I have what I believe to be a 1996 MIM strat. It has vintage tuners, tinted neck, spaghetti logo, "aged" white knobs and pickups, but a standard strat bridge. The bridge doesn't make sense. I would think they would use the "FENDER" stamp old style saddles. So, does anyone know what bridge shipped standard on 1996 MIM reissues?

Thanks!

Pictures please. I have a 96new MIM as well so pics would help us compare them.

Yes, pictures would help. Also, there is no such thing as a "Mexican Reissue" (had to be an "issue" in the first place to have a "reissue"). Of course a "Mex Std Strat" would come with a "Standard" bridge.

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Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

The Mexican Classic'50s, Classic'60s, and Classic '70s are often incorrectly referred to as "reissues", but they aren't intended to be accurate replicas or anything like that. They're supposed to capture the general spirit of those eras but they have poly finishes, plastic pickup bobbins, lots of other "incorrect" specs.

But the MIM Classics weren't introduced until '99. Before that, they sold a similar line of "inspired by the past" models that were made in Japan.

A '96 MIM with the features listed in the first post might be the original Tex-Mex model (later that year they changed it a little to turn it into the Jimmie Vaughan Tex-Mex Signature). But IIRC the Tex-Mex had the American Vintage Reissue bridge (as does the Jimmie Vaughan Signature).

The saddles might be replacements. See if a magnet sticks to the bridge block and check the string spacing. If it has a steel block and wide vintage spacing it's the AVRI bridge, which would almost certainly mean the guitar is one of the original Tex-Mex Strats.

+1

"Vintage" string spacing is 2-7/32" while "standard" (or import) string spacing is 2-1/16".

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