Hey guys, well, I have about £400 at the moment, which is enough to get me a fender standard strat MiM. Is it worth me getting a MiM? Are the differences between MiM and MiA hugely significant, do mexican mades still make for worthwhile guitars?

It's a decent starting point - go for it!

Also, see the MIM Stratocaster Club thread on here somewhere!!!

The search tool is good to use, here is the thread :
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10080&hilit=Club

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Thanks mate when you say that the MiA has more "soul" do you mean in its feel, or its sound?

People have been trying to find a solid definition of the difference for years but the truth is some of the differences defy explanation. There definitely ARE differences in feel, playability, comfort, tone, etc. and yes you'll find folks who can tell you the size of the fretwires and the shape of the neck profiles and such and when you examine those issues they very often don't seem all that significant. There is still a difference nevertheless. Prolly as a result of a combination of many small differences adding up. Is it worth it? Yes. If it's worth it to you.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Personally, mim strats are "the real deal".
There is a fsr black with black pg, has a whole lot of
David Gilmour soul. There is a sienna sb hss .
The necks are excellent.
Martian, a opinion trusted forumite, had an opportunity
To install a American deluxe strat neck on his strat,
And chose the mim neck. IMHO that says alot.

Go to your local guitar store and audition mim vs mia,
Deluxe players vs american deluxe.
Classic players vs classic series
american vintage reissue vs hot rod avri,
I only say this because you can find really good deals
On craigslist or sales.

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"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present."

oogway, kungfu panda 2008

Granted, it doesn't have all the 'bells and whistles of an American one but a MIM Strat is a damn good guitar. Having said this, only you can decide if the difference between the two countries of origin justifies yourself paying three times the price of a MIM one for an American one.

As always, this is merely IMO where YMMV.

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You dig?

I've got both, but for whatever reason (locked in the reptilian orb of my guitar playing brain) I usually grab one of the MIMs off the wall when I get the urge. I like 'em!

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

As someone who at one point was lucky to have $50 USD of disposable income and now has reached the point where I can afford just about anything I want, I'd really advise you to take a hard look at where the diminishing point of return is. There is NOTHING wrong with an MIM strat. Can one get better? Sure. And maybe it is worth that to you if you are a discerning player. But at what point is it going to be good enough. I've learned that the answer tends to be "just beyond whatever you currently have."

As for your specific question, the differences between MIM and MIA are going to have a lot to do with arguments of mojo that are difficult to prove or disprove. Not to say real quality enhancements aren't there in the MIAs. I just know I look at my MIAs sometimes and ask myself if I can really hear or feel THAT much difference from the MIMs I play in my local guitar store sometimes.

The MIAs are nice, and that's the one that'll hold its value down the road, but MIMs are nothing to laugh at. Get it setup properly and use the money you save to tweak it and make it really yours - you spend less money, don't have to worry about affecting resale value, and end up with a killer guitar that you don't have to be afraid to ding up and play the $#!7 out of.

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[08 MIM Standard Arctic White] > [Danelectro Fish n Chips EQ > Radial Texas Bones OD > Tonerider British Distortion > Electroharmonix Russian Big Muff Pi > Vox V847 Wah] > FM65R

I'll have to agree w/all the positive remarks regarding the MIM strat. They're good value for the money. I've had mine for 3 years, & no regrets.

Go to a shop that has a wide selection of different guitars--different countries of origin, etc.--within your price range.
Set aside a few guitars that "feel" right in your hands.
Then out of those that "feel" right, pick out a couple that sound best to you.
Then out of those two that feel and sound right, pick the one you think is prettiest.

As far as whether MIM or MIA is better:
I like the feel of my MIM Telecaster's neck a tiny bit more than the feel of my MIA Stratocaster's neck...neither are bad, and I love both of them, but today i like the feel of the Tele better (however, I have the right to change my mind at any given moment).

My Strat's prettier. It sounds better for bluesy rock songs, while the Tele sounds better for "heavier" songs (that being said, I still play a lot of blues on the Telecaster). The weight of my Strat is nicer on my back (significantly lighter).
Which one is better? Yes.

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Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

are Mim strats supposed to have "original custom body" at the top of the neck or is that just for Mia standards

[quote="bluesstrattone"]Personally, mim strats are "the real deal".
There is a fsr black with black pg, has a whole lot of
David Gilmour soul. There is a sienna sb hss .
The necks are excellent.
Martian, a opinion trusted forumite, had an opportunity
To install a American deluxe strat neck on his strat,
And chose the mim neck. IMHO that says alot.


That's because American Deluxe necks are garbage. We've had 4 come in this year so far that fender had to replace. I dont know why its just the American Deluxe's, and not American Standards. They were all pre compound radiused necks. They were all twisted, nad they varied in model years. Only thing they had in common was rosewood fretboards.

I'll tell you, at this point, id just get a MIM. Yeah, they quality of the wood is better on the American, and it doesnt have such a heavy finish; but I end up removing most of the hardware and electronics anyway, so Id rather start out with something cheaper. Ive been assembling my strats now, after the last price increase with Fender, I swore I wouldnt buy a new American Fender again, and I havent. I built my strat using a quartersawn maple neck w/o a profile, and a one-piece alder body. I reprofiled the neck, starting with a Clapton like V, then removing the treble side shoulder (just a bit) between the 7th and 15th fret, so it starts as a V, then goes into an almost SRV profile, so I have greater reach. The body i shaved some of the neck heal like you see on American Deluxes, and thinned the headstock similiar to the Eric Johnson. Put Sprezel staggered locking tuners, with along with the thinned headstock negated the need for a string tree. Made a bone nut, Shot the neck with tinted nitrocellulous finish, put a thin skin nitro finish on the body. Threw in Dimarzio Area 58/58/61's, CTS pots, built a greasbucket circuit for the bridge pickup tone pot, and EXCELLENT treble bleed(went through a dozen cap/resistor combanations; parallel, series, until i found one that not only worked, but improved the taper). Then stuck a Callaham tremolo unit, which i later changed to the KCG Brass tremolo, with Raw Vintage springs and saddles. Installed a mini toggle to turn the bridge pup independant of the 5 way, plus did a series/parallel push/pull, so i can get that tele sound, plus use the middle/bridge in series to push the amp.

I put it against ANY custom shop, and everyone that's played all say its the best souding and playing strat they've played, and they all own Custom Shops. I probably dropped about $1200 tops. Of course, I saved money by doing most of the work myself, though my friend who ownes the shop did the spray finish for me.

Point being, American Stds are overpriced. Though at least they got ahold of the senses. The first price increase was rediculous, but they shaved it back. MIM's are fine, and if you drop a few hundred in pickups, pots, and hardware (not necessarliy at once; you'll have a monster).
I mean; $4000 for a David Gilmour strat? I love the guitar player, but why you'd pay $4000 for a guitar that's essenctially a '70s crappy strat, that he hot rodded. Id be willing to wager that what you get when you buy his signature strat is way better than the actual strat it's based on.

On the Mexican vs American, its not just that the American are more expensive because its made in the US. It doesn have a better grade of materials, and better QC. I remember having to buy a used MIM after my American Deluxe was stolen and i didnt have the money to replace it. I was disheartend to find the quality of the MIM's left much to be desired (though i found some Americans that werent much better). Then my friend got me in touch with a guy who's band was recording, and he had a year old FSR mexican made strat (turned out they only built 250 of them). I got a great deal; $250 + a Fender HSC, I found a left over at a shop selling for $900. Besides being a bit heavy, it seemed to not have any flaws, I didnt find any of the problems I saw with other MIM's. Until I replaced the stock trem with a Callaham. One of the 6 screw holes looked as if they started putting the screw in off center. They countersink the holes, and instead of being round, the countersink was oval because it was off center. This is something that odds are wouldnt have made it out of Corona. But they have consistancy issues themeselves.
Id recommend a MIM, even though the MIA are made with better materials. You can hot rod the MIM without feeling bad about paying top dollar, than removing the parts that made up that top dollar price. Remember; its just a large plank of wood, with a slimmer plank of wood scewed to it. We're not taking about a Les Paul with binding, flamed woods, and intricate inlays.