I hear ya Doc. I own a Tele too and my son plays a Les Paul and an SG that I enjoy borrowing from time to time (so I'm really not a Strat snob).

I just happen to think that when Fender designed the Strat, it was done right and everything that's come after it has been just a variation attempting to sell more product just because it's different.

A Strat with the appropriate pickup configuration (pick whatever make/model pickups and configuration you like) beats the heck out of any other guitar Fender makes.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

[i][quote="mthorn00"] I just happen to think that when Fender designed the Strat, it was done right.....[/i

There's a unanimity of opinion on that score, for sure.

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"Another day in paradise!"

The statement that it was done right always puzzles me. What makes it more right then others?

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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

The statement that it was done right always puzzles me. What makes it more right then others?[/quote]

A form and function issue I suppose. The guitar has actually won awards for same.

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"Another day in paradise!"

+1 here.

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Member # 85477

"Remember"

I got to see an early 80's Strat that had a flush, flat input jack.

I own a completely stock 73 Strat it has great tone and has to have been very durable because i have owned it since 85 although most of those years it was a closet queen because i was a hairband jammer until about 10 years ago..But i think it is a great guitar..
With that said and i think this is true for almost all vintage guitars the build quality of todays MIM beat the build quality of almost all vintage guitars..Todays CNC machines just allow for things to have tighter tolerances and better finishes than earlier made guitars..

Both these statements are just laughable. You know not of what you speak. How does a company survive 20 years turning out garbage? That's a long time. That would have been almost half of Fenders existence at that time. I own a 72 that's just fine. It's a great sounding and playing guitar. If it was junk, I would have just sold it like my HRDlx or any other guitar ao amp that gave me problems. I have no time for bad equipment.

That said, The only problem with CNC machining and I was a a CNC machinist, is that when something goes wrong, many parts suffer because of how fast they can churn out parts. Most companies do not 100% QC check every part. Many times parts are passed that are way too close to being out of tolerance. That's when you see some of the problems you see on so many guitars today, not just Fender, but all of them.

Or could the "Dark Years" be NOW?

the Jim Root and John 5 Tele's are very D-A-R-K.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

With some of the poorly set up stuff and some of the minor and major flaws I've been seeing in both the guitars and amps, It now may be the "Dark Years"

As with any product, when a Companies focus moves to "make it inexpensive so we can sell a lot of them" instead of "make the best product we can" you can get spotty QA, lower quality of materials used in the build, and sometimes shoddy workmanship.

Good guitars ain't cheap, and cheap guitars ain't good (same goes for amps and pedals)

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

I've been playing mostly Fender amps since 1964. I've seen a lot of things come and go. A lot of stuff was both inexpensive AND good. Look at the old Musicmaster guitars, Champ Amps and Bronco guitar and amp sets. Lots of them are still around. How long do you think the new Champs will be around? Plenty of great sounding Dano's and Silvertones around too. I have a 57 Dano U1 that's really cool.

A word of Geezer advice, Anybody who can snag an older Fender hand-wired amp, even a Silverface Champ Amp, do it. You'll quickly see the big tonal difference in the current crop of Champs and the old ones. Even better yet, buy a Champ Kit and learn to build one yourself just so you don't think the current production amps are the mutts nuts. If you build a Champ, you may move on to a 5e3 Deluxe, or even a Princeton or Deluxe Reverb. You'll get decades of satisfaction out of it and maybe have something to hand down to your kids.