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Post subject: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mexican
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 12:19 am
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The have the same neck radius accroding to the specs so I imagine the action would be identical.


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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:17 am
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One is original, the other is copy. :mrgreen:


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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:29 am
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American Strats feature rolled edges, 22 medium-jumbo frets, more detailed nut and fret treatment, an easygliding string tree, Custom Shop Fat 50s pickups, DeltaTone circuitry and a 2-point pivot tremolo with vintage bent steel saddles.


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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 3:14 am
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Nikola Tesla wrote:
One is original, the other is copy. :mrgreen:


If it has the Fender name on it, it's a Fender, just made in a different location

How would you class the early and up to 1997 Japanese strats? they were better than the American models in some cases and certainly way better than the Mexican models
Were they "Copies?"
Or how about the current Jaguars and Mustangs most of them are not made in the US , are they copies?

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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 4:30 am
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about 500 bucks :roll:


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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 9:46 pm
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Its not easy to do an Apple to Apple comparison between US and MIM Strats anymore. Its no longer just about quality of parts or craftsmanship. Due to the economy or whatever, it seems like everything new is sliding toward MIM. MIM Strats tend to be geared for a younger hi-gain audience who aren't really looking for a true Strat sound... so they have all of these "modded-out" MIM Strats with hi-gain buckers and Strats with special gimmick tone buttons and circuits. They have Blacktop series, Modern Player series, Pawn Shop series. The Lone Star and Roadhouse were just reintroduced yet again as MIM Strats.

Realistically, the MIM line is so prolific because the vast majority of us are not making a living playing guitar or even playing gigs regularly... so a $300 - $600 price-tag for a Fender just seems to hit the sweet spot for the average bedroom and basement guitar heroes.

In the US line, it seems to me that you tend to just have the more traditional instruments and more of a "true" or classic Stratocaster... be it the bottom of the line American Special, the American Standard or the high-end American Deluxe (not getting into Custom Shop here!) But even among the US lines it is not just about grades of quality anymore. Each of the lines specifically features a different Custom Shop pickup and a different tone circuit; so a guitarist that could afford to shop in any price category might not necessarily select the American Deluxe Strat because one of the lower lines might feature the type of pups and tone he/she prefers. For instance, an American Special is IMHO a better Texas Blues Strat than a US Deluxe because of its Custom Shop Texas Special pups and its Greasebucket tone circuit.

The only "special-design" US Strats I am aware of are the artist series Strats which don't all that often reflect what the designated artist really plays.

I guess all this is to say that you can really no longer take a Strat out of every price point from MIM Standard all the way to US Deluxe and make an apples to apples comparison just based on quality and tone because Fender has given each series its own signature features and specs.

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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:02 pm
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Tiger J wrote:
The only "special-design" US Strats I am aware of are the artist series Strats which don't all that often reflect what the designated artist really plays.


A fine example is the Jeff Beck model.

Image

Jeff's personal guitar is actually different than the standard and custom artist models Fender offers.

If you really want an exact representation of the artist's personal axe, the Masterbuilt route is the only way to get it.


Last edited by chromeface on Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:04 pm
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ted j wrote:
Nikola Tesla wrote:
One is original, the other is copy. :mrgreen:
How would you class the early and up to 1997 Japanese strats? Were they "Copies?"



Yes mate, in my books Fender is an American company, not Mexican nor Japanese.

(Do you remember Ibanez copies in the '70's and how god they were? But they were still copies. :mrgreen: )

The fact that at some stage Fender allowed Korea, Mexico & Japan to manufacture guitars with the Fender name on it doesn't mean those guitars were as good as the originals. And all that is for a sake of their profits, and certainly not to improve the quality of their products. Got it? :mrgreen:


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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:14 pm
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Until the early 1980s Fenders were made solely in the US.

For a variety of reasons Bill Schultz and his colleagues suggested CBS to start production of Fender guitars and basses overseas.

Many major American guitar manufacturing companies already did this.


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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 10:20 pm
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chromeface wrote:
For some good reasons Bill Schultz and his colleagues suggested CBS to start production of Fender guitars and basses overseas.



For some good reasons CBS started production of Silver face amps, instead of superb Black face ones. We all know the result.
Do you know the reason?


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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 12:43 am
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Nikola Tesla wrote:
For some good reasons CBS started production of Silver face amps, instead of superb Black face ones. We all know the result.


THERE WASN'T A DAMNED THING WRONG WITH THE INITIAL RUN OF SILVERFACE AMPS.

Virtually every one of them (with the exceptions of the Bandmaster Reverb and Dual Showman Reverb) used the exact same circuit revisions that were hallmarks of the legendary blackface amps.

If you don't know what you're talking about, it becomes readily apparent that you don't know what you're talking about.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 5:07 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
Nikola Tesla wrote:
For some good reasons CBS started production of Silver face amps, instead of superb Black face ones. We all know the result.


THERE WASN'T A DAMNED THING WRONG WITH THE INITIAL RUN OF SILVERFACE AMPS.



No one said there was anything wrong with the initial run of the silver-face amps, but rather the CBS amps subjected to further revisions in early seventies onwards. :mrgreen:

Grow up dude, you are behaving like a spoiled kid with your childish attempts to lecture everyone about everything. Internet is an open space with people around who may have expertize in the fields that you can only dream about. Grow up, or maybe you prefer to stay where you are. :lol:


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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 8:17 am
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Oh....
Dude ....
:roll:

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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 9:38 am
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Nikola Tesla wrote:
ted j wrote:
Nikola Tesla wrote:
One is original, the other is copy. :mrgreen:
How would you class the early and up to 1997 Japanese strats? Were they "Copies?"



Yes mate, in my books Fender is an American company, not Mexican nor Japanese.

(Do you remember Ibanez copies in the '70's and how god they were? But they were still copies. :mrgreen: )

The fact that at some stage Fender allowed Korea, Mexico & Japan to manufacture guitars with the Fender name on it doesn't mean those guitars were as good as the originals. And all that is for a sake of their profits, and certainly not to improve the quality of their products. Got it? :mrgreen:


That's a fairly simplistic view.

World Trade, and that's what we're really talking about here, is way more complex than that.

At the end of WWII, the UN (and USA, GB, France, etc.) determined that one way to stave off future wars was to create an economically interdependent world. That countries reliant on each other for Trade, it was thought, would be less likely to display agression toward each other. It also provided a means for devastated nations to rebuild.

Governments aren't manufacturers, they need compliance from companies to accomplish this goal. Trade Tariffs (or lessening of them), Favored Nation status and profit potential were some of the incentives offered to businesses to do so.

Fender didn't simply throw a dart on a map and decide to put a subsidiary company in Mexico, or subcontract with companies in Japan, China or Korea. Things like availability of a trained workforce, political stability, geography, government incentives (both ours and the Host country) all played a part. A company must also be invited by the Host country, which will certainly have a list of requirements of their own.

For all we know, Fender may have wanted to set up a plant in Canada or Australia, but for reasons unknown to us (such as not wanting a competitor for domestic products already being produced), weren't invited to do so.

Fender chose to expand their product line to serve greater spectra of players at all economic levels. It is assumed that production was already at, or near, capacity in Corona (why would you have a factory with excess capacity?). With lower labor rates and possibly Host country incentives, a designed price point (good for the consumer) could better be achieved overseas. So naturally, these product lines would be manufactured off-shore.

Also, since the Top of the Line instruments were both the company's 'core' product as well as their 'Bread & Butter', Quality Control and Development were more easily accomplished closer to the decision-makers here in the US.

Lesser quality components in ROW models can be the result of producing an instrument to a set price point. But could also be the result of a requirement by the Host country that each product contain a certain percentage of domestic parts to support other domestic industries (not at all uncommon).

The fact that their quality is improving and narrowing the gap between USA and ROW products could just be the overseas plants, workforce and supplliers 'coming of age'. Do you think that the Plant Manager in Ensenada isn't striving to produce the best product he can?

So there are many reasons that Fender ROW products are where they are today. Certainly profit is one of them, but equally certain is that this isn't the only reason.

You state: "And all that is for a sake of their profits, and certainly not to improve the quality of their products... "

I had the opportunity to visit your fine country for 3 weeks back in 2011 and saw many excellent Holden automobiles (a GM subsidiary), some of which were exported to the US and sold under domestic names. Would you say that your statement applies here as well ?

cheers!

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'11 FSR Am. Vtg. Ltd. Ed. CAR '57 Stratocaster (SN# LE02639)
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Post subject: Re: Whats the difference between an American Strat and a Mex
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 12:00 pm
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Lightnin MN wrote:
I had the opportunity to visit your fine country for 3 weeks back in 2011 and saw many excellent Holden automobiles (a GM subsidiary), some of which were exported to the US and sold under domestic names.


Dittos with some of the Ford-Australia products.

I would've bought one of these in a heartbeat......

Image

A pity that they didn't built them for export.

:cry:

Arjay

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