Is there a noticable difference? How can you tell one from the other?

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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Nothing visual on a complete guitar, unless it's a sunburst. Then you will see the belly cut out as a block black colour, on the Standards atleast. That's because they use a veneer, if the body were not veneered, it would show the joins on the flat. If it's veneered it would show the layer in the belly cut out. So they paint the cutout one solid colour.

If you take the scratchplate and neck off, you'll see circular jig holes that aren't there on the AVRI's atleast.

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No no and no

Are you talking practicle is one "better" than the other for use as a project Strat or from a playing / players perspective or from a "is this a "real" MIM or American Strat" perspective.

The answer could be different. I will let the real experts here answer as I'm somewhat of a novice regarding Strat style guitars. If you asked a similar question about Martin acoustics for bluegrass music, I could give better answers.

Jeff

One difference in bodies between a USA standard and a MIM standard would be obvious. Check the tremolo cavity. Does the body accept a 2 point, USA tremolo, or the vintage 6 point used on the MIM standard. The USA bodies sometimes are made of fewer pieces of wood, which matters to some people. If the body is of a vintage re-issue type, like the AVRI or the Classic Series.....again, an obvious difference would be the finish. The USA vintage re-issues use a nitro finish, whereas the imports use polyurethane. Other than this, you can bolt any 4 bolt strat neck to any 4 bolt strat body.......and with minor drilling and hole plugging, can mount any 3 bolt to a 4 bolt body and vice-versa.

The Road Worn "recession relics" all come from Mexico. And they all have nitro finishes.

As to the prior statement that MIM sunburst bodies are all black within the rear bellycut, not true. The MIM Classic and Classic Series sunburst bodies are painted and finished just like the originals were back in the '50s and '60's. When the MIM Standards were still using veneered tops the bellycut was indeed all black (the same held true for the MIM Standard basses) but I don't think those bodies are veneered anymore and haven't been for quite some time.

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

If you re-read what was written. It says that the block colour belly cut was on the standards atleast. Whilst were in the correcting mood.

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Shouldn't you be off to the Ministry of the Exchequer, paying your television set tax or something?

I have no idea what a "block colour" is.



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

Hay it's not my fult we reed and rite propaa english.

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And I've never ever paid for a tv license. Having to pay for my driving license is bad enough. So ner!

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My recent 2006 MIM 60th does have solid wood in the body. Seven solid 2X2 (1.5"X1.5" Actual) alder pices. This is evident after several years of expansion and contraction. The trem cavity has the loverlap finish of the body as does the pickup routing, all finished in gloss.

From the feedback received by various forumites in the past I reckon, that things seems to change constantly in the fender production.

Comparing the 07 Am Std and 09 Mexi Std body that I own the differences that I see are that american body is made out of three glued pieces and mexi has five and also mexi has this funny "mickey mouse ears" as I call it rounded routing in the bottom of the neck pocket. The contours, "crop circles", even the Micro-Tilt hole is in a mexi.

You must remember the bolt pattern is different on Strats that have contoured heel with the off set bolt.
And for some reason the Roadhouse Strat's have issues with neck changeability.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

I've already swapped the neck once. But it was for a Lonestar strat neck.

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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