advice on modified local Fender Strat MIM

100LL · #1 06-14-2020, 08:12 PM

I'm tip-toeing into the electric world and trying not to get electrocuted.

There's a local MIM Strat on craigslist that I've been talking to the seller about. It's got some good (according to him) modifications, but they're well outside my area of expertise and figured I would ask here in the electric forum for some advice.
both with regard to the value of the mods as well as the overall concept of this being my first electric. (planning to pair it with an all tube fender champ).

Thanks!

https://houston.craigslist.org/msg/7122761862.html

bsman · #2 06-14-2020, 08:29 PM

I would sure play a non-modded Player strat ($50 less than that one brand-new) first to familiarize yourself with it and help provide a benchmark to determine if the mods are beneficial to you. There is almost nothing stock on that guitar, so it's a very specialized instrument.

I'm sure he put money into it (the pickups alone are about $300), but unless the mods work for you, they're not worth it. Also, modded Fenders are all over the place and frequently overpriced by folks who figure "since I put $X into it, it must be worth standard value + x", which they're never going to get.

FrankHudson · #3 06-14-2020, 08:44 PM

If it has a good pro setup, that's a plus. In general mods like this guitar has do not increase the used value, and in many cases they decrease it. This doesn't mean you shouldn't buy the guitar, particularly if you like the mods that have been done--but you're presenting yourself as a newcomer to electric guitar so it's not likely that you know what you like yet.

I have one guitar with the Wilkinson trem, and it's a pretty good system. Oddly, the picture in the ad doesn't look like my Wilkinson system trem bridge though. The locking Fender tuners are nice thing.

I have no experience with those Duncan single coil sized humbuckers. Some of course like the sound of traditional single coils in a Strat. Not knocking these PU's (how could I, never tried them) but if your aim is for a traditional Strat sound when played into a clean amp, this could be a negative.

The cosmetics are of course subjective.

Birchtop · #4 06-14-2020, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsman

I would sure play a non-modded Player strat ($50 less than that one brand-new) first to familiarize yourself with it and help provide a benchmark to determine if the mods are beneficial to you. There is almost nothing stock on that guitar, so it's a very specialized instrument.

I'm sure he put money into it (the pickups alone are about $300), but unless the mods work for you, they're not worth it. Also, modded Fenders are all over the place and frequently overpriced by folks who figure "since I put $X into it, it must be worth standard value + x", which they're never going to get.

Agreed. Id grab a new MIM Player in Buttercream for $699 shipped. Don’t forget To ask for a 10% discount for Fathers Day!

100LL · #5 06-15-2020, 07:04 AM

thank you all for the helpful replies. I'm not sure how I feel about the mods mostly due to not being familiar in the electric world. I certainly couldn't appreciate the difference at this point. I'm probably wise to start with a more stock axe.

keith.rogers · #6 06-15-2020, 07:49 AM

What everyone else says. Those mods are only of value, and then greatly reduced from retail, if they are what you are looking for.

GC has lots of used MIMs for around $400, and they might be soft on price. You could get a "great" condition one shipped to a local store and go try it out. Walk away if you don't like it, or take it home and play it for weeks and still take it back if you figure out it's not for you. Heck, you could get a used MIA for that kind of $.

I've owned both MIA and MIM Strats and a good MIM can be a great guitar. Tuning can be fiddly because it does take a really good setup to make that "synchronized tremolo" arm useful without going pretty far out of tune when you use it. So, I'd certainly take some time and go play some new ones and feel comfortable that a Strat is where you want to start on electric guitar.

rmp · #7 06-15-2020, 07:58 AM

That is way over priced IMO.

Seems to me the seller is trying to recover his cash on the purchase and the mods.

It don't "work" that way....

if I was you, ....find another.

Chickee · #8 06-15-2020, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 100LL

thank you all for the helpful replies. I'm not sure how I feel about the mods mostly due to not being familiar in the electric world. I certainly couldn't appreciate the difference at this point. I'm probably wise to start with a more stock axe.

Stay away from this guitar. The seller changed out the entire bridge mechanicals.
This was a labor of love for him, but I couldn’t think that it would ever play as good or stay in tune as a stock MIM Stratocaster.
The other stuff is basic cosmetic to taste, but a Wilkinson bridge install would be a deal breaker, for me of course. ymmv

guitararmy · #9 06-15-2020, 05:05 PM

If you read reviews of those pickups, they aren't as vintage strat sounding as real single coils. If you are mainly trying to get a really fat strat tone with gain, they would do the trick.

100LL · #10 06-15-2020, 08:55 PM

you guys are awesome. thanks for the help.

i've already moved on. this one that just popped up has me a little intrigued: the strat VG. has some sort of built in synth to play some sound games...might be fun for a newbie to play with lots of different effects/tunings...?

https://houston.craigslist.org/msg/d...142233863.html

M Sarad · #11 06-16-2020, 12:28 PM

I have that pickup set in black in my 2005 Sunburst MIM strat. Definitely not like a regular strat. Sound great but somewhere in between a Gibson and Fender. I prefer jumbo frets myself. Nice looking guitar for sale.

FrankHudson · #12 06-16-2020, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 100LL

you guys are awesome. thanks for the help.

i've already moved on. this one that just popped up has me a little intrigued: the strat VG. has some sort of built in synth to play some sound games...might be fun for a newbie to play with lots of different effects/tunings...?

https://houston.craigslist.org/msg/d...142233863.html

I've forgotten the exact features of that model. I've used to use Roland's MIDI interfaces for a good deal of my guitar MIDI work, and the only reasons I've fallen away are logistical and tied to some personal practicalities. If I recall, one can do some neat stuff with the Roland VG system, particularly with altered tunings on the fly.

That said, no I wouldn't recommend that to you as an electric curious acoustic guitar player.

You seem to like Stratocasters, and you seem comfortable with the prices of used ones that are in the range of a new Stratocaster in the Player/Vintera range. And of course there are a great many used Strats in the sub $1000 price range.

Here's what I'd suggest. Buy a new one or a used one. Unless you have particular need that you've already formulated even though you aren't an experienced electric player, go with the standard Strat design, if only so that if you move on you've experienced what that classic recipe has to offer. Save some money in your budget to have it setup by a good place that knows what they're doing. If the use of the "tremolo" bridge is important to you, it's even more important to have it setup with that in mind. If the use of the vibrato arm isn't a big thing for you, have it setup "decked"--or even "blocked" if you have no interest in using it. All those things are non-destructive and easily reversed choices by the way.

Next you'll need to decide on an amp, so time go get over the guitar buying part of the adventure and get started.

Paleolith54 · #13 06-17-2020, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

I've forgotten the exact features of that model. I've used to use Roland's MIDI interfaces for a good deal of my guitar MIDI work, and the only reasons I've fallen away are logistical and tied to some personal practicalities. If I recall, one can do some neat stuff with the Roland VG system, particularly with altered tunings on the fly.

That said, no I wouldn't recommend that to you as an electric curious acoustic guitar player.

You seem to like Stratocasters, and you seem comfortable with the prices of used ones that are in the range of a new Stratocaster in the Player/Vintera range. And of course there are a great many used Strats in the sub $1000 price range.

Here's what I'd suggest. Buy a new one or a used one. Unless you have particular need that you've already formulated even though you aren't an experienced electric player, go with the standard Strat design, if only so that if you move on you've experienced what that classic recipe has to offer. Save some money in your budget to have it setup by a good place that knows what they're doing. If the use of the "tremolo" bridge is important to you, it's even more important to have it setup with that in mind. If the use of the vibrato arm isn't a big thing for you, have it setup "decked"--or even "blocked" if you have no interest in using it. All those things are non-destructive and easily reversed choices by the way.

Next you'll need to decide on an amp, so time go get over the guitar buying part of the adventure and get started.

On the other hand: it's just an American Strat (except just one tone control) with some extra stuff added in. So it seems to have about as much
"classic recipe" as any other Strat. He can play it with no reliance on the VG parts. And if he wants to explore that stuff, he needs no special gear to do so. Seems like a good choice, especially if he can get it for $800 or so.

guitararmy · #14 06-17-2020, 04:45 AM

The Strat VG sounds interesting, especially it uses an American Strat as the platform. Looks like a fair amount of the body has been hollowed out from the back:
https://reverb.com/item/33992196-200...hardshell-case

mercy · #15 06-21-2020, 10:15 AM

Dont get any strat that has been modified. Strats sound the way they sound. You either like it or dont. I dont get the idea of humbuckers and wiring mods. A strat is a perfect thing, it needs no VG toys etc. A player strat new or used is a great buy expecially if you can get an open box. Call Musicians Friend of GC and ask if theyve got one.