It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:47 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 30 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2
Go to page Previous  1, 2
Author Message
Post subject: Re: MIA vs MIM
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:11 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jul 30, 2008 9:05 am
Posts: 1813
Location: Middle Tennessee
testratomarsh wrote:
satdvr wrote:
My son has been playing for a year and is talented. He has an American Standard Strat and we have now been looking at Tele's. I've read the pros and cons on MIA vs MIM to include pups, location of component manufacturing, QC...etc. Based on what I've read, I can't help but think that the only reason the MIA is more expensive is because the labor rate is higher in this country. Other than that, you take your chances with quality regardless of where the guitar is assembled. We alway's purchase locally and set-up is not a concern. I'm interested in additional unbiased opinions.
:


MIM guitars are great. All the necks on all Fender guitars are made in the U.S. The MIM necks are made in the U.S and then shipped to the factory in Ensanada, Mexico. The Mexican factory puts the guitars together with an incredibly high standard of quality that Fender regulates closely. Go on line and read about the factory conditions in Ensanada. Look up Fender factory in Mexico and you'll see for yourself. I own several MIA guitars and MIM guitars and their all good. Fenders standard of excellence in how they treat their employees is beyond that of other guitar builders. Be proud that you are able to purchase a high quality instrument at such a great price.


That is no longer true. The Ensenada plant has been making their own necks for a number of years now.

_________________
Ignorance IS bliss - and I am the happiest person here!


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 9:42 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 6:11 pm
Posts: 2621
Location: Sunny So Cal
Thanks for pointing that out Trouble Call. You beat me to the punch.

_________________
"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: MIA vs MIM
Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 4:48 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 7998
Location: ʎɹʇunoɔ ǝsoɹ pןıʍ
ratboy wrote:
... The MIA standards and the MIM standards may all have necks cut in same place. but they have a different feel to them after completion.


Ratboy nails it hard. Feel is much more than just in your hands, it's also in your ears. I have an MIM Tele, an MIK Strat and a considerable collection of MIA Strats, Teles and a spanky pristine '61 Jazzmaster. It doesn't make a bit of difference what similarities they have on paper, there is a vast difference and you get what you pay for. Period. People can argue until they're blue in the face and it won't make a bit of difference in the long run. Seasoned players, who know the score, don't buy MIMs unless there's a specific reason to. Me? I bought an MIM Tele and an MIK Strat so I could hack 'em up, experiment and modify without destroying anything of value.

The reason has nothing to do with what hardware you assign to it or what you can say in the ad copy, it has to do with what happens when you plug it in and touch the strings with your own hands. The reason vintage lovers prefer vintage is the same reason MIA lovers prefer MIA. When your playing involves more than the mastery of the mechanics of simply playing the notes, your ear and your hands begin to tell the difference. Otherwise Eric Johnson (for example) would play an MIM.

Duh....

_________________
Image
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.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:52 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:37 am
Posts: 1
:D i suggest you buy a 52 vintage tele.great sound


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:36 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2008 8:42 am
Posts: 2546
Location: Scotland
I've played and owned MIM Telecasters, every one of them was fantastic in it's own way. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one, I'd love to get the new standard Tele in butterscotch, that's in the thread next to this one. :lol:


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 8:00 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 3:07 pm
Posts: 98
..


Last edited by billco on Sat Dec 11, 2010 3:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 8:50 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed May 20, 2009 2:58 pm
Posts: 2293
Location: Adirondacks
billco,
Thanks for the info...great stuff!! That said...I love both..my MIMs and MIAs...they are both great guitars. Is there a difference in sound...yes...is there a difference in craftsmanship...I would debate that issue. My MIM Tele is fantastic...frets dressed well finish is glossy and gorgeous and no blemishes anywhere. Playability is fantastic. I think that the MIMs have undergone a huge quality imporvement in the last few years. I do believe that there is a in the materials..no doubt about it. Do I favor one over the other...no...I love them both. Just my preference. But again...the info you provided is awesome!! Cheers brother!
E


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 10:08 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 3:07 pm
Posts: 98
..


Last edited by billco on Sat Dec 11, 2010 3:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 11:01 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed May 20, 2009 2:58 pm
Posts: 2293
Location: Adirondacks
:D Thanks billco...I see your point! I will say for the record..my MIM must have accidentally been an MIA shipped to the plant in Mexico. Frets were dressed perfect nut perfect..really well done. I did slightly refine the height of the action..but that was it. Not argueing with you, you make totally valid points! IMO I got lucky with this gem :D


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 11:15 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 12:53 pm
Posts: 54
Location: Malibu, California
No matter what way you look at it the Fender guitars are made by Fender all over the World! Some MIM Fenders are really superior quality, some are just o.k. After all this is a human made product. My wife now has a MIM Telecaster. It was a higher quality guitar than mine in the paint and the hardware and feels more solid. Until I did some great upgrades to mine it wasn't as powerful. While it's good to have any guitar setup professionally once you find the One - bear in mind you gotta search for your #1 like your on a hunt for buried treasure. Allow a few week or months. That's half the fun. (Enjoy the fun of collecting). I have a lot of respect for Fender and their workers. They really turn out quality and it's getting better as time goes by. :idea: Don't you think there's a reason Eric Clapton bought 5 Strats and gave one to George Harrison and one to someone else, and then took the best parts from 3 different guitars to make "Blackie" - his #1 ? Guitarist Dave Hunter recently made comments that some Vintage "Player Guitars" costing $2K were unplayable! So just because it costs a lot doesn't mean you should definitely buy it. That's why I refer to it as a hunt. Kenny Wayne Sheppards Strat cost 5 grand but it is great sounding and plays great. So I suggest you draw your own conclusions, and go find your #1... The day Leo Fender opened his shop for business was a good day.

_________________
Love my Telecaster, Stratocaster, and other guitars.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 6:15 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 6:11 pm
Posts: 2621
Location: Sunny So Cal
Hey Guys the Mexco plant makes all it's own wood parts now. The necks no longer come from the US.

_________________
"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 1:22 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 12:53 pm
Posts: 54
Location: Malibu, California
I'm glad someone cleared that up. I was surprised to hear necks were sent to the Ensenada plant from Corona... does anyone know which series (year) of Strats and Tele's have USA made necks? I'd be curious to know. Incidentally, I'd like to see Fender make some Custom Guitars and Fender factory models on the east coast -maybe in a new Fender Shop in Vermont or New Jersey - thereby creating jobs for USA workers- and call the new Series the Fender New York Standard. No sneaking parts from Japan or Korea either. Made in USA only. :)

_________________
Love my Telecaster, Stratocaster, and other guitars.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:15 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 6:11 pm
Posts: 2621
Location: Sunny So Cal
JamesWalsh wrote:
I'm glad someone cleared that up. I was surprised to hear necks were sent to the Ensenada plant from Corona... does anyone know which series (year) of Strats and Tele's have USA made necks? I'd be curious to know. Incidentally, I'd like to see Fender make some Custom Guitars and Fender factory models on the east coast -maybe in a new Fender Shop in Vermont or New Jersey - thereby creating jobs for USA workers- and call the new Series the Fender New York Standard. No sneaking parts from Japan or Korea either. Made in USA only. :)


I'm with you brother, but I don't see it happening. Unfortunately the ridiculous salaries demanded by US craftsmen (Unionized labor especially), and the high taxes levied on businesses to pay for "social services for the underpriveledged" is what is driving production of darned near everything offshore. FMIC would probably be bankrupt due to lack of sales if all their production was US only.
Consumers are driving the problem too. Take a quick poll on these forums and see who owns MIA guitars and who owns "offshore" (MIM, MIJ, MIK and Squier) guitar's. I'll bet way more forum members opted to buy the less expensive instruments rather than support US production.

_________________
"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 5:15 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 12:53 pm
Posts: 54
Location: Malibu, California
I'm not sure I agree with that assumption. 8) Social Services (expenses) in Canada has had a very small effect on the cost of living all and all; and as far as production costs there isn't even so much as a dent. To raise money and have growth the Prime Minister levied a 15% (GST) Tax on everything we buy. The National Debt in Canada was paid off in full and still jobs went south to the USA and Mexico. NAFTA created a level playing field in the True North. US Companies made the Camaro in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Yet somehow through all this Gibson makes Gibsons in Montana and Nashville. Only Epiphones are made in China.
I would say that by building guitars overseas were promoting some goodwill by making Fenders affordable. Does Fender need some tax breaks? Certainly! They deserve it for starting Fender University. Love that idea!

By the way, Fender Corporate offices are in Arizona where taxes are much lower than California. That alone helps them survive. If we want them to build Fenders in Jersey then they need an incentive. Why not a Deluxe Custom Shop that gets encouragement to thrive? Fender only need ask and I think creating jobs would get them a huge break from the government. At least I hope so. I also hope Fender would start an Apprenticeship program through the Guitar Craft Academy at M.I. in Hollywood, California.(http://www.mi.edu) This I believe encourages small business to grow new jobs too. And that makes sense to me. Gotta love Fender for emerging as a musical force in the industry.

_________________
Love my Telecaster, Stratocaster, and other guitars.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:39 am
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 3:53 am
Posts: 113
Drunkinminer wrote:
Not to open the whole MIM vs MIA debate again.

But my feeling is don't write off the MIMs because the quality in these (especially the newer one) have improved alot. My guess is that Fender has realised that the MIMs are becoming popular and improved them. When I bought mine I played every MIM (I knew I was going to mod it) in the shop the there were some that played great and some not so great.


Recently I hit the jackpot with a 2008 out of the box MIM Standard. About a 6.7 lb. responsive tone monster with stock pu's through a Roland 60 Cube.

Find an MIM that sounds great acoustically unplugged and patiently adjust (usually lower) the stock pu's. You won't be in any rush to change them if you ever do at all. I personally know people who actually prefer the neck pu in the MIM to the neck pu in the 52 Reissue.

For those who need to customize, even the bridge can be more easily modded than with the MIA.

The SPECS have changed: medium jumbo frets and tone control in the bridge. And yes 21 frets like the 52 Reissue if you can live with that.


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 30 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2
Go to page Previous  1, 2

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: