Can anyone give me anyfeedback on a 1990 Mex Strat? RE: Comparison to today's mex model? Fret size comparison? Pickup/ sound opinions? Playability? Tremolo quality/adjustments? Tuners? brand/type? Any other feedback would be appreciated

Well, since no one else has given you an answer yet, here's my $.02 worth...

I have a '96 MIM and let me say first and foremost that I love that guitar! I have 23 guitars total and my MIM is my "#1". That said, I have also done -a lot- of work on my MIM over the years as well. When I first got my MIM new in 1996, right off the bat I knew there were a couple of issues. Right off the shelf, the pickups were terrible...and from the new MIM Standards I've played at Guitar Center, they still are. So that said, when my MIM was new, the sound really wasn't the greatest at all. I bought mine very simply because I loved the feel...I knew I could change the sound but the feel...either it's there or it's not. At one point I had a set of Fender Vintage Noiseless pups in her which were a significant improvement over the stock MIM pups but now I have Duncans all the way around and she just screams! The one piece of advice I give anyone interested in an MIM is to be prepared to get new pickups. To be honest here, both of my Squire Standards have better sounding pickups than the stock MIM's.

Now the second thing I did with my '96 is I put a new trem block in it...one of those heavy Callaham steel blocks. HUGE freakin' difference to say the least. Now in this case, as I understand it Fender has gone to a full size block for the newer MIM's but they are still a zinc alloy. There has been a lot of subjective debate on this issue here on these forums so I'll let you search that out yourself but in regards to the older MIM's, I would also be prepared to get a new trem block (assuming it hasn't already been changed). The earlier MIM's used a half-sized zinc alloy block that really tends to deaden the sustain. I don't know if this is really due to the mass or the material factor but either way, for around $50 a new trem block on an older MIM is a very worthwhile upgrade.

As far as playability goes, I think the older Mexicans and the newer are pretty comparable. They both have a very solid and comfortable feel to them and both were designed for players who are serious about their music but who may be on a budget and can't afford the more expensive alternatives...in other words, "working musicians". My '96 has medium jumbo frets and according to the specs, the newer models have the same. Mine originally had a couple of sharp frets as do some of the newer models but in this regards, you can't expect the fretwork of a "premium instrument" for this kind of money. It's certainly not bad...no risk of tetanus or anything but could be a little better. One notable improvement of the newer models is that they are now coming with shielded pickup cavities...a nice plus. My '96 came stock with only a partially shielded pickguard with no shielding in the body at all.

Tuning keys and other peripheral hardware between the two are pretty comparable. I've been quite happy with the stock tuning keys on my '96 and never had any desire to change or upgrade them. I have also added an LSR roller nut and a roller string T to my '96...for a few bucks the roller T is a good investment but I honestly wouldn't recommend the LSR...for the trouble and cost, it really wasn't a significant upgrade. Obviously this applies to the new Mexicans as well. Beyond that, I would say the rest is a bit subjective...some folks swear by Sperzal locking tuners for example and aren't happy with anything less. Doesn't mean stock is "bad" by any means, it's just a personal preference. Otherwise, a great deal of issues such as "playability" when it comes to a Strat...-ANY- Strat simply comes down to a decent setup. It doesn't matter if it's a $1500 American Deluxe or a $200 Squire...if it's not setup right, it's going to play like crap either way.

So...if you are comparing the two and trying to decide which to get, in my opinion it would really come down to price. A new MIM Stardard is going to run around $550 since the price increase and again you'll probably want to budget for new pickups there as well. On the other hand, if you can find a used MIM where some of these upgrades have already been done...say a set of Tex-Mex pickups already installed, the used would certainly be the better deal. Same thing applies to the trem block as well...the blocks in the new Standards -are- better than they were but they're still not exactly top of the line. If you can find a used Standard where this has already been dealt with, again it's a huge plus. With these factors in mind, if you can get an older Mexican and it doesn't have these upgrades, than don't spend more than $250 - $300 depending on the condition of the instrument otherwise a new Standard may be a better deal. If you can find one that does have some of these upgrades for around the same price, in my opinion, grab it...just make sure to check the serial number and make sure it's not a fake .

Alrighty, just my usual extended $.02 worth there...please use it for what it's worth.

Jim

lomitus, I think that's exactly what the OP needed to hear. Good post!

Excellent response and +1

Here's my '91 all tricked out :

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+1

if it is any help, i spent some time last weekend tricking out a guitar for the son of a friend of mine. He has a 92 MIM strat, and I had a few spare parts from modding up my 08 (which i LOVE, in my opinion the new guitars are much more substantial, have a much better finish job, neck, frets, and stock pickups).

I threw a Callaham in my 08, so I took the heavy mass stock zinc Fender block and threw it in the 92. I also ripped out the earth wire (which was exposed and falling off the trem claw) and soldered in a new one, took the electronics out and put in about $6 of copper shielding tape in the body routing, and put a small amount (about $.60 worth) of aluminum shielding tape on the backside of the pickguard. I steel-wooled the hell out of the neck, put on an American standard string tree, and put a new 5-way switch in.

All in all it took me about 3 hours to do all of that. I provided my old trem block, he got everything else...i think in total we probably spent $30 (if you forget the $60 i spent on my Callaham block).

It makes a world of difference to bring the 90's strats up to 08 MIM standards. I didn't do anything to the old strat that mine didn't have stock (except for the body shielding). Even with the old and vastly inferior older MIM stock pickups, the thing just positively GLOWED after it was done...night to day. It really woke me up to how far MIM's have come in 15 years, and ended up making a 14yo kid really happy with his guitar in the process.

Plus for parts and labor I got Bruins playoff tickets for Saturday.

I love my 93 mim strat. If push come to shove I'd still take her over the YJM. I put SCN noiseless in her and I couldn't be happier. That's the only upgrade I've done. I echo the great comments above. It is about feel. My mim has that mojo going for it. Sorry for the cheezy pics.