I would just swap the electronics. I put Burstbuckers and Gibson pots in a Epi Les Paul. Wow it's like night and day. Have fun and make it the way you want it.

Thanks gang! You have simultaneously pumped me up to hot rod this little gem and look for a MIA strat. Fender reps are smiling somewhere..

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Proud Fender addict! Still looking for perfect amp!
Classic Player 60's, Standard Strat, Highway One Texas Tele, '57 Twin-Amp, '63 Reverb, Blues Deluxe w/ ext cab, Champion 600

correct me if im wrong. i believe the question was to do mods/upgrade or trade up. if it were me i would see what kind of deal i would get on a trade in. if they try to rip you than do the upgrade. imo mia over mim anyday.

If you are truly satisfied with the way your MIM Strat feels and plays, then most definitely go for the upgrades. You will literally have your own signature guitar and will take a lot of pride in it.

Sure, after everything is said and done, it might very well have cost you the same as an American one (or possibly even more for that matter) but even with an American one, you would have to accept what does and doesn't come on/in it and would probably wind up modding that to a degree too, as the vast majority of us ultimately wind up doing.

At the risk of redundancy, I honestly feel that MIMs are the perfect platform for building one's own signature guitar upon. This is what I do and I've never come close to the threshold of what an American one costs. Remember too, just because some American Strats have all the, "bells and whistles", it doesn't necessarily follow that all that stuff is required (or even necessary) for our total, personal satisfaction of a given guitar. Unless of course, "snob appeal" is truly an issue.

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You dig?

You almost always get smoked on a trade in.

Almost?

Recently, the GC near me was having a big push on buying used stuff. I asked them how much they would buy back a dead mint, ash bodied, MIM Strat for. They told me $174. I then asked how much they'd give me for a Martin DM-1 in the same mint condition. I was told $194. Further (per them), these prices were predicated on trading in for a higher value guitar and if I simply wanted to, "cash out", it 'certainly' would be less. Incidentally, an accompanying hardshell case was mandatory.

Obviously, this is a disgrace but I pushed the issue further for their reasoning. The long and the short of it was that they were only paying a maximum of half the price of their cost for a new one, premising it was a flawless instrument and if it was bought there. They in turn would sell these flawless, used ones at their dealer cost price with a 30 day warranty. Guaranteed, the hardshell case would be extra.

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You dig?

I say almost because I have gotten good deals from my local music store in Philly. In 76 I traded my 73 Bandmaster and 200 bucks for a new 100 watt Twin Reverb that I still have. I still deal with him all the time. I won't deal with a huge chain.

Nice!

See, that's the problem (at least around here) these days. There are no local stores anymore who appreciate you as a human being and are willing to continually earn your on-going patronage. I've already written such things off as a sign of the times.

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You dig?

Bennie's been in business for about 40 years. None of the big stores can match his price or service.

Can anyone tell me if this is true, I read somewhere that all strat necks are US made, including the MIM strats?

Do Fender ship them to Mexico for assembly?

Thats where I am lucky I have 5 local stores near me and all are in a 1/2 mile stretch. Bills Music House since 1965 I have never been in a shop that has more guitars then them and Paul Reed Smith is even there at times. Jims Guitars if you want to see the largest group of 50's 60's 70's guitars for sale thats the place. Beat Street Music one of the largest B.C. Rich dealers there is. Appalachian Bluegrass Shoppe since 1960 accoustic paradise. The Guitar Exchange place to look for occassional deal.

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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

MIMs are a great platform as long as you like the way they play. In an attempt to be fair and informative as far as cost goes, here was my experience:

MIM Deluxe Super Strat (now Player's Strat) $550
Fret Level and complete setup $175
Custom Shop 54 pickups $150
Hardshell Case - An inexpensive one $50
Ping Tuners - Originals lacked tuning stability $40
Pots and Switch - Kept originals in old pickguard $30
Pickguard - Didn't care for color $20

All for a total of $1015. BTW, that's doing all the electronic work myself, so if you need someone else to do it, factor that in as well.

Add in the many pickups I tried before and ended up swapping out and selling, I had a net loss of about $100 bring the total to $1115.

After all of this, I had a guitar that I still wasn't completely happy with the playability. I ended up finding an American Deluxe V-Neck on e--- for $850 (they average around $950) in near mint condition. I replaced the pickups for $175, have not had to do anything with the setup and I have absolutely no issues with it. All for a total of $1025.

Since I no longer wanted my MIM, I was only able to sell it for a whopping $400. Do the math, which makes more sense.

As far as "snob appeal", if that's what the opinion is of those of us who prefer the way Americans play over MIMs, so be it. Just be fair to those who have simply asked other's opinions on what they should do before sinking money into their guitar. No need to bash others who have given opinions that may not agree with yours. I don't think anyone would say that the MIMs are inferior guitars, they are genuine Fender Strats! They simply do not have the same quality of components as the Americans nor do they receive the same amount of attention in their setup.

Conclusion: MIM Strats are a great way to get into a Strat for not a whole lot of money. If you are planning on buying one with the intentions of upgrading, based on my experience, I would strongly suggest reconsidering. You owe it to yourself to play an American Deluxe or Standard a few times and decide if there is something to them or if their owners are just snobs.

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2004 American Deluxe V-Neck Strat w/Kinman Blues
2007 American Deluxe Tele w/Kinman Broadcasters
Mesa Boogie Lonestar Classic 2X12
Fender Cyber-Twin SE

A couple of things here on the cost:
1a) "Setup": MIAs don't seem to come any better setup out of the box than a MIM. So, if you are buying from the Internet or store that won't tweak your setup, this cost is applicable for both MIM and MIA.
1b) "Fret Leveling": I would not even buy a new guitar that required fret leveling. I would have returned it at that point. There should be no need to spend any money on a new git for this.
2) "Ping Tuners": The tuners that come on the MIMs are good quality. They definitely do not demand a change out.
3) "Pots and Switch ": Here is another one where the components of the MIM are perfectly good. They can also easily be moved to the new pickguard with no muss, no fuss.
4) "Pickguard": The difference between MIA and MIMs here is not that great. This is applicable equally to MIM and MIA. You can't fairly count this as purely a MIM-upgrade item.

Result:
Custom Shop 54 pickups $150
Hardshell Case - An inexpensive one $50

HOWEVER:
The other thing to keep in mind is that many MIA owners swap out their pickups, too. This then results in the only applicable charges to the"MIM upgrade" ais the $50 case...

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

I am glad that many players have had great success and are very pleased with the MIM strats they modified and made their own. My experience was less than favorable and my intent was to give ccsdurf an example of what could happen should be decide to modify his MIM. He stated "The action could be better, and the neck isn't A+ either... but it is my first love". These were my sentiments exactly. As I have stated before, if you like the way your MIM plays, then modifying it is a great way to go. This does not seem to be the case with ccsdurf.

I am a bit perplexed by the notion that because others have had success with their MIMs should make everyone's experience the same or that the things I did were unecessary. I wish my tuners would have held tune better, I wish that my MIM didn't need the work I put into it in an attempt to make it play better. I wish that everything that I did made it play like my Deluxe. Quite simply and plainly, it didn't.

I very glad that my experience seems to be a limited one. I just feel that if someone asks advice they should be able hear from both sides and decide for themselves without others trying to discount an opinion or experience that differs from theirs.

I am a bit curious. Had I given my experience, recounted everything I did and the cost. Had I ended up with a different result, having a guitar that played the way I wanted. Had I not said that I found my Deluxe to be a better playing guitar. Would that have made a difference in your responses or opinions? I would certainly hope not, we all love Strats, we all play Fenders.

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2004 American Deluxe V-Neck Strat w/Kinman Blues
2007 American Deluxe Tele w/Kinman Broadcasters
Mesa Boogie Lonestar Classic 2X12
Fender Cyber-Twin SE