I wanted to post a seperate thread from my other one so I could keep the questions and answers seperate.

So here it goes. From what I have been reading it seems like the main reason to go with a MIA strat is for value purposes. Meaning the MIA Strat will hold its value or appreciate over time. Where as a MIM will not. The MIA Strats are usually of better fit and finish and sometimes made with better parts like tuners and the like.

But as for playability and sound quality some MIM can be equal to or sometimes even better (if you get a good one) then a MIA of the same issue.

Do these statements seem to be true so far? (I just want to make sure I am understanding the differences)

For right now money is an issue. So I am considering (thanks to some help from this board) a MIM Strat.

I am looking for a Strat that plays and sounds great and it's not important to me if it holds it's value in the future. Fit and Finish is not as important to me as the playability and sound quality. The fit and finish might not be as good as a MIA Strat (but then again it might) and the playability and sound can be as good as a MIA Strat So for what I want from my Strat the MIM seems to fit the bill for what I am looking for.

from what I've mentioned above, do you see any reason I should not be looking into getting a MIM over a MIA Strat?

Hi Scott, Just my two cents. MIM strats are very good. I have a 50's one I love. Go out and try as many as you can. I just happened to love the one in the color that i wanted. If one in another color had felt and played better I would of got that one... So play play.. It helps if the shop has a amp that is close to what amp you will have at home.. Best of luck I got a MIM strat and never had a bit of buyers regret.. Mark

There are some really good MIM strats out there and for the money they are hard to beat.Saying that , if money were no object then as far as playability, its hard to beat an American strat.The neck on the American Standard is one of the nicest necks around.It has that broken in feel .The tone you get from the American Standard is really nice.Alot of people believe the present American Standard is one of the best mass produced guitars to come around in a while.I would just play a bunch of guitars, keep an open mind and one will sing to you.

Buy the guitar that's best for you because in the end, that's all that matters. I have seen issues with both MIM's and MIA's. Vice versa, I've seen some pretty amazing MIA's and MIM's. I wouldn't worry about what anyone else says, just play as many as you can and get the one you like the best.

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The mind is like a parachute; it doesn't work unless its open-FZ

Hey Scott, heres my sense, I have a '99 MIM Strat. It plays great, the finish is great. I'm also strapped for cash. But the other day I was playing a Highway One Tele and it blew me away. The neck is the main issue between the MIM and MIA. Sometimes my MIM neck feels sticky when I play. The MIA necks are phenominal. If you can't afford a standard american get a highway one. And as a bonus you'll be keeping jobs in america by buying American goods like the way it should be.

I played one of the very newest MIM standard strats earlier this week and it`s fit and finish was excellent the neck was better than previous MIM strats I have played in the past.I would actually buy one now in the past I would not have.

If you buy from GC or any of the mailorder music stores expect to do a complete setup to make it play right.
Best thing is to find a store where you can actually play it first finding a good one is hit and miss regardless of the model.

Thanks for the tip. I was thinking about the Highway one. But that is a little out of the budget. (at least for now) $400-$450 for a MIM as opposed to $799+ for the MIA Highway. I'd love to go with the Highway one but its almost double the price. If a Highway one was twice as nice or sounded twice as good as a MIM Standard Strat then I could justify the extra cost.

If money wasn't so tight then I'd do the MIA Standard without question.

Since I'm only looking at this guitar as strictly a player and not an investment I can't justify spending almost double the price. At least not now. Once times go back to normal financially then I'll get a MIS Standard for my second guitar (4th actuallly but cheap knock offs dont count).

I'm also still starting out on the guitar again so I cant seem to talk myself into 1k for a guitar that I won't be using for gigging. This guitar will be strictly practice only for the time being.

Thanks

My local GC's have a decent number of them on hand. So I will be playing every single one until I find the "pick of the litter" so to speak.

Hi Scott,
I suggest that you buy as many types of Stats as possible... If thats not possible, then I would recommend that you play as many as possible and find one that feels right for you. Forget about MIM, MIA, MIJ, etc. My 2 cents...
Good luck in your search

Bill

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

Hi Scot ;I bought a 1999 MIM left-hand Strat and strung it upsidedown(I'm a Hendrix freak)anyway it's a great little guitar,action,finish and build quality are surprisingly good for such a cheap guitar and I can get a real Hendrix sound when I run it through my old Marshall JCM 800 2204 and Leslie cabinet.If mine is any indication you can't go wrong with a MIM Strat.

Thanks

My local GC's have a decent number of them on hand. So I will be playing every single one until I find the "pick of the litter" so to speak.[/quote]


GC that`s what I was afraid of is there any other place you can go.I have never played any guitar in those places I would buy. I swear they must get factory rejects from all the manufactures.I can go to a store a mile away from my GC and every Fender in there is night and day better model per model.It`s not like they are even the same quality?

oops did I just open this can of worms?

GC that`s what I was afraid of is there any other place you can go.I have never played any guitar in those places I would buy. I swear they must get factory rejects from all the manufactures.I can go to a store a mile away from my GC and every Fender in there is night and day better model per model.It`s not like they are even the same quality?

oops did I just open this can of worms?[/quote]

The pickings are extremely thin for guitar shops nowadays. The only other local shop might have one new one on hand. If I get lucky lol

If you really want a Fender Stratocaster and price is an issue I would go for the MIM Standard. Once you have one, you can slowly start modifying it to whatever you want.

If you can save another $200 you can get the Highway 1 Stratocaster or the Fender Stratocaster with the Floyd Rose Tremolo. Guitar Center also has a match price so you should be able to show them these ads and only have to pay $699.00

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/prod ... sku=512870

or

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/prod ... sku=501161

Also here is an ad for a used Strat for a little cheaper than new:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/prod ... sku=501158

Good luck with your endeavor. Please keep us advised what you finally decided on. Post pics if you can, we all love guitar pics.

RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

You will be able to get more for an American Strat but you're still losing bigtime when you sell it. Look on Ebay. I've seen American Vintage 62's being sold for $640.00. Times are tough. We're in a recession and people are selling guitars on Ebay to make ends meet. And in a recession the price of goods drops.

You can buy a $2300 Les Paul today and sell it on Ebay a year later. Even if it's in mint condition you're pressing your luck if you ask more than $1500 for it. In fact Ebay has a dialog box that comes up that tells you what the average selling price is of the guitar that you are looking to sell.

So when you sell a guitar you lose hundreds of dollars in the process. This is the way the used market works. It's a fact of life. Musical instruments have a poor resale value. Sucks I know but it's true.

Now if you happen to have a 1928 Steinway that is another matter...

If you want to highway one check american musical supply.com You can get it on a payment plan. It's better than layaway cuz you get it with the first payment. 3 payments under $999 5 payments over, plus they will match any price