Mexican Strat vs. American Strat: What’s the Difference?

This guy didn't scour the Intarwebnetz too hard because I've answered this question multiple times on multiple forums...
 
Guy's also wrong about the MIM Standard (does not apply to Deluxe or other non-Standard models) in sunburst. The bodies are still 3-5 pieces of wood (used to be Poplar, then they switched to Alder) but with a birch veneer on the front and the back. That's why the sunburst Standard Strats have the burst going all the way through the belly cut because it covers the transition from veneer to body wood.

The pickups are NOTHING alike. The MIM Standard pickups are steel pole with ceramic bar magnets made by Cort in Korea while the older plastic bobbin MIA pickups used the same exact bobbin (molded by Fender in both cases) but were AlNiCo poles with a completely different wind.

MIM bodies are polyester but the necks are polyurethane. The finish is thicker than the MIA ones, even before they started doing the thin skin thing. It's easier to get a smooth, thick finish as it builds than it is to get a thin smooth finish.

Guy also has no idea about economy of scale and manufacture in another country which costs less.

MIM Standards also don't come with a hardshell case.

Guy's a dumbass.
 
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I heard from a far more valued/reliable source that this guy's a dumbass.

Seriously, jus the Fender website provides some basics on the differences, including the huge obvious ones (pups, bridge, and neck adjustwbility), the rest you can figure out by playing the darned things. And it's during the playing of these guitars that you determine whether or not the higher-end components and fit/finishing (not guaranteeing sonic superiority) are worth the cost differential.

I'd would and likely will be getting a MIM Fender with the next year or two. I'm mostly interested in the Baja Tele, but the Tex-Mex/Jimmie Vaughan and the Classic Player Strats are very appealing, with the latter being a fairer/better comparison to the Americsn Standard. yes they are not the Standard line for MIM, but they both represent a more "modern" take on the classic Strat with newer components and Custom Shop pups. The other difference are more about preferences than inherent deficiencies or superiority in the materials. Of course these particular MIM models are a few hundred more, but it's just a fairer comparison.

The MIM Standard Strat is better compared to the American Special. This was a particularly misguided and not well thought out comparison.

Dumbassedness confirmed.
 
I haven't owned a strat since the late 90s. My main guitar was an American standard and I had an MIM as s backup. The necks were different, the electronics were different and the bridges were different. I liked the MIA way better. But I hate Strats now, so I don't care anymore.
 
Gary Blanchard said:
He's been possessed by HIAR. :eek:
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:grin:

You know probably 15 years, my main guitar was a strat. Then I didn't own one for about 15 years. I went to a friends house to jam and he had a Strat and an Epiphone Les Paul. I have never like Les Pauls but I ended up playing the LP the whole time. I couldn't get the Strat to sound good and it just didn't feel right. My friend was pretty shocked because we were in a band together for about 4 years and I only played strats. He was my bass player when I played a LP for about 3 songs at a gig and then sold it the next day.
 
Chad said:
:grin:

You know probably 15 years, my main guitar was a strat. Then I didn't own one for about 15 years. I went to a friends house to jam and he had a Strat and an Epiphone Les Paul. I have never like Les Pauls but I ended up playing the LP the whole time. I couldn't get the Strat to sound good and it just didn't feel right. My friend was pretty shocked because we were in a band together for about 4 years and I only played strats. He was my bass player when I played a LP for about 3 songs at a gig and then sold it the next day.
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Funny how our tastes and preferences can change if we are not too stubborn to allow ourselves to recognize it.
 
dmn23 said:
Smurfco and I snagged the same Stupid Deal of the Day a while back—the Tribute Legacy. I don't know what he thinks about it but I've been knocked out by it, it's a fantastic guitar.
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I got one of the "Flame Maple" Legacy Tributes that were on sale at MF at the end of last year. It's a great guitar that'll take down any Fender/Squier Strat up to the MIM Classic Series (and those are about comparable in quality).
 
"Dumbass" is unkind - he has a lot of appropriately factual information and offers some opinions. I think comparing Standard to Standard is an appropriate comparison, because he is talking about branding as well as guitar components. Getting into all the variations on Strats would take much longer than 10 minutes.

I'm pretty FMIC-centric and generally find the MIA's to just be 'nicer' than other platforms, including the early 80's MIJ. OTOH, I've also found very, very little consistency -- when it comes to Fenders, you really have to play the instrument and see how good it is.

I have a MIM '94 tele that is a two piece (beautiful) body. Those early MIM years yielded some sweet, sweet guitars.

Some day I'd love to see an insanely long thread about FMIC's product management. They do so many things that make me crazy ... they come sooooooo close, then goof up, it's like the freaking Red Sox before 2004. I love 'em, BUT .....
 
Danhedonia said:
"Dumbass" is unkind - he has a lot of appropriately factual information and offers some opinions. I think comparing Standard to Standard is an appropriate comparison, because he is talking about branding as well as guitar components. Getting into all the variations on Strats would take much longer than 10 minutes.

I'm pretty FMIC-centric and generally find the MIA's to just be 'nicer' than other platforms, including the early 80's MIJ. OTOH, I've also found very, very little consistency -- when it comes to Fenders, you really have to play the instrument and see how good it is.

I have a MIM '94 tele that is a two piece (beautiful) body. Those early MIM years yielded some sweet, sweet guitars.

Some day I'd love to see an insanely long thread about FMIC's product management. They do so many things that make me crazy ... they come sooooooo close, then goof up, it's like the freaking Red Sox before 2004. I love 'em, BUT .....
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He's a dumbass because the answers are out there, easy to find, and he's like "I scoured the Intarwebnetz and really couldn't find anything." Then he still got shit massively wrong.

I mean, Cheesus Crust, there's multiple posts from me under this username on multiple forums regarding the differences, and that doesn't even touch all the other people that don't have their heads up their asses who've posted about the same stuff.
 
OK, so we're upset that you didn't get some sort of recognition? "Massively wrong" seems a bit, er, unkind.

Anyhow, I'm fairly sure that the grade of wood used for MIA guitars has to be better. Do you think?
 
dmn23 said:
Smurfco and I snagged the same Stupid Deal of the Day a while back—the Tribute Legacy. I don't know what he thinks about it but I've been knocked out by it, it's a fantastic guitar.
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Same here. Got a black one with maple neck and it's amazing. The PTB system has the most useful tone controls I've ever seen on a Strat, particularly the bass knob. Being able to essentially "dial in clarity" with that bass tone knob when using overdrive is wonderful.

I've played it so much and so hard in the month and a half since I got it that I've broken two high E strings. I generally only break a string every six months or so.
 
Danhedonia said:
OK, so we're upset that you didn't get some sort of recognition? "Massively wrong" seems a bit, er, unkind.

Anyhow, I'm fairly sure that the grade of wood used for MIA guitars has to be better. Do you think?
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No, I'm not upset that I didn't get recognition. I'm saying the guy says he scoured the internet and didn't find anything yet I can tell you it's out there because it's been put out there by me and many others.

And he's wrong. It's not untrue. The guy doesn't know what he's talking about and is being regarded as an expert. That's why the world sucks because we have fucking stupid people spouting bullshit while we slide into Idiocracy being a documentary.
 
I'm all for the idiocracy citation. I just had a different reaction - he voiced some opinions.

Would still hope for a response to my question about wood stock (the building ingredient, not the hippie love fest). American Fenders often just seem more "solid" to me, yet not heavier.
 
I've played some great Mexican strats. My Roadworn strat is mim and it plays better than most every strat I've had my hands on. That said, I've played some very nice MiA strats including a couple I own.

The comment about consistency is spot on; some play and sound better than others.

Interestingly I've found the squier brand to be very consistent for the last several years. For the price they really can't be beat.
 
Danhedonia said:
I'm all for the idiocracy citation. I just had a different reaction - he voiced some opinions.
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Yeah but he muddled a lot of his facts, and laymen could get easily confused and come to wrong conclusions. Don't get me wrong- I love my MIM Fenders and personally see no reason to spend my money on MIAs, but they ARE different.

Danhedonia said:
still hope for a response to my question about wood stock (the building ingredient, not the hippie love fest). American Fenders often just seem more "solid" to me, yet not heavier.
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Ensenada does its own CNC milling now, so it's entirely possible they're supplied with a different grade of wood blanks.
 
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