More affordable Mike McCready 60's Strat

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  • yieldtothepj
    yieldtothepj Massachusetts Posts: 59
    Thanks, I hopefully should hear back from Fender in a week or so. I am a few weeks past the 30 day return policy but I am hoping they will replace it if need be.  Thank you for the info!
  • matt3846
    matt3846 Atlanta Posts: 203
    gimmesometruth27 said:

    a: the fret markers on the top of the neck are brown, not white. with the dark fretboard it is impossible for me to see where i am in low light. i did not realize how much i relied on those fret markers before. i am constantly accidentally playing a half step up or a half step low because i can't see where i'm at. 

    Agree 100%. I posted the same on GearPage after owning mine for a month. The Custom Shop version had white side markers, as do original 1960 Strats. No clue why they went with brown. Can’t see them at all in dim light!

  • Theebs
    Theebs Posts: 48
    used one at Tone Shop Guitars.
    https://www.toneshopguitars.com/products/used-fender-mike-mccready-strat-w-case-tsu18201
  • tempo_n_groove
    tempo_n_groove Posts: 41,336
    Theebs said:
    used one at Tone Shop Guitars.
    https://www.toneshopguitars.com/products/used-fender-mike-mccready-strat-w-case-tsu18201
    What did this cost new?
  • gimmesometruth27
    gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 24,005
    tempo_n_groove said:
    Theebs said:
    used one at Tone Shop Guitars.
    https://www.toneshopguitars.com/products/used-fender-mike-mccready-strat-w-case-tsu18201
    What did this cost new?
    $1899.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • tempo_n_groove
    tempo_n_groove Posts: 41,336
    gimmesometruth27 said:
    tempo_n_groove said:
    Theebs said:
    used one at Tone Shop Guitars.
    https://www.toneshopguitars.com/products/used-fender-mike-mccready-strat-w-case-tsu18201
    What did this cost new?
    $1899.
    So 600 off for somebody to have fiddled w it?  That's a steal if they don't make these anymore.

    I thought there was a 10k version of this too, hence the "affordable" thread here?
  • gimmesometruth27
    gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 24,005
    tempo_n_groove said:
    gimmesometruth27 said:
    tempo_n_groove said:
    Theebs said:
    used one at Tone Shop Guitars.
    https://www.toneshopguitars.com/products/used-fender-mike-mccready-strat-w-case-tsu18201
    What did this cost new?
    $1899.
    So 600 off for somebody to have fiddled w it?  That's a steal if they don't make these anymore.

    I thought there was a 10k version of this too, hence the "affordable" thread here?
    definitely a steal.

    i could be wrong, but i think i've seen the masterbuilt ones for $25k on reverb.com. also, those were in super limited quantity.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • gimmesometruth27
    gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 24,005
    just got my mccready back from my guitar tech. he said he found several issues. a few of the frets were high so he leveled them out. he took the bow out of the neck and lowered the action. the A and G strings were sitting high so he leveled them out. also, he made some adjustments to the tuning machines so it stays in tune much better now. the thing plays like butter now.

    also, he addressed some of the relicing and made it look more natural. the wood below the lacquer no longer looks like brand new wood. he used a wood dye that he makes that he said he can always lighten if i do not like how it looks. he also smoothed over some of the rough edges where the lacquer was peeling off. he has a 1963 strat that is just beat to shit that he used for reference, so it now feels the way his '63 feels when you handle it and run your hands over it. the new aging job may look like too much for a lot of people, but i am happy with it. at least now i can tell mine apart from everybody else's.  see new pics below:




    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • dudeman
    dudeman Posts: 3,159
    gimmesometruth27 said:
    just got my mccready back from my guitar tech. he said he found several issues. a few of the frets were high so he leveled them out. he took the bow out of the neck and lowered the action. the A and G strings were sitting high so he leveled them out. also, he made some adjustments to the tuning machines so it stays in tune much better now. the thing plays like butter now.

    also, he addressed some of the relicing and made it look more natural. the wood below the lacquer no longer looks like brand new wood. he used a wood dye that he makes that he said he can always lighten if i do not like how it looks. he also smoothed over some of the rough edges where the lacquer was peeling off. he has a 1963 strat that is just beat to shit that he used for reference, so it now feels the way his '63 feels when you handle it and run your hands over it. the new aging job may look like too much for a lot of people, but i am happy with it. at least now i can tell mine apart from everybody else's.  see new pics below:





    That looks great! Glad you were able to get the playability issues sorted out, too. For what these things cost new, high frets, improperly cut nuts and basic setup issues shouldn't exist from the factory. 

    Part of me wonders if the high demand for this model lead to some of them being fast tracked out the door without proper QC.

    Either way, yours looks incredible and I'm glad it plays well now. Enjoy that thing!
    If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
  • gimmesometruth27
    gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 24,005
    dudeman said:
    gimmesometruth27 said:
    just got my mccready back from my guitar tech. he said he found several issues. a few of the frets were high so he leveled them out. he took the bow out of the neck and lowered the action. the A and G strings were sitting high so he leveled them out. also, he made some adjustments to the tuning machines so it stays in tune much better now. the thing plays like butter now.

    also, he addressed some of the relicing and made it look more natural. the wood below the lacquer no longer looks like brand new wood. he used a wood dye that he makes that he said he can always lighten if i do not like how it looks. he also smoothed over some of the rough edges where the lacquer was peeling off. he has a 1963 strat that is just beat to shit that he used for reference, so it now feels the way his '63 feels when you handle it and run your hands over it. the new aging job may look like too much for a lot of people, but i am happy with it. at least now i can tell mine apart from everybody else's.  see new pics below:





    That looks great! Glad you were able to get the playability issues sorted out, too. For what these things cost new, high frets, improperly cut nuts and basic setup issues shouldn't exist from the factory. 

    Part of me wonders if the high demand for this model lead to some of them being fast tracked out the door without proper QC.

    Either way, yours looks incredible and I'm glad it plays well now. Enjoy that thing!
    thanks man. yeah i agree that the qc should have been better. like you said, some of these were probably fast tracked due to demand. my tech said that "this is a really nice strat. the body is a great piece of wood. it just needed a little tlc to get it right." he said he may buy one for himself since he doesn't want to gig his '63 strat because it is worth so much. 

    i have been playing it all day today. it plays better than my nash strat that i have had for 15 years. 
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • Jason P
    Jason P Posts: 19,289
    What did the tech use to darken the wood?  Just curious.  The one I got seems darker or "aged" more than the pics you posted.

    I agree that the brown fret markers are NOT ideal for the aging guitarist!  I've briefly pondered doing something to make them more visible but i'm too lazy to make probably an unnecessary mod.
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • gimmesometruth27
    gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 24,005
    Jason P said:
    What did the tech use to darken the wood?  Just curious.  The one I got seems darker or "aged" more than the pics you posted.

    I agree that the brown fret markers are NOT ideal for the aging guitarist!  I've briefly pondered doing something to make them more visible but i'm too lazy to make probably an unnecessary mod.
    he wouldn't tell me what he used. he said it is a "wood dye" that he mixes himself that he can lighten if he needs to. he said sometimes when building a guitar he dyes the exposed wood too dark or unevenly and he is able to put something else on there to make it not as dark. i am not sure how that works, because to me it would seem that once the wood grain in darkened it will stay that way. i will try to find out from him.

    all those people that build relic guitars have their own way of aging them. i know there are several ways to age the hardware and the method used depends on which part you are trying to age. i am sure there are several ways to darken the body. i read one time that one builder uses a wet black leather belt and rubs that into the wood to have the dye go into the wood grain to simulate color change from the sleeve a black leather jacket that people used to wear in the 70s and 80s. 

    you had one of the first runs, correct? maybe they were doing more to age those in the factory. 

    he told me that you can use nail polish on the fret markers. he said this does not damage the guitar, and if you don't like it you can use a fingernail to scrape the nail polish off. i was thinking about trying that with some bright white nail polish. just put a small dot on those top fret dots.

    he said if i bring that guitar back he can check the finish on the body for me. he said it would take several days. i don't know if i want to go all that way again just for him to check the body. its a 55  minute drive one way. 
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • matt3846
    matt3846 Atlanta Posts: 203
    Just noticed that the ones built more recently say Made In Ensenada on the headstock instead of Made In Mexico…


  • gimmesometruth27
    gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 24,005
    matt3846 said:
    Just noticed that the ones built more recently say Made In Ensenada on the headstock instead of Made In Mexico…


    i noticed that. i wonder how they determined which ones got that stamp? when i bought mine 3 of the 5 i looked at had made in mexico. i thought all 5 were from the same run though.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • Jason P
    Jason P Posts: 19,289
    “A made in Mexico Fender that costs $1900, are you nuts???”

    vs

    ”Oh, this was hand-crafted by luthiers in Ensenada.   Ooh, La La”

    Marketing gimmick.  Like when Taylor Guitars started using pallet lumber to make guitars but called it “Urban Ash”
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • gimmesometruth27
    gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 24,005
    Jason P said:
    “A made in Mexico Fender that costs $1900, are you nuts???”

    vs

    ”Oh, this was hand-crafted by luthiers in Ensenada.   Ooh, La La”

    Marketing gimmick.  Like when Taylor Guitars started using pallet lumber to make guitars but called it “Urban Ash”
    they really used pallet lumber?? no way, lol
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • Jason P
    Jason P Posts: 19,289
    The new Fender Player 2 guitars are also stamped “made in Ensenada” so it looks like Fender’s strategy is trying to break the negative association of the MIM stamp.  
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • gimmesometruth27
    gimmesometruth27 St. Fuckin Louis Posts: 24,005
    Jason P said:
    The new Fender Player 2 guitars are also stamped “made in Ensenada” so it looks like Fender’s strategy is trying to break the negative association of the MIM stamp.  
    i don't think the association is negative. ever since epiphone started to step up their game, the MIM fender products have been of better quality. it kind of does imply that ensenada is "boutique mexican" though. 
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • Go Beavers
    Go Beavers Posts: 9,537
    I can picture a geographically challenged guitar player, though, as they ponder a purchase “Ensenada, that’s just outside of LA, isn’t it?”  
  • mrk2
    mrk2 Finland Posts: 2,091
    The difference in Mexican vs American made Fenders is 180 miles and at least 1000 dollars. Made by Mexicans in either case.
    225xxx - 6/28/00, 10/20/01, 10/22/01, 9/11/06, 9/22/06, 9/23/06, 6/18/07, 6/26/07, 8/15/09, 6/25/10, 6/30/10, 7/4/12, 7/5/12, 7/7/12, 7/10/12, 6/26/14, 6/28/14, 7/3/18, 7/5/18

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