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Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 3:44 am
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rickyp wrote:
maybe I'm biased, but I bought a MIM standard strat about 16 years ago (which has been well modified), but as far as feel and playability, as well as price, the mid 90's strats are awesome. When I bought mine, I think it was just over $300 brand new.


I agree- the early nineties necks were pretty good- but the current line is the best it has ever been. Put a '92-'94 neck with the current set-up and you have a perfect guitar. That is, im talking the standard line here :)

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Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 7:20 am
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Ive built and modified Strats for 7 years now and have worked with several different time circa's of both Am. and MIM Strats and in my opinion, wood wise, 95-98 MIM's are of the best quality. The newer ones are by far superior in build, no question there, but in a time when lower price guitars were the rage, you couldnt beat the quality of Fenders MIM 95-98's builds. Thats just my opinion from a builder/modder view.

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Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 8:20 am
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FarmerMan wrote:
Ive built and modified Strats for 7 years now and have worked with several different time circa's of both Am. and MIM Strats and in my opinion, wood wise, 95-98 MIM's are of the best quality. The newer ones are by far superior in build, no question there, but in a time when lower price guitars were the rage, you couldnt beat the quality of Fenders MIM 95-98's builds. Thats just my opinion from a builder/modder view.


I would actually say the mid 90's Korean Squires are comparible to the MIM of today. I had a couple and the quality and tone were great. However, I must also point out that a friend recently purchase an 80's Japanese Squire that sounded and felt better than a MIA standrard, special, highway 1, MIM standards and FSR's. Only the Deluxe series, MIA/MIM were slightly better. (OK, MIA Deluxe was way better then any I've ever played) My opinion now is every guitar is different, this could explain why Clapton bought several strats back in the day and took the best pieces from each to create blacky. Goes to show no two guitars are ever the same, even if the manufacture made them side by side....

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Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 12:30 am
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My '02 MIM has been an excellent guitar overall. Aside from a few very, very minor questionable places in the finish, the quality is great. Very solidly built.

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Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 8:31 am
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Yogi wrote:
rickyp wrote:
maybe I'm biased, but I bought a MIM standard strat about 16 years ago (which has been well modified), but as far as feel and playability, as well as price, the mid 90's strats are awesome. When I bought mine, I think it was just over $300 brand new.


that may true to you, but spec wise the 2006 and up MIMs are much better guitars. Medium Jumbo frets instead of vintage frets, full size trem block, the pots and switch were upgraded to the same as the MIA guitars.


If that statement were true, then the 1970s Strats should be much better than the JUNK they put out in the 1950s and 1960s!!!!! Are you kidding???
Guitars are singular items. Some are better than others. Some people actually LIKE smaller vintage frets. Some people actually LIKE older, worn in guitars(real wear, not "Road Worn or Relic fakes"), and will prefer them over new guitars, new specs and all.
I own 3 MIM Strats, a 1996 HSS Standard, a 2001 SSS Standard, and a 2003 Classic 50s model. Plus a 2002 Standard Telecaster. I find them all to be excellent guitars in their own rite, and compared to MIA, MIJ, MIK models I also own. I am sure that there are poor examples from every year, but I don't buy those ones. I buy the ones that sound and play great TO ME!! That is the point, what pleases me. Remember, it is not the guitar that makes the music, it is the player. Its just a hunk of wood, plastic and metal.

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Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 9:08 am
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I would say the 2006 MIM strats and above are pretty good, didn't like the 2000 which i had. But then again, it's my opinion so you can never really say which is/feels the best since it differs from person to person.

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Posted: Sat May 22, 2010 8:10 am
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DetroitBlues wrote:
FarmerMan wrote:
Ive built and modified Strats for 7 years now and have worked with several different time circa's of both Am. and MIM Strats and in my opinion, wood wise, 95-98 MIM's are of the best quality. The newer ones are by far superior in build, no question there, but in a time when lower price guitars were the rage, you couldnt beat the quality of Fenders MIM 95-98's builds. Thats just my opinion from a builder/modder view.


I would actually say the mid 90's Korean Squires are comparible to the MIM of today. I had a couple and the quality and tone were great. However, I must also point out that a friend recently purchase an 80's Japanese Squire that sounded and felt better than a MIA standrard, special, highway 1, MIM standards and FSR's. Only the Deluxe series, MIA/MIM were slightly better. (OK, MIA Deluxe was way better then any I've ever played) My opinion now is every guitar is different, this could explain why Clapton bought several strats back in the day and took the best pieces from each to create blacky. Goes to show no two guitars are ever the same, even if the manufacture made them side by side....


That last line is so true!!! I read an artice with Zakk Wylde and he said on his Les Pauls that even on his Signaturs Bullseyes, even though they are made almost identicle to each other, of course not the public realeased ones, the custom made just for him, that no 2 sound exactly the same. Same woods, electronics..everything, there is always some difference in the sound. Density of the wood, the way the finish takes to it, there will always be something that sets each guitar apart from the other. I guess its all in just finding that one guitar that you stumble across that may just be your "Holy Grail"..Blackie, SRV's #1, or Lenny, The Dean from Hell...its just that one that grabs your nads and lets all hell break loose.

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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 3:35 pm
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nicholsoni wrote:
MIM were redesigned in 2007 and since then they have gotten much better reviews from what I've seen.



I have been told that 2006 was the magic year for MIM, as it was
the 60th anniversary model and they had tons of American Strat
makers in California go home for vacation and show their brothers how
to make a better guitar. I have one of the Diamond Anniversary editions
and have spent a lot of time learning about it and that is how I know
that 2006 is the magic year. I have american made tex mex pups,
and it may possibly be that my neck MAY have been usa made, but
i could be very wrong on that, its just heresay.


I just received my new guitar via UPS truck and I really like it, but I do
still love the way my MIM plays and looks. The MIM Blizzard Pearl with
a Maple Neck is going to look so nice next to the american standard when I change the PG, trem plate, and knobs to all black.


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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 6:04 pm
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Welcome!

From 2006 and on and they get better every day. So, the newer, the better.

Also and has been most importantly stated above, even the highest of high end guitars vary from piece to piece and that's within even the same model so make sure you play a few before you buy.

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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 6:43 pm
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i played a few mexican strats and i played my friends mexican tele and they were pretty good. My only other experince with a mexican fender was my music teachers he got it a few years ago in the 90s and the new ones were miles a head of it


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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 1:22 am
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In 2006, I had my heart set on a MIA standard, but after playing several Fender strats I kept comming back to the 60th anniversary MIM strat. It just felt and played better IMO than any of the 5-6 strats I tried that day. So much so, I got the one I sampled vs a brand new on in the box. This is not to say that onther years of MIM Strats were not as good.


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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 8:07 am
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I don't think you can label any as "best years" or not. My experience has been that many Strats sound different from the same models and years of production that you really can pick a "better" one out of , say for instance, five of them all identical.

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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 9:19 am
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Miami Mike wrote:
I don't think you can label any as "best years" or not. My experience has been that many Strats sound different from the same models and years of production that you really can pick a "better" one out of , say for instance, five of them all identical.


My experience too, not just of the MIM line but all Fender guitars.
How many bad 57's saw the other side of 69?
Despite CBS having such a bad reputation with a good bit of it being truely deserved, why are their some great CBS guitars? Even from the early 80's/late 70's when they were supposedly at their worst.

Well the easy answer to both questions is, that only the better guitars made it through. There was variance in manufacture standards then to a larger degree than their is now.

What I would add to this topic is that pre 99 MIM bodies and necks were cut in Corona and sent to Ensenada for fretting, painting and hardware.
I have both and love both. Also I'd agree that the Classic Players are great guitars too. Love my Baja tele.

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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 8:39 am
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hi i have a 1997 mex deluxe strat and it has been a hard rocken axe for all its life. changed the pickups to fat 50s great tone. and new frets. mex strats are dam fine for the money you pay for them.but i like all things fender.Cheers from aus.


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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 9:38 am
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Quote:
I have been told that 2006 was the magic year for MIM, as it was
the 60th anniversary model and they had tons of American Strat
makers in California go home for vacation and show their brothers how
to make a better guitar. I have one of the Diamond Anniversary editions
and have spent a lot of time learning about it and that is how I know
that 2006 is the magic year. I have american made tex mex pups,
and it may possibly be that my neck MAY have been usa made, but
i could be very wrong on that, its just heresay.



I have a 2006 MIM and a 2008 MIM - the 2006 neck looks like a much nicer cut of wood and has a far superior finish on it. To me it looks as if the 2006 neck could be USA made.


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