I just purchased an Arctic White Mexican built Stratocaster for 400 dollars. Included in the deal was an MG30FX Marshal amp. The guitar was built in 2009 and was purchased from the store from the guy i bought it off of 10 months ago. As far as I am concerned, i feel I got a pretty good deal. My question is this: From what I have read the guitar I purchased usually retails brand new at 500 to 600 dollars, minus the value of the amp that I received..I basically got the guitar for 200 dollars. The guitar has a very good sound...and when I switch to the neck and middle pick-ups, I get a very clean hollow sound..I am very happy, i feel that i found a diamond in the rough...the one thing that i do notice is that the action on the fretboard is a lot stiffer and doesnt flow nearly as good as the American Standards I have played. Does anyone have any recommendations as to what I should do, or look for in changing the neck of this guitar. The neck is maple and the frets do seem thicker than what I am use to...should I just have the neck refretted. I was also wondering where I would go to change out the electronics...my goal is to customize this MIM strat, its definetly a keeper...I feel with a little added features I could almost make it identical to its american counterpart...not valuewise of course, but soundwise yes...open to any suggestions ...thank you.

Learn to set up your guitar. I also picked up a mim strat (this week) used with a 15W Marshall amp. After removing the strings and cleaning everything, lubing the nut and saddles and string trees, restringing, setting the neck relief, saddle height and intonation, it physically plays as good as an American Strat (just played a few of those yesterday). I won't say that the pickups can hold a candle to an Am strat because they can't. But I see no reason to go swapping the neck. If you're looking to upgrade the neck hardware, go to some locking tuners and a roller T. Refretting is typically only done when they can't be dressed and are worn out. If the heights are not even, then a fret dress is in order. Find out costs before you do anything. With used Americans lower than $600 (look at Guitar Center used), you don't want to be putting so much into your mim that you'll literally never get your money back. I have a guitar like that already.....$700 into it and on a good day, I'd get $500 for it.

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2002 mim Telecaster
Jimmie Vaughan Stratocaster
Mexican HSS Stratocaster
6 non-fender guitars
2 kids (not for sale)
1 wife (uh....no comment)

What do you mean by "lubing the nut" and "string trees"?
What nut are you talking about?
Sorry for my question but I dont understand which parts of the guitar are those you mentioned.

Thanks.

By the way, I bought a MIM artic white too, and also find that the action on the fretboard is stiffer than other strats i've played.
Does the fretboard need some sort of oil or something? The fretboard is made of maple too.

Yesterday I used hands cream, and then started to play, and it was fine.
Is this wrong?

Greetings.

Hi 413...,Welcome to the forum.MIM Strats are just great as is and don't necessarily need any upgrades such as pickups etc.I don't quite understand what you mean that the action is stiff unless you mean that the strings are hard to bend.The action may be too high-that is the strings may be too far off the neck or the strings may be a heavy gauge which could be the cause of your problem.A lot of people find 9-42 gauge strings easy to bend and chord with however I use 8-38s which are thinner again.With a maple fretboard just regular guitar polish would suffice for keeping it clean however a wipe with a clean dry cloth every time you finish playing should generally keep it from getting a buildup of crude.
The nut is the whitish block at the top of the neck that the strings go through and you can lube it by just marking the grooves with a fair amount of pencil "lead".The string trees are the metal guides above the nut on the headstock that the strings go through you lube them and the bridge in the same manner.There are also lube solutions available that you can use in place of pencil "lead"(graphite)such as Big Bends Nut Sauce.

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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.

Hi Crossroadkill, I would suggest maybe playing it for a month or so before making any changes. Maybe it's just a matter of getting used to it. Or just start small by trying different strings, do a setup etc. You say you like the tone, so why change the electronics? I have an MIM, & I like it as is. One day I may upgrade the PUs, but I'm not in any hurry. Obviously it's your choice though. enjoy

very seldom if ever will you get your money back on any mod that you do at the time of sale. thats why you see all these bs jacked prices on CL for guitars. folks expect to get their money back on added parts. it doesnt work like that. if it did several of us on here would be rich.
when i go to mod a guitar i dont plan on selling it. i plan on it being a guitar that will be around for many yrs to come because it has been modded to my personal tastes and needs.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

What is the best way to determine the value of a used Strat MIM?? I'm looking at one now on craigslist in my area for $250. It's a sea-foam with gig bag. I've searched on ebay and $250 seems to be a pretty good price. Not sure yet how old the guitar is, but from the photos it appears to be in really good shape...

Any thoughts on additional sources to check value of used guitar such as this?

Thanks,
U2_Fan

ebay is a great way to check the going rates
for modern guitars. bottom line is what is it worth to you?
for me, the seafoam green finish alone is worth the asking
price.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

My feeling is to just enjoy your MIM, it's a great guitar the way it comes. My father told me when I was 16 and spending money on my 1957 Ford, that it will aways be a 1957 Ford, save your $$ and buy a better car when the time comes. The same with guitars. As far as pricing, the best buy I ever made for a MIM Strat was $200 for a mint Graffiti Yellow Deluxe Powerhouse w/case, the most was $400 for a new Lake Placid Blue.

Value can vary depending on the model of the mim strat, the year, the condition (of course) and something that a lot of people neglect, how clean it is. There are plenty of them that have literally been sitting in a closet for years and the seller pulls it out as you walk into their house. Check Craigslist too. But be aware with craigslist that you won't know what it sold for and prices are all over the map. I regularly watch it and can show you guitars from asking price of $200 to $700. The super high priced ones are often being sold by people who "inherited" the guitar and have no idea what they have or what it's value is.

If you want to sell on CL, list it for somewhat higher than what you want and leave room for negotiations. But go back and see what your competition is.

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2002 mim Telecaster
Jimmie Vaughan Stratocaster
Mexican HSS Stratocaster
6 non-fender guitars
2 kids (not for sale)
1 wife (uh....no comment)

Thanks Jack. I ended up picking it up for $250. It's a 2004 model that's sea-green in color. Looked it over really good and it looked practically brand new. Played it a bit and everything sounded really good and checked out. Figured I might could have negotiated it down to $200, but it seemed like $250 was a fair price.

Amazing how light this guitar is compared to my Les Paul (Ephiphone).

Thanks again for the input and the advice...

Randy