Hey everyone quick question. Saving up for a Strat and what a difference in price between made in America vs made in Mexico!! Is the American made version worth the price? is there a huge difference between the two? Thanks!
In the last year I got a Made in Mexico Tele Player I and a Made in Mexico Ensenada HSS Strat Player II. Both were new at about a $300 discount each. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I am very happy with both guitars so far and they are my "gig" guitars (i.e. the guitar I will take out the house and not go into depression if an elephant sits on it).
I like that they upgraded to vintage tuners and removed the fake rosewood and replaced it with real rosewood. My Tele has maple neck so I wasn't concerned with fake rosewood, but I probably would not spend over $500 for fake rosewood.
Neck feel is identical. 1.65 nut width with a modern C will appease a majority of players. Satin finish is nice on the back of the neck. Seems like the Mexican fenders I've gotten needed the frets polished to remove grit, so I've gotten good at that. Even my McCready fell issue to this. No sharp frets on either.
Mods: I changed the knobs out on my Tele because they didn't have good grip and put on locking tuners. For the strat, it came with three (3) springs on the trem and I had to add two (2) more to get the trem parallel with the body. So about ($100 in mods for the Tele and $10 for the strat). If the Tele I had vintage tuners like the Tele II, I would have kept them and saved $70 on the locking tuners.
Finish was 9/10 on Tele and 8/10 on Strat (i can see seams in body if the light is "just" right, but not an OCD issue. Just something I notice every once in a while).
For under $600, I can easily recommend. If getting closer to full price, I would start looking to see what is available locally on Craigslist for American Made.
It does make me wonder how much better a $3000 guitar is over a $600. It isn't 5 times better, for sure. That said, anyone see the new Jack White Triplecaster ....
The MIM guitars Fender is producing right now are the best they've ever been. Much better consistency and QC than they used to have.
It really comes down to the individual instrument for me, though. I have to play it firsthand to decide if it's coming home with me.
FWIW, I currently own two MIM Fender guitars and one MIM Fender bass. No American Fender I've played around here warranted the extra cash over what my MIMs do for me.
If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
The nice thing about Fender (could be bad depending on your perspective) is that unless you know guitars, you really can't distinguish the cheap ones from the most expensive ones. I have a plethora of guitars hanging on my wall ...
... and I ask people visiting (all non players) to pick their favorite and more have picked a $150 Squire surf green strat over over guitars 20x more expensive. And it is nice that Fender doesn't put a "Junior" or "Student" or "MIM" on the headstock to let everyone know you are one of the poors.
Really digging the stratocaster vintera series. Gonna go in a try one in the next few weeks.
I was on a quest to find a Jazzmaster a while back and the Vintera was the best feeling and sounding out of all the ones I played. Fender got a lot right with that range of guitars. The MIM Vintera Jazzmaster was noticeably better feeling than the MIA American Performer model.
Hopefully the Strat works out for you!
Post edited by dudeman on
If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
The nice thing about Fender (could be bad depending on your perspective) is that unless you know guitars, you really can't distinguish the cheap ones from the most expensive ones. I have a plethora of guitars hanging on my wall ...
... and I ask people visiting (all non players) to pick their favorite and more have picked a $150 Squire surf green strat over over guitars 20x more expensive. And it is nice that Fender doesn't put a "Junior" or "Student" or "MIM" on the headstock to let everyone know you are one of the poors.
I guess if you're only looking at the guitars, this is good? I do need to try more MIM models. The ones I tried I didn't like the way they played all that much. I ended up getting an American Performer series. I like it, but don't love it as much as my Am Pro Jazzmaster. I've always been a Gibson guy, so it's opened up a whole new world delving into Fender.
1991- Hollywood Palladium, California with Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains -RIP Magazine Show Oct. 6th 1992- Lollapalooza, Irvine, California Nothing since then. I suck. 2016- Fenway Park, Boston - Both glorious nights 2022- Oakland Night 2 2024 Sacramento, CA
I just got back from Texas and almost brought a custom shop Tele back with me ... had a pretty good deal struck at $2600 but ATM limits made it 3 days to get the cash. I had one more atm stop and went on a hike ... the guitar had sold while I was on the hike. I'm kinda glad someone nabbed it as I felt I was kinda checking a box (a damn cool box!). I'm going to buy the same '51 custom shop nocaster pickups for $200 and put them in my MIM Tele. A custom Jason P Tele
I think my next guitar is going to be a nice acoustic. Something a little smaller than a dread. Looking for a Martin 000 with a smaller nut width than standard but I'm going to keep my options open. Martin has one that fits the bill coming out for $3600 that comes with a gig bag ... this may be a deal breaker for me. It is like going to a real nice steak restaurant and they bring out the condiment tray from Denny's with your $200 meal ... kinda kills the presentation.
Been doing routine maintenance and setting up my guitars and basses for the last couple days. Mostly adjusting for seasonal weather. I got out this ESP and decided to change the pickguard. This is how it turned out:
If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
I had some time to kill before a show this past Saturday. So I walked up the street to look around Guitar Center. They had a cool looking 70's P-Bass with a natural finish. I have been keeping my eye open for one, and I was very excited to see one hanging on the wall there. Looks aren't everything though, because unfortunately when I tried it out, it just sounded thin and not very good. I thought that maybe it was the amp. I decided to try another bass to see if it also sounded shitty. I grabbed a MIJ Fender Aerodyne Special Jazz Bass and plugged it in. I was blown away by how good it felt in my hands and how good it sounded. It was also less than half the price of that vintage P-Bass. I hadn't intended on walking out with a new bass that night, but I ended up walking out with a new bass. I got to try it with the band last night, and I absolutely love it.
I had some time to kill before a show this past Saturday. So I walked up the street to look around Guitar Center. They had a cool looking 70's P-Bass with a natural finish. I have been keeping my eye open for one, and I was very excited to see one hanging on the wall there. Looks aren't everything though, because unfortunately when I tried it out, it just sounded thin and not very good. I thought that maybe it was the amp. I decided to try another bass to see if it also sounded shitty. I grabbed a MIJ Fender Aerodyne Special Jazz Bass and plugged it in. I was blown away by how good it felt in my hands and how good it sounded. It was also less than half the price of that vintage P-Bass. I hadn't intended on walking out with a new bass that night, but I ended up walking out with a new bass. I got to try it with the band last night, and I absolutely love it.
Comments
so get two guitars for the prices of an American one.
It really comes down to the individual instrument for me, though. I have to play it firsthand to decide if it's coming home with me.
FWIW, I currently own two MIM Fender guitars and one MIM Fender bass. No American Fender I've played around here warranted the extra cash over what my MIMs do for me.
Hopefully the Strat works out for you!
1992- Lollapalooza, Irvine, California
Nothing since then. I suck.2016- Fenway Park, Boston - Both glorious nights
2022- Oakland Night 2
2024 Sacramento, CA
Cincinnati 2014
Greenville 2016
(Raleigh 2016)
Columbia 2016