Hi All,

I'm new to this forum and I'm looking for some help and information about my strat.

I bought it in about 95/96 and the serial number is MN5104175.

I have left everything stock since I bought it, and I bought it from a Fender dealer at the time. My question is, is this a genuine Mexican Stratocaster or is it a Squier Stratocaster?

It has no Squier branding on it, only Fender but people who I have shown this to have suggested that it is a Squier.

Any comments will be appreciated,

Thanks,

-Chris.

Chris, if you use a site like photobucket to upload some pictures of the guitar to this thread, then I'm sure people will help out in any way they can.

Hi Chris, always a pleasure to meet a gent.

It's hard to make a judgment about your guitar without seeing it. There were fender made squier series guitars from the time you mention. They were made up from leftover squier parts (tuners/pickups/pots/ switches/ bridges) from when fender took over the Ensenada plant from squier in 90-92.
Heres mine with the telltale headstock decal.



Note the Squier Series decal where a Vintage reissue would say Custom Contour Body. It doesnt say Squier Squier series. it says Fender Squier series. Black truss access surround, just like a MIM. The neck and body woods would have been cut at Corona as the Ensenada plant didnt have the machinery to do that till 2003.

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No no and no

Hi Nikininja,

I'm trying to upload the photos now, as soon as they are i'll post them on here.

My strat is the same as yours in the photo with the black decal but without the 'squier series'.

I bought the guitar new so i know that that part hasnt been sanded off,

-Chris.

photos as promised


-Chris.

Looks like a '95 Mexican Stratocaster to me.

_________________
You're only as strong as
the drinks you pour,
the tables you dance on,
and the friends you roll with.

Could be the same. The other big giveaway is the bridge saddles on these guitars. Unfortunately I cant see them on any picture.

I paid £200 new for mine probably around the same time you got yours Chris.

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No no and no

what should i look for on the saddles? I must admit that the tuners dont look the best.

So, would you class this as a Gunuine Fenfrt or a Squier?

-Chris.

Mines Fender. The neck and body were carved in Corona. It's logo says fender.

The saddles will be generic block shaped far eastern jobs. Like these

_________________
No no and no

So if it isnt a Squier, does anyone know what kind of Fender Strat it is?

-Chris,

Send the serial number along with a request for information about your instrument to Fender Consumer Relations and they should get back to you in a few days with all you'll need to know about your instrument.

The email link is on the page this link will open. http://www.fender.com/support/consumer_relations.php

_________________
You're only as strong as
the drinks you pour,
the tables you dance on,
and the friends you roll with.

Its just a Standard Mexican Strat. Does it really matter that much if it is a Fender or Squier Series? There really isn't that much spec wise/ and quality wise that separates the two guitars of that era IMO.

it's mexican the first letter in the serial number says it all. it uses the same datng systems as the americans but it starts with an M

I cannot see all of your headstock very well. It appears to be a MIM Standard.

Guitar Dater Project says this about your guitar based on your serial number. I based this on the premise that your guitar was a Fender guitar:

Guitar Info
Your guitar was made at the
Ensenada Plant (Fender), Mexico
in the Year(s): 1995 - 1996



Fender: Mexico
Fender Mexico was established in on May 5th 1987, Ensenada, Mexico with electric guitar production beginning in 1989. Ensenada facility includes eight buildings, covering more than 200,000 square feet. This includes Electronics, Electric Guitar, Amplifier Cabinet, and String manufacturing. More than 1000 employees are on staff and are supported by the Fender Quality Control team which travels from Corona to Ensenada once a week to help maintain quality. Fender Mexico guitars and amplifiers are made using many U.S. components, again maintaining the highest standards.

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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

Ok...first and foremost, I think we need some -BIGGER- pictures there...the pics of the body are coming up as tiny little thumbnails where we can't see -anything- definitive.

Based on the one pic of the headstock that I can actually see, I have to say that the logo and the tuners look wrong for it to be a Mexican "Standard". I really don't know if Fender made any lower models Strats at that time other than the Standard, but I've not heard of one...anything that was actually "Squier" should have been branded as a Squier (give or take NIck's comment obviously).

This isn't my guitar but take a look at the pictures of the headstock on the guitar in this auction for reference...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Strat-Strato ... 3caabfc78c

You'll note that the Fender name in the logo is actually outlined and that it uses the "Fender" logo'd die cast tuners with the hex nuts on top as apposed to the ferrules we're seeing here. The really big thing that is really suspicious to me is that serial number...a '95 or '96 Mexican Strat should have an MN5 followed by -5- numbers...yours has -6- numbers??? While I know that the serial numbers on some of the other import Strats (such as MIJ's and possibly MIK Squiers) could have inconsistencies in serial numbers, I've never known a Mexican Strat to vary from the norm there...even Nick's Fender "Squier Series" above has an MN5 followed by 5 numbers. Sorry but that's a huge red flag to me.

Please, see if you can get some bigger pictures...would like to see the whole headstock, both front and back, the bridge and if possible, pull the neck off and take some pics of both the heal of the neck and the neck pocket of the body...would very much like to see what those date stamps look like (assuming they're actually there!).

I'm no expert here for sure...again maybe there's a line of Mexican made Strats from around that year that was lower end than the "Standards" or perhaps it's even a reissue of some kind (?) and maybe it's even just some kind of "freak"...it does happen, but I do own a '96 MIM Standard myself and that headstock...the tuners, logo and serial, looks really fishy to me. With out more/better pictures it's really hard to say for sure but my first impulse based on that alone is to say "fake".

Peace,
Jim