Are mexican strats total crap.....

[jimistone]

I"t seems to me that the MIMs are closer to the old Strats of the 50s and 60s than the MIA are."

the pickguard assembly on my 1966 strat will interchange with a mex strat. the screw holes align perfectly, the routing under the pick guard is almost identical with the exception of 3 little circles routed out on the mex strat (i still haven't figured out what that is for)..the routing is not "exactly" the same cause on the '66 its such a tight fit that its hell to get the pickguard assembly back on..the pickup wiring has to be in perfect position. on the mex strat its roudered out a hair more and not as hard to get the pickguard assembly back in.

I tottally agree that in the "standard" strat format the MIM strat are alot truer to the old "vintage" strats the the MIA"s

in their desciptions of the MIM standard strat in "frontline" magazine Fender says "the standard strat is the design that all other strats models are based on and represents the best value in the stratocaster line".
....i typed that from memory, the wording may not be exact but its close anyway.
if these guitars are total peices of crap why would fender say they represent the best value in the stratocaster line....hell, a squire strat is cheaper than a mex strat. so its not the "cheapest" in the stratocaster line.

 

[zer0sig]

my understanding (and this is a very old understanding, and possibly ignorant) was that american > japanese > mexican > korean (are the squires the korean ones now?). i had a japanese strat, and while it was solid, and felt fine, it didn't feel or look as NICE as the american. i've heard so many stories about year/plant/moon cycle of birth of builder variation that all i have to really contribute is this: play before you buy. all the strats i've played (with the exception of a few squiers) sound like strats. the necks feel different, but they have the same really glossy kinda tacky (i mean sticky here, guys) poly finishes (i like to sand the back of fender necks, tung oil, and olive oil to smooth it all out, and dry it out-feels like i'm playing real wood), similar pickup configurations/switch configurations should have SIMILAR results, all else being equal, unless they've been screwed with. play all kinds of strats from all different years (provided they're in your pricerange, i'm thinking mid-80's-up should be relatively stable, pricewise), and buy the one that makes you smile widest. screw specs, rumours, and the opinions of people who aren't you.

and, gidge, wasn't the purpose of G&L to be as leo wanted them? i want to play some of their teles (ASATs, are they?)