American vs. Mexican made Fenders vid

[Fairlight]

Interesting vid. on American vs. Mexican made Fenders.

http://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/101...fference/58030

[roylor4]

Nice video. Very informative. Unbiased and fact based.

Thanks for posting.

[FrankHudson]

I've watched several of this guy's videos in the past couple of years, but I hadn't seen this one. There's something loveable about him, even when you don't agree with a point/opinion he's making or even a particular fact. He just seems so non-pretentious and eager to inform.

In this particular video I agree with most of things he's saying. I'm not sure the electronics in the USA and MIM Fenders are the same, but then I don't have two 2015 models as he's comparing, and anyway electronics are cheap to buy and cheap to replace. He slides over the pickup differences too quickly, since is by far the greatest difference, but he more or less alludes to it when he says he can make a MIM as good as a USA for less than $300 (by which I think he essentially means: pickup swap). He doesn't stress that point enough. He mentioned bridge differences, but doesn't mention trem block differences.

Other things I think he's right to mention only briefly: what paint, how many body pieces, even alder vs. popular vs ash, makes little difference in a Strat in my experience. It's just not a design that seeks to make body wood resonance any part of it's sound.

The point he makes about resale value is too rarely made.

[LSemmens]

I appreciated his video, it explains a lot. His point on depreciation is well made. It certainly explained the differences. I agree with Frank that there was not a lot of info on the pickups, but, as he observed, for the savings you made on the MIM strat, you could easily install pickups of your choice without exceeding the cost of the MIA strat.

I wonder if Aussies are as aware of the fact that there are two different versions of the Fender or are they all just lumped in as "genuine" Fender.

I'd be interested in seeing the difference between the Fender strat and the Fender Squire Strat, too, given that they both hold the Fender logo, and one is obviously built to target the budget market.

[Dr. Spivey]

I saw that a few months ago. He explains all the differences and then dismisses them as not making any difference.

From the Squires to the Custom Shop models, Fender's line of guitars is priced pretty fairly, in my opinion.

Cheapskates always think they're smarter than everyone else, and this guy is playing to that crowd. There is some good basic information in the video, but he skews the facts and the numbers to make his case.

I'll give the video a 5 out of 10.

[DukeX]

I can't tell you how many posts I have read on guitar forums swearing that the Asian made Classic Vibe Squiers are at least the equal of the MIM's.

Perhaps he can do a comparison video on that next...and then complete the video trinity by comparing the Squiers to the Americans.

All of this stuff has been repeatedly hashed out over the Internet during the past decade. People have opinions.

[posternutbag]

Interesting video, but honestly, a bit biased. He blows right over the two things that really make a difference between the MiM and the MiA Strats, the pickups and the trem. You don't notice because pickups are subjective (some people think the Custom Shop Fat 50's in the late models MiA Strats were a quantum leap, and some people think they sound terrible). Most people don't use the trem, so 5 vs 2 screws is not generally an issue (actually, he does mention this, but tries to minimize it).

If you spend more time talking about a pickguard than you do about pickups, there might be something else other than the strict merits of the guitar at play.

I would have loved to see someone take apart the two guitars and look at shielding, the dissipation across the pots, etc. I would be interested to see IF there is a quality difference in the places nobody ever looks.

[ghostnote]

Thanks for posting that vid, it was informative to a certain degree. That guy definitely has a point of view - to call that vid unbiased is quite a stretch. There may not be as much of a difference between models as Fender would like us to believe, but there IS a quite noticeable difference. I have three Teles (China, Mexico, USA) and two Strats (Mexico, USA) - so I have a certain amount of experience with this subject. IMO, there is no question that the USA Tele models are better in every way - sound, finish, feel, attention to detail. And the Mexican Tele is better than the Chinese-made one in the same areas. I will also state that I like all 3 of them - even the Chinese Tele with its really rough fret ends and very heavy body has a biting, raw tone that I like a lot, due to its "inferior" pickups. It's just harder to play.
The Strats, as in the vid, are much closer in quality; and that is due to the pickups. My Mexican model (a Lone Star Strat) has USA-made pickups - factory installed - and that makes it sound just great. The neck is very nice also, and I play it a lot with our band. The American Standard I have is a 1989 model that I bought new - it's smooth as silk and you can play anything on it.

[Wasper]

So, basically he said they were pretty much the same, then spent to whole video pointing out how they were different.... only to conclude that the MIA was not worth the price increase, even though everything he pointed out fell in favor of the MIA over the MIM....

"The neck is the same neck... except the MIA has the extra fret, bi-directional truss rod and screw for changing the neck angle..." or "The bodies are the same.. except the MIA has two pieces instead of four or five and the routing is totally different with the MIA being much cleaner and tighter"......it keeps going on and on like that....

Am I missing something here??? Seams like anyone watching the video would walk away with the opinion that the MIA strat was the clear winner in every way that counts. Yet this guy says it's not worth the price increase... they are clearly different guitars and of clearly different quality.

I get that he is saying the MIM are great guitars for the money, but to say the price increase is unwarranted is stretching it, imo.

[Davis Webb]

Originally Posted by LSemmens

I appreciated his video, it explains a lot. His point on depreciation is well made. It certainly explained the differences. I agree with Frank that there was not a lot of info on the pickups, but, as he observed, for the savings you made on the MIM strat, you could easily install pickups of your choice without exceeding the cost of the MIA strat.

I wonder if Aussies are as aware of the fact that there are two different versions of the Fender or are they all just lumped in as "genuine" Fender.

I'd be interested in seeing the difference between the Fender strat and the Fender Squire Strat, too, given that they both hold the Fender logo, and one is obviously built to target the budget market.

We had a long thread on that a couple years back. The build compromise on the Squier is such that its not in the same class. With pickup pole height adjustments FretBuzz, who I have not seen here in aeons, had the Squier sounding about the same as a decent Strat.

When I tried the Squier my hands hurt. The vibration through the cheap body was nasty. But for busking or dirt bag gigging...it would be fine. To the audience, they sound identical after processing and effects...there are several videos on that.

[jrs146]

I thought it was an excellent comparison. I tend to be one of the people who he refers to as just wanting an "American" Strat. I realize I probably could have saved a nice chunk of change but for me there's just something special about that MIA part of it. I know... hard to quantify and maybe irrational but that's me.

[RP]

Interesting video that kind of confirms what I thought all along. Thanks for posting...

[Cross Roads]

I have 4 fenders USA Vintage, USA Modern, MIJ, MIM.
The MIJ is the best in sound/build quality IMHO.

[Jerry D]

[QUOTE=jrs146;5307378]I thought it was an excellent comparison. I tend to be one of the people who he refers to as just wanting an "American" Strat. I realize I probably could have saved a nice chunk of change but for me there's just something special about that MIA part of it. I know... hard to quantify and maybe irrational but that's me.[/QUOTEI

I second this.

[donalgodon]

The 2016 Deluxe Roadhouse MIM with the 2 point trem, noiseless pickups (same as the Clapton series) 22 frets, flatter radius, locking tuners, etc. made me choose it over a MIA.