What are the differences between an American Strat and a Strat made in Mexico?

good question - I asked the same and was told by a blues player from the US >there's no recognizable difference for me. the way you play makes the difference!<

In my opinion it's all about marketing.
any other opinions or experiences?

btw I have a stantard strat built in Mexico

I believe they use the same materials and hardware in both plants, with the same high standard of quality. The primary difference is cachet or "mojo".

Mexican Strats don't tend to hold their value over time, while American-made Strats fare somewhat better on the resale market.

I've noticed also that there are often differences in color options between
Mexican and American Strats. For example, the American Standard Strat is available in Sienna Sunburst, 3-tone Sunburst, Candy Cola, Olympic White, Charcoal Frost Metallic, Blizzard Pearl, and Black finishes...while the Mexican Standard Strat is available in Brown Sunburst, Chrome Red, Arctic White, Midnight Wine, Black, and Electron Blue finishes. Black is the only color the two Strats have in common. <g>

Cat Daddy

Well, I think that the pickups are really different. but the biggest difference is that people in mexico are not as muched payed than people in the US. So if a guitar is 3 times more expensiv than an other , it's that the guy who makes it is 3 times more payed , even if the guitars are almost the same.

I have both American Standard and MIM. The differences between them are usually lesser quality pick-ups and hardware.

i have a mim and an am. deluxe and the american is just much smoother to play. love the pups in the american and i love the neck on it, very smooth. with that said, the mim is still a strat and it still plays like a strat , either way you can't go wrong strats a strat

There are alot of differences actually.Run your hand along the fretboard of an American and you will see the first one.Hardware and pickups are better ,the hardware in the AS is stainless steel.Better tuners .The AS has more mass in the trem block which gives it better tone and sustain.The body has a 3 piece as opposed to a 7 piece alder which makes it lighter.The AS aleo comes with a ice hardshell case and the MIM does not.The MIM strats are nice guitars for the money,but to think they are the same guitar only built with cheaper labor is not really accurate.I find the AS to play and sound smoother than the MIM.Not that the MIM doesnt sound pretty good in itself.

To me the biggest difference between an Am and a MIM is the pickups and the bridge. Now I have to admit that I haven't played a new MIM in a while...mine is a '96, so please take my comments as a bit subjective, but on the older MIM's, the pickups really sucked. Honestly, the pups that are in my new $200 Squire are better than the pups that came in my MIM. That said, pups are very easy to change . For a while I had a set of Fender Vintage Noiseless pups in her and this last summer I put in a set of Duncan Rails...she's a real screamer now.

Also, as I said, the bridge is another serious issue with the MIM's...or more specifically, the trem block. Again here I don't know if they're still doing this the same way (I would assume so), but the trem block on my MIM was some sort of rather thin, cheap Zinc alloy...really tends to kill the sustain. Again here though, it's an easy change. I was able to pickup a steel trem block from Callaham and whewwww doggie, what a difference!

Another thing... my MIM was also made of Poplar where the Am's were almost always Alder. I really don't know if this is still true or not as the MIM's could be Alder now. Either way, to me this really isn't a huge issue at all....issues like those above contribute considerably more to the tone of the instrument than the whole alder vs poplar debate (in my always and ever so humble opinion).

I saw someone had mentioned the tuners as well but honestly my '96 had the same tuners as the Am's (except the Am's with the Sperzal locking tuners of course). I've really never had ANY problem at all with my tuners. I have done some other mods on my MIM as well over the years...I added an LSR roller nut (a big mistake...not worth the money), replaced the string T's with rollers, upgraded the caps and pots, etc.. Most of that other stuff though was really more impulsive than anything else. I would mention however that my '96 MIM has the nicest neck I've ever played, bar none. I really love the feel of that neck and always have, which is why I bought that guitar back in 1996.

Also...while what budglo said in regards to the cost of labor not being the only difference -is- true, I also have to add that the cost of labor -DOES- play a major role as far as the price of the instrument goes. I'm sorry to say it but American workers, even skilled craftsman, are typically greedy buggers who often seem to think they deserve to make more money than the rest of the world. I've played many American Standards over the years and I currently own an MIM and a Squire Standard that was "Crafted in China". We're talking instruments costing roughly $1000, $400 and $200 respectively and as far as the actual craftsmanship goes...I'm sorry but there really isn't that big of a difference. Again in my humble opinion, the work and detail that had gone into my $200 is certainly on par with a $1000 Am Std....that cost of labor does play a very big role in the price of the instrument.

The way I look at it is this... If you're one of those people who somehow seems to think that something "made in the USA" is always superior to everything else -and- you have the extra money, get an American Standard...they are great guitars and the for the extra $600 you'll have some wonderful bragging rights. On the other hand, if you're just a guitar player and don't mind putting a little work into your ax to build something truly great (not to mention personal), the MIM's are wonderful instruments and for the price difference you can upgrade your MIM to the same quality as an AM and still have lots of money left over. Personally, I'm a guitar player...if I had $1000 to spend on a new guitar right now, this very day, I'd go with an MIM, get the new pups and trem block, then spend the rest on pedals and maybe a nice dinner or two .

Just my $.02 for what it's worth,
Jim

I have read here in the archive, that MIM's are made in Mexico by Mexicans, And MIA's are made by Mexicans in America. This may be just a joke I think.

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+1

I always find there is a different feel between the American and the Mexican. The American just seems better integrated and easier to play.

Yes, the differences between the current MIA and MIM are significant and ARE worth paying for. The main things that are are better on the MIA:
- More detailed "richer" neck (w/ 22 frets)
- Better pups
- Better bridge
- Much larger selection of finishes
- Awesome HSC

But let's boil all that down. So if you get a MIM and (a) change out your pups like most of us do, and (b) not use your trem like most of us do, how different is the MIM from an MIA then? That's right ... the details in the neck are really the only notable difference. And considering how well constructed and sturdy the MIMs are made (and they are), there becomes only a fairly small gap in playability between an MIA and a MIM ... if any. For me, I know that my modded MIM Std will take the Pepsi challenge against any MIA, because it is just that good. And I am far from the only one.

That is where all the debate comes from. But keep in mind, I still think it is better to get the MIA if you can. But if not, a hotrod MIM can definitely give the MIA a run for the money.

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i have a MIM and a AS and there in not a big difference in quality that i can notice other than the pickups and the bridge block. they both sound good though.

Hi,
I have a MIM strat and have an opportunity to upgrade to American standard pups at a good price. Will it make a big difference in the sound on my MIM with the new AS pups?
thanks

If the only felt difference is in the neck,i would have to say that to me the neck is the most important part on the guitar because it totally affects how i approach my playing.I have decided against certain guitars because of the neck.To me the neck makes or breaks a guitar.Also the tremblock seems like such a small thing,but it is one of the biggest factor in sustain and tone.I have an American Series made with the older trem block and the difference in tone is huge.Someone called American workers greedy.As one of those American workers,i dont think i really deserve t o make more than the rest of the world,but in Mexico most of the people live in poverty.I believe they actually believe they deserve to make alot more than they do,but they have an oppressive and corrupt government to keep them down.Theiremployers pay them peanuts because they can get away with it ,not because they arent good at wat they do.