I have been playing strats for a long time. Not a newbie, (currently own 4 strats...2 MIM and 2 MIA) but when it comes to Fender Mexico, I'm curious about materials used. What year did Fender switch MIM strats from Poplar to Alder? I own a 95 MIM(poplar) and have owned an 04 Mim(alder).

At which point did fender make the switch? I'm looking to acquire a 2001 strat and I have yet to get a straight answer. I've heard from some folks they switched in 99, and from others I've heard early 2000's.

Which is it?

Just out of curiosity; why is the poplar vs alder issue important to you? I personally wouldn't make that a condition for buying a Strat, because poplar is in no way inferior to alder. In fact for a few years during the 90's, American Fenders were made with poplar bodies. But FWIW, Fender starting using alder instead of poplar on their Mexican guitars around mid to late 2000.

seriously? It's not whether or not it is important to me. Although I have noticed that Alder tends to be lighter than poplar.

That being said...I just want to know, thank you.

I don't know about that. According to my reply from Fender's customer service, my 96reply MIM standard strat has an alder body.

Poplar is the wood Fender used to use to make Mustang, Duosonic and Bronco guitars in the '60's and '70's. I have an early (Sept '85) MIJ Stratocaster that is made of Poplar, and it sounds really nice and resonant, even with the crappy thick finish.
check this out; that's the guitar at 2:00
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbKwQ-s_rOA&feature=related

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"There's an arse for every chair"

5 guitars
7 amps
4 dogs

I have owned American made Fenders with poplar bodies. One had an ash veneer and a burst finish presumably because poplar is even less interesting to look at than alder. Poplar has similar tonal properties to alder but is a little bit heavier. This was the subject of some very heated debates in the late 90's. Mike Eldred and a few others from FMIC stepped in and provided some information but it didn't stop the arguments or complaints. I imagine Fender switched back to alder based on that backlash. For what it's worth the lousy Lace Sensors were a much bigger factor in the guitars that I owned from that era not sounding as good as I normally expected from Fender instruments.

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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.

In 1994 I had a humbling yet enlightening epiphany one evening as I was driving home. I was listening to the Tom Jensen Show on KOA in Denver. After the break, the bumper music playing the show back in had this really nice, fat Strat tone, and I had a moment of "all the money and time I spend on this gear; why can't my guitar sound like that..." when I realized "WTF, that's me!"
They were playing a track from the CD my band had put out, and I realized in that moment that listening to tone is very dependent on what you expect to hear. I didn't know it was me playing, and it sounded great - and it was a Strat Plus with those "terrible" (I agree!) Lace Sensors, a home-built overdrive and a Super Champ amp.
I've never forgotten this, particularly when I am "over analyzing" my tone.

_________________
"There's an arse for every chair"

5 guitars
7 amps
4 dogs

That's funny ashtone!
reminds me of a Joe Walsh interview where he said he heard a song on the radio with some great slide playing,he said"That guy's good....he sounds like me...hey,that is me!"...he said he had forgotten doing the song,I'm sure he had some help forgetting.

Hey man, sorry if my reply came off the wrong way. It's just that there are a lot of people who instantly equate poplar with being an inferior wood. I find that with the exception of its visual appeal, poplar is every bit as good as alder. Of course, I have seen examples too of poplar bodied guitars that had a very nice grain. It's also very likely that there may have been times when alder was used instead of poplar because it was the less expensive alternative.

As a professional woodworker for 40 years, I don't think I have ever found any wood to be less expensive than poplar. I lived in Minnesota for 30 years and up there it is considered a "weed wood" that is good for just about nothing. It's soft, prone to being knotty and also usually has brown or green streaks running through the grain. When used for parts of cabinets or doors, it is almost always painted; though soft maple is slightly more expensive, it's more often used under paint due to poplar's softness.

I made a number of cabinet pieces out of red alder in the late 80s and believe me, it was way more expensive than poplar.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

I understand. I don't see it as an inferior wood...I have a 95 MIM strat that I've modded the crap out of (dual Humbuckers) since I've owned it when it was new, and it is the best sounding guitar I own, even better than my MIA strats AND my $2700 Les Paul.

I have 3 strats and one tele that is alder, and recently sold a 2004 MIM strat that was alder, and they were all much, much lighter than my 95 MIM. I've even compared them to other mid 90's MIMs, and they were all pretty heavy, in my opinion.

From what I've read. Poplar is a good tone wood comparable to alder, and not a big weight difference either. It is however softer and less attractive (green streaks). I believe they used a a broader dark border on the 3-tone sunburst that dipped into the contour on the poplar bodies. Rumor has it that it was to hide the laminate seam. I also read that poplar soaks up more finish than alder (more absorbant).

Don't know if this is much help, but there it is, for what's it's worth.

+1 makes lousy firewood also.