Does anybody know where the parts are manufactured for the guitars that are stamped "Made In Mexico"?

Are they actually manufactured in Mexico or are they made in the U.S. and assembled in mexico?

Thanks.

While I'm pretty sure Jay is correct, I would have to ask one simple question here...does it really matter? If you have an MIM Strat and you enjoy playing it, is it really going to make that much of a difference if you find out that perhaps the bridge saddles were made in China or Indonesia or Taiwan? Conversely, if you don't like your instrument....ummmm....why did you buy it in the first place?

Sorry, but I don't understand why people get so hung up over what piece of soil there instrument...or it's parts...may have been created on. One planet, one people my friends...your guitar and it's parts were "Crafted on Earth" .


Sorry...just felt that needed to be said.
L8r,
Jim

I thought I heard the Fender tour guide say to the guest that Fender makes it's own parts right at the plant in Corona. It was on YouTube.

The FTC does not allow the use of Made in U.S.A. to be used if a number of parts are not mede as such. In 1997 when they tried to change it to allow 25% it was denied. They wanted it to remain that Made in USA means made in USA.
Quote;
December 4, 1998


FTC Decides To Keep "Made in USA" Label Simple, Honest, and American


Reversal Marks Major Victory For "Made in USA" Coalition

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 1, 1997) -- In a dramatic reversal hailed by the Made in USA Coalition, the Federal Trade Commission today announced that it will not proceed with plans to lower the standard for the use of the "Made in USA" label and instead will continue to enforce the current labor standard.

The Commission pointedly refused to give final approval to its own proposal, unveiled last May 5, to allow the "Made in USA" label to be applied to products with 25 percent or more foreign content. Instead, the Commissioners decided to maintain the current standard for the label, which requires that products promoted as "Made in USA" be "all or virtually all" made in the USA with only de minimis or negligible foreign content.

"'Made in USA' will continue to mean made in the U.S.A.," said David Flory, a spokesman for the Made in USA Coalition. "The FTC's decision to keep the 'Made in USA' label simple, honest and all-American is a tremendous victory for consumers and for American working men and women who proudly make their products here in the U.S.A."

"The FTC deserves praise for listening to the American people before it finalized its proposal to water down the 'Made in USA' labe," Flory said.

_________________
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

Then when you buy an American Strat most if not all the parts are in fact made in the U.S.

Thanks, guys. I appreciate your response, Jay. However, as 357mag offered his response it justifies my own confusion. I have also heard that Fender guitars with the MIM stamp were manufactured in California but assembled south of the border.

Unlike those guitars that are crafted/assembled in Japan, where I was under the impression that the manufacture and assembly was done entirely in Japan.

To answer lomitus, I'm in no way "hung up" over this. But to suggest that a Fender American Standard and a MIM Strat are in the same league is silly. I do think it matters where the guitar and/or their parts are manufactured. In my experience, the American made instruments are superior to those manufactured in Mexico, China, Korea, etc. and I own/play guitars made in all those places (Epi, Hagstrom, Fender).

If I were to take an American Strat and replace the bridge, tuners, and electronics with parts from a Mexican made Strat would you be willing to pay the same price as you would for the American made? I'm guessing probably not. Why?

These are Laws regulated by the FTC and Made in USA is watched after.
Products that are made here in the USA are not required to put Made in The USA on there items but if they choose to they then must meet the FTC standard. The Hwy One that said Made in USA was known to contain 20% foreign material as stated by fender in there own press releases. I believe they were allowed to do this like textiles and cars and such skirting the requirment.
It is iffy as to what they claim as Made in USA and not because of FTC must discloser rules. I figure look in a guitar and you can see what parts are made and where.
Ask youself what does Fender claim to be Made in The USA?

From the FTC
Basic Information About Made In USA Claims
Must U.S. content be disclosed on products sold in the U.S.?
U.S. content must be disclosed on automobiles and textile, wool, and fur products. There’s no law that requires most other products sold in the U.S. to be marked or labeled Made in USA or have any other disclosure about their amount of U.S. content. However, manufacturers and marketers who choose to make claims about the amount of U.S. content in their products must comply with the FTC’s Made in USA policy.

What products does the FTC’s Made in USA policy apply to?
The policy applies to all products advertised or sold in the U.S., except for those specifically subject to country-of-origin labeling by other laws . Other countries may have their own country-of-origin marking requirements. As a result, exporters should determine whether the country to which they are exporting imposes such requirements.

What kinds of claims does the Enforcement Policy Statement apply to?
The Enforcement Policy Statement applies to U.S. origin claims that appear on products and labeling, advertising, and other promotional materials. It also applies to all other forms of marketing, including marketing through digital or electronic mechanisms, such as Internet or e-mail.

A Made in USA claim can be express or implied.
Examples of express claims: Made in USA. "Our products are American-made." "USA."

In identifying implied claims, the Commission focuses on the overall impression of the advertising, label, or promotional material. Depending on the context, U.S. symbols or geographic references (for example, U.S. flags, outlines of U.S. maps, or references to U.S. locations of headquarters or factories) may convey a claim of U.S. origin either by themselves, or in conjunction with other phrases or images.

Example: A company promotes its product in an ad that features a manager describing the "true American quality" of the work produced at the company’s American factory. Although there is no express representation that the company’s product is made in the U.S., the overall — or net — impression the ad is likely to convey to consumers is that the product is of U.S. origin.

Brand names and trademarks
Ordinarily, the Commission will not consider a manufacturer or marketer’s use of an American brand name or trademark by itself as a U.S. origin claim. Similarly, the Commission is not likely to interpret the mere listing of a company’s U.S. address on a package label in a non-prominent way as a claim of U.S. origin.

Example: A product is manufactured abroad by a well-known U.S. company. The fact that the company is headquartered in the U.S. also is widely known. Company pamphlets for its foreign-made product prominently feature its brand name. Assuming that the brand name does not specifically denote U.S. origin (that is, the brand name is not "Made in America, Inc."), using the brand name by itself does not constitute a claim of U.S. origin.

Representations about entire product lines
Manufacturers and marketers should not indicate, either expressly or implicitly, that a whole product line is of U.S. origin ("Our products are made in USA") when only some products in the product line are made in the U.S. according to the "all or virtually all" standard.

Does the FTC pre-approve Made in USA claims?
The Commission does not pre-approve advertising or labeling claims. A company doesn’t need approval from the Commission before making a Made in USA claim. As with most other advertising claims, a manufacturer or marketer may make any claim as long as it is truthful and substantiated.

The Standard For Unqualified Made In USA Claims
What is the standard for a product to be called Made in USA without qualification?
For a product to be called Made in USA, or claimed to be of domestic origin without qualifications or limits on the claim, the product must be "all or virtually all" made in the U.S. The term "United States," as referred to in the Enforcement Policy Statement, includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories and possessions.

What does "all or virtually all" mean?
"All or virtually all" means that all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. That is, the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content.

What substantiation is required for a Made in USA claim?
When a manufacturer or marketer makes an unqualified claim that a product is Made in USA, it should have — and rely on — a "reasonable basis" to support the claim at the time it is made. This means a manufacturer or marketer needs competent and reliable evidence to back up the claim that its product is "all or virtually all" made in the U.S.

What factors does the Commission consider to determine whether a product is "all or virtually all" made in the U.S.?
The product’s final assembly or processing must take place in the U.S. The Commission then considers other factors, including how much of the product’s total manufacturing costs can be assigned to U.S. parts and processing, and how far removed any foreign content is from the finished product. In some instances, only a small portion of the total manufacturing costs are attributable to foreign processing, but that processing represents a significant amount of the product’s overall processing. The same could be true for some foreign parts. In these cases, the foreign content (processing or parts) is more than negligible, and, as a result, unqualified claims are inappropriate.

Example: A company produces propane barbecue grills at a plant in Nevada. The product’s major components include the gas valve, burner and aluminum housing, each of which is made in the U.S. The grill’s knobs and tubing are imported from Mexico. An unqualified Made in USA claim is not likely to be deceptive because the knobs and tubing make up a negligible portion of the product’s total manufacturing costs and are insignificant parts of the final product.

_________________
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

+1 lomitus

All the hardware parts (tuners. screws, pots, capacitors, etc...) sre made in different countries anyway, I would be more (if at all) concerned about the quality of the individual hardware manufacturers parts which are supplied to Fender.

An example... everyone it seems want CTS pots. But does where does CTS get the metal to make the pot housing, or the shaft?

If the parts are quality controlled correctly, and assembled correctly, it should not matter where the final assembly took place.

The Quality Contol needs to take place all along the line to make the end product excellent.

Some Fords are made in Mexico, some Toyotas are made in USA. So, which are better?

Also I would like to refer you to This thread
http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?t=27449
posted recently by lomitus...

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For setup help you could go here - http://www.fender.com/support
For a guitars build date, try here - http://www.guitardaterproject.org/

Not true. Bodies, necks, etc for the MIM's are made in Ensenada.

_________________
Ignorance IS bliss - and I am the happiest person here!

Esenada began making all there own timber parts sometime earlier this century. Certain parts are made in different countries as has already been stated.

I'd offer the opinion that what really matters is the finished product and how that works. After all a good guitar is greater than the sum of its parts as i'm sure everine will agree.

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No no and no

Dunno how true that is of MIA guitars. Remember that mexican and japanese guitars both use different sized bridges. Which is about all that can possibly be being discussed here. Pots and switches are outsourced from CTS and whoever makes the switches. Pickups are made in house at their relative plants.
I remember Mike Eldred saying that customshop make customshop bridges. Whether thats true of production line guitars i dont know. Schaller tuners are german arent they?
Cant get any better than german engineering.

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No no and no

Well according to the FTC "Made in USA" accordance, Fender is in violation. If the only parts that are made in the usa on an American Standard Strat is the neck and body, and perhaps the pickups, it should not be labeled "Made in USA" as it is not "virtually all made in the USA".

From FTC:

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