Hey all,

So I'm looking at this strat on the internet. It's priced pretty decent, but it's a bit of drive. I emailed the owner but I haven't been able to get anymore info on it yet.

http://albany.craigslist.org/msg/1468356129.html

Originally I was thinking it was going to be a squier, but now looking at the headstock I'm not sure of that. I believe there were some MIM fenders that were squier series, yet they still had the large fender logo, and said squier series where the original contour logo is. If it's not a squier, I was thinking it was possibly a MIM standard. I don't think the pick guard is original, but if it is, looks to be 3-ply. I don't know if those are the original pickups either, as I was under the impression the MIM standards had white 1-ply pickguards with off white pickups, but I'm sure that varies.

Also, does anyone know the name of that color? I've been searching it as 2-tone sunburst. I don't think MIM squier strats with the large fender logo were offered as this color.

Thanks for your help. Hopefully this will turn out to be a decent guitar, one which I plan on making into a project, replacing the electronics, pups, bridge/tremolo and the tuners if need be. Mainly I'm looking for good quality neck and body pieces. I really like the maple necks, my brother has a rosewood neck strat that I'm not as big on. Not super big on the color, but a red tortoise pick guard may be cool with it.

http://albany.craigslist.org/msg/1468356129.html

I can't tell anything from the photos. Can't even tell if it is a sunburst finish. I can make out the Fender logo on the headstock. That's about it.

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James Burton Upgrade Telecaster
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man, it looks like a modded MIA. the truss rod hole looks good, the tuners from this angle look good. seems too good to be true if the body is usa aswell. hope it is.

The pics are a little blurry, but from what I can make out the decal looks like American Standard. The price leads me to believe one of the following:

1) Something is seriously wrong with this guitar.

2) Guitar is a fake.

3) Guitar is a partsocaster.

4) Guitar is a fake.

5) Guitar is a fake.

Personally I would email the seller to get better pics and serial number before I even think about buying it.

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Chet Feathers

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

CAFeathers,

I don't understand why you would think it is fake? Also, how can you tell the difference between an American Standard vs. a Mexican Standard from those pictures? I was hoping for it to be a MIM.

I don't know if you noticed, but the asking price was 100 obo. Why have a fake american strat and sell it for the price of a squier? I was kind of hoping that it was a mexican someone wanted to get rid of. There have also been some made in korea strats that have a large fender logo with 'squier series' where the original body contour decal was. Here's what I mean:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... N%26um%3D1

So if those koreans were ever made in that color, it still could be a squier. I've read possibly that these squiers with the large fender logo were sold in non-US markets.

The possible outcomes could be, in preferable order:
-American Standard
-Mexican Standard
-Korean Squier
-Non-Original Decal - Squier/something else cheap

I'm hoping to look at it tonight or tomorrow night. Is there anything in particular i should look for in regards to it being fake? I'm not super concerned about this, as a good neck is a good neck. It's not going to really matter what brand it is, as I'm looking for a good maple neck. If the body isn't anything good, I have a red alder strat body that I know sounds great I can put it with.

I'm pretty excited about getting to work. I would ecstatic if I could get a MIM strat to work off of. I'm a pretty big believer in the MIM strats wood quality, especially if the body is alder.

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As I'm waiting to find out more and go look at the guitar, I'm trying to plan out what to do to my strat, because if it isn't this one that gets the mods, another strat I have will.

Does anyone know good quality but less expensive bridge/tremolos?

On the pickups note, my initial reaction was to go with a set of EMG SA's, but if I go that route, I would like to add the two additional EMG mods that D Gilmour used. the emg spc presence control pot is an additional $45 off ebay. So is the exg expander. Also they're active, meaning battery maintenance, another negative imo.

Another possibility is Seymour Duncan Antiquities, pretty good for the vintage sound I think. John Frusciante has used them in his vintage strat. But I already own a Les Paul with Seymour Duncan Antiquities, so I would like something different to add more variety.

Third option was a set of fender noiseless pickups, which would be the cheapest pups of the three. I would like to mod it similar to how pete townshend has his, which is a clapton signature model, but another knob to control the tbx circuits or something. I'm not exactly sure how it's wired yet, but I'm not really intimidated by wiring, rather working with wood/finishes. The downfall to this road is that it's a stereo output, so I think to take advantage of it one would like to run it through more than one amp, which I don't do around the house, and probably wouldn't at small gigs.

Another possibility would be a seymour duncan p rail in the bridge, with a SD triple shot to control it. Then I would have to figure out what to be in the neck and middle positions.

Whatever I end up with, I think I'm going add an extra switch in the pick guard for the 7 switch option. I would use a push/pull pot, but AFAIK CTS doesn't make any of the correct type. If there are other reputable brands (does Dizmario make them?), let me know.

This has gotten pretty OT, but considering it's still in the strat forum, it should be good. I'm really trying to flesh this guitar out to get everything ordered, as I would like to finish it over my winter break from uni.

Anyone that can give me advice, input, warning on anything that I've ranted about would be appreciated. Once I get going (hopefully soon!) I would to post step by step picts of everything I'm doing.

If you go with the EMG SAs and you want the other Gilmour Mods, you might want to look into the DG-20 which is a prewired loaded pick-guard with all the mods you mentioned. It goes for $299 at Musician's Friend.

As far as the guitar, as far as I can tell the headstock & logo are pretty similar to my 01 standard. Like you said, if the neck is in good shape it's hard to go wrong for $100.

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Thanks Kong, going to look into that. It looks to be about the same price, plus comes with the pots and wiring already.

On a similar note, does anyone know any specifics about the Guitar Center (blarg!) black friday sale after thanksgiving? I've never bought more than a strap from them, but I think they have some sort of 30% off one item type deal. I was thinking maybe I could have them order me the pickups I want. They'll probably cost around $200, so it would be worth trying to save some money off of them.

I took a closer and more refined looked at the headstock. To me it doesn't look like the 'Squier Series' logo, as it is only two lines, and located slightly lower on the guitar I believe. That's pushing me away from thinking it's a squier and more into a mexican strat.

Again, if anyone could let me know differences in the MIA vs. MIM headstock, I would like to know for the future.

Also, is there any particular way to tell a new MIA strat body from any other body? I know the older bodys had different systems, but what about anything from 1990-2009? I mean if the neck is the only way to tell, you could put the neck/hardware on any body, and very few people would know the difference. Also curious because I browsed them on ebay, and I was wondering how the buyers know they're paying 250-300 for a MIA body...

And yes, I am that bored.

First thing I notice is where the truss rod adjustment is. MIM have a black plastic, while MIA accent the hole with wood.

Here's a pic of my MIM standard headstock...

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better pic below

here is a new american standard

Thanks for the replys and pictures! I personally can't really tell whether it looks likes brown or blackish, but my laptop screen is unplugged and I have a lot of glare currently.

robt8500, is that string tree stock? Or aftermarket? My mystery guitar has a single string tree that is the same as yours... even though the string trees are interchangeable, it could be a indication to its identity.

Originally I was hopeful it was a MIM Squier... then a MIM standard... hopefully I'll be able to get a good look at it and find a deal.

hey strat tone,

The tree is definitely stock. No prob on the pics, I love posting them.

Also, I'm still 99% sure that the guitar on craigs has a U.S neck. I'm also seeing 22 frets on it.

I think you're right, good eye on the 22 frets. If that is a genuine US neck that's a steal for $100 even just for the neck...

Maybe the guy forgot a zero?!

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