Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

[Thames]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

Oh, for the record, the MIM's have so so wood for bodies and necks, while the HWY 1's have the same wood used for MIA guitars. And the necks are thicker than MIM's. Now, dont get me wrong, there's plenty of great MIM guitars out there, but you're more than likely to find one that you like more in a MIA stack. But like I said, not alot beats a Jimmie Vaughan strat.

Beandip, all MIM and MIA necks are made at the Corona plant in California, and frets are also installed there. Same woods are used. However, finishing (fret and poly) is done in respective factories... the reason why some MIM might have slightly inferior fret dressing. Neck woods are great in both products. Just better finish with MIAs.

Bodies are now all made of the same wood, alder. MIA usually have 2 pieces bodies or less, but Ive seen MIAs with 3 pieces bodies. Also, MIA have polyurethane finish, while MIM have (I think) polyester finish. Wood is wood, a MIA can have a nicer wood under the paint, but not necessarily "better sounding". Its kinda hard to tell how a plank of wood resonates only by tapping on it. And with Fender continuous improvement on manufacturing processes, I dont think they "hand select" wood. Only the Custom Shop do this now.

So, we have the same batch of wood for necks, and same wood for bodies. What's left ?

- Bridge (cheaper alloy on MIM, transfers less tone and resonance to the body, can be swapped easily)
- Fret finish (can be leveled anytime)
- Pickups (ok.. which option do we have ? )
- Nut
- Tuners
- Polyester finish may be thicker than Polyurethane -> less resonance.

FYI, electronics are now all the same, they now use american parts since late 90.

FWIW

 

[beandip]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

Beandip, all MIM and MIA necks are made at the Corona plant in California, and frets are also installed there. Same woods are used. However, finishing (fret and poly) is done in respective factories... the reason why some MIM might have slightly inferior fret dressing. Neck woods are great in both products. Just better finish with MIAs.

Bodies are now all made of the same wood, alder. MIA usually have 2 pieces bodies or less, but Ive seen MIAs with 3 pieces bodies. Also, MIA have polyurethane finish, while MIM have (I think) polyester finish. Wood is wood, a MIA can have a nicer wood under the paint, but not necessarily "better sounding". Its kinda hard to tell how a plank of wood resonates only by tapping on it. And with Fender continuous improvement on manufacturing processes, I dont think they "hand select" wood. Only the Custom Shop do this now.

So, we have the same batch of wood for necks, and same wood for bodies. What's left ?

- Bridge (cheaper alloy on MIM, transfers less tone and resonance to the body, can be swapped easily)
- Fret finish (can be leveled anytime)
- Pickups (ok.. which option do we have ? )
- Nut
- Tuners
- Polyester finish may be thicker than Polyurethane -> less resonance.

FYI, electronics are now all the same, they now use american parts since late 90.

FWIW

Agreed, same batch, but better picks for the MIA's. And I swear, the HWY 1 necks are bigger, if not, I'm friggin crazy.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

if you are gonna get a MIM Fender, get a classic...either a 50's 60's or 70's...these are the best MIM Fender's IMO...they play and sound good right out of the box and if you ever want to...USA hardware will bolt right up...this can not be said for most of the other MIM stuff...bridges, guardplates, etc most of these things will not fit a MIM Fender unless it's a classic...classics are the 3 mentioned above(50's, 60's and 70's Strats) and 50's or 60's Telecasters.

Good Luck...

For the record...maybe not all but most of the MIM stuff has a nut width of 1 5/8...the only exception I know of is the 70's Strat...it's 1 11/16...ALL of the Highway one guitars...except maybe the HW1 Showmaster thing have a nut width if 1 11/16.

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

Bodies are now all made of the same wood, alder. MIA usually have 2 pieces bodies or less, but Ive seen MIAs with 3 pieces bodies. Also, MIA have polyurethane finish, while MIM have (I think) polyester finish. Wood is wood, a MIA can have a nicer wood under the paint, but not necessarily "better sounding". Its kinda hard to tell how a plank of wood resonates only by tapping on it. And with Fender continuous improvement on manufacturing processes, I dont think they "hand select" wood. Only the Custom Shop do this now.

So, we have the same batch of wood for necks, and same wood for bodies. What's left ?

Yeah, only the custom shop selects by weight and 'tap tunes'. For some reason, many of the american deluxe series guitars I've seen have been too heavy. You'd think they'd take time to select the wood on those. Of course, we're not talking as heavy as some 70s strats, but definitely enough to harden the upper mids too much.

I also agree that the reissues are the best mexican guitars.

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

IMO The bottom line with gear is that you get what you pay for.

There's a saying that has been coming up ever since the Mexico plant opened:

You can buy a guitar made by Mexicans in Mexico and pay less or you can buy a guitar made by Mexicans in America and pay more.

It's whichever you're more comfortable with....

 

[Thames]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

There's a saying that has been coming up ever since the Mexico plant opened:

You can buy a guitar made by Mexicans in Mexico and pay less or you can buy a guitar made by Mexicans in America and pay more.

It's whichever you're more comfortable with....

:laugh2: :laugh2: :laugh2:
YOU'RE ****IN' DAMN RIGHT !

I think that'd conclude the thread on MIM vs. MIA!!

 

[Mincer]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

For me, on any strat, I am gonna switch out a lot of stuff, so it is silly to spend USA prices. I can get MIM strats new for $350, and over time, have fun modding it. It is silly to spend the $ for a more expensive guitar and then change out the hardware and pickups- you spend lots of money on stuff you are gonna chuck.

Still you have to play a lot of MIM Strats to find a good one. But you gotta play just as many MIA strats to find a good one too. I think the little 8 point font that says 'Made In Mexico' really bothers some people. These are the people who Fender is counting on to spend the extra $500 for the MIA Strat.

I think for, say, $1000 (less than the Am Deluxe Series) anyone in this forum could build a better guitar from parts.

 

[SABOTAGE]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

I`ve got two Highway 1 Strats and was thinking of getting a MIM Strat just because I want another guitar and they`re affordable. What are the pros and cons with the MIM ? I`ve had a couple MIM Teles and they played nice right out of the box . Of course I`d want to upgrade the pickups!

I used to play the standard fat strat floyd rose.
loved this guitar for years and the only thing i can tell you is that like any other guitar they are great ones and some really BAD ones

 

[Thames]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

1 thing I dont like about MIM : only 21 frets.

 

[Rich_T]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

I shopped around and got a good one, its my main guitar, i'd be lost without it. Definately recommend them, just make sure you check out as many as possible before you commit.

 

[dasfonzie]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

I've got two and I love em both

One is (was) a Tom Delonge strat. It has a slightly thinner neck than a standard and medium jumbo frets which is perfect for me (I also rolled the fretboard) and put in antiquities. It's definitely my favorite guitar I've ever played.

My other one is in a pieces right now as I plan to repaint it and put in new pups (I'm thinkin an EVH and antiquity HB or aph-2 in the neck)

But I've never played an American strat that played as good as either of my mexicans

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

My buddy has a MIM Fender Jimmie Vaughn that I think is the equal of ANY of my Strats. We put Duncan SSL-1 neck and middle pickups and a Lindy Fralin Steel Pole 43 bridge pickup in it, but the original Tex-Mex pickups sounded just fine.

The way to get a great guitar is to be willing to drive all over and try as many as you can get your hands on and then buy the best one...even if it's not the color you wanted or even if that store won't give you quite as deep a discount as the place that had one you didn't like quite as much.

You'll know it when you find it.

Lew

 

[Grandor]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

There's a saying that has been coming up ever since the Mexico plant opened:

You can buy a guitar made by Mexicans in Mexico and pay less or you can buy a guitar made by Mexicans in America and pay more.

It's whichever you're more comfortable with....

So guys at the cali plant are mexicans? I'm not following...

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

So guys at the cali plant are mexicans? I'm not following...

Fender guitars have always been built by talented people with Mexican heritage. Right from the git go. After all, most of the states in the southwest used to BE MEXICO before we Americans started a war with Mexico and stole that land from the people who stole it from the people who stole it from the Injuns who stole it from other Injuns. :smack:

 

[DanteG]

Re: Who here plays a Made in Mexico Strat?

I'm pretty happy w/ my MIM. It's straight stock (for now, at least).

Neither the MIM's nor MIA's are especially rare in stores. why not pop into your local and give 'em an A/B test ?