|
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | Is there anybody here who knows Strats? Was just given a Mexican built Fat Strat and want to learn more about it. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | Mexi-built Fat Strat? Nothing but junk. Seeing as it was given to you, you should just send it to Cliff or myself for proper disposal.
:D
Seriously, I believe Fender has a forum that's OK, should be able to get lots of info from them:
Fender Forum...gateway to the FDP!
Have fun! |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3664
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Well, Paul, it ain't "Blackie", but they're usually very playable. Electronics are reliable. I surmise the labor costs were the causal factors to place of manufacture. Two single coils, and a humbucker, if I recall.
So, your "collection agent" closed an account, or something?! |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | i think the current pecking order of strats are
usa
mexican
japan
korean
indonesian
china |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | Al-
I thought the 'Crafted in Japan' Fender's were supposed to be 'better' (for certain values thereof) than the American ones, and that's why Fender quit importing them. Or is that just an apocryphal urban legend? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | I'll post a pic of this beast, but eventually, I'm going to replace the rosewood neck with a maple one, and the all black pickguard, pickup covers and knobs are going to end up white. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 970
Location: Atlanta,Ga. | The japan built reissue strats are quite sought after and bringing pretty good money.Some say(including myself) they are better than the USA strats of that era.. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 648
Location: Florida | The problem with any of the Eastern built Fender guitars is that the standard parts dont fit. Simple as that. Be it metric spacing, or different pickguard hole layouts... the parts dont fit correctly or at all.
The Mexican and USA models have near exact parts swappability.
Also all the Eastern made ones, aside from Japan, have a poloyester finish, as opposed to polyurethane. What it amounts to is that "solid hardwood" body is getting structural strength from the finish applied to it. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 2487
| I do not believe the Made IN Japan models could be as good as the USA models but I do have to say from experience I had a "JAP" strat in cream & white and It was absolutely the very best playing electric guitar I have ever owned or tried! Mine had the fine tuners on the tailpiece and I did have the frets filled down a little, a nice set of light strings and you could play scales & bar chords all night. It is the only guitar I have ever wished I did not sell. Japanese craftsmanship was top notch on this one I think it was a 1981? Randy |
|
| |
|
Joined:
August 2004
Posts: 79
Location: Minnesota | Having played Fenders for years, I agree, the early Japanese strats are as good as the USA as far as playability is concerned. The real difference is in the pickups!(and bridges in some cases). The only strat I've hung onto through the years is my early 80's Jap strat. HOWEVER, The day after I brought it home, I dropped in a Kahler trem setup, EMG SA pickups, a Wilkinson roller nut, and some unique little roller string trees made by a guy named Chuck Orr(whereabouts unkown now!)My $199 guitar went up to about $500 in a big hurry. It's absolutely the best playing strat(stays in tune too) I've ever owned! Now if your talking Tele, USA is the only way! :cool: :D ;) |
|
| |
|
Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | Certainly can't beat the price, no matter WHERE it was made! Nice pick up, Moody old boy. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | Even the CEO of Fender says that the first Japanese Strats, from the mid 80's, were better than the USA built Strats of the same era. When the company was purchased at that time, from CBS, the USA production was literally shut down to move the facilities from Fullerton CA to Corona CA and to address the quality control problems. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Moody
I don't know about strats, but my daughter gave me her 1966 Mustang that she bought in Portland OR, with Schallers and Seymour Duncan pickups, which are strat pickups, that hopefully was made from pre CBS parts, and really plays good after I worked it over. The Mustang aficiandos are almost as bad as us OFCers after Curt Cobain, and they have their web sites. They are very excited over Japanese reissues in the 80's, and the new? Jagstangs.
The Mexican strats are OK from some of my secret sources (my son in CA), however their tremolos are substandard, poor workmanship and materials, get an aftermarket trem and you will probably be happy if you need a trem.
You probably won't throw away your Viper Deluxe, but they are two totally different guitars, if you need a strat, only a strat will do, Mexican or otherwise.
My son in New Mexico plays a highly modified Squier Strat and it sounds awesome, tune in to "Ragin' Redneck" on garageband.com and you will hear it.
Bailey (The man who played and said that a Les Paul Jr. was a "piece of wood with a microphone attached", is a man after my cheap heart)
Bailey |
|
| |
|
Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by alpep:
i think the current pecking order of strats are
usa
mexican
japan
korean
indonesian
china
I think this is Al's current pecking order of restaurants. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Just go buy Warmoth parts and make your own strat or tele. They all fit together just fine and sound good. You get exactally what you want and it's at a reasonable price. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | I have had a number of Mexican Strats and found the quality to be quite variable, though getting more consistent year by year.
So, two observation:
- our speculations and Fender taxonomy aside, what matters is that YOU like it; and,
- you can't beat the price! |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | WRT to the Japanese Strats, and to expound on my earlier post, it was my understanding that the 'good' Japanese ones were stamped 'Crafted in Japan' and the later, not-so-desireable ones were stamped 'Made in Japan.' Anyone confirm that? Not that I'm buying a Japanese strat anytime soon, but hey, sometimes you just never know when it's good to have these trivial details in hand. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | about 6 years ago Fender put out a poster of all their strat models. I find it imposssible to keep them all straight.
the best one is the one that feels and sounds the best to you. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 648
Location: Florida | Also remember, there was a time someplace in the 80's, where Fender literally did not have any USA models, at all, zilch, zero, nada, like-kissin-yer-sister: Nothin!
When Fender management bought "Fender" from CBS, they got the name, the model rights, and inventory. That was it. They got no factory, no machinery, nothing else. Quite literally, at that time, everything sold was of Eastern manufacture. In 1985, there was ol' Leo... bidding against "Fender" for the "his" stuff at auction. Lots of that equipment went to G&L.
Back to subject - there are lots of TERRIBLE USA made Fender guitars right before and right after the de-BSing of the company. Certainly, the "quality" Eastern made ones were better. Als got it right - find something you like, and play the crap out of it. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | very few people remember that fender almost went under.
I wish I had a "pocket full of fun" back then to buy the company. Look where they are now! |
|
| |
|
Joined:
July 2004
Posts: 338
Location: Omaha | Just go buy Warmoth parts and make your own strat or tele. They all fit together just fine and sound good. You get exactally what you want and it's at a reasonable price.
That's what I do because of my 'disability.' Quality wood, pickups and workmanship (the assemply, set-up and wiring are my own!) means I have lefty 'strats' that rival custom shop stuff. No "F" on the headstock of course, but hey, they're not for sale. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | Can these be any good?
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Pickups:_Guitar,_electric/Pre-wired_Pickguards_For_Strat.html |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | you get what you pay for |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | Yeah. That's what scares me. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
October 2003
Posts: 6
Location: Albany, NY | Not all Strat pickguards are created equal. My American Strat has eleven screw holes. The eight hole pickguards don't line up correctly. I'm not certain, but I think the eight hole pickguards fit Asian models. They may or may not fit Mexicans. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | This sucker has 11 screw holes. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
This sucker has 11 screw holes.
So does the pickguard on my Peavey Predator. Huh, then again, it was made in the USA.
Maybe it's like the whole metric thing...in the US, all pickguards get eleven holes, but the rest of the world is using eight.
HAHA. Ok, maybe not that funny. But, you have to admit, discussing the number of screw holes in Fender Strat pickguards is kind of funny....considering the forum.
:D
I love this place... |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | If your interested in new guts, check out this site, they are in CA, so being more local may be easier to deal with. I know nothing about stew mac, except for glues and finishing supplies they're tops.
http://www.torresengineering.com/bluesdelwirn.html |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 648
Location: Florida | Those pre-wired's from StewMac ought to be avoided like a salty beaver in a tin o'mussels. STAY AWAY. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 1445
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada | Strats from the '50's had 8 screw guards (up until about '59) and then switched to 11 screw guards. Therefore, 50's re-issue strats, wherever they are from, have 8 screw guards while the '62 re-issue and most other strats and their variant’s have 11 screws.
As to the topic of Japanese built strats, the early-mid eighties versions are second to none in overall quality and are definitely far ahead of the early eighties standard strats, which were pretty sorry excuses for guitars. That being said however, the early eighties re-issue USA guitars were excellent and as good as the eastern models.
I recently bought an early '62 re-issue Japan strat built in '85 and it is a fine guitar. I have had two original '63 strats and this thing is so close to them in sound and feel it is scary. It has a slightly smaller neck with less fretboard radius and doesn't have nitro finish like the old ones but other than that, seems like the real deal. I also have a candy-apple red Fender Precission (MIJ) from the same period and it too, is as good as anything I've seen from the US factory.
Wayne |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | To Cruster: The more recent Fenders from Japan say "Crafted in Japan". I believe it has to do with when the guitar was made, not the quality level. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 648
Location: Florida | All the ins and outs of Strat pickguards can be found over at the Warmoth site |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 76
Location: Kent, England | Just to add my penny's worth as the owner of a Jap Strat...
It is very comparable to standard USA strats made at the time (indeed many say better), but no comparison to the higher end USA models. I was told that to highlight the difference some of the parts e.g. tuners etc. were not as good quality as the USA equivalent on similar models. The build quality on the Jap Strats was in fact better than the USA equivalent at the time so something had to give!
I have to say I love my strat (not as much as my O ;) ) but am thinking of changing the pickups for more upmarket USA strat ones.
Any advice would be welcome!
...mind you the new 50th aniversay strat is quite nice looking...but that's not for this board!
Cheers
Terry
Oh...and I also think that the Jap strat is better quality than the Mexican...I have to disagree with Al on this point...sorry Al. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 648
Location: Florida | Your both right... It all depends on when it was made.
If you've got a light body (on the Strat that is) the TexasSpecials do it for me. For an ash body, which on 99 percent of the guitars is harder and denser than the alder (or poplar or basswood etc), then the Fat50's seem less biting, although a bit less output than the TxSp's. Neither of those are traditional 50's Buddy Holly Strat sounds though... for that you need something like the pickups off the 57 reissue (which are pretty close to "that" sound). Dunno what they call that set.
Try http://www.angela.com Steve over that has everything you'll ever need for a Strat (or Tele) |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | steve at angela is "different"
caveat emptor |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2003
Posts: 299
Location: Netherlands | @terror: try Kinman pickups.
http://www.kinman.com/
They are not american made, but australian. They are very, VERY good, if not the best.
Martin |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | How about the build your owns via the Carvin catalog. It's been my favorite bathroom reader this week!
OK, TMI :rolleyes: |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | Originally posted by MWoody:
OK, TMI :rolleyes:
I'll say, we really didn't need to know that you like Carvin's, man.
:D |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | Cruster, I only look at the pictures!
If your house was full of women you'd know there are few sanctoms left for a guy.
Actually Carvin does put out a nice catalog. The mix and match factor is fascinating to me. They opt for a lot of "build-it-yourself" units. I've never heard of Warmoth and I'm not chasing any Fenders. Just trying to enjoy.
If I get a solidbody It'll be a Breadweiner or a Hamer more than likely. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Warmouth has some nice stuff!!
I especially like some of their basses . . |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | try one of these the dewey decibel flipout guitar. I just got these in and yes I am an authorized dealer.
 |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | Woody-
Oh, one doesn't need a house filled with wimmin to know the need for a sanctum sanctorum. My workshop floor has nice little red spraypaint outlines of who knows what, my tools are never where they belong (I used to have three full sets of Crapsman screwdrivers...now I have three screwdrivers, two flathead and a teensy phillips), the downstairs bathroom used to be mine, but now I just call it the 'scary bathroom' and it belongs to the 14 and 11 year old. My office suddenly has grown a couch and a TV, complete with cable feed and a game console. Need I go on? I didn't think so.
Oh, and I had the Carvin catalog ensconced on the back of the throne in 'our' bathroom, but it disappeared after a mere three days in residence. Nobody knows where it went. :rolleyes:
If you like the Carvin stuff, have you checked out U. S. Masters? They're built in Wisconsin, you can pick all sorts of fun options and they play quite well. My instructor has one, but he usually plays a beat to heck old Jap Squier Strat (see, I can stay on topic!). You can check them out here: U. S. Masters Guitar Works
Al-
I generally hate to ask price when I'm only kicking tires, so I won't. ;) But that backwards Strat is a riot. Do they make them in Tele style, too? LP? Have a link to the mfr's web site? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | www.deweydecibel.com
e me for the price since I cannot violate MAP |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | I don't know what is wrong with Carvins. My daughter gave me Carvin 2 channel X-60 that was built in the 70's with 12AX7 and 6AX6's and a Celestion speaker that sounds really good with my electrics. I haven't seen a solid state that sounds as good.
Bailey |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 76
Location: Kent, England | Originally posted by grrroovedude:
@terror: try Kinman pickups.
http://www.kinman.com/
They are not american made, but australian. They are very, VERY good, if not the best.
Martin |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 76
Location: Kent, England | Originally posted by grrroovedude:
@terror: try Kinman pickups.
http://www.kinman.com/
They are not american made, but australian. They are very, VERY good, if not the best.
Martin
Thanks for the info...he WEB site gives you a hell of a lot of information.
Cheers
Terry |
|
| |
|
Joined:
July 2004
Posts: 474
Location: Anchorage, Alaska | I have both a "crafted in Japan" 1954 reissue strat and a US made 2004 American Deluxe Strat and they are both at least excelent guitars. Just different. I wouldn't get rid of either of them. The craftmanship of the CIJ reissue is fantastic as is the American Deluxe. I am also a "regular" on the Fender Disscussion Page and find that most of the strat players seem to like the CIJ strats over the MIM strats. My 2 cents... |
|
| |
|
Joined:
August 2004
Posts: 12
Location: New Jersey | I have a Fender Stratocaster Standard made in Mexico and will try to be more generous with my wording....
Somebody stated "you got what you pay for" ... I would add you got a little bit more ..... since the for $ 350 average you get a decent Strat made by Fender and not a knock-off.
Of course the quality of the materials and craftmanship is not at the same level of the USA's models, but for somebody like me that is mainly an acoustic guitarist and take the Strat out of the case 4-5 times a yr. just to feel like Eric Clapton ... 350 USD are more than enough for this toy ....
Overal, IMO, is a decent entry-level product |
|
| |
Strat