Right on Arjay,I was thinking that too but didn't say it as succinctly as you did.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

well good for you learning, guitar ls the best thing ln my life,

ln my honest opinion ld say get the 91 American Strat because lts been used and broken ln and all the "out of factory " flaws have been fixed and usually the older strats are the better they sound, just buy the 91 and get lt professionally set up and you will have a workhorse to use for years

I've always preferred new.

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"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."-John Wayne

i have to guitar i bought new and two guitars i bought used. All work fine and do their job.

Getting brand new is good. Get a warranty a new guitar in the color you want and all that.

Used is good too. A cheaper price and a guitar that has been broken in and has proved the test of time.

Both are positive but if you see a guitar you like and its used get it.

If you see a guitar and its new get it because bottom line is it does not matter if its used or new it depends on what you prefer.

Let's be honest, most of our guitar purchases are preowned, dictated by budget considerations as well as finding the right guitar, I've purchased both new and preowned but have been very fortunate to have purchased my 56 NOS CS Strat (2001) as well as my Larrivee acoustic 1995 preowned.
Both were rarely played, pampered when taken out and always stored in their cases.
I'm looking forward to my next Strat, it may be preowned or new,who knows?? [img][img]http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/uu294/MarcJM/IMG_8438.jpg[/img][/img][img][img]http://i657.photobucket.com/albums/uu294/MarcJM/IMG_3752.jpg[/img][/img]

It depends on which one you like better. If the new one sounds better and is more comfortable then get. Same with the used one. My strat is used but was barely played by the previous owner. And look and the MIM strats too. They are quality instruments and are more affordable than the MIA strats.

Great feedback - seems to be six of one and a half dozen of the other. The used is a 91 in black - which is great, but I really like the Ash finish - can't get it till you move to the Deluxe Strat and I have seen a couple on ebay, but I don't really want to buy off of ebay - I want to hold the guitar before I buy it - did see one on Craigs List though - be a two hour drive to go see it. I can drive to the South Side of Pittsburgh in 40 minutes and buy a new one. I think I should wait until I have had at least a few more lessons (4 so far). My son's father-in-law told me that he knows a guy who has a couple of Strats for sale too. I'm gettin antsy.

I was a jingoistic cork-sniffer for decades until about fifteen years ago, when I arranged to help a friend buy a used MIJ '50s re-issue Strat. When he got to the store to check it out we both strummed and picked on it for several minutes, then he asked me my opinion (bear in mind, I had never played one of these instruments before or even examined one). Simply put, the guitar was superb in fit, finish, and playability. I told him flat out that if he didn't buy it, I WOULD!

He did in fact take it home that day and still owns it. And that was the day that my eyes were opened as well. Today I own ten Fender instruments and of those, only one is of domestic manufacture (a 2001 AmStd Tele). The remainder are either CIJ and MIM guitars, or parts from those guitars which I have "re-arranged" into various alternative combinations. The MIMs are the first Strats I look at whenever I pay GC a visit.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

This is good advice.

Take your time and look/shop around. Compare.

As for the warranty that comes with a new guitar: I've never had to take advantage of it ... so it's a non-issue for me.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.