Not to add more fuel to the fire but... if you play it and it's good, then it's a good guitar. I have played several MIMs and MIAs. I have played good ones and not so good ones of each. When I bought my latest one, it's a 08 MIM and action wise, it played about the same as a pair of 08 MIAs. There was a little more sustain because the MIAs have a better trem block. Also, the pickups were a little more clear, but I just didn't see enough to justify the $500 difference at the time. I have since upgraded the trem block with a Callaham block and arm set and the extra tone and sustain is even better than some MIAs I have played on. I also have some Fat 50s on the way so, the price after getting it just how I want is still less than the sticker on the MIAs.

good price-performance. i have a cp 60 and i am really happy with it.

cheers

MIM Fender guitars are great. I've only had a few issues with mine, but other than that I love it.

Either American or MIM.

While choosing a Squire Affinity (which sounded good to my newbie ears at the time-and still does) it was clear that I wanted a MIM or American Strat in the first place. How do spell S K I N N Y budget.

The Affinity Fat is still here wih it's rosewood neck, and this month I found a LNIB 2007 MIM/ maple neck/ SSS. I like the variety of a Fat and triple singles, and a Les Paul copy BTW. Go for the American for resale value if you can, and whatever you do, test several guitars before landing on one. If you can look past the color, get a player! Hope you sister will both practice and enjoy her new or used guitar!

Hey StratHeads-

I bought my 13yr old son a Fender "StarCaster" MiC (Made in China) and it came with a little 15w Amp for under $200.00. It's pretty solid and its Die Cast tuners seem to be holding things in tune. He's picking it up here and there...hasn't caught the bug as of yet.

I think any of the Squires or other inexpensive Made By Fender Guitars are great for a beginner.

The Freeze

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There's Always Room For MELLOW !!!!

2000 MIM Stratocaster, Midnight Wine W/Texas Specials
2000 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
1969 Fender Vibro Champ

Please explain how a guitar can be too good to learn on!

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Well in years to come will you really appreciate your 'made for Jesus' guitar. When all you have to compare it to is a great guitar.

On a serious note.
What if said student decides like so many of my youth that guitar is not the way forwards. (A very alien and probably political dissident, antagonist view i know ). As you go up in the purchase numbers you lose a lot in resale value on (personally important but) usual guitars.
On a side note. I learnt a lot of tricks through necessity, as did most here who's advice i heed. Theres a lot to be said for struggling, necessity being the mother of invention and all that.

Still i wish i'd learnt on a MIM. I reckon i'd rock like Gibraltar now.

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No no and no

If it has the name Fender, you can be pretty sure you're getting a quality product.

I have two MIM Strats. I have a 2006 HSS and a 2008 SSS. In my humble opinion, they are very good guitars. Be sure to her look at several if possible. As with any mass produced item, there are some that are better than others.


Jim

Double post ... oops.

Nice. Those are sweet guitars.

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

This is a post that 10 years from now will yield the same results. The bottom line is that MIA will always have a better resale value no matter what. I have 3 MIJ models that I love with one being my #1 but the price is not going up especialy with one being 25 years old.If that was a MIA you can believe it would have gone way up,not that it matters as all my gear will go to my sons. I was just reading an article with Mark Knopfler and he was saying how much he loves the MIM and I think I respect his opinion lol.If you go to Harmony Central and look at the review for the Jeff Beck CUSTOM SHOP MODEL it gets some bad reviews with one guy owning a custom and a regular artist series which he says is way better go figure? If you have a keeper it does not matter where its made theres great guitars and lemons in all models. Though I have not played to many Fenders that I thought were lemons there might have been something about the neck or body that I did not like but how many of us plugged in a strat or tele and said this sounds like $@!&.

My two cents: Before I went to the store, I had to decide wether going MIA or MIM... Being an Ibanez fan, and a (yeah, shame on me) Fender ignorant, it was hard to know what tests should I run to make my desicion clear. I read every possible discussion about MIM vs MIA... and never found a conclusion.

I finally picked a pair of Olympic white HSS, one MIM and the other USA... The first one was $495, the other was $998. I did all kinda A/B tests, from finishing trough string bendings, intonation, action, etc... Both were perfectly setup... The main differences, as far as I could see, were the bridge and the locking tuners, but honestly, I didn't find any audible difference, except that in the MIM, the second switch position sounded kinda weak and too bright for my taste.

I ended up picking the MIM, why? not for the future resale price, nor the "luxury" of having a real american... Just because I believe that it has the better Price/Quality balance that many "high end" guitars claim they have.

A beginner guitar? Come on, you could have an MIA and if you suck as a player, your $1K Fender will sound crappy. One of the best local players I know plays a Squier, pure stock, no improvements, and he can make it sound like heaven... Unless you want it for keeping it 20+ years on the case and then sell it as a vintage product, that's fine. I want it to play it...

Now I'm proud I have one of the finest instruments available on the market. It says "Fender" on the headstock and I never heard somebody saying "uh, oh, it's an MIM", they just say "hey man, you guys sounded great!".

Don't be afraid for the MIM's. Like me, you could be surprised....

I would tend to agree with most here. Take the American and Mexican off the headstock and you have very fine guitars that you could not tell the difference between. Squiers are even making some good quality guitars. I have a 93 MIA that I just love!! It was my first guitar and I will never part with it. I also have a MIM Powerhouse Strat, a MIM Jimmy Vaughan strat that are just amazing!! And I recently bought a Squier that i bought to modify, I have just modded the paint job, I have not changed the pickups at all yet. There are good and bad in all categories! Just play one that you like and don't worry about where they are made.

This is a great post, spot on.

I have a MIM that I upgraded by shielding the cavity, graphtech nut & DiMarzio pick ups. I also have HGHWY 1 upgraded locking tuners and graph tec nut. I like my MIM better. The MIM stays in tune better. Some will say the HGHWY 1 is an upgraded MIM. I'm o.k. with that, there have been plenty of fights on that issue. I would personally sell the H-1 before my MIM. I am not saying MIM's are better then MIA's. There is a reason for the price difference besides labor & benefits costs.

I also beleive it is the player and abillity. A 5k guitar would be a waste on me.

I had the oppurtunity about 16 months a go to see Andy Timmons put on a clinic at a local guitar shop in Illinois. It was actually funny because Andy came and said his pedals went to Millwaukee. So here he is with 2 Mesa amps his guitar using pedals borrowed from the shop that he is not used to. At the end of the amp clinic the store gave him a MIM Tele which at the time was priced at $350.00 and asked him to do some chickin pickin. Not Andy's main forte. Guess what? He made that MIM tele sound great through his talent and his amps. Looking back I should have bought that tele that night and had him sign the back with a sharpie.