Hehe, 3 people said "Not worth the money"

great if you like veneer

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Would you elaborate on your comment please? I was informed that fender uses the same solid wood for the Mexican and USA facility, only difference is USA uses woods with more appealing wood grains. My info source is incorrect??

Gibson from my understanding is the one that uses veneers on thier Epiphone line of solid bodied guitars.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

I've played several of them I like--in fact the best neck on any Strat I've ever played was on a MIM 60's Strat--beautiful neck--if I'd had some extra cash that day, it would be mine now--although I'd have changed the neck pickup--it was a bit muddy. I loved the sound of the bridge & middle pickups together and the bridge by itself was quite nice as well.

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It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.

The veneer is used on sunburst bodies, where the wood grain shows through. When viewed from the back, the belly-cutaway is painted all black because there's no veneer there, like this:

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Had the same experience after trying a MIM after years of playing a Chinese Squier. Now I know better than to try a MIA untill I get a few more raises.

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Stagemaster
Roadhouse Strat
Epi Traditional Pro Les Paul
Ovation Celeb
Esteban Celestial Night(nicely tweeked)
Blackheart tube amp

Orville is correct The veneer is used on finishes that are trasnparent the solid colors are not done this way because you can't see the joins. The blanks in the pics are five, six, seven pieces of wood to make one.
Epiphone does the same for the low cost guitars if you get a Epi Custom or Custom plus they are Cap's just like Gibson's Cap's are thick tops. Thats how you can get a Epi or Gibson Custom guitar thats a Mahogony body with wihat they call a Maple cap.
There are not many one piece guitars bodies anymore because of the availabilty of the size needed and the cost of it.
There are over 24 species of Alder only a few of them grow large many are considered shrubs and never grow more then 20 feet.

The Lp in this picture is a two piece Maple Cap. Its like a two 3/4 inch pieces of book matched Flame Maple on a Mahog. body. This is a Custom Plus.

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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

So on a solid color mim strat can be made with more than three slabs of alder than their USA counterpart? Are the higher priced MIM guitars made this way or only for the lower priced MIM guitars? Kinda curious if my MIM roadworn olympic white strat is made of more than three slabs of alder.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

I'm going to look for a Strat tomorrow. I'd originally had my eye on a Highway 1, but when I played one last week I just couldn't get to grips (awful pun intended) with the larger frets - a feature I was sure I'd like!

I know some people have stated that this thread has a "bad vibe" (and I can see what they mean), but I'm pleased I've read it, and seen everyone's opinions. I'm in Australia, and Fenders are REALLY expensive over here because of the value of our dollar, import costs, etc.

Anyway, the MIA Standard is beyond my price range - I've played guitar for eighteen years, but only as a hobbyist who sometimes jams with friends, etc - and the Highway 1 just isn't for me. I (foolishly) sold my '74 Strat several years ago (yes, I do know I'm an idiot), and have wanted a Fender guitar ever since. Oh, I've got an ESP/LTD Max Cavallera guitar which I like a lot, and which is better than having no guitar at all of course...but I want a Strat. I can confidently assert that nothing is the same as a Stratocaster. It just isn't.

I guess this thread has opened my eyes to the possibility that a Mexican one might be a real option. I've always automatically gone for the MIA ones, and have found two that were real keepers...but couldn't justify spending that amount of cash on what amounts to a hobby. I've never even played a Mexican one. I'll try a few MIM ones tomorrow, and keep an open mind while doing so. I might be pleasantly surprised.

So I guess this thread wasn't all bad in the final analysis. Besides, I learned a thing or two, and it added to my general knowledge of guitars and guitar-making.

I'll let you know how I went!

Generally, it seems that the higher priced MIM models do use better (and not veneered) wood. However, in checking bodies on Ebay last night (where they usually show a picture of the back of the guitar), I saw new 2009 Jimmie Vaughan and Lonestar bodies that had the blacked-out belly cutaway which indicate the use of veneers. Please check out the bodies on Ebay yourself. If you need a seller name, I can point you towards one "chop shop" in particular.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Thanks orvilleowner. You you have been very helpful, and certainly raised my eyebrow on MIM guitars. I will take off the trem plate of my roadworn strat to see if it is blacked out. I will post a photo. I would be a bothered if I paid $1000 for the guitar, but since I only paid $599, I will not be too disapointed if is veneered.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

Here is the trem cavity of my roadworn strat. Is it veneered?

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http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

Simon, I recently learned that the first two years of Hwy 1 were smaller frets, might work for you.

+2 '07 Standard Strat and 2000 Standard Tele.

The two I had back ten years ago just did'nt do it for me, by the time I mod one to my statisfaction I've spent MIA money. For me, I would'nt own anything but an MIA . Just my personal opinion
Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

I had a decent MIM strat for many years, but just like most people I grew tired of certain things on it. I customized everything on it until the only original parts were the neck, the trem cover, and the input jack. Everything else was changed out to something different, and I had it custom painted. I found that after I had changed all of that on it, it wasn't the guitar I used to know and love. So I traded it in and got my CP 60's strat which I love and don't want to change anything on. Except perhaps go through and do a nice thorough shielding job.