My first strat!

John61254 · **Joined:** Sat Mar 03, 2012 4:50 pm **Posts:** 18

Just bought my first strat! a mexican made model: serial number MZ5xxxxx
According to my online research, it was made in Mexico 2005-2006.
It also has a little emblem stuck on the back of the headstock that says 60th anniversary (so probably made in 2006?)
It is black with a sort of mottled grey pick guard (which looks really nice).
The neck is light maple with rosewood (I think) fretboard.
It also has a sticker on the back (on the white plastic plate) that says "Fender Super Bullets", meaning it uses Fender Super Bullet strings
The chrome plate at the base of the neck has no markings
I paid $200 for it at a pawn shop
I brought it home and played it for over an hour
Really worked it over.
The thing really rocks!
Plays and sounds great!
I think I got a good deal!
I am wondering if anyone can give me any more info on my find
Also, it was missing the tremelo arm
I am going to order one from Amazon
Anything special I should know or look for?
I found two that might work: one says "Fender American Standard Strat Tremelo" It has several reviews and one said it fit his 2003 Mexican made strat fine
The other says "Fender Tremelo Arm for Mexican Standard Strat" ; it has no reviews and comes from a third party
Both say "American made" and "by Fender"
Both cost just under $9
The pictures look identical
Any help would be appreciated.
Other than the missing tremelo arm, this thing is almost immaculate (a couple really minor blemishes: I've seen worse off the rack at Guitar Center!)
I am pumped!

shimmilou · **Posted:** Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:17 pm

Hi John61254,

Congrats on the new guitar, sounds like you got a great deal.

If it is a Mex Std Strat, the bar for an Am Std will not fit, each has different thread sizes, make sure the new bar is for Mex Std, if that is what you have. Some Mex models might have an Am bridge, and the Am bar will work for those models (Jimmie Vaughan?), but I believe that the Mex Std has metric threads.

You should post pics for further details, and, .....well, because we like to look at them.

The pics have to be uploaded to a publicly accessible site such as PhotoBucket. Then copy the "IMG" code from the pic site and paste in your post here. When you click "Preview" or "Submit", the pics will be visible.

russzfender · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:33 pm **Posts:** 127

+1

congrats I am happy for You!

Please post pics soon :wink:

John61254 · **Joined:** Sat Mar 03, 2012 4:50 pm **Posts:** 18

It definitely is a MIM strat (says made in Mexico on the headstock next to the Fender logo and the MZ5xxxxx serial number means made in Mexico in 2005 (but in my case, I think it was issued in 2006, because I have the little 60th anniversary decal on the back of the headstock)
The pickups are all singles and they are black. The knobs and switch are black.
The body is black
The neck is maple with a brown stripe down the back
the fingerboard is dark (I assume rosewood)
One question I have: do all strats typically come with solid color pick guards? mine is a mottled sort of dark grey, almost like a quilted maple or marble look. It looks good, but I haven't seen any pictures of strats with that sort of pick guard so I'm beginning to think it may have been replaced. What would the standard color be for a black body strat with black pickups and black knobs?
Everything else looks original, though (both tuners and bridge saddles have fender stamped on them).
The guitar actually looks like it hasn't been played much, so it seems odd that the pick guard would not be original
frets are not worn at all
action is set very low, and it plays really nice; sounds great
I will try to post a picture
Trying to determine the tremolo arm sounds like it might be difficult
According to what I'm reading, it could be threaded a couple different ways
I could order both options on amazon and return the one that doesn't fit
Or take to my local repair shop and have them see what fits

John61254 · **Joined:** Sat Mar 03, 2012 4:50 pm **Posts:** 18

"Sounds like you have a Strat that was modified as far as the pickguard and pickup covers are concerned "

So you're saying you can buy covers to simply install over the pickups?
The pickups themselves are all black with only the magnets (?) silver.
What would the standard pick guard and pick ups have been? White? (the cover plate on the back of the body, with "Super Bullets" sticker is white)
Do you think the knobs have also been modified?
I've read some posts that indicate that a different type of bridge/trem assembly was introduced in 2006, which was heavier than the previous version.
How would I know if I have the newer type, and would this make a difference in which term arm I buy?
Even though the serial number on my strat indicates it was made in 2005 (MZ5xxxxx), I understand that these numbers sometimes ran through to the next year, and since my model has the little "60 anniversary" "sticker" on the back of the headstock, it would indicate it was sold at least in 2006, right?

HWY1Strat · **Posted:** Sun Mar 04, 2012 7:54 am

John61254 · **Joined:** Sat Mar 03, 2012 4:50 pm **Posts:** 18

Pictures:

I'll try and get some posted today.
I just got the thing yesterday and I'm more interested in playing it than taking pictures of it!

Triskele · **Joined:** Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:18 am **Posts:** 3084

congrats to your new strat.

we want pics!!!

cheers

John61254 · **Joined:** Sat Mar 03, 2012 4:50 pm **Posts:** 18

Thanks everyone!
Yes, I suspect that the picture with the white pick guard, pickups, etc. may have been how my strat looked originally. But I actually think it's much cooler as is, with everything black (pick guard is not actually black but dark grey patterned).
I will try and get some pictures posted later today.
So the best (only) way to do this is to post to an online site? I don't use anything like that now.
Someone mentioned "photobucket". I'll check that out.
Any other suggestions?

russzfender · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:33 pm **Posts:** 127

$200 is a great deal for a mim strat,plus its an anniversary model,plus You have a few mods to go with it=SCORE :wink:

John61254 · **Joined:** Sat Mar 03, 2012 4:50 pm **Posts:** 18

Ok.
Here it is!

russzfender · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:33 pm **Posts:** 127

Nice

JACSTRAT · **Posted:** Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:05 pm

You have a beautiful guitar! Love the pick guard! My first Fender which I still have was a black Mustang. Black Fender guitars got it going on and then some! Nice score!

cullenszoo · **Joined:** Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:01 pm **Posts:** 159

Trust me when I say, take your guitar to a local guitar store that should have a little box of trem arms under the counter. The MIM Strats have too many variations. Mine was all about trial and error. HINT: If your a trem user, have it set up right by a pro. It will play so smooth and stay in tune.

John61254 · **Joined:** Sat Mar 03, 2012 4:50 pm **Posts:** 18

"You have a beautiful guitar! Love the pick guard! My first Fender which I still have was a black Mustang. Black Fender guitars got it going on and then some! Nice score!"

Thanks!
The more I play the thing the more I love it.
I've played a few strats at Guitar Center, etc., looking to buy one (cause let's face it, everyone needs to own at least one strat!), but was never that impressed with how they played. And I wasn't about to shell out money for something I wasn't thrilled with. Maybe they just weren't set up right. But my little black beauty plays better than any I'd played before.
I'm having fun just figuring out what sort of sounds I can get out of the pickups.
I've never taken the time to explore all the different settings at a decent volume (hard to do in the store).
Really impressed with the range of tones I can get. The trebles bite really nice but are not shrill or tinny at all. The low end is really mellow. It's also got great natural sustain.
Really having a blast with it.
And all for $200!

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