I am with you, bro. I got a 07 MIM standard, and the pups sounded like balls. On top of that, some of the high frets were not pressed in very well. I ended up playing a couple more units to see if I could find one that I liked, but I was not impressed with any of the 07 standards that they had in stock. I ended up trading it for some gear. IMO, the 07 MIM standards are sub par.

swap out the pickups to alnico usa made and you will have a nice guitar! mostly mim guitars need hardware changed to usa stuff,even usa tuners make a big difference!:wink:

i have a 2006 MIM STANDARD STRAT all i did was change
pick ups and bridge. the craftmanship is perfect i would match
most MIM strats from 2006 to present to most MIA'S hands down.
the craftmanship on the MIM'S ARE FANTASTIC!!!!

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sombody get me a doctor!

most MIM strats come with the ping fender tuners i find these tuners
to stay in tune very well and easy to tune.there much better than
the vintage tuners.

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sombody get me a doctor!

Thats the way i'd go. First look to the amp as thats where the sound comes out of. I've never heard a ceramic pickup sound thin, harsh and very attacking sometimes but never thin. Just recently i've had a few strat copies with no name pickups to set up including a couple of MIM's. Those pickups roar.

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No no and no

pickups are ussually the first thing i change anyhow

I would put the new MIM strats way below what they were putting out in the 90s. I am glad you are so happy with the 06s, because my 07 was garbage.

My 07 MIM is just about flawless - I changed the pups to the 62 blues from Pmpickups last month and quite happy with the results.

Gotta disagree - I acquired an 07 MIM HSS and it is outstanding. It's actually louder than my 08 Am Standard (although that has more sustain and just sings..as I just said in another thread). But you must of had a bad one.

What amp are you using? I'm using a Yamaha Fifty 112..

And no the pickups aren't higher on my MIM, and I don't mean just the humbucker is louder, I'm talking about the single coils.

I have used a Deville 212 with an effects loop for a few years now as my main rig, but also use Vox and Crate amps for recording. The Deville is a good basic tube amp with a nice gain/ over drive. Sounded great with my MIM 95 and 99. Sounds even better with my MIA 08. The pups in the 07 MIM did not sound "stratty" at all. They are higher output compared to the 1995 and 99 MIM, but way to mellow and indistinct tone wise. On top of that, some of the high frets were not pressed in very well, and the neck was not assembled as well as my older MIM strats. I took it in to trade it for a new unit, but none of the new MIM strats that were in stock sounded good to me. It sat unplayed for months before I traded it for an effects processor and a couple of petals. I traded the 95 MIM + $ for an old Vox combo after I bought the new MIA, but regret doing so, as it was my favorite MIM by a long shot. Yeah, these new MIMs are good candidates for pup swaps and are easy to upgrade, but I got spoiled by the 95 which I kept 95% stock with original pups until the day I traded it. I don't doubt that you can turn an 07 MIM into a great guitar, but I wont ever buy one knowing that I picked up a near perfect 95 for mere pocket change.