Hello -

How do the American made and Mexican made Strats compare? I notice that there is quite a price difference between the two. Is there a quality or sound difference? Thanks in advance.

The fit, finish, and electronics of the MIA guitars is usually superior to the MIM instruments. That said, I always find room for improvement with either model. This heavily-upgraded Ensenada-built '50s Classic Strat has served me well for over 400 gigs since I purchased it new in 1998......



Arjay

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Hi jpw.

I have both a 2007 Fender American Standard (MIA) and a 2009 Standard (MIM) Stratocaster, and I love both of them. The primary differences I've found between them:

+ My American Standard has a solid ash body while the MIM has solid alder.
+ The American Standard has AlNiCo V pickups stock, while the MIM has ceramic pickups stock. This is a big difference in sound of the two guitars. I've upgraded my MIM with AlNiCo V pickups.
+ The MIA strat has a "no load" "delta tone" circuit for the middle and bridge pickups that removes the tone circuit (essentially) when the tone control is on 10, and works as a normal tone control between 1 and 9. I like this feature a lot.
+ The hand-rolled edges of the American Standard's fretboard feel very nice -- the feel of the neck is probably what ultimately led me to buy the MIA strat. The MIM's neck has the same profile as my MIA, and is a pleasure to play, but doesn't feel quite as nice as the MIA's rolled edges.
+ The MIA strat has a two-point tremolo, while the MIM has a six-point tremolo. Some say they can hear the difference, but I can't.

There are other differences (finishes, etc.) but the most noticeable ones are listed above.

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viewtopic.php?f=6&t=40613&hilit=+usa+vs+mim+

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Generally speaking the MIA Standards have better quality parts. There are a lot of people on this forum who like their MIM Standards very much.

As mentioned there is always something I want to change on my guitars when I purchase them, always some personal aspect of the guitar that can be improved.

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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

I own USA and MIM Fenders. And my experience is this : The fit and finish is better on the USA models, but only by a very small amount. Usually the MIM guitars arrive out of the box with very good overall setups, and everything being as it should be. The standard USA models have always carried better electronics than the standard MIM models. The wood used in the USA models are higher grade, with tighter, straighter grain (usually). As for sound, they both sound very similar, depending on the pickups and years produced (some years have things like the delta-tone mods). As for playability, they feel completely different. The MIM necks play very well with insanely low action, but they feel overly flat-radiused to me and the edges of the neck are distinctly sharp, compared to the smooth, round feel of the current USA model's fretboard edges. Oh, and they both smell different when new LOL. And speaking with the standard models from both countries, the USA has a bi-flex, 2 way truss rod, where the MIM has only the traditional 1 way truss rod, but that's NOT a big deal to me If you can afford USA, do it! If you cannot, it isn't a big deal, because the MIM guitars are incredible, quality products! I prefer to stay away from the higher end MIM models, because the overall quality isn't better, you are only paying for more "vintage" styled guitars.....and $800 for a MIM guitar is dipping into the USA Fender price range

Once you replace the pups and the trem block in a MIM standard, nine times out of ten they will sound the same. Heck, if you throw in a CV with a new block and do a blind listen you have a hard time telling them apart, though the CV have much thinner necks, so you can tell the difference in feel.

My biggest sticking point in the whole MIM vs. USA standards is to get the guitar I wanted for less then $1500 I had to go MIM. I wanted a small headstock and six point trem. After playing everything in my price range (a little over $900 US), and I did play the Highway 1's and American Specials to be fair though I am not a fan of the CBS headstocks, a MIM FSR in black (wanted a daphne but feel over color) had the best feeling neck of them all. Yes the USA standards are a better guitar over all but not $500 better. If you are willing to do a little work, time and money, you can make you $500 MIM standard better then a stock USA standard, and have money left over for a killer little amp, and the USA standard ABS case.

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Well i had a 2010 blacktop that i modded pretty heavy. I fixed it up to be like a deluxe put in a 2 point trem and lsr dimarzios etc. Then bought a deluxe for real. There is a difference. The american made ones are better. But... The mexican ones are so close. If you get a blacktop floyd rose and drop dimarzios in you have a fine axe.

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Well then again you're talking about an American Deluxe Strat which pretty much smokes everything else out there (IMHO of course)........as always YMMV

I had planned on buying a MIA Strat this month but an expensive van repair cut into a good bit of my savings and I had to "settle" for a MIM model. Honestly, the MIAs are better built guitars with better components, but I'm not sure if I can say the difference is worth 2x the money. I got my MIM Strat from Sweetwater and I was really impressed with the fit, finish, and overall playability of my new git. I can see myself upgrading a few parts but there really isn't anything wrong with the guitar if I left it stock. For the money, I don't think you can beat the MIMs, and at the price they're selling for, you can really enjoy the guitar without constantly worrying about it.

If you're concerned with resell value or just have to have "MIA" on the headstock, go American. If you want a nice guitar to play, get the MIM.

I love the blacktop 22 fret necks. I ended up putting a standard body on it. But the blacktop universal bodies are real cool. If you get one of those fender brass chrome plated pickguards and stick dimarzios in it it sounds amazing and plays like lightning. If you go floyd it wont work though.
I love my american deluxe but i am going to get that blacktop floyd rose strat next. I miss my blacktop

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I really love the feel and tone of the American Deluxe HSS. After trying one out, everything else just didn't feel as good. Having said that, though, the Blacktop is a nice, versatile Strat and it's more wallet friendly to boot.

Here's a classic pic from a tour of the Mexican factory showing that some of the MIM bodies are veneered and many-pieced.

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My other guitar is a Strat.

The MIM's (Standard Series at least) typically use from 5 to 7 pieces of lumber for the body. Having said that, I don't know of this method of construction having caused widespread problems.

Even US Standards until '99 were made in this way...up to 5 pieces and veneered

And it's written on The Stratocaster Chronicles