New to the site. Are the high end Strats built in the US?

Welcome...But seriously, you need to go thru the Fender website and it's product description.

Not all of the guitars are made in the USA, I consider the MIM Stratocaster, Telecaster series made in Mexico as high end, one can compare them to the competition and they more often than not win hands down.
If you are referring to the Custom Shop guitars, they are most definitely crafted stateside..
The Deluxe series says American Deluxe or just Deluxe.
From the quality of the products Fender produces, I find that the question is redundant since oversea's or over the border construction has more to do with keeping manufacturing costs down and keeping consumer retail price affordable, yet still achieving a high level of product quality.

That being said I have looked at, played, bought even the Squier series and I have not found a competitive product from the competition at the same price point...

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Welcome...But seriously, you need to go thru the Fender website and it's product description.

Thanks for the info. My cursory view of product description did not say where they are made, or I didn't see it. I was just curious and looking for a quick answer

And you need to define "high end". For me, that's custom shop.

Cheers

David

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"Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc...and all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat fish and play around. Dolphins believe that they are smarter for exactly the same reasons."

Japan makes some really awesome product.

I'll second that observation. For a n00b (like me), the guitars "look" exactly the same from a couple hundred dollar Squier to an over a thousand dollar American Standard. The differences are subtle and I'm learning as I go along. The fender product pages have great pictures but don't say where their made unless they say "American" right in their name.

To try to answer from what I know (veterens, feel free to correct me)

Squier: Indonesia or China (early ones were Mexico)
Fender Made in Mexico (mim): serial number starts with M. Made in Mexico. Note that one source in my history searches tells me that the necks are constructed and fretted in the US.
Fender Highway One: Made in America but with some foreign sourced parts.
Fender Strat Special: My understanding is that this is a name change from highway one
Fender Strat Standard: Look first at the serial number. There's a Mexican Strat Standard and an American Standard. The serial number and the price will give you clues as to where it's made
Fender Deluxe: see standard
Custom shop: american
There's a Japan built model, but I've not figured that one out yet. I believe that the Squier CV uses some US pickups, but I'm not sure if they're built here or spec'd. I may actually be confusing this with a mim deluxe player's strat which I believe (played one last weekend) has a 12" neck radius and American noiseless pickups.


There are a gazillion different models besides what I listed but these are what I've been able to understand so far. I've bought 2 used Mexican standard strats because their cheaper and because I'm so scared that I'll get a bogus American guitar for big money.

I'd be quite happy to hear from the experts as it's pretty confusing.

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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! That was response was more than I expected, thanks again!!

Depends on what one would consider "high end". Each country that produces Fender's currently make good guitars, and each have their "high end" models. That being said, All highway one guitars, and all that have "american" in their names, such as the American Standards, will be USA made. The expensive Artist Series guitars will be USA built too, like the SRV, Malmsteen, Johnson and Knopfler models. All Custom Shop guitars are US made, but not the "Custom Shop Designed" models

The Fender Custom Shop is the high-end...stop..

If you compare a Custom Deluxe ( from the Custom Shop ) with an American Deluxe, both in a cherry sunburst finish, they look very similar until you pick them up and play each one.

The Deluxe is really nice, but the CS version has that extra attention to detail, everything is where it should be, the finish is matched to the wood grain, the pickups are special, the neck is finished off with the edges rolled a bit further.
It becomes similar to buying a suit off the rack and having a bespoke of similar style. It becomes immediately obvious that one is so much more fitted than the other...

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Toss in my 2 cents. To answer this question, yes and no.... It is obvious to me that most high-end Strats come from either Custom Shop, Master Series, or Signature guitars all built here in the USA. But Fender Japan has their Extrad series which is like a Japanese version of Custom Shop. These guitars are excellent. The Mexican plant has a few too....

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

Japan used to make Squier Strats but switched to making Fender mainly for the domestic market only. The American Special is basically a Highway 1 with different paint (and laquered) and Texas Special pickups, and is a very nice guitar!