I am considering buying a Mexican-made Fat Strat from a private seller. It's maybe 12 or more years old. It is gloss black and has a matching painted headstock, the smaller style. The serial number and "Made in Mexico" stamp are in back. The unusual pickguard is some sort of satinized metal and the hardware is gold. Seller says it's all original. It could become a pretty guitar again, but as-is it's awfully beat-on, and has not been kept very clean. Has some minor nicks and the back spring cover is missing. The neck is straight and the action and intonation are good. Rosewood fretboard. The frets are a harder alloy and are not very big. Played it through the seller's little solid state amp and it has good output and a warm tone. Everything works.

Trying to decide how much I would spend for this axe. Seller wants $325, but it is aging and hasn't received much TLC. No case, either, only a tattered gig bag. I was thinking that it could be worth anywhere from half that amount to twice that amount, depending upon its collectability. I have never seen an HSS Strat that looks like this one, Mexican or otherwise. Is it uncommon, or am I just uninformed? Might it have any special collector's value?

Any knowledgeable opinions would be greatly appreciated.

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Larry C.
Lead Guitar
"Mauricio Morais & Flash"

I'd say that anything that works and is playable is worth a couple of hundred. Beyond that you might as well look at new guitars. I don't think that the quoted price is very good at all, unless you are in love with the guitar. And it sounds like you're not.

I also don't think that Mexican Fenders are going to be collectable, unless there is something very special about it. Nothing against Mexican Fenders - they are good guitars for players. But not collectable. Modern American Standards aren't going to be collectable either. They are also guitars for players.

So this doesn't sound like a bargain to me.

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Hey, I appreciate the realistic feedback on this. And Jay, thx for the links.

I had just wondered whether the unusual design attributes made this one special, but I suppose those attributes aren't anything that would propel value. So I guess there is nothing collectible about it.

I might throw out an offer for maybe a yard and a half and see if they go for it out of financial hardship. Otherwise, hello eBay or Guitar Center.

Thanks, guys.

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Larry C.
Lead Guitar
"Mauricio Morais & Flash"

I agree with the others,the guy selling a MIM thats beat up for 325 must be on crack.200 and under for one in better shape can be had all day long on ebay.

The reason that I am looking for a Fat Strat in the first place is because I need a humbucker for a few songs. I have been having to put down the Strat and grab my Les Paul. It's inconvenient between songs and my poor LP is having to be dragged out on the road for just a couple of tunes. And anyway I need a generally warmer tone overall, after I tweaked my MIM Std...

I have a beautiful sage green 2004 MIM that was the sweetest Strat I had ever heard at the time (and fortunately in my price range), and I am now putting it into semi-retirement. It has seen a LOT of gigs and the frets are very tired. But spending re-fret money for any MIM seems excessive, since for a few bucks more than a fret job you can buy a new axe, and now they come with med/jumbo steel frets. See, I recently upgraded my MIM with Duncan Antiquity pickups, which make it an incredible blues machine, but in order to provide that exaggerated single-coil twang the Antiquities lose an appreciable chunk of the high/mid warmth that the original PU's had.

So if I do re-fret the sage Strat, I will probably keep it only for blues jams, but I am now looking for an HSS with a warmer, more open tone for live use. As you know, every individual Strat, MIM or otherwise, has its own unique tone and flavor. So buying one blind from eBay scares me, despite the sweet deals you find. So far I haven't been all that impressed with the tones of the brand new ones that I have tried. But when I played this beat-up one I liked the tone and I found the design unusual, which prompted my post here. I'm sure I'll be able to pick it up way cheaper than the offering price -- once I show the seller what can be found on eBay.

Thanks for all the opinions. Fender lovers are the truest soldiers of the live guitar front.

Doncha just love blogging incessantly about Strats? I LOVE THIS FORUM!

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Larry C.
Lead Guitar
"Mauricio Morais & Flash"

This MIM Fat Strat checks out to be either a 2002 or 2003 model. The lady I bought it from thought it was a 1997. She had cleaned most of the dust and handprints off it before I got there to pick it up. Happily, what I thought were a lot of nicks were actually smears of some kind of adhesive -- nothing a little mild solvent and some elbow grease couldn't remove. Once I got it cleaned up I found that the paint is actually close to flawless. The brass-plated aluminum pickguard just needed a light once-over with some steel wool. And the frets had needed buffing like you read about. I spent half a day on the recon job but she shines like a diamond now.

Actually, to my great satisfaction, this axe was WAY nicer and cleaner than it had initially appeared to be when I first test-drove it. The seller's asking price was $325, which I now believe was not all that unreasonable. Once I restored it to its full potential, the fact that the seller let me walk away with it for $175 made me feel like I needed a shower. But, hey, biz iz biz.

These shots were taken after the recon. (Sorry, I don't know how to paste the actual pics in the post.) FYE:

http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww14 ... 0_1129.jpg

http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww14 ... 0_1126.jpg

http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww14 ... 0_1123.jpg

http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww14 ... 0_1116.jpg

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Larry C.
Lead Guitar
"Mauricio Morais & Flash"

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

Thanks, Thumbs!!!

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Larry C.
Lead Guitar
"Mauricio Morais & Flash"

No sweat man! Enjoy the new stick!

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

If it plays as great as it looks, you stole that!

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