Re: Picked up a Fender Strat today
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JelloStorm</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've had several PRS Custom 22's, one I had custom ordered that was a Blue Mateo, gold hardware and Artist package with Brazilian rosewood and Abalone inlays. Only one of my PRS' just seemed to have it's own personality, so to speak.
I think the Strat is just fun, because it was only $500 and the David Gilmour pickups do the cleans and lightly dirty being single-coil EMG's. The maple and radius just make bends so easy and the frets are tiny yet usable. Best $500 (aside from a gun) that I've spent in a long time!
The guy at Guitar Center really tried to push me into an American Strat, but I really couldn't tell the difference build-wise. Sure the pickups are better, but I planned to rip them out anyway and it was $300 less. </div></div>
I used to work for Sam Ash Music so I had the chance to play a little bit of everything that came from Fender. Sold an ass-ton of Mexican Fenders as they were really, really good instruments. I had a MIM Tele that I sold like an idiot that was the best guitar I've ever owned. Darn thing even kept better tune than my Gibson Les Paul.
As for the MIM and MIA Strats, as far as the regular "Standard" models go, the big differences are the pickups and the hardware. The MIA hardware is a bit better if you're a tremolo user. If not, it's pretty much a wash. For the pickups, the MIA sound different, but not necessarily better. The MIM pickups were clean sounding pickups, and you can't really ask for much more than that. It's less of an issue these days since most guys aren't running a stock Strat directly into a Twin Reverb. With the prevalence of aftermarket pickups, pedals, processors, digital amps, etc., the pickup is not as important as it used to be.
And if you hate the stock pickups there's 870 alternatives out there and, if you're competent with a soldering iron, you can put them in yourself.
One of my favorite combos is one of the Classic/Reissue 50's MIM models plugged into a Blues Jr. What a wonderful sound. And if you crank it up, driving those tubes, you can get a great rock sound out of that little box.
In short, the MIM models are a hell of a bargain.
ETA: And much like guns, "it's the indian, not the arrow." Working at that music store for three years, I saw plenty of guys tear it up with a $200 Strat Pack. A lot of tone comes from the player's hands. The "purer" the signal path, the more apparent that is.
