unfamiliar with even the idea of an electric combo. They spent that tour opening for teen idol Bobby Vee and rockabilly pioneer Jo Ann Campbell, with no idea just how impactful their presence in the country would be.
The Ventures and the new music they brought to the island nation were a near-instant hit with the young people of Japan, and promoters quickly began pushing the Ventures hard as the face of the new sound. The period that followed, known in Japan as the “eleki boom,” saw thousands of Japanese youths purchasing electric (hence “eleki”) guitars and forming their own groups. In 1964, when the Ventures returned as a full group, they were treated to a Beatlemania-style welcome, mobbed by thousands of fans waiting for them at the airport. In fact, they were significantly bigger than the Beatles in Japan, outselling the Brits roughly 2-to-1. Don Wilson believed that the instrumental nature of their music was a significant factor in their success, with no language barrier to ostracize potential fans.
The Ventures are the best-selling instrumental group in rock history, with over 105 million LPs and CDs sold worldwide; of that number, 40 million alone were sold in Japan. A significant number on its own, that figure is even more impressive when one considers that Japan was a country of roughly 100 million people in the Ventures’ heyday. Their popularity is enduring - today, it’s estimated that there are around 600 individual Ventures cover bands in Japan, and countless Japanese groups count the Ventures among their foremost influences.
The surf rock craze and the eleki boom are both intrinsically linked to a very specific subset of guitars, and the Ventures bear a lot of responsibility for that association. When the group started out in 1958, their dual-guitar sound featured the unmistakable twang of a Fender Stratocaster and a Jazzmaster.
![An original 1965 Mosrite The Ventures model An original 1965 Mosrite The Ventures model](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc42c430-e32c-4100-a6eb-3d18300eedfc_768x1024.png)
However, in 1963, the band signed a contract with the Semi Moseley and his fledgling Mosrite company; the Ventures funded production at Mosrite’s Bakersfield, CA factory and began to exclusively play Mosrites instruments, and in return Semi Moseley began producing the “Ventures Model,” with the band’s logo prominently placed (above even the Mosrite logo) on the headstock. When most folks think of Mosrite guitars today, they think of the Ventures Model, despite the fact that the original run of Ventures Mosrites only lasted for about five years, with the contract terminated by ‘68.
In 1996, Fender Japan, looking to celebrate 50 years of Fender’s existence, decided to collaborate with the group to release a one-year-only group of signature models. Despite the widespread association of Mosrite instruments with the Ventures, they were still very much associated with Fender and had played a massive role in the initial popularization of Fender instruments in Japan. Additionally, in the decades following the dissolution of the Ventures’ Mosrite contract, they had frequently favored Fender instruments.
The original run of 1996 Ventures signatures are among the rarest Fender Japan signatures ever released, and less than 200 of each instrument were exported for sale in the USA. There were three models: a Jazz Bass for Bob Bogle, a Jazzmaster for Don Wilson, and a Stratocaster for guitarist Gerry McGee. All three models had the same transparent Midnight Black Transparent finish on top of lightweight ash bodies, with gold hardware and Ventures logos on the headstock and bass-side body horn.
![The Ventures signature models, 1996 catalog The Ventures signature models, 1996 catalog](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff5d6ce4d-a43e-4267-88e2-2444fc7881cf_1024x724.jpeg)
The instruments had unique, player-specific features: Bob Bogle’s Jazz Bass was loaded with a pair of USA-made Vintage pickups, with a large pearloid pickguard that extended across the area typically occupied by the control plate. Gerry McGee, inspired by the Eric Clapton Signature, had his Strat outfitted with a trio of Lace Sensor pickups and the same active MDX mid-boost circuit at the second Tone knob used in the Clapton Strat. Don Wilson’s Jazzmaster featured a pair of Seymour Duncan pickups and removed the rhythm circuit, with a satin neck finish.
![Nokie Edwards Tele Nokie Edwards Tele](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6439839d-0fd5-4eb3-94ba-137cf0fd1845_399x583.png)
There was also a fourth signature for former guitarist Nokie Edwards, who was not actively performing with the group in the ‘90s (he would return in the early 2000s and continue to play off and on with the band until his death in 2018). Known in Japan as the “King of Guitars,” independently successful and actively touring in Japan throughout the era, it was a natural decision to give Edwards his own signature with its own page in the catalog. The Nokie Edwards Signature Telecaster was also the most unique of the models, forgoing the uniform look of the Ventures' signatures for a never-before-seen combination of features including a heavily figured, bookmatched flame maple top, a set of Schaller Scruggs banjo tuners, a custom bridge design, and a pair of splittable custom-made Seymour Duncan humbuckers with blade pole pieces.
The tonewood complement was also very unique; beneath the flame maple top, the body featured a three-piece basswood/maple/basswood design, with a five-piece maple neck and an ebony fretboard. Additionally, on the bass-side horn where the Ventures logo was placed on the Japan-exclusive Ventures’ signatures, Edwards’ model featured his own name/logo, with his signature on the headstock.
Fender Japan had only planned on producing the quartet of instruments for one year, but the limited run models ended up being popular enough to warrant a continuation of production, and Fender Japan continued making them until ‘99. The continued models, however, were produced exclusively for the Japanese domestic market, further contributing to the overall rarity of these unique Fender instruments.
The Ventures are an integral part of both the Fender story and the rise of the electric guitar in Japan, to the point where they've received the Order of the Rising Sun, directly from the Emperor of Japan himself, for the development and enrichment of music culture in Japan. If any group was ever deserving of Fender Japan signature models, they are surely at the top of the list.