Why do some people consider MIM Fenders to be crap?

Not sure, but I am certain that someone here with more knowledge will know and will chime in if they see this thread.

 

My MIK makes MIM Fenders feel like a toy.

 

The current Baja, if you like a baseball bat, has got to be the very best bang for the buck guitar in existence right now. Baseball bat neck, nocaster pups, and a four way, that's all anyone really needs in a tele. Tremendous value for well under 1k. I'm pretty much sorted on the Tele front, but I'm sorely tempted to take one home and slap a modern bridge on it. And no f'ing belly cut.

Think about what Gibson charges for similarly iconic features. Hell, you can't even get a 50's neck on a proper Studio anymore.

 

I've had a couple of MIM Fenders and found the hardware and electronics to be inferior to the MIA stuff. They have to save money somewhere and it's not just the cost of labor in Mexico that accounts for the lower prices. I think if you compare a MIM vs. a MIA there is a world of difference between the two. Not that the MIM instruments are bad - quite good for the price - just not as good as the MIA stuff. IMHO

 

The only thing that stuck out as lower quality is the pickups, but then again the American fenders could use better pickups as well. Either way I need to buy custom wound pickups. The Mexican guitar leaves a lot of money for pickup upgrades

 

That certainly used to be the case but Fender has made changes over the last year or two and the current MIMs are far superior to the earlier ones, or even than ones made 3-4 years ago.

 

A little while ago someone over at Strat-Talk ordered a set of the pickups that come in the MIA Standards and they said 'Made in Mexico' on them If I remember correctly, he posted photos as proof.

 

Only Strat I've tried and liked over the past few years was a MIM. Considered buying it but my buddy had already traded it in.

 

Yes. In 1984 when CBS sold Fender, before the Corona plant was built, for a year or so, MIJ and left over Fullerton stock only was sold in the US. I have an E series MIJ Squire that is excellent.

 

A lot of people are saying that. Some say since 2008, the MIMs have improved a lot, so I think I'll reconsider looking at the MIM stuff and see if it's true. Gotta go to my local GC and try both MIMs and MIAs and do a side by side comparison.

 

I had a Roland mim strat and it played great, I got it as a Christmas present one year from my wife and I already had a Mia strat at the time so naturally i compared the 2 and decided that the mim strat overall was a well built guitar worthy of it's price, they both played and sounded great. Besides the "mim" I think it's the big differance in price that makes a lot of people think that the mim is that much inferior.

 

IMO, a lot of folks equate hot with good in pickups. I am contrary to that. One of my strats is a MIM and even though the pups are not in the same zip code as what I consider hot, I like the sound of the MIM. It is pretty much vintage tone. Another strat has Tex pups, like it too but the tone curve is different. I had a CS strat with qtr pounders that screamed like a banshee but was a bit hot for the strat sound I preferred... Rock, hell yeah, but real clean was a different story...

I don't yank pups when I buy a guitar because I bought it for the tone/playability of that specific guitar. I don't spend long geet on a guitar just to spend more geet hoping to make it sound right.... Call me lazy, ornery, whatever. I know several folks that will buy a SLS guitar and swap pups like I change socks "hoping" to be satisfied.... My satisfaction curve is both shorter and cheaper...

 

I don't like the idea of buying a guitar with the intention of pulling the PUs either. Seems like a waste. If you like the sound and feel of the guitar enough to buy it, then don't mess with it.

 

Last year they started putting gloss maple fingerboards on the MIM Standards. The backs of the necks are still satin. To me, other than the number of frets, they are indistinguishable from the necks on the MIA Standards. So from the 2012 models the MIM Standards have improved even more.

Then there are the higher end MIM models like the Baja Tele, etc. which are incredible values and some of the best bang for your buck guitars out there today. Truth be told, the new MIM Standard Strat I picked up last weekend has better fretwork than my Baja does and that Baja cost about $300 more than the Standard! But I can have the tech at my local store deal with the Baja's frets under warranty so I don't really care about that issue.

I have looked closely at my new MIM Standard and cannot find any reason to fault it - none at all. It is a great guitar and an even better value. I plan to replace the pickups but that is more because I have a set of Duncan humbuckers that I can trade for other pickups than out of any real need to swap the pickups in the Strat. The Duncans aren't selling so I might as well trade them and experiment...not because I need to, but just because I can.

 

I couldn't let Burstbuckers stand between me and owning a Gibson.

 

When I first try a guitar I play it unplugged, if it sounds good I will then plug it in and hear it through the pickups. I don't expect the pickups to be great because they are a compromise to suite the masses and save cost. To me pickups are kinda like strings, everyone has there personal tastes, if I don't like the strings or pickups on a guitar. I change them to something that will enhance my enjoyment of the instrument.