Hello from Ireland ! well guys i have a USA strat white with rosewood neck, and a mex strat sunburst with rosewood neck, heres the thing, i changed the bridge on the mex and put in scn pickups, i had the guitar properly earthed and shielded and i blocked the trem, it turned out to be a pretty decent guitar and i have no problems gigging it alongside the USA strat, the USA on the other hand is louder and a little more twangy but i have to say the two guitars compliment each other very well, i have even retired my 1976 gibson les paul custom because the strats are lighter and the necks are faster, i had a fender snob come up to me at a gig the other night and say to me "oh i see you only have a mexican strat, couldnt afford the real thing?!" so i pulled the US out and said "oh you mean one of these?" for what its worth the mexican strats can be a super guitar if you tweek them up just that tiny bit, i like them, thats my two cents worth,,,,,rock on

That's why I bought MIA strat
I'm not good at tweeking guitars

i hate people like that, mim strats are very often on par with some mia ones,

they ARE real strats.

i hate guitar snobs, if MIN strats were crap they wouldnt have FENDER on the headstock, just for the record

1976 gibson les paul custom
1978 gibson les paul standard
1972 MIA strat all black maple neck - same same the edge for sale
1986 gibson les paul studio
1980 Pearl start copy with 3 gibson humbuckers
2002 MIM strat
2002 MIA strat
1990 MIJ strat 3/4 size built in amp rare and plays great
Aria Pro factory custom made
takamine x 2 acoustic
Cort acoustic
Rickenbacker - john lennon

thats just some of the guitars i own and have collected over the years, i gig my MIM strat and my USA strat. Why ? because i can.

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12 guitars 2 hands not fair!

most mim's are better than a lot of strats from the 70's, QC and materials are much better. plus up until recently mim parts were made in the USA and assembled in Mexico, not sure about now though

to you just a MIA guy or gal.
its time to come into reality about
the MIM strat. i did back in 2006.
Breaking news! THE MIM STRAT!
gives the MIA strat a run for its money
period end of story. the 2006 to present versions
i would match to most MIA's strats any day any time.
i used to feel the same way until 2006 when i played
one and tore it down and saw with my own two eyes
just how well the MIM is crafted.

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sombody get me a doctor!

fender mexico has a state of the art building for
a few years now
everything corona has so does MEXICO.

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sombody get me a doctor!

I have both MIA and MIM and I equally love them both.

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08 American Strat - Blizzard Pearl
04 MIM Strat - Black Maple Neck
07 Gibson SG - Heritage Cherry
11 Gibson Les Paul Studio 60's Tribute GT
Martin Acoustic - 00CXAE
Marshall Class 5 Head
Blackstar HT5 Combo
Mustang V Head
Behringer AT108

same here. i have and play both everyday.

My first strat. LOVE it. HAd it for a year. Have played many MIA strats, and for the money, can't be beat. I am used to spendy Gibsons. Mine is an HSS.

its great to see how many of you guys out there are not guitar snobs, truth be known my MIM strat feels better than my US strat, a guy who plays in a band in dublin plays a squire and i,ll be honest he gets a great sound out of it. He loaded it up with fender lace pick ups and it sounds nice, he does a very convincing version of Gary Moores Still got the blues. I used to use my les paul for Parisienne Walkways but i can get the same thump and tone out of my US strat. I find the MIM has a great tone for Dire Straits Sultans of swing. let me know what settings you guys use for what songs, i use marshall pedals through a marshall combo and im happy with that.

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12 guitars 2 hands not fair!

There's no doubt that AMerican strats use better quality components and have better quality control. That being said, MIM strats are very well put together, and are a good value and excellent guitar for the $$$. I do prefer American (owning both kinds), but I dont think they justify the price difference. Im playing a MIM reissue now that I've modified to the hilt, actually, the body and neck are the only thing original on it. SPrezel locking tuners, Callaham bridge setup, DImarzio Area 58's in the neck and a Area 61 in the bridge( which I have to say after playing almost every single coil, noiseless and regualar, I've come to be of the opinion that they are the BEST noisless pickup you can get for a strat), new Dimarzio pots with a push/pull on one of the tone pots that allow me to turn on the bridge pup seperately and play it either with all three (which I never do), or with the neck/bridge (which I love, gives it a bit of Tele snap). I have to say this strat far surpasses the American Deluxe I played before. I will be changing the neck soon, the vintage neck radius really hampers the way I play due to the fact I cant bend as high as I want.
I digress, MIM's are great built guitars, and if you want to hotrod your guitar, the price puts them in the range for those of us who dont have the funds to buy a $1000 AM std (or $1200 whatever ridiculous price they charge now). I really dont get into Squires, I dont like basswood (or pressed plywood on earlier ones).

So far, I haven't really found a MiA Strat that can properly compare to my MiM. Except for a VG and a Highway One that I've played with before. Other than that though...(no offense to MIA fans.)

Maybe I've just grown so much to my own tone. Who knows.

I went out today to the guitar shop, went and tested out a guitar, 2 hours later i left the shop pleased that i just reserved the MiM

One thing i always liked about Fender is there is something in there for most peoples tastes and budgets.Unlike Gibson and Epiphone that are world apart in quality, Fender takes pride in the MIM line too.I have 2 mia guitars and a SRV strat, but i think the MIM line are great guitars and for the price the MIM guitars blow me away.Really good quality for the money . I wouldnt be afraid to gig with one at all.