I have a mexican made fender strat and I think it's fine. Course I bought it used and the pick ups were replaced before I bought it, but all the same, the quality of the instrument itself is good. This doesn't mean I think it's better than an American or Japanese or really any different at that, just that I think it's a good quality instrument. I grew up with fenders though...Fender and Gibson are my personal favorites, though I've got too many others that I'd like to have as well.