If you are a modder, and want to drop some quality components in a MIM strat, you can create a guitar of your dreams. One thing I do like about the 2008 MIA Strats is the hand rolled edges on the neck. I think the necks are slightly better, IMO.

Ok, I've been playing strats for nearly 15 years now and I own or have owed anything under sun. Classics, customs, junk, Japs,US the whole deal. Take my word here the new MIM standards are the REAL DEAL! I have to say that I was NOT a fan of the previous model, but this guitar is a whole new ball of wax.

*Pickups are MUCH better than the last model- very little buzz. (still will change these... I change all stock pickups so take it for what it's worth) They are not as crisp as the US standars but it's a good sound.

*The neck is light years ahead for where it was. QUALITY neck w/ jumbo frets - unlike the thin wire from the past! Smooth fret ends as well. Great color as well. Not Pasty white like before.

*Trem block is THICK. They did not cheap out here, you get the full block.

Best fender on the wall for the money! Why they made these so well is a mystery to me. Why buy American w/ this? Patriotism perhaps? Cheers!

I love both !

I love Gibson's, they are great looking, and playing. I just think they are grossly over priced. Look at Les Pauls, go from a Studio to the next one up, and they charge an extra $1000 for what amounts to binding. I'm looking for an ES 335, and I cant believe how much they want for a plywood body guitar. I never thought Id feel this way, but it looks like for the price difference, im going with an Epi. There's not that much of a difference on that particular model, and least not enough to justify and extra $2000.

As I've said several times in the past, I'd like someone to offer concrete proof that the MIAs are better made, better woods, etc, and have better QC than the current MIMs. More features on the MIAs, yes; better quality than the MIMs, no. Since this forum began, no one has yet to show even a shred of evidence to my challenge. As a matter of fact, you see more and more posts where players state their MIMs rival the MIAs.

Having said this, I prefer the new MIMs over the new MIAs. Yes, I do; my #1 is a MIM. As a matter of fact, I sold my MIA because I never played it. To me, the MIM plays more like a 'traditional' Strat. And yes, I've changed out the OEM pickups to the DiMarzio Area series and the output jack to a Switchcraft (and the string set of course) but that's it. And like I've also said many times, MANY MIA players change out their OEM pickups and do all sorts of other mods to their MIAs as well, above and beyond what I've done.

So, Joe O'Hanlon, don't listen to the ilk who claim you have a, "second class Stratocaster". If your guitar didn't read, "Made in Mexico", your critic wouldn't be any the wiser and probably wouldn't have criticized your guitar at all.

The bottom line here is: We know what we have and for those who refuse to acknowledge the genuine worth of the current MIMs, it's their loss, not our's. Let someone else spend double for his or her MIA Strat where we can by two MIMs for the same price and be equally, if not more delighted. Oh, and with Fender's recent price increase, I'll bet you'll be seeing many more MIMs in players' hands in lieu of MIAs.

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You dig?

Again i will say you can't really just say "MIM" as a blanket statement because the MIM standard is a completely different animal than a MIM RI. The RI is not just almost as good as a MIA, the necks and bodies are AS good. In fact, they are the same necks and bodies used on the MIA RI's ! They are made in the USA plant and they simply use some for the MIA stuf and ship some of the necks and bodies to the mexican plant. the is where the difference begins....the MIM RI is sprayed and assembled in mexico. The differences are the finish being poly and the hardware and electronics are different. But lets look at what this means exactly..

1)-pickups....we change them on pretty much any strat, MIM or MIA, don't we/! Yes, i know some don't. But face it, most fanatics who post at forums like this eventually get fralins or van zandts or some other high end pickups. So the difference in pickups is not that big a deal, and to top it off some people actually prefer the MIM RI pups !

2)-nitro vs poly. I'll leave it at this....to me poly sounds not different except on some of the really cheaper models like squires or such with solid colors and super thick undercoats. My MIM RI's poly is so thin the finish actually sunk into the grain like it does with nitro finishes when it cured. Make your own conclusions, but the MIM RI poly finishes are pretty thin.

3)-hardware and pots. Ok, i'll grant you the pots aren't great. But they are ok, and it's only a few bucks for CTS. Bridges...i actually replaced my stock bridge after trying a calaham block because the calaham was too bright and the guitar sounded fuller with the zinc block. Tuners...i always replace them with locers anyways, but the stock ones were fine.

That said, to me a strats hardware and pickups and all that are like tires on a car. the wood is the car. if the wood is good you can put great tires on it and have a great car. If the wood isn't good, forget buying good tires....you can't polish a turd. but the point is, the bodies and necks on the MIM RI's ARE MIA stuff ! So with a few changes you can have a MIA tho with poly, and outfit it how you want. the kicker is you not only pay 1/2 the price or less, but as i said in another thread i have seen far more nice pieces of wood in the MIM RI's than the MIA RI's, seriously ! Now, if you wanna talk MIM standard vs MIA, thats a whole other story. Those bodies and necks ARE made in mexico and as many as 7 pieces for the bodies. So don't just say MIM vs MIA....say MIA vs MIM RI or MIM standard because you cannot lump those 2 together and access them both as the same thing.

my 2006 MIM standard strat is a 3 piece alder body.
i have never seen a 7 piece body. maybe befor 2006
but not 2006 to present MIM bodys are 3 to 4 piece alder
bodys thats what i have seen. like i said maybe befor 2006
they were that many pieces but not now.

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sombody get me a doctor!

I own 4 fender guitars. A hotrod, a custom shop, a baja tele and a £200 95 MIM. Ive widely stated across this forum that i prefer my MIM. Its robust, plays well and i've had the thing so long everything else feels a bit strange in comparrison.

Its a bit like an old pair of shoes. Its not as shiney as the new gucci's but so comfortable you cant be parted.

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No no and no

well, i can't say when that changed or whether it's been the same since day one. But i did see some pics at another forum of body blanks stacked up at the mexico plant for standard bodies and they were all about 7 piece. It also may be that they use bodies with less pieces for sunburst bodies. But the RI's are definatly fewer pieces, as they are made in the USA as i said and are from the same stock as the MIA RI's. I not only read that several places, but i asked a fender parts guy about this and he confirmed it. i would assume the MIM made bodies for the standards are made with whatever they have at the moment and can be less pieces or more depending on what they have available at the moment. But with the USA/MIM-RI stuff that obviously cannot happen of no one would buy MIA fenders.

I would not call working the ground and shielding and then replacing the ceramic pickups with new pickups, blocking the trem then replacing the bridge for another a tiny bit of a tweek to your MIM guitar.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

I just recently bought a new guitar and i got a chance i tried out quite a few.I tried out MIM deluxe players,standards, classic players,a lonestar ,a roadhouse and a few american standards .I was really interested in the lonestar because i have an American Texas Special Fat Strat from 03 and i wanted to see the differences.I think for 599 it was a pretty nice guitar. The noticable difference was the neck.The fretboard edges werent rolled like my MIA.If i ran hand along the edge of the lonestar the frets stuck out and caught on my hand.I moved on to the standard.Same thing, i looked at the neck pocket and there was a noticable gap there.Tried the classic player and i really liked the finish on it (i think it was a crimson red) had some capability for some pickup selection).Same thing with the neck with the frets.Seemed the problem was even worse with some fret sprout .I even tried a roadworn and the fret sprout was even worse than the others, but i really liked the pickups.Checked out the American Standard and tried a rosewood and maple neck.I already have 2 rosewood ,so i wanted to see if the maple was something i wanted.Both the MIA were set up really nice,the necks felt really nice and broken in.Really nice tone.I bought the MIA at the end of the day because i really liked the feel of the neck and i love the sound of the pickups.I learned later that the main differences between the MIA and the MIM is the neck has the rolled edges,they have a biflex truss rod andthe micro tilt option.To alot of people that doesnt mean anything, but when you set it up it gives you more flexibility.I also felt (and this is just my opinion), the MIA quality was slightly more consistant.Neck pockets were tighter and of the MIA strats i picked up , none of them had fret sprout.Also found out that the trem block in the MIA has more mass than the MIM meaning more sustain and improved tone.Some would say they like the feel of their MIM neck over the MIA , but is it because it fits in your hands better because it has a different profile and radius or because its better constructed?I am not saying that the MIM is a cheap guitar, its by far the best bang for your buck , but there is a reason Fender charges more for a MIA .Its everyones individual choice whether they think its worth it or not.

Well said bglo. Its nice to have someone explain there thoughts process and how they come about there conclusion instead of just saying its like this because I said so. The fun is in the search for the one that feels good to each individial. I also like the rolled fretboard and other bells and wistles as some have called them myself. We also have several MIM's here in the house and they are nice guitars as well. But there are differences between the models and there are reasons as to the cost differences between them.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

same old same old! Apparently FMIC uses superior parts and and believes that the MIA's are of better quality thus the difference in price. They provide guitars in different price ranges so that all economic levels of buyers can afford one. I don't see why this is so hard to comprehend!
And they are all good guitars!!!

the bottom line is that todays MIM strats are
quality guitars and are worthy of the pro player.
you can sit here and pick it apart like it dont have
this and it dont have that neither did the MIA strats
of the 50's/60's/70's/80's. the MIM strat is a very well
crafted guitar and since 2006 there much better.
i have a 2006 standard MIM strat the only modds
i did was change pickups and i tell you it blows my
2008 american standard right off the stage. the
MIM has better sustain/tone and i like the feel better
than the MIA. end of story!

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sombody get me a doctor!

I am very happy for you BECAUSE you have what makes you happy. All I'm saying is that there are models for everybody. I think it is a good thing that people have different taste and Fender is providing models for all to enjoy. BTW, I'm looking at a MIM or MIK tele for myself. So please don't take my post personally. I'm not arguing just glad of all the choices. I Have never put down anyone's guitar as I'm happy for them. Have a good day Alwaysstrat!