I have several mim including a classic player 60s which is a fine gutiar. The classic player 60s I agree is better than my Am strat but not even close to my Am 62 ri over the past 5 years I have owned about 20 different strats. I currently own 7 strats, which are 1 mim standard, 1 50s road worn, 1 Jimmy Vaughan, 1 60s classic player, 1 Hwy 1, 1 am 62 ri, 1 mij. Plus several other non fenders. Everyone likes there own gutiar and thinks its the best which to them Im sure it is but quality is quality.

BigJay: nobody suggested going to the police, for moral reasons (however "superficial" you may assume someone else's moral code to be) or otherwise, because no one thinks this guitar is stolen. As I pointed out, thousands of MIM owners in the 90s and beyond have scraped the serial number off because they felt insecure about their "inferior" MIM instruments, and this is a much more likely scenario. (Whole threads on other guitar forums were dedicated to clean removal of offending "Made In Mexico" indicators.)

The OP is being needlessly worrisome. Odds are high in favor of the guitar being exactly what the seller said it: a 90's MIM Strat with the serial number removed by some loser who felt bad every time he saw that little "M." And if you find a good 90's MIM, then lucky you.

Also, playability isn't associated the "quality" (or that popular "the more you pay, the more it's worth" syndrome). If this guitar plays better than his '52, that only means that he likes the neck shape better, he prefers the feel of the neck finish , or the guitar simply has a more pleasing set-up. It for sure doesn't mean it's a "better" (read: more expensive) guitar.

Police just do paper work and might keep the guitar for one of their friends.

As the one who initiated this conversation, I want to thank all of you for your comments. I took the guitar to a luthier for some electronics work. Turns out he is very knowledgeable on the MIM strats (he owns one of the reverse head stock strats, the Jimi Hendrix tribute model). He is pretty sure it is a 50's style reissue, due to the vintage keys and bridge. Those are MIM models that sell for a premium over the regular models.

As for the playability of my '52 reissue hot rod tele, the playability difference is certainly affected by the neck shape, with the '52 having a U-shape neck. I tweeked the setup out of the box, but overall it was pretty good. I plan to take it to my luthier for a pro setup. After that, I may change my tune, (pun intended).

So after all of this, I am inclined to think (as one of you put it) that what I have is exactly what was advertised: a MIM strat with the serial number removed.

Yes, grasshopper has a lot to learn ...

Big Jay,

My initial question was what would you do, not what should I do. I expected to get a wide range of commentary, which I did. In the end, the only indication I have that the guitar might have been stolen is a missing serial number. After considering everything posted, I decided that there really isn't enough evidence to call the police, get the Craigslist seller involved, wasting the cops' time and creating an unfair inconvenience for a kid who was totally upfront about the source and condition of the guitar.

Thus, I am moving on. Again I appreciate everything offered by the forum, which in the end, convinced me not to do something fruitless and stupid.

John

+1

To get the seriel number, pull the neck off. They put the seriel number at the heal of the neck, and also most of the time under the pickguard in the pickup or control cavity. I had a 2 month old American Dlx stolen back in september, so believe me I know where to look. 95% of the time if the serial number has been removed, it's stolen, and most of the time although they remove the number from the headstock, they'll neglect to take it off of the rest of it.