Hello all you strat nuts, I am seeking to be a strat nut myself because I like the way the strat sounds and the feel. I don't have tons of money; I am thinking of buying a "dead pawn" guitar and replacing the electronics. The only dilemma I have is how do I know that I am buying a genuine american made standard strat? How can I tell that the body and neck are the real thing? I am going to replace the electronics so that doesn't really matter, or does it? This will be my first strat so any advice on any of the american made models will be helpful. I am interested in quality over anything else, but again, I don't have tons of money. Help me capture a great steal. Thanks to you all.

Why the infatuation with American-made?

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

Sounds like your primary concern is price regardless of what you say. There is nothing wrong with any of the late model Mexican made Strats (I own one myself). Even several of the current Squier models are very nice (I own a Squier Affinity Telecaster which is very highly regarded). If you are going to replace the electronics, I suggest you look for one of those.

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Bill

Thanks Bill,

I did see a new mexican made strat. It was very nice, but unforturnately I didn't play it. Maybe I'm putting to much weight on the materials, after all, I'm not a big performer with money to burn; needing all the hype. I think I'll try the mexi-strats, I'm sure that will be more than I need. Thanks for your reply.

Joe

Good luck.

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Bill

Save yourself some money and go play a couple MIM strats, might I suggest the 50s or 60s classics series, very good quality, great tone...I own two...and two American made guitars and they are comprable...





T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

Hi strathopes, welcome to the Forum.

The answer to this is simple. When you find a guitar you are thinking of buying take some decent photos of it, post them here and we'll talk you through what we see. The better the photos, the better we can help you. At the very least you need to show us the whole guitar, front and back, and a close-up of the headstock, front and back. Close-ups of the body would help too. And make sure the pics are in focus, please.

Howzat?

Cheers - C

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My biggest concern would be the neck. Finding a profile you like, frets that feel good, and one that appeals to your eye. The body is a slab of wood, and the electronics are very modifiable.

You are going to buy a MIA strat and plan to immediately replace the electrics? Why? There are a bazillion configurations of strats brand new. Why not just find the one that matches what you're looking for. If you're modding anyways, I'll echo that you'll do far better $$ wises picking up a used MIM strat for 1/4 the price of a new MIA.

To spell it out......if you ever go to sell your modded MIA, it is going to be worth less than if it had been 100% stock and never touched.

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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)

Hi Jack: in the first post strathopes said he's short on money and therefore hopes to buy a beaten pawn shop Strat. At first he mentioned that he wanted MIA; later, in response to suggestions, he indicated he was going to widen his search to MIMs too.

Cheers - C

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