Strats-Mexican vs. US made

Hey all-

What's your take on made in Mexico Strats vs. American? I just received a brochure from Guitar Center, and the variety of Strats is mind boggling.

I'm looking for a Standard, 3 single coil, 1 master volume, 1 master tone. I did test a Strat Deluxe MiM, tone sounded great but it had a push button pickup switch; just a weird button popping out of a hole. I want a Strat that looks like a Strat. I prefer maple over rosewood necks on Fenders- the tone always seems brighter to me.

Any opinions are appreciated.

Go American. There's a reason for the price difference. If you don't care about tone and quality, then I guess get the Mexican since it's cheaper, but the American is well worth the price if you can grab it. An American Strat was my first and only electric guitar. Got it about 9 years ago and I still play it every day.

Hello again Hunter,

Yeah, I'm leaning towards the American made. I was impressed by the tone of the Deluxe MiM model, but that push button thing was a deal breaker for me. There were a lot of tonal variations, but I know I couldn't live with a Strat that looked like that. Had noiseless pups too.

hmmm....decisions, decsions...spend a grand for American, or tell the kids they eat PBJ for a month :rolleyes: ...

Can you believe while walking out of Guitar Center after buying my son the Epi SG Deluxe, a guy approached me on the street trying to sell me for $400 a top of the line mint Strat...can't remember the model, but when I got home, I looked it up in the Fender brochure, and it goes for something like $1600. Was probably stolen, so just as well.

Well, there's going to be a big sale on President's day at Guitar Center, so maybe I'll be pragmatic for once and wait a bit. Thanks for input! Will let you know if/when I get something.

Close your eyes, open your ears, and let your hands tell you what they can. The name on the headstock means nothing. The country of origin only affects the shipping cost.

The best Strat I've ever owned was a 1986 MIJ '62 re-issue. I rewired it for master Volume & Tone because I kept jamming my knuckles into that damned knob next to the bridge.

If it feels right, and it sounds right without an amp, it's a good one. Pickups and switchgear are easily upgraded. If the basics are right, you can go from there.

I prefer a mid-60s Yamaha SG-2 to any Strat these days. The ergonomics are just so much better for me. To each their own...

Originally Posted by: LordathestringsClose your eyes, open your ears, and let your hands tell you what they can. The name on the headstock means nothing. The country of origin only affects the shipping cost. To each their own...

Wise and true. I remember when I won the bid on on the Ibanez RG on ebay for $100, I went to a Guitar Center and did a blind test on every Ibanez in the store. I kept coming back to a guitar that was around $350; I found out later the Steve Vai model I tried that went for around $1200 I hated the most. I actually settled on a fixed tail RG that went for around $200, lol. The salesman must have hated me after spending over an hour with me. He must have hated me more when I returned it- frets needed work, and it wasn't worth the money to have a pro file them down. I'm surfing craigslist now for a Strat- I just get fixated on things. Since I have my Standard Strat tuned a 1/4 tone down, I want another for standard tuning.

Guitar Center is ALWAYS having some sort of sale. You can find a Strat there for around $500-$600 during some of their big sales. Thats what I paid for mine.

As far as model goes, I've never heard of a Deluxe MiM, but thats probably just because I don't read up on stuff like that. All you need is a Standard American Strat.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-American-Standard-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar-515748-i1385900.gc

Originally Posted by: hunter1801Guitar Center is ALWAYS having some sort of sale. You can find a Strat there for around $500-$600 during some of their big sales. Thats what I paid for mine.

As far as model goes, I've never heard of a Deluxe MiM, but thats probably just because I don't read up on stuff like that. All you need is a Standard American Strat.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-American-Standard-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar-515748-i1385900.gc

I know. GC is having a big sale on the 18th. I test drove the model you linked above, and compared to the deluxe MiM, I found the MiM more playable.

I just lost a bid on Ebay for a 40th anniversary model, near mint. The winning bid was $687.77- I lost by a few bucks. Here
s the link- a real beauty, and the finish I wanted it in: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120218317765

But I won a bid on a MiM Strat last night for $307.07: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=350021806219&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=022

Something just drew me to this guitar- not exactly the finish I wanted, but I'll see how it is when I get it. Worse come to worse, I'll mod it, or resell it. Sorry to break your heart :D

Meh, for all you know the winning bidder on that 40th Anniversary Strat bid more than $1000. eBay only bumps the winner's bid to the next increment above the second-highest bidder.

And you're right about the MIM. Buying over the web entails a certain risk of the unknown, but even if this turns out to be not quite what you want, you can always trade it in or sell it.

Originally Posted by: LordathestringsMeh, for all you know the winning bidder on that 40th Anniversary Strat bid more than $1000. eBay only bumps the winner's bid to the next increment above the second-highest bidder.

And you're right about the MIM. Buying over the web entails a certain risk of the unknown, but even if this turns out to be not quite what you want, you can always trade it in or sell it.

Morning, m'Lord ::bows:: Don't you ever sleep? The seller on the MIM I won had a similar Strat being auctioned, but the finish was some high-gloss finish- something I was afraid would affect the tone, so I didn't even bid on that one. Something about the satin finish on the one I won made me feel, "I want that." I'll report back on how the guitar is when I receive it.

If you want to see what my Strat looks like, take a look here: http://www.stratcollector.com/scnimages/83corrupt/83bb2.gif

Note the jack being flush to the body, and no rear access to the trem springs on the back. It is an oddity I guess, but I absolutely love the tone and feel of this guitar. The finish on my guitar is more a natural wood, and it's heavy as hell. I bought it used for $200 around 1985; got the original case and tags too. For whatever reason, I never really played it until recently, and that's when I decided to tune it Hendrix style with 12's on it. It pulled the bridge up almost 90 degrees, and all I could think was, "oh, sh**!" I had to take the whole face plate off to get to the springs. Good thing the tags explained how the bridge/trem mechanism worked, or I would have been up the proverbial creek, as I'm not good at set-ups.

Hey, here's a question for you: as I was doing the set-up, I plugged in with the amp on, and when I touched the base of the metal part of the cable, I felt a mild shock. Am I running the risk of frying myself? This was before I had the scratch plate fully screwed in, if that makes a difference, but now I'm nervous, especially now that my son is playing. I'd appreciate your input on this. I definitely don't want to put my son at risk of getting toasted. Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by: hunter1801
As far as model goes, I've never heard of a Deluxe MiM, but thats probably just because I don't read up on stuff like that. All you need is a Standard American Strat.

I didn't realize there were so many models either until I received a Fender brochure from GC. In the old days, a Les Paul was a Les Paul, a Strat was a Strat. Now, they have high, low, and middle end guitars. All makers seem to be doing this nowadays, and it's maddening to look at ads. Well, I'll see hopefully by this coming week how the guitar is. I have a good feeling about it.

Shocks are not good!

Some old amps had a feature that became known as the "Death Cap". It was a small capacitor that could be switched to connect one side of the AC line (or the other) to Ground. This was a way to help reduce some of the noise inherent in the old 2-wire systems. If that cap was a bit leaky, it meant that the amp chassis could become 'hot'. Which meant that any instrument that was plugged in coul kill the player if they touched something grounded!

Get one of those little AC circuit testers that looks like a 3-prong plug with lights in it. This can tell you if the outlet is wired properly. I never plug an amp in unless I've checked the line first.

If the outlet is OK, you should get the amp checked out by someone who is competent to deal with it.



P.S: I sleep, but unless my dreams are particularly good, I figure I may be missing out on something! ;)

Originally Posted by: Silimtao... If you want to see what my Strat looks like, take a look here: http://www.stratcollector.com/scnimages/83corrupt/83bb2.gif ...

I've never seen that before. It's particularly strange because Leo's design revolved around keeping his guitars easy to produce and work on. The back of this model has been kept pristine at the cost of making the trem extremely hard to adjust.

Originally Posted by: LordathestringsShocks are not good!

Some old amps had a feature that became known as the "Death Cap". It was a small capacitor that could be switched to connect one side of the AC line (or the other) to Ground. This was a way to help reduce some of the noise inherent in the old 2-wire systems. If that cap was a bit leaky, it meant that the amp chassis could become 'hot'. Which meant that any instrument that was plugged in coul kill the player if they touched something grounded!

Get one of those little AC circuit testers that looks like a 3-prong plug with lights in it. This can tell you if the outlet is wired properly. I never plug an amp in unless I've checked the line first.

If the outlet is OK, you should get the amp checked out by someone who is competent to deal with it.



P.S: I sleep, but unless my dreams are particularly good, I figure I may be missing out on something! ;)

Hmmm...something primal in me told me shocks weren't good :rolleyes: I play mostly through a micro-cube (2 prong), plugged into a power strip. You think I'd be OK for now if I plugged into my my air-conditioner's outlet until I test the line (I know the AC outlet is fine because my apartment was gut renovated, and I was here when the electrician tested all the outlets)? You think it possible because I didn't have the scratch plate screwed back on that things weren't properly grounded in the guitar, and it's the GUITAR? I haven't had any problems since I replaced everything on the guitar, but in the back of my mind there was still a concern. Did I read you right when you say I may get fried if I touched something grounded? I'd have thought something UNgrounded would be dangerous. Damn, this is my week to have my kids, and if the amp is faulty...Guess I'll have to pull my 35 yr. old Fender Champ out of the cobwebs.

OK- last question, assuming something is faulty- is there a safe way to be plugged in and play? Wear sneakers and keep my feet on the floor? My son will be sorely disappointed if he can't play, as I'm teaching him Iron Man.

Thanks much for your quick reply. There's a RadioShack nearby where I can get a line tester. Heading there now. Really, you don't know how much I appreciate your insight.

The AC line has to have at least two functional wires to work: a 'hot' and a 'return', or Line & Neutral form a complete circuit through whatever load is plugged in. Usually, it doesn't matter which side of the plug is which, because it goes to the primary of a transformer. Trouble happens if one side of the AC wiring is tied to the chassis. The Neutral eventually goes to Ground back at the main distribution panel, so a short between the chassis and the Neutral is not a good thing, but not necessarily dangerous. The Safety Ground pin is just that: a direct path to ground to drain off voltage that becomes shorted to the chassis.

If the connections get reversed (easy to happen with a 2-prong plug) it could mean that the chassis, and anything touching the chassis, is now at Line voltage, looking for a path back to ground. You do [u]not[/u] want to offer yourself as part of that path! This is why all modern 2-prong plugs have one prong that is larger than the other one. This larger prong will fit into the Neutral slot of the outlet, but not the Line side.

All of this becomes moot if you have an older plug with equal-sized prongs, or there is a problem with the extension cord.

There is no safe way to operate equipment that has the chassis lifted up to Line potential. Don't do it!

Originally Posted by: LordathestringsThere is no safe way to operate equipment that has the chassis lifted up to Line potential. Don't do it!

I hear you loud and clear. I needed to hear from a professional in the field to take the situation more seriously. That's why I remembered you- I remember in one of my original posts about noise gates or some gear, I asked, "you guys electrical engineers or something?", and you said to look at members' profiles.

Anyway, the closest RadioShack didn't have a line tester. And I know it would be dumb to just pull out my Champ until I figure out whether it's the AC power, or the amp. In hindsight, I strongly suspect it was the guitar cable itself. Guess you can tell me if that's a possibility. (No, I'm not trying to find a rationale to plug everything back ;) .)

I remember now why I was reaching for it. The sheath that covers the jack alway comes loose, and I was screwing it back on when I felt that mild tingly shock. After screwing it back on, all was well, but I figured since I had your attention, I'd ask the question.

Good thing the Cube can be powered by a bunch of double A batteries- please don't tell me my kid can get fried with those...can it? You think this a good way to test the amp? Use battery power and touch metallic stuff?

Sorry for such lengthy posts. Thanks again for taking the time to read through them. Now I have about 2 hrs. to clean up the place before my kids get here. Glad you weren't having a good dream when I posted :o

Battery power should be safe. The power circuit is entirely contained within the amp - no connection to any part of the AC mains.

No point in touching metalic stuff while it's running on batteries. There's no path to form a circuit through.

Thanks again, m'Lord! I bought a 40 pack of double A batteries and another powerstrip. Amazing the volume I can get out of the Cube on 6 batteries.

If not for you, I may have had fried-kid for dinner (or supper, as you peeps up north say ;)

Really, really grateful to you for giving me a wake up call. Don't know if you have kids, but nothing in life scares me more than losing one of my kids (I'm kinda fond of my own butt also....wait, that didn't come out right...)

Maybe catch you later on the boards!

Hey Lord, question...

I went to a local hardware store and asked about line testers- there were 2 types- 1 with 2 alligator clips. Salesman told me this would tell me which line was "hot" and which was ground. Then another unit, a multimeter, which did the same, but also told me the "frequency". He didn't know what that meant, and neither do I. I've yet to find one at RadioShack where I think I'd have more choices and more knowledgeable people, so my question is, what do I do with this information, assuming these line testers do pretty much the same (both units described above have LED indicators.)

Would greatly appreciate your input on this.

btw, according to DHL tracking, I should be getting my guitar delivered to my job today :) . Can't wait to plug it in.

Thanks in advance for any insight you may have on the line-testers.

First, the aesthetics:

Finish a beautiful satin red, looks almost purple depending on the light. Not glossy; soft look, very nice. A little ding/crack on the face of the body; barely noticeable unless you look really close- looks fresh; I think someone dinged it while packing it; otherwise, pretty mint.

The single coil pups are black, as are the volume and tone knobs (1 master volume, 2 tones.) Looks really nice. Scratches on the pick guard; was expected, no big deal to me. A few very minor nicks on back of neck; no big deal. Maple neck/rosewood fretboard. Thinner neck than my Standard Strat; very fast neck. Strings are very close, a complaint I've read about in online reviews of some MIMs.

Hardware: Seems to be stock everything. Tuning gears seem to be in good working condition. Only 1 string tree. for the 1st and 2nd strings only. Find that kind of odd. But no screw holes for a 2nd.

hardware,playability, tone, etc.

When I got the guitar, I opened up the box in my office. Soon as I touched it, my initial feeling was, "YES!"

The neck is maple with a rosewood fretboard. Action super-low- too low for me. Neck extremely fast due to the width (or lack thereof); almost feels like my Ibanez RG. Frets could be filed down a bit on the hige E side, as I can feel it scraping my fingers at times; I can adjust to it. The nut is some cheap plastic thing. May or may not have it replaced. The high E is as close to the edge of the fretboard as possible, while the low E has a bit of room. Still, don't find this a major problem (for me.)

The tuners are stock, with "Fender" stamped on it. I believe the bridge is a Wilkenson bridge but not sure. I've noted somewhere else that my American Standard has a Wilkenson, but it doesn't- I can't remember exactly what the bridge is called, but the 1980's era American Strats are kind of strange. On the MIM, there's a hole for truss rod adjustment near the headstock; on my American, I can adjust both from the headstock, and at the bottom (from neck plate on the back.)

Bridge has 6 individual string saddles, unlike my American that has 3(correction; my American has 6 saddles- I was thinking about my Tele) ; 2 strings per saddle. I think it's a tune-o-matic bridge. Didn't come with a whammy bar (seller didn't advertise providing one.) It's a screw in whammy; my American has a "snap in". I can get to the trem springs from the back like most Strats; however, on my American, I have to remove the whole scratch plate off.

There's a 5-way switch, and I can hear the subtle tonal differences on each setting. The tone is a bit warmer, as I expected with the rosewood neck. The strings are really old, but still, the tone with the bridge pup was very telly-like when cranked up, but the tone wasn't as biting as my American Strat or American made telly. Playing totally clean, the tone was warmer as already stated, but the lack of a really sweet ringing tone I believe is due to the age of the strings- old and dirty. The string gauge is extremely light- definitely 9's or possibly lighter; felt kind of like Super Slinky 8's. I'm positive the overall tone will be much better when I re-string it, but I'm debating whether to put 12's on this one and tune it Hendrix style, or just slap 10's on them. I know there's a definite tonal difference 'tween my American and this MIM- not a bad thing as far as I'm concerned- what's the point of having different guitars if they all sound exactly the same? Playing this MIM definitely makes me want to rock out, but I'll know better when I re-string it.

The single coil pickups are responsive enough, and doesn't have "stratitis", meaning I don't get that whooshing sound no matter how far I am from the amp.

Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase. I won the Ebay bid for $260.07 + $40 s/h. For $300, I'd take this guitar over any MIM on sale now that sell for $399 at Guitar Center. Even if I found a guitar locally for the same price, I'd be paying about $24 in taxes. So, I feel I got a great bargain.

Just can't wait to put new strings on it. Will do so this weekend, and hopefully find a trem bar. And the guitar came in on Valentine's Day! Great gift to myself. To wrap up- no complaints, this is a keeper.

To round out my guitar collection, I'd like a Gibson Les Paul, and a 335. I may sell off some of my other guitars, unless I get a bigger place to live in.

Originally Posted by: SilimtaoHey Lord, question...

I went to a local hardware store and asked about line testers- there were 2 types- 1 with 2 alligator clips. Salesman told me this would tell me which line was "hot" and which was ground. Then another unit, a multimeter, which did the same, but also told me the "frequency". He didn't know what that meant, and neither do I. I've yet to find one at RadioShack where I think I'd have more choices and more knowledgeable people, so my question is, what do I do with this information, assuming these line testers do pretty much the same (both units described above have LED indicators.)

Would greatly appreciate your input on this. [/QUOTE]

[u]This[/u] is what I was talking about:


You just plug it into the outlet and see which lights come on. The chart tells you whether the line is OK or not. A good meter is a very useful thing, but there's some skill involved, and they're not convenient to carry around. I keep one of these testers in my gig bag. More than once, it has alerted me to a problem with the wiring in a club.

[QUOTE=Silimtao]btw, according to DHL tracking, I should be getting my guitar delivered to my job today :) . Can't wait to plug it in.

Thanks in advance for any insight you may have on the line-testers.

I like stories with happy endings! :D