Viking,
Man, I can't agree with you more here. I have
a G&L S 500. Tell you what, it sounds better than most any other Strat I have ever heard. I used to have a Custom Shop Strat that was in this league, but it cost a hell of a lot more.
My G&L is a selling point in my studio. Clients hear that guitar and cream right there in front of me in their pants. I usually have to clean up after they have drooled all over the damn thing.
DropD, don't kid yourself here. I can give a rat's ass about what anyone says about their wannabe guitars, the American Strat is a very superior instrument. The Mexican made models do not use any of the same high quality components. They have less than half the hand detail work that goes into the American model. You would be nothing but disappointed if you bought a Mexican model, played it for a while, then plugged in a American model.
"Buy cheap buy twice", that is what a owner of a big sound company I used to work for used to say about equipment. You can of course maximize the use of cheap equipment, but in the end, it falls short of the dependable, great quality of better gear.
A guitar is a personal thing. The difference here is like developing a relationship with a loser chick who has no morals and is lazy, as opposed to developing one with a chick that has strong morals and works hard. You can develope a relationship with one, the other is something to bang for awhile. Take care to note what you expect out of an instrument my friend. A cheaper one seldomly produces what you seek. Unless of course crappy sound is what floats your boat.
Ed