you should do a step by step photo post on your new goodies.

Just joined this fine forum and have a question for you.
? Why not just add the money you'll spend on the pups and heads,
then buy a mia strat (ready to fire up out-of the-case)?
I've been fondling, err, I mean , trying out the mims and mias strats but the several mims I've tried wouldn't hold their tuning for such a short try-out. The mias (std,deluxe and another I can't recall the model) all held their tunings.Maybe the mims get played more/original strings still on, who knows.
With the mim strat, it loses it's value quicker than a mia, but then again,
you pay (a lot) more for the mia.And may I add, the mias include strap,
cable, polishing cloth and a new SKB hardcase as opposed to a gig bag and cloth for the mims. FYI.
It's all good stuff........

its all about affordability and having something i dont care to abuse.

I got my mint mim strat for $20 off a guy. I got it maybe 5 years ago. I bought a MIA as a kid and pawned it off after college. Believe it or not I love my mex strat. It gets the most play out of all my guitars. I'm pretty hard on it and its still in mint shape this guitar is a beast. Know I don't know what years are better than others. But get on craigslist and hunt for a week or two be patient you'll find one. Id take a mim strat over any epiphone,jackson,ibanez, etc. anyday all day..

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1966 Duo Sonic II White
1970 F-1030
1976 Mustang Sunburst
2001 Jagstang Sonic Blue
Cyclone Candy Apple Red
Stratocaster MIM Flat Red
1976 Fender Vibro Champ
1994 Fender Blues Deluxe USA

i use to roadie for a country group.
the guitar player had several sweet axes to choose from.
i was welcome to bang around on any one he had, minus 1.
that one was a freakin K guitar.
yeah the old sears crap.
he loved that thing. it was the only guitar he carried to
and from gigs personally.
i never got the chance to play that turd. lol
it sounded dang good though.
that was his baby and everybody knew it too.

I've been playing a MiM Strat for three years now, and I have to say, I haven't found a guitar to show it up yet. But of course no two guitars are the same, so it's all a mixed bag.

The best thing to do is to try them out in the store! And if you don't find the right one the first time, don't be discouraged, the right one is surely out there. Kind of like a girlfriend, but easier to find and less expensive.

can we get a A-MEN here please?

AMEN!

If you are looking for you first strat or just want to add on to the collection, but can't throw down a $1000+ then the MIM strat is a great option.

I bought one in 2007 and it has been a great instrument. I still pick it up and play it to death. I would recommend a pickup swap unless you are satisfied with the stock MIM pickups. I put in a set of Bill Lawrence Keystones and it was the best $70 bucks I've spent in a long time. For $570 I have a guitar that plays great and sounds even better.

American strats will be better guitars overall, but the MIM is a very gigable, great sounding, durable instrument.

this is what i needed to hear

Well then, glad I could help!

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2007 MIM Strat w/ Bill Lawrence Keystones
2010 American Deluxe
Fender Super-Sonic Amp
TS-909
Jekyll & Hyde

i just dont want to take my better hardware into battle ya know?
i do however need the things you just mentioned. i might look
for a deluxe players MIM.

That's probably a good idea. Either way I really don't think you will be disappointed with the MIM's.

Worst case scenario is you might end up swapping pickups, but that might be a small price to pay to protect you better gear if you suspect it may get damaged.

_________________
2007 MIM Strat w/ Bill Lawrence Keystones
2010 American Deluxe
Fender Super-Sonic Amp
TS-909
Jekyll & Hyde

yeah but which pickups?
i need a very blusey tone w/o a lot of noise.
my 50th has noiseless pickups, but i think
i could find a more bluesy pickup if i searched.

Well I have limited experience with different pickups, but here is what I have found. I also play mostly bluesy stuff.

The new N3 pickups that come on the American Deluxe are great and very versatile and can cover a very wide range of music and sound really good playin the blues. That being said, I'm not sure if they are offered separately yet.

The pickups I have in my MIM are great for blues, were $70 for a set, and have less noise than most single coils I have played with.

Check out their site: http://wildepickups.com/

They make some great pickups and are very affordable. I have the Keystones which are true single coils, but they also make some noiseless pickups for strats. This is the guy that teamed up with Fender to make the SCN pickups that were in the American Deluxe strats through 2009. Whenever I let someone jam on my MIM they have always been impressed with the Keystones.

The Deluxe players strat looks great and comes with noiseless pickups (which I'm sure you know) so you may be happy with them and can avoid all of this. Anyway, make sure and let us know what you end up doing and if the deluxe players strat ends up being great out of the box I'm sure a lot of us would like to hear your review.

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2007 MIM Strat w/ Bill Lawrence Keystones
2010 American Deluxe
Fender Super-Sonic Amp
TS-909
Jekyll & Hyde

well i went to guitar center today to try a few deluxe players.
i was told that they didnt have any and all
shipments of these guitars have been put on hold.
he didnt say if it was a GC thing or fender, but they were on hold.
figures, just my luck. im not gonna jump on anything else until ive had opportunity to sample the player.