Guv'nor

I am considering to buy a Mexican Strat. Is there a big difference between mexican and american models?

It won't be my main guitar but I want to have a Strat in my arsenal.

Thanks dudes.

Billy The Mtn

I have a 2002 Super Strat, They call them Player Strats now. Its a deluxe made in Mexico and I love it, sounds and feels real good. The newer ones have the vintage noiseless pickups. The only thing I'm thinking of changing is the bridge saddles. They're the old vintage style, not bad, but thats the only thing I'd change. Maybe a set of sperzels too but thats it. It has a button on/off that turns on the bridge pkup when you're in the neck and neck & middle pickup position. Thats kind of cool.
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Hell_Tanner

I have a 70's reissue, it's a good axe, cool sound yet I have a set of japanese Strat pickups in an other Strat and they're much better in my opinion, so in all in all, without being totally crappy, the pu's are the weak point, for that particular model of course, don't know about the others. You can always upgrade a mexican and turn it into a mean machine.

fiftycalibre

Hey Guv,
I bought a usa strat a few months ago. I thought the extra cost over a mexico strat would be worth it. Maybe it's just my individual guitar, but i'm not impressed with a few things.
Try out both. You may decide to get the cheaper one and fit good after market parts.

.50

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Adwex

I have a mexi-strat, not sure what year, but it's 6-10 years old or so. It feels kinda cheap, but maybe that's because it's extremely light. Like .50 says, you might want to change out the electronics, as they are kinda crappy. My volume pot had to be changed, cleaning it wouldn't fix the scratchyness, it was unusable.

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Guv'nor

ufff That was olf....

I finally bought me a '57 RI American Strat. The difference was HUGHE not only with the Mexican but also with the American Std

That was a clever movement.

Thanks for your replies!

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coldsteal2

not if you get a limited edition like the 60th anniversary (What i have)
Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish, heavy steel tremlo block, grovers, Hot Noiseless pickups,
i put on Duncan JBs on neck and Bridge.
So yea a MIM can be as good as a USA strat, they do cost more but not quite as much
as a USA botom line Fender.
Like the Players Strat, or Hiway One, or the Special Edition Lite Ash Strat ITS REALLY nice

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coldsteal2

my other strat, has early Wilkonson Nut and EMG's with preamp its a 1992

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JonnyGator

I bought a new 50th Anniversay MIM gold Strat, $750. Fell dead in love with it....neck(maple), pups, hardware, TONE....vintage knobs, anodized aluminum pickguard.... Recorded for almost a year with it and couldn't believe how hot it sounded and how great it played.... Ash, heavyish, beautiful finish... Strings are slightly misaligned, but I don't mind...I"m kinda misaligned myself.... But I've played many crap MIMs too, so I'd play em before buying... I think my pups are either Texas Specials or Fender Vintage, and they are superb...

I've seen some beautiful white ones too....

13yguitarman

Ive got both a mexican and an usa strat they look dead on alike and were made the same year but the mexican plays and sounds alot better for blues and rock while the american one is good gor country and contemporary

satchfan

I have a 18 year old squier which is not great but it's playable and I also have a USA VG Strat which I know a lot of old school Strat fans frown upon but I love it's sound and versatility!

Steve

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Crossroads

My two strats - really great clones of '60 Fender, great tone, great playability.
I love to plug them in my Marshall (and my Stiletto...)
When you have the chance to get one of these, buy it - no comparison to Fender Mexico.

DragonSarc

I have both US and MIM strat they look the same but different in tones the usa is a little cleaner sounding than the mex the hardware is different too and just like 13yguitarman the mex is more suited for jazz & rock and the us is more cleaner tone like country & contemp . . . . . just my .02c

AndyHighTides

My '03 MIM has just about got the frets wore out. My buddy's USA gets played as much or more, and his frets are fine.
MIM bridge pickups are dirty. JB Jr. with coil tap fixed that!

stryker59

i have two mexi strats and love them! i did do upgrades. i have the fender custom shop 54 pickups in my deluxe, and a single SD lil' 59 in my standard. the new for this year american strats are pretty friggin nice playability wise!!

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DocNrock

I would have said consider building a Warmoth Strat. BTW, I am in no way affiliated with them, I just have GAS for their stuff!

DustyMurray

Here are my strats



This is my custom strat with a scalloped neck and I changed the pups to a hotrails in the neck and a Jeff Beck jnr in the bridge



My Maiden signature series strat



My 70s Jap from early 90s plays amazingly added DiMarzio distortion pups

poeman33

My Japanese strat was pretty good too, I found it way better than any Mexican strats I had tried. It really came alive when I installed a Callaham bridge. It was an instant huge increase in sustain. Callaham Vintage Guitars and Parts
But it still pales in comparison to my American Deluxe. The American Deluxe strats are in a league of their own.

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PINKBITS

The new 08 American Standard Strats are just beautiful. I have swapt out the stock pus with Fender Custom Shop 69's but they are a favourite pickup of mine.

Finish and playabilty is better than my Deluxe Strat. The new style necks are amazing.

If I were you i would save that bit longer and get something you can keep forever.

poeman33

You must have got a good one Pinkbits. I have never seen an American Standard that was as good, but then I do have a 2001 deluxe, so I suppose the quality could have gone down a little, but not in the ones I have played.

You will eventually pick up a guitar and go WOW...this is the one. It will be the perfect guitar for you.

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mike sicowitz

Hi all, I finally settled on two American Deluxe ash strats, one is tobacco sunburst and has a very high quality rosewood neck, the other is butter/blond where the ash grain really makes a difference compared to alder. That strat has a maple neck so I have one of each. The attention to detail is very cool for a strat. Iv'e seen some that were junk. After years of having a different strat every month I just thought--screw this--you are never going to find a perfect strat so just get the best one they make. It is still only half as much as a Gibson, so why go on the cheap with a Fender. You get what you pay for and the American Deluxe Ash are the top of the line other than custom shop. I love my strats and I really like the idea that I am no longer looking for another one. I'm set and now have focused on putting together a nice collection of Gibson, since I settled on my strats I have picked up a 335, reissue 57 Les Paul custom, and a cool, rare epiphone copy of a semi-hollow Les Paul. In short, the 335 alone could buy three American strats, so get a good one. The rolled edges and S-1 switching adds a lot that lesser strats don't have. The ash is beautiful and sounds great, the noisless pickup are just great and the switching provides sounds never heard from a strat before, all this at a fraction of the price for a Gibson. And of course, you can still do all your favorite Jimi with your bar, plus a better nut means less tuning. Thanks, great forum, great people, Mike Sicowitz

poeman33

Alright! You'll love those Deluxe Strats. I'm glad to see another fan of Ash. I had never owned an ash bodied strat before, but after having one, I can't imagine why I never got hooked on it before. I'd love to hear a clip of you playing yours sometime.

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mike sicowitz

Thanks for supporting my opinion of the ash strats. I think the difference is night and day or I never would have bought the second one a year after getting the original Deluxe ash with a rosewood neck. The first one was much better than the many different variations that Fender comes up with. I liked that one so much that I just had to have a maple neck version which of course, being maple, has a bit more bite, yet still full sounding due to the ash. People see my strats and always compliment how great they look, but they can get down and dirty as well. I love using my vibrato bar after I start really getting old school on my strats, and I hated having to lose my groove and tune the lesser strats. That alone makes getting the better ones worth it. You may find that your tech may still have to do a little nut work if you are a Hendrix nut--that would include me--but it's not much to it and I have found that most guitar guru types prefer working on the really good ones. I feel it safe to say that even blindfolded you can tell by the richness of the sound which one is ash. As for the beauty of the grain, I've only seen perhaps one other wood, mohogany, that even comes close. Good luck, keep playing your ash deluxe, at least someone else knows how cool they look and sound. Great forum, very good input from informed members. Mike Sicowitz

byljer

The only MIM Strat I've had that I really fell in love with, was a 60s Classic Player. Not 60s Classic, but Classic Player. It's designed by Fender Custom Shop, it's got '69 Custom Shop pu's, some "aged" plastic parts etc. Very goodlooking guitar, and it sounded amazing.

The best Strat that I've ever owned was a Crafted In Japan Fender Stratocaster Ritchie Blackmore Signature with Seymour Duncan SSL 4s pu's and scalloped neck. Sounded amazing with the Engl Ritchie Blackmore signature amp, and its playability was out of this world. To bad I had to sell it in order to buy a Gibson Les Paul, but....there you go!