hello everybody and happy new year!

i have an old Mexican made Strat... 1990-ish that I like.

been thinking about upgrading to an American Standard.

thoughts?

(i play mostly blues)

thanks!

Put your MIM on the guitar stand..
Go out to the store and buy an MIA that turns you on and bring it home.

Hang the MIA next to the MIM..

What ever you feel like playing that day.. pick it up and play it.

oh .. I see that you're a "comic".

I guess this question is right up there with "what colour is the best?"

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This is my guitar, there are many like it but this one is mine.

It's a personal choice. When I got my MIM FSR, it was not the guitar I was looking for. I went to the shops and played every strat in my price range, $1000US. I really wanted a red USA strat. After a day of shopping and playing the best feeling neck out of the bunch was a black MIM FSR.

It didn't have the vintage tuners I would have liked. It had a black pickguard that I didn't care for and I knew it had ceramic pups. But the neck felt great and when you played in you could feel the body just resonate. It was "THE" guitar of all the ones I played in Houston that day. To be honest I was okay with knowing that pickguard pups and trem block would be switched out. After dropping it off for a bone nut set up block pickguard and guts changed out I had enough left over to get a sexy tweed case and was still up over $200US. At the end of the day I am happy with my guitar, and I happy to know I didn't settle on a guitar just because it was made in the USA. I bought the best playing guitar I could find.

As for the people who would give me crap about my guitar being a MIM and made from like five piece of wood while the brag about the mid 90's USA strat? I would point out to them their guitars were made the same way five or six pieces of wood with a veneer.


TL:DR version. If you are happy with your MIM and it sounds and play nice then why "upgrade"?

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Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.-Khalil Gibran

Good advise. I wanted a new Fender Strat last year after 20 years of playing Squiers. I played 7 different Strats and the right one literally made itself known, it was just perfect in every way and it was obvious to me as soon as I picked it up so that's the one that came home with me. You should do the same!



Oh, and for the record the one I came home with was an American Standard!

Just some more thoughts on this MIM vs USA strats. Eric Clapton used a MIM for a few shows back in like 2007. It was a Christmas gift from his wife and four kids. The guitar player in Los Lonely Boys uses a MIM standard as his number one. It's not the guitar's country of manufacture but the player wielding the guitar.

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Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.-Khalil Gibran

Unless you need money to feed your kids or keep a roof over your head, never sell a guitar. Never. Save your pennies. The American Standard isn't *that* expensive. Patience.

hello everyone and thank you for your input....

let me re-phrase my question:

pretend you are a marketing executive at Fender....

"mr. fender marketing executive: a strat manufactured in Mexico costs $300-400. an American Standard costs $800 - 1200. what's the difference?"

You are looking for Marketing hype then. Something to make yourself feel better about maybe spending more then you should on your guitar.

Set a budget. Go and play every guitar in your price range and take the one that feels the best to you. The one you bond with. The one that you pick up and never want to put down again. If it is one that doesn't have the pups you like, well pick ups are cheap to replace. Do none of the you play feels as good as the one you have at home? Then just walk away.

As for what a Fender marketing guy will tell you? They will tell you that Fender makes great guitars in every price range. From the $99 Squier bullets for someone just starting out to the Squier CV line and MIM Standard all the way up to the Custom Shop. Fender makes a guitar for you no matter the skill or price range.

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Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.-Khalil Gibran

I have a MIM and an american standard,and also a MIJ tele,i play them all.keep the MIM and buy an amer standard.you'll be happy you did.

When buying my last Strat I tried out several at the same time-perhaps 9 or 10 and made a conscious effort not to notice the model or price.When all was said and done,the one that spoke to me was the MIM Jimmie Vaughn-one of the cheapest that I tried.Keep your MIM and buy an MIA to broaden your musical palette.I have 5 Strats and although each has a readily identifiable Strat quack they each have their own unique personality and voice.A man can't have too many Strats or Fenders.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Hi Had my mim super strat for more than ten years just refret the neck. Put some Fat 50s pickups in and it sounds Great. Nice big fat tone.. Got two other strats a 89 standard and a mark Konpfler Artist.. and they all play and sound diffrent put not hundreds of dollars diffrent.. Like thay say go out and play as many Guitars as you can. Try other Brands as well you never know less you try. Lots of fun too. Good luck.. on your Quest...Cheers from..Aus....

I concur wtih guitslinger and others who have posted. I have 5 Strats (3 MIM and 2 Am Std) Two of the MIM are the black FSRs previously mentioned by Krab. One I modded and one I left stock. Great guitars. As others have said, don't get too hung up on the country of origin. I love all 5 of my Strats and don't give much thought to where they were made when playing them. Find one you like and buy it.

Just pointing out that Mexican made strat IS in a sense an American-mad strat. All of the parts are still made in america and are essentially the same quality as the ones u will find on MIA's. The only difference is that an MIM is...well...assembled in Mexico...by mexicans and for cheaper labor costs. While this COULD make a difference being as an employee in mexico MAY not be as experienced as one in america, they could also be just as or more experienced. In the end, just go by what feels right. If you get an inner sense of pleasure from owning a bonified MIA then more power to yuh, if that isnt so important to you, a MIM and an MIA are very nearly identical minus price.

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+1

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2012 Fender American Standard Stratocaster
2013 Fender Pure Vintage 65 Stratocaster
2003 Gibson ES-355
2015 Gibson Les Paul Traditional
2002 Gretsch Duo Jet
1980 Rickenbacker 360/12 Fireglo
2014 Martin 000X1AE
2014 Fender Blues Junior III

The bodies and necks are cut in Mexico. The pups are wound in Mexico. The pots are either made in Mexico or over seas. The tuners are MIM. USA made guitars have pups wound in Mexico. Even some of the CS guitars pups are MIM.

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Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.-Khalil Gibran