Hi and welcome !

That car big headstock american special looks really awesome, I think I want one, too.

Cheers,
Robin

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http://www.youtube.com/robinstrower
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You can replace the bridge if its damaged, replace the pickups if they aren't cutting it, and have the frets looked at after 18 years of wear and tear. I look into modifying your strat first. But if an American strat is what you want, you're better off with a MIA Standard over Highway 1 or Special. Those are decent, but a MIM Deluxe is a better made guitar (some would argue that). A decent used MIA Standard goes for less than $800. I have a 96 Tex-Mex that is a perfect sounding strat. I will probably hand that down to my son in the next couple of years if he really starts to play like he said he would. That would leave me open for a MIA Standard.

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


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Welcome to the forum bramturismo !!!

Now comes the fun, choosing a new guitar. Personally, I recently bought a candy apple red am special. I wanted a FSR, but, it was sold out so I, too, had to choose between
a standard (at the time out of stock) and a special. You can't go wrong with any of
the choices though. It screams right out of the box.
The red ones are hotter, just ask my wife...........

*UPDATE*

Hey folks!

Been at the guitar store and played a black Standard Strat and the candy apple red Special Strat. Both had maple necks.

I don't really know what to tell as I'm more puzzled to what I want then I was before. The first thing I noticed when picking up the American Special was that the neck finish on it didn't feel as smooth or nice as the one on my MIM Strat, ironically! Nor did the Standard Strat's neck feel as nice. The Standard Strat had a more glossy finish on the fretboard than the Special, but I felt the Standard was harder to bend than the Special. I also felt I couldn't play as fast on the Standard as on the Special. However, this could be merely due to the fact I was nervous and a bit sweaty because I was trying out 2 beautiful guitars and people could hear me playing. I have a habit of not wanting to play to others because playing the guitar is somehow very personal for me to do.

Anyway, the Standard had a 2-bolt bridge which would mean it would stay a bit better in tune. It would also come with a hard-case rather than a gigbag with the Special. As far as appearance goes, though, the Special looked absolutely staggering! The candy apple red color is more beautiful in person than could be judged from any picture.

The biggest issue for me is that the Standard is 500 dollars more than the Special. But did it feel 500 dollars better in my hands and to my ears? No. The simple matter of the fact is that the Standard is a better guitar, yes, but I didn't feel it was equally as better than the Special as the price difference was.

Unfortunately there was no Highway One Strat available to play, but he had some road worn Strats. But I have no interest in those as I personally think a worn guitar should bear the marks of memories and events of its owner, and not artificial marks from a machine.

The only thing that I now have to answer are these questions:

- Am I prepared to pay 500 dollars more for a guitar that I know is better, but didn't sound or feel that much better?
- Have I had a bias for the Special from the start because of its nice color finish and the fact my big idol David Gilmour also plays a candy apple red Strat?

I think I need to sleep a night or 14 over it. I went to the bank and made a special saving account for my guitar, it's got 800 dollars on it right now and I play to keep depositing money on it until I really have decided what I want.

My head says that the Standard is a better guitar, but my heart tells me I want the Special.

You are probably just used to the finish on the neck of your current guitar and so it feels better to you. I think you would get used to any one of the guitars you've tried but I'd suggest you get the one that is most comfortable to you and sounds better to you. Don't even think about the price or which guitar is supposed to be better. If the special fits the bill for you then get it. I don't believe you can go wrong with either one of them. Good luck choosing and enjoy my friend!!

Hey, greetings from Norway to a fellow Norwegian. I just got my Am. Std. strat, and I have to say that it's worth every penny. Make sure to try out all the Am's you can, before making a decision.

And also, about the colors, remember that Gilmour made his best music with a certain black strat

I have Olympic White w/ maple neck, and it looks stunning! Just had to get it out there.

Anyway, lykke til

Takker!

Ah yes, the black signature strat. Meanest looking Strat to this date! Maybe someday I'll have enough money to buy one of my own!

I'm totally in love with the CAR color, though. My eyes popped when I saw it in the store. I might go the Gilmour way and put some EMG pick-ups in it way ahead into the future.

I think a 2 point trem staying in tune is debatable. I had an American Deluxe w/ one, and all my strats now are vintage 6 posts. It's hard to compare since the Am Dlx is long gone, but i have an easier time keeping the 6 posts in tune.

I think you just need to get whatever sounds best to your ears. Forget the MIA or MIM $@!& and just go with what feels best for you. I have 2 American Specials and they're really fine guitars but I didn't buy them because they were American made - I simply bought them because they sounded good to my ears and they felt very comfortable for me. Best of luck to you on your search and remember take your time in choosing ~ Make your new purchase something to remember. Good Luck !!

Well I think I have made my decision. I'm going for the candy apple red American Special.

I kind of figured out that I'm only 22 years old, and I've got all the world's time to buy any guitar my heart desires. I will come back and post pictures when I got my hands on it.

Currently still saving up, but I'm surprised how much more expensive Fenders are here in Norway compared to the USA. While you guys pay 800 dollars for an american special I have to lay down about 1,500 for one. The price of a Standard is at 2,000 (!)

Oh and a sunburst Gibson LP? 5,000 dollar smack in your face.

On that, when I do receive the Strat I'm going to take my MIM into the shop. It was last in half a year ago when I needed to change strings, but hadn't any equipment to remove the excess strings. When he changed the strings he told me he noticed the guitar never had a really good service in all those years so he did some very quick fixes like fixing the neck straightness as well as fixing the distance between my low E string and the edge of the fretboard as it was quite close. He did say there are some other issues he would need more time to fix, but having a new guitar would make a perfect opportunity to give my MIM a well earned rest and having it refreshed.

I love my CAR American Special. Here is mine. I changed out the white plastic pieces for black, I have locking tuners (just a personal option for me), and strap-locks. Otherwise it is all stock.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Gotta chime in here. For my money I would say what's already been suggested, If you love your MIM then why not show it some TLC and start modding it to suit your needs. No guitar will measure up to it, be it an American standard or a Custom Shop Gilmour (I know, I have one of them)

If I were you, even though it can be tempting to buy a new guitar, hey, they're beautiful things, but the noise they make and how they feel to the player is what's really important so I would say, invest your money in your MIM.

As for the EMG DG-20s- I can't rate them highly enough, I really can't, I put them in a squier I had and the guitar suddenly sprang to life. So much verstility and tonal variety.

Of course since then I've bought The Gilmour and a 1987 Japanese E-series 62 reissue. And as much as I love them both, I too am in the market for a CAR strat to give the EMGs a new home, however, having said that, the E-Series is my number one, it's the one I gig with and it fits me. I'd never sell the Gilmour but hey, he customised the hell out of it, and all his other guitars to get the tone he was searching for. Why don't you do the same, bring your MIM back to life.

That's gotta be more satisfying in the long run, to know your guitar is quite literally one of a kind. Built to you specifications.

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"I like it when a flower or a little tuft of grass grows through a crack in the concrete. It's so f*ckin' heroic!"

I doubt modifying it would be any cheaper than buying a new Strat, though.

I'd want a full maple neck on my MIM, a matte black pickguard, a complete re-fret, white EMG DG-20 pick-ups, keep the controls white and a new tremolo as well as a modified trem arm and a 70s headstock. But some quick searches would indicate the parts themselves would come to an equal total cost as the CAR special. And that doesn't include any kind of work or mail cost and whatnot.

I think I'm good with a MIA for now. After all, I've been wanting to have one for years. The MIM can always be turned into a project later on when I've finished university and started to make some decent money.

In complete honesy; you're MIM is probably a MUCH better guitar than what Gilmour actually plays anyway. He's playing an old CBS-era piece of ...., strat. that's had chucks of wood taken out of the body, then glued back in when he changed to a Kahler locking back to a vintage.
If you WANT a new guitar, and have the cash; go do it, nothing wrong with 2 strats. But you dont need to replace it. If you came to me with that guitar, a few hundred dollars, it would come back a monster. I'm sure there are many people in your area capable of doing the same.

Hello there people!

Small update. Not about me, but my roommate. His MZ9 MIM Strat along with a Mustang III amp came in today!

Here are some pics:










Not sure what to think of the guitar myself in all honesty. It does sound nice, but it out-edges my '93 MIM barely. The only thing bothering me about his MIM is the finish: it's not the prettiest. Especially the edges around the pick-up switch are especially rough and sharp.


As for me the saving up is still ongoing, so hopefully I will return with images of my brandnew CAR American Special soon!