Japanese strats and Mexican strats what is the difference?

Build quality and sound wise there isn't a noticeable difference,not the past few years anyway.I'm not sue where each country sources its parts but they are all pretty well equal quality.

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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.

One is made in Japan, the other is made in Mexico.


I like the MIM over the Japanese (Unless you are taking about the reissues) mainly because of the body woods, the Japanese units are more likely to be Basswood (Or similar) in the base units. The quality is as good out of each, and the reissues that have Alder or Ash body's are all good.

I think the electronics they use are quality wise the same, middle of the road stuff, I would replace either to bring it up to the quality I like. (Custom shop units)
That is not to say there not good, many players find them to be just fine. For me, there just not what I want.
I would also say there not as good as the ones they put in the American made units. (IMHO)

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Marriage is like playing cards...

At first all you want are Hearts and Diamonds.

But in the end, all you really want is a Club and a Spade.

The alder- and ash-bodied MIJ/CIJ "Premium Vintage" re-issue Strats have body contours that are closer to original Fender spec than the re-issues from Ensenada. Both are fine instruments though. The Fuji-Gen guitars all suffer from crappy pots, switches, and wiring -- likewise, they all seen to come equipped with Texas Special pickups. Fine for those who like that set but I prefer Fat '50s, 57/62's, or the CS '69s. The subtly-tinted lacquer used on the Japanese necks looks much more realistic than the dark orange as seen on the MIM's. As well, the string tree on the Japanese re-issues is located correctly on the headstock -- the MIA and MIM re-issues have it too far from the nut (it should be even with the A string tuner post).

Thus, each of these imports have their strong and weak points but overall they're both fine representations of the ubiquitous Fender Strat. I own examples of both.

HTH

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