Not that there arent really good MIM Deluxes that rival MIA guitars, there are.After trying out a bunch of guitars 2 months ago (and i tried a bunch of MIA and MIM guitars) i will say that i ran across more consistancy in quality in the American ones.There seemed to be a larger percentage of MIA that felt and played good right off the wall.I really cant speak for your MIM deluxe since i have never heard it, but then again you have never heard my MIA guitars either.I did try a Deluxe Lonestar .Since i have an 03 AmericanSeries Texas Special Fat Strat i have something to compare it to .To me my TS played AND sounded better than the MIM version.The neck on mine is smoother and faster and it had more bark to it.

Hey all,
If by chance in some far away place it was deemed that "A" was better than "B" what difference does it really make... We all bought our gear based on what we thought was"best".. Just a thought

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

Absolutely i find no fault with mexican guitars at all, in their price bracket and yes they do challenge mexican guitars on occasion. Thats a good thing, right. I was lucky enough 14 years ago to find a mexican guitar i could mod to challenge any guitar on the planet, to my taste.


The better way to put it is, if fender raised the price of mexican guitars to that of american guitars, how many of us would still buy them?
Would I pay customshop/mia prices for mine? at the time i bought it NO. Would i pay customshop/mia price for it now? Hell no. Does it hold my heart as much as any other guitar i own and get played to a equal ammount? Absolutely.

If jackson or esp didnt consistently produce better guitars than their asian counterparts they would go bust, thats why they offer both lines. I just dont understand the mental blockage that stops people understanding that simple fact. Lets all buy Indie or Vintage instead of PRS and Gibson. After all its much the same material put together much the same way.

I strongly suggest everybody go and watch the film 'idiocracy'.

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No no and no

It beats me why all this is important enough to argue about. If you like it go play it, nomatter where it was made. This kind of thing isn`t going anywhere, and it never will. I`m outta here. Gotta go ENJOY my Mexican guitar

I dunno.....I have both an 06 MIM strat, and an 89 MIA standard, and I love them both. 89 is a llittle older than you guys are conversing about, and it we could probably start a whole new thread about quality of 80's strats anyways, but heres my point. I pick up the MIA, and it speaks to me in one way...and then I pick up the MIM and they're both Fender Strats, they look the same for the most part, yet they speak to me in completely different ways, and I get a completely different vibe from each one, and it comes out in my playing too.

A close friend of mine just bought one of the new MIA mahogany body strats, with the 2 point trem, roller nut and locking tuners...I've played it a few times, and I can see where the much higher price comes from when compared to the MIM guitars like mine, albeit my MIM is still a good guitar, yet at 3 times less cost, nobody in their right mind could expect a 400 dollar guitar to outshine a 1200 dollar guitar in every meticulous little aspect. If they were perfect for everyone, then we'd all be playing 2 tone sunburst strats with truss rods at the heel and 3 position switches...I bought my MIM because it was what spoke to me within my price range, someday when I get $$$ saved up, I'll have another MIA

Again I say read the specs on the Deluxe Players Strat. It Is As good Again I say I`ve tried a lot of Strats, both MIA & MIM. PLayed Guitar 35 years. Try one with a good setup, and you will be amazed, and may change your tune. There was a time that I was bigotted. Don`t want to waste money anymore if I don`t have to. This is a pro quality guitar \. Try one before you knock it

A few of us own both and have chimed in with thoughts on this. It just one of those things.

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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

Awesome links - thank you for posting. I actually posted this response in a different forum but it applies here. What do you think?

Hello!

Just thought I would chime in. I've been a Strat player for nearly 25 years and own many. I have to say that the MIM Strats are fantastic guitars. Some people are biased with regards to American Strats, and I understand; however, MIM Strats can easily be upgraded to world class professional instruments. I actually have one in Arctic White that resonates BETTER than any other guitar I've played - it just vibrates and sings. Fantastic guitar and a great value as well.

I do recommend the following - replace the pickups and swap out the tuners for locking ones (I use both Sperzel and Shallers on different guitars). Also, you may want to consider swapping the saddles for something else - I find that the little hex screws carve up my hand when the action is lowered (although I use the stock saddles and use a Dremel to grind these down a bit). The saddles like to move around (same with other vintage style bridges) - what I did was pull the saddle off first and stretch the intonation spring a bit (for a more secure fit), reattached, set my action and intonation, then flipped the saddle over and put some glue in there between the poles (Duco Cement) to keep the pole pieces from moving. Lastly I use 2 springs on the claw in the back and screw those puppies flat with the wood (the claw will be right up against the wood) so the vibrato sits flat against the body. It sounds awesome - killer sustain and vibration transmission to the top. No tuning problems whatsoever with the locking tuners (lube the nut with a little powdered graphite or Armor All)...

I actually prefer the smaller frets to what's on the MIA Strats; but I do love the feel of those as well. Just a matter of taste...

You'll love it - get a cream one with a maple fretboard - one sexy guitar

ALSO - I believe the necks are made here in the US and shipped to Mexico for assembly. The Mexican factory is right over the border from California - a few hours from the US Fender factory, which is why I think the quality control is so good there. Just my $.02...

Thanks,
CJR

When I was a guitar salesman at a California Guitar Center in the mid 90's I used to sell a lot of the MiM Guits and then the Accessory guys made sales because we would convince them that upgrading the electronics made it very much like an MiA guit,and thats very true. The main thing is to find one that feels right and if it sounds good go with it. If you want the american Elects go for it. I would talk people out of the Super Crap Indonesian models and the chinese ones were crap then too. The Koreans were very hit and miss,more misses I'm afraid. The MiMs were in fact as solid and well made as the MiAs.The usual differences were wood grade and electronics thats it. and the thing about that is you could see that 90s era MiMs were on par wood wise with old 50/60s fenders. The other thing that fender liked about the mexican factory was they didn't have the EPA standards that California/USA has and so the paints and finishes could be done in the old style as well.

Thats a valid point....I never even thought about that...

Well explained Niki! I don't know why it is so hard for some to understand![/quote]

To launch into a long-winded discourse in support of your question would do little to improve on Niki's analysis. Not to mention the fact that there are those of us in this camp who already know the answer

Doc

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"Another day in paradise!"

They can use the same paints in MIM or MIA whats regullated is th working condition in which the painting process is done. The old style was car paint

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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