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Post subject: Old MIM / MIM news?
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 9:38 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Location: From the Gaul
Hello, for personal information, never compare a standard MIM 95 with a 2017, does it have a difference in quality?
Here found 93.94,95 for about 350 € and I like the spirit of these MIM with the old logo and serial number in front.
I tend to like old (guitars!) I admit to be tempted.

Didier

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Sorry for my english, not good, i am of the country of Molière, Hugo, Zola ...


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Post subject: Re: Old MIM / MIM news?
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 10:11 am
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Newer MIM are lots better than older one. Go for 2016, 17


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Post subject: Re: Old MIM / MIM news?
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 10:44 am
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Mid '90s may be poplar bodies instead of alder. Most people don't hear a difference, and an individual poplar body may sound better than an individual alder body.

Mid '90s have the skinny trem inertia block. Newer ones have a bigger "high mass" block. In my experience steel blocks sound better than either MIM block and I'd consider replacing both old and new. With the exception that some guitars sound better than others -- some Strats with skinny or fat zinc blocks sound great.

New ones have full cavity shielding. '90s had no cavity shielding.

Body edge radius was smaller/tighter in the mid '90s. I prefer the looks of the rounder edge radius, but that's just cosmetic and personal preference.

Mid '90s have skinny "vintage" frets. Now they have medium-jumbos. Personal preference again.

Pickups -- specs haven't changed. Some people say their tone has changed over the years. Some people say they all sound the same. Others say they're inconsistent, even during the same model year.

Some pickguard companies used to say they couldn't guarantee their screwholes would be in the right places for MIM guitars. Current MIMs definitely have normal spec pickguards. I never read anything conclusive about which years (if any) had non-standard guards.

Obviously, a '90s guitar may have fretwear where a brand-new one should have no fretwear.

Not sure about pots and switches. Easy and pretty inexpensive to upgrade if needed.

Given that someone might want to change the pickups and trem block on any MIM Standard, if you find a good sounding '90s with healthy frets, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. Especially if "older" has appeal to you.


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Post subject: Re: Old MIM / MIM news?
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 12:08 pm
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Here's a nice view to older MIM's: Planetbotch on first MIM's

And here's a Fun Fender Fact; the bodies and necks of early MIM's were MIA... :mrgreen:


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Post subject: Re: Old MIM / MIM news?
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 2:38 pm
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jmattis wrote:
Here's a nice view to older MIM's: Planetbotch on first MIM's

And here's a Fun Fender Fact; the bodies and necks of early MIM's were MIA... :mrgreen:


Thanks, that planetbotch blog clears up when MIMs had non-standard pickguards.

Feb '94 the Mexican Ensenada factory was heavily damaged in a fire. They took advantage of the shutdown and rebuild to thoroughly revamp the whole production process -- management, machinery, training, QC procedures -- everything was rethought and reimplemented to address the build quality issues of the earliest MIM's.


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Post subject: Re: Old MIM / MIM news?
Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:44 am
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thank you for your response, as well as the interesting link.
I did not know the thickness of the block between old and new and the history of microphones.
So far, I was more attracted to the Classic Series 60s, the price in second hand being reasonable.
The reason is that the MIM Standart is on the metric side while the Serie Classic is on the odds in inch, so easier to upgrade.
For example, microphones of a US Standart will not pass in the pickgard of a Standart MIM but will pass on a Classic Serie, like the tremolo block.

Maybe I'm wrong ! :?:

Didier

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Sorry for my english, not good, i am of the country of Molière, Hugo, Zola ...


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Post subject: Re: Old MIM / MIM news?
Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 3:08 am
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Usually: any Strat pickups go into any Strats.
But sometimes (this happens more often on aftermarket pickguards) the pickguard holes need a little adjusting.
And some (like SCN) pickups are taller than regular, which may cause problems on vintage routed guitars where the routing may not be deep enough.


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Post subject: Re: Old MIM / MIM news?
Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2018 2:08 pm
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I have a special run made in Mexico in 1994. I also have a Jimi Hendrix which was MIM around 2017 or so, so I think I have some frame of reference. Both are great guitars but different in a bunch of ways.

1994
Great body shape, very comfortable and lightweight. I could be nuts, but I think the poplar becomes more alive every year. Sometimes it feels like the guitar is jumping out of my hands. I like poplar so much if I ever build a Warmoth, it is going to be that wood.
The pickups were ceramic and harsh. The bridge pickup was icepicky. I replaced them with Fat 50s pickups and replaced the cap with a 0.1 mfd Orange Drop. The pots and switch seemed fine so I left them. Now of course I know a guy who sells guitars who swears the old MIM ceramic pickups are the best thing ever, so your opinion might vary.
The tuners and hardware are great. Excellent, look and work exactly as the day they were new. They were made with quality metal.
The nut was cut a little high. I had a guy file it for me.
The neck has a nice piece of rosewood on it, nicer than you can get today unless you spend more money.
The screws in the bridge saddles were a little sharp. I replaced them with shorter screws.
The trem block is the thin zinc alloy kind. I thought about upgrading but I've bonded with the sound of the guitar over the years.
The frets are thin and the neck is very thin and the nut string spacing is a little narrow. Makes it harder to play some things and easier to play other things.

2017 - Jimi Hendrix
Amazing pickups. American Vintage '65. Weird upside down neck. More solid bridge and trem block. Much different guitar. Maple fretboard. I dunno, you can find a modern MIM anywhere. They're sweet guitars.

But give that old one a look if it's nearby.


Last edited by Wayne2 on Wed Aug 14, 2019 1:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Old MIM / MIM news?
Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 8:07 pm
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Awesome info on the 1990's MIM Strats!!! I just bought a 1995-1996 used mim strat on line from GC and will have it Friday. Silver logo. Serial # Mn56 Has locking tuners so I am sure it's been moded but don't know how much. It's sunburst with black pick guard, black pu covers and knobs. I have a 2004 squier strat body with a 2004 Fender neck and 2014 pickguard but the bridge and tremolo are Squier. Looking forward to having a whole MIM Fender Strat, rosewood fret. Thanks again for all the info and THANKS for the Lead Thread OP!


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Post subject: Re: Old MIM / MIM news?
Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 5:33 am
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stratele52 wrote:
Newer MIM are lots better than older one. Go for 2016, 17

I don't know...I have a 2012 and a 2015. Even in that 3 year span, I can hear and feel the difference in the two even though the pickup's are the same Alnico, and the trem blocks are the same Zinc. I even changed the block on the 15' to steel, and I STILL like the 2012 MUCH better.
I haven't played an MIM newer than 2015, so I don't know where they've gone from there...but I've played PLENTY of 2015 and below, and have found (for whatever reason) I like the fit, feel, and sound of MIM Strats manufactured from 2010 to 2015---so I'd have to go with "newer" over "older".

The 2009 Squire Bullet Strat I have is the only electric guitar I have with a Rosewood fretboard (and HSS configuration), and I kept this $99 guitar because of its' amazing feel. All-be-it, I moded the hell out of it, to include American pickups, pots, and switch. So (though it's not MIM), I suppose I can throw 2009 in there as well.

The MIM Strats I've played of the mid 2000's and the 90's didn't hold a candle to my 2012, so the 2012 is what I use to "set the bar".


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