Well, if you do a search, you will find about a Gazillion opinions on this very subject.

The best advise anyone can give you on this, would be to play as many of the guitars that you are interested in, and eventually one will find you. If you find the right sound and the right feel, and you really like it. What difference will it make where its made or what its made of. Just my 2 cents.

Good Luck with the hunt

Bill

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

I think you need to figure out what you want in a guitar. A good guitar player can make a 100 dollar guitar sound good and a bad guitar player can make a great guitar sound bad. MIA, MIM, MIJ doesent matter. Its all in what you like. I have 7 strats and like every one. I have a 50s road worn that I like and a MIA vintage 62 RI I LOVE. Each one is different but what I really like is a rosewood neck C shape with 11 strings. Go play diff guitars find a few and spend some time playin them and don,t worry about where its made and what it cost. Going from a road worn to a CS is a huge leap. Theres alot in between. Check out the 57 and 62 RI. There very nice guitars and not as expensive as a CS.

You got to get a VG STRATOCASTER
Don't know what it is? go to the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA442Cqzaxk

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Squire Strat
Jasmine Takamine
Cherry Red American Standard Strat

The MIA Std has these advantages (primarily) over a MIM:
- Better pickups
- 22 frets and more-detailed neck and fretboard
- Better bridge
- Beautiful hardshell case
- Better finish selection
- Higher end small components

What you seem to be discovering is how good MIMs are. Welcome to the club. If the above list does not warrant plunking down for the MIA, then get a MIM and call it a day. I have a modded MIM Std that is just a screamin' guitar. That all being said ... if the funds are available, I think the extra money for the MIA is worth it.

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

I'm not sure how other people feel about this, but I tend to think you should play the cheapest guitar that you think sounds good until you can concretely identify 3 or 4 things you don't like about it. That way when shopping for a new guitar you'll know to look for specific things. For example:

Realizing you hate a glossy neck
Realizing you almost cut your fingers on protruding frets
Realizing the neck is too thick/thin
Discovering that the guitar is too heavy


These things make take a while to figure out and there's no sense spending a lot of money on a better guitar if you don't know exactly why you're buying it. But of course, that's just my opinion.

..

In the long run. It comes down to what you like. The V neck of my 50's Strat is one of the things I like best about it.

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-Classic 50's Strat.
-Std. Telecaster.
-Mike Dirnt P-bass.
-Custody of SE Strat.
-Peavey Predator/Dean Evo/Epiphone DR150/Gibson Slide (much older than me).

Rellik Productions Inc.

Playing is definitely required. He can put the specs side by side, but it will never tell you everything. Its one of those "greater than the sum of its parts". Ive owned both MIA, and MIM, and if you were to look at the specs side by side, it wouldnt seem like much, but there was a huge difference IMO to me. You can pickup a MIM Standard, and American Standard, and just holding them you'll see a difference right away. good luck.

I actually think the new standard strats are really good...

Koo, how long have you been playing? What do you play?

I've been playing for 10 years and I've never even held a Custom Shop guitar. I love my American Standard and the pick ups/wood selection/2 point bridge/Staggered Tuners are the obvious upgrades over MIM guitars, and especially over my old Ibanez GIO I began with. THAT was a huge upgrade..the wood was way too soft and dented easily, and it didn't resonate the way my American Standard does.

Another thing to consider is that Mexicans lose their value pretty quickly.

Anyway, how long have you been playing?

Before you make the jump to Custom Shop, check out the American Deluxe series. My Deluxe V-Neck start and Deluxe Tele are two of the best playing guitars I've had and I've owned some nice one's.

As far as the difference in MIM to MIA, the body materials are generally the same but the MIM will more than likely be a 3-piece body and the MIA will be a 2-piece. MIAs do use higher quality components and pickups. Electronics and switches should be the same. When you get to the Deluxes, the setup and attention to detail i.e. frets, nut etc... will be a bit better and, for me, very noticeable.

Good luck in your search!

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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

started when I was 15 until I was 20 quit for 15 years started back about a year ago been learning lot of sweep picking and stevie ray licks

I play a 1985 contemporary fender stratocaster great for shredding need that real fender sound u know ive got 4 mexicans there pretty good but I want a real fender something that is just perfect no modifying all stock from the way it looks feels plays and sounds

If you can find a Classic Series 50s strat, make sure you try it out. They are MIM and have vintgage hardware and a soft V neck. A great combination for me. Mine has a bright low output pickup in the neck position, some kind of vintage staggered pole pice pickup in the middle and a Seymour Duncan split rail in the bridge.