Is an American made Fender Strat worth the extra $

American strats tend to cost more.

Why do you ask?

When I was a broke college kid, I had a mexican strat and loved it. Played it often.

In 2001, my wife got a huge promotion at her job, and the first thing she bought me was an American made strat.

The difference is huge, and I love the American strat. Way better.

So yes, worth the money.

Feel, tone, and in 18 years all I've had to do with it is change strings.

Do it.

In the past 18 years I've added to my collection (have an ESP EC 410, PRS Custom 24, an Ibenez acoustic.

The strat is a close second to my PRS Custom 24 now, but I play it often.

If you have the money get the American

I have a MIM strat around ‘95 that I’ve done a few things too. Replaced the nut, locking tuners, changed the springs on the bridge, nothing major. Still has the stock pickups in it. My dad has an American Strat from the ‘70s. It could be the luck of the draw but when we play side by side mine sounds just as good as his. The Mexican fender factory is very good with quality control.

I'll echoplex the sentiment if you can afford it, get the American. But there is nothing at all wrong with the MIMs, they are solid workhorses. I will tell you my experience with the MIMs, tons have crossed my hands and my bench and they have gotten better and better and better with each production year. Not only the quality of the wood selection and components, but the caliber of the workmanship, thanks to tech upgrades at the Ensenada factory and simple workforce experience - they have been making guitars with that team for over 20 years now (man time flies). In fairness, I'd say the same thing with the Corona plant as well, I think they're making better than guitars than ever considering the volume they move, it's just been more drastic, more noticeable in Ensenada, the unit to unit quality and consistency.

I'd tell you a.) as usual buy used to maximize your buck's bang, you can get twice as much guitar or spend half as much on the used market. And b.) if you go used MIM, the newer, the better for the reasons I stated above. If I had my choice between a '98, an '08 or an '18 on the used market, I'm taking the latter and it's more to do with odds of snagging a sweet guitar versus age/newness.

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Cause I’m looking into buying one and didn’t know the difference.

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Different wood, different finish, different number of frets, different electronics, different truss rod, different saddle.


At the end of the day, they're more alike than different from a playability standpoint, but the American models are providing something for the premium, not merely the location of manufacture.

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We tuned down 1 1/2 steps and that Warwick couldn't handle it at all.

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because it wasn't set up properly for that kind of tuning.

Okay, I have a slightly different opinion,

There is no simple answer to your question, as there are tons of Strat models, American and Mexican.

The bottom end American Strats are the Performer series. Performer Strats and Teles, IMO, aren't really any better than the higher end Mexican made models. And, as another poster mentioned, some of the signature and special edition models are better than the regular models.

There's a new Mixcian made line coming out called Vintera, which has a tone of pickup vriations and colors. Right at the $1,000 mark. I'd be willing to bet they are every bit as good as the Performer line.

The advantage of a USA Fender, is that it will re-sell for a respectable price. Holds its value better than the Mexican mades.

If you want to get an American Strat, I would look at the Professional series and up.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to: what is your budget? what level of a guitarist are you? what kind of music do you mostly play? what kind of amp(s) are you running?

So, my 2 pieces of advice...

Buy the best guitar you can comfortable afford. The higher Mexican Strats are nice.

Spend a lot more on your amp than you do your guitar.

Buy a used Japanese strat. They were made in the 80s and are better quality than the new American strats being made today.

You can probably get a great deal on a U.S. made standard one at guitar center in Birmingham. I just traded a 96 candy apple red one to them, with a mint colored pick guard on Friday.

It's a fantastic guitar, but I didn't have much in it, and I already have 2 other ones that don't get played.
They had a MIJ 1969 telecaster blue flower reissue that I wanted, so I made the trade.
They will probably put an 800 dollar price tag on it. It's really in great shape and a great player.

I guess you can go to their website and check out their used guitars, if it's not listed yet, I'm sure it will be soon. That one is going to be a great guitar for somebody.
here it is already, 100 bucks cheaper than I guessed.
LINK

here's the one I traded for
LINK