Fender players MIA vs MIM

[dfwkeys]

Is it really worth paying the extra $$$ for a MIA, or will a MIM be just fine with a few upgrades or mods?

Just wanted to know in your opinion.  I know that some professional like Jimmy Vaughn uses a MIM and i'm sure he has the money to get the american made.  Maybe it's just a personal preference.

[jlynnb1]

i don't know how many more ways to say it......if it feels good to you, if you connect with it, vibe with it.....if it sounds good, that's what's important. not the name on the headstock, not where it was made.

i've played tons of pro gigs with an Ibanez or mexican made Tele.....i've also had american made strat and wolfgangs.....it's your hands that matter, and if the instrument you have inspires you to play.

[Razzman]

 Jimmy Vaughn, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy and the reissue strat's 50's,60's 70's are the exceptions in The Mexican strat catagory. They have the era correct body sculpture if you will 57-62, and necks are real close also. The weight of these strats are fairly light and ballanced. The rest of the MIM strats are normally alot heavier and the body cuts are not as smooth and glamorus as the above R.I. I'veThe hardware seems to be fairly decent,  the pickups on the reissues are alnico and sound pretty good, the standard MIM are ceramic and deliver more gusto and drive your amp harder but have a harsh high end bite.  The MIA strats as far as body wood and pickups is going to be better but the MIM reissues play and feel just as good. you really need to go and check them out on your own because there are alot of new features fender has added to the MIA strats. Hope this helps

[GRIP805]

i agree with jlynnb1  if it feels good thats the guitar for you also if the sound  works for you.  if you can get a MIM for a low enough price and you like the way it feels and looks but not the sound before you buy it  you should have a idea of what pickups you would like to add to it. and what how much money you would save versus buying a MIA. why you buy a new guitar you should try to play it through your same  type of amp to see if it really fits your style. for me i have bought MIM strats and changed the pickups.

[funkStrat_97]

The MIM Deluxe Strats are great values for the money.  The Power House Strat, Dlx. Player Strat, Dlx. Fat Strat and the Nashville and Nashville Power Teles are fine guitars in the vein of more modern American Fenders.  They have better hardware and pickups than the Standard line.  Having said that, the Standards are far from junk and it seems like the quality control at the Ensenada plant keeps getting better and better.  I have a MIM Dlx. Active Jazz Bass and absolutely love it.

[gtrdave]

Of all the Fenders and Squiers I've played, the MIA Fenders are the ones I'd choose when given the finances to buy one. I prefer the necks, frets, finishes, pickups, bridge, and the total fit and finish of a MIA Fender and I do think they're worth the extra hundreds of $$$ they cost. You buy it, plug it in and play it. No mods needed, imho.

That said, if you pick up a Squier or MIM Fender and it has that special feeling in your hands then make it work, baby! If you want to mod it or do a little set-up work to it, it'll make it that much better.

Bottom line: it's not about how much something costs that determines whether or not it's good for you but it's what you do with what you have. My main guitar cost me $325 (Godin Freeway Classic) and it's exactly what I need and want in a guitar.
Praise God that it only cost me $325 but if it had cost $1000 or more, I wouldn't really care 'cause it's a guitar I enjoy playing and will probably never sell so the money spent on it is no big deal to me.

[lilBB]

since we're talking about feel good guitars...just left Strings and Things and played a

Schector Diamond Series C1EA w/ Piezo - Semi Hollowbody that can double as an acoustic because of the Piezo pickup

MAN!    i would've thought that the acoustic sound would be kinda crappy, but that thing played like a Taylor or something. even sounded better than some regular acoustic guitars imo. still being an electric guitar, it sounded good on that side too, full/round distorted tone (from being semi hollow) good for bluesy BB style playin, and the clean sound was great, especially for jazzier chording.
easy to play, beautiful to look at (in person, seen it before online and didnt think too much of it)

they want $675.00 for it. am I going to buy it? NO...because my $120.00 Yamaha fatstrat copy does everything I need it to do now 

[katstrat]

I agree with GTRDAV here. I bought a Squier Telecaster a few years back.The action was higher than I wanted it.I tuned it to Open G and used it for slide.I recently took it in and had a proper set up.Words cannot express the difference between the two. It has now replaced my MIM Strat for my worship guitar.

[jlynnb1]

Of all the Fenders and Squiers I've played, the MIA Fenders are the ones I'd choose when given the finances to buy one. I prefer the necks, frets, finishes, pickups, bridge, and the total fit and finish of a MIA Fender and I do think they're worth the extra hundreds of $$$ they cost. You buy it, plug it in and play it. No mods needed, imho.

That said, if you pick up a Squier or MIM Fender and it has that special feeling in your hands then make it work, baby! If you want to mod it or do a little set-up work to it, it'll make it that much better.

Bottom line: it's not about how much something costs that determines whether or not it's good for you but it's what you do with what you have. My main guitar cost me $325 (Godin Freeway Classic) and it's exactly what I need and want in a guitar.
Praise God that it only cost me $325 but if it had cost $1000 or more, I wouldn't really care 'cause it's a guitar I enjoy playing and will probably never sell so the money spent on it is no big deal to me.

you have a point, but for me, almost every guitar i buy i plan to mod from the moment i purchase it. i always want to change the pups......probably the tuners.....mayhbe the nut.

so for me, it's worth saving the money since i plan on modding it to suit my taste anyway.

[gtrdave]

you have a point, but for me, almost every guitar i buy i plan to mod from the moment i purchase it. i always want to change the pups......probably the tuners.....mayhbe the nut.

so for me, it's worth saving the money since i plan on modding it to suit my taste anyway.

I used to do that but now I just want to play so it's important to me that the entire package "works" and doesn't need my attention (other than a quick set-up) and my time...'cause my free time is rare to say the least.

[jlynnb1]

I used to do that but now I just want to play so it's important to me that the entire package "works" and doesn't need my attention (other than a quick set-up) and my time...'cause my free time is rare to say the least.

lol, i hear you man. my deal is this OCD thing i have for a tone that i'll never really achieve, but that i have to keep chasing. i have to say that i've hardly ever played a guitar who's stock pickups i've loved....there have been a few, but not many.

[Sonar]

Jimmy Vaughn, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy and the reissue strat's 50's,60's 70's are the exceptions in The Mexican strat catagory.

Add some Powerhouse Strats and the Muddy Waters Telecaster to the above list and you get the picture.

I gutted a Mexican Fender Roland-Ready Strat because none of the parts were worth keeping except the Roland electronics. I put those electronics in one of my ESP 400 Series Strats. THAT'S how little I like most Fender Mexican Strats.

I make my stand with the MIJ Strats & Telecasters of the mid '80s. They seem to have largely made in the same facilities, so it really matters little if they are branded Fender, Squire or ESP 400 Series. (Actually, the ESP models are my FAVORITE!)   

I mean, if I'm tempted to replace the pickups & electronics (Voodoo by Peter Florance), bridge & saddles (Callaham or Glendale), frets, bone nut & PLEK setup (Phil Jacoby/Philtone Guitars - Baltimore, MD)......WHY buy an expensive American Strat or Tele to reinvent?   

I recently purchased a 1973 Fender Strat locally off Craig's List for $450. It looked great (in a dipped in clear plastic sorta way) and played as crappy as the day it was new. I traded it to a guitar collector friend for a brand new NORD Electro keyboard we needed (Value: $1,600). I'm sure he still made good profit on top of that on eBay to some collector type that doesn't care that it's a pig to play.


Bottom Line: Play EVERYTHING and wait for something that talks to YOU...regardless of country of manufacture or future "collectable" status. If you wanna collect something -- Buy Hummels or Beannie Babies! 

[funkStrat_97]

I recently purchased a 1973 Fender Strat locally off Craig's List for $450. It looked great (in a dipped in clear plastic sorta way) and played as crappy as the day it was new.

Ah, you gotta love those 70's Strats!  Well, to be fair, I'm sure that most of the Strats and other Fender products of that era were probably OK with a few exeptional ones here and there.  The thing is that there were a significant number of bad ones produced that it reflected poorly on all of them.  The quality control during the later half of the CBS era was so bad that Fender had a bad reputation (the same can be said of Gibson too).  Sorry for the thread hi-jack, but MIM Fenders are a great value for the money IMO.