Fender Standard Stratocaster

Model: MIM FENDER Flame Maple Tex-Mex Strat Sunburst

Year: 2004

Purchased From: GuitarTrader.com

Basically, the Tex-Mex Special Edition Standard is an upgraded MIM Fender Standard Strat (decal on back of headstock stays 'Special Edition'), with the following extras:

- Flame-maple top. This is a GENUINE maple-cap, hold it up to the light and you can see down into the woodgrain. The tiger-stripe flame pattern is spectacular.

- Tex-Mex pickups. These are the same pickups that are installed on the JV model.

- Glossy, poly finish maple neck, unlike the usual statin finish. The neck is also tinted with a tan stain, which looks terrific with the rosewood fretboard and brown sunburst finish.

Basic Features:
- Standard Fender Chrome Tuners
- Vintage style bridge and string saddles
- Five position pickup selector
- Free Fender gig-bag was included

Tone:
- Typical Strat. The Tex-Mex pickps are loud, bright, and clear on both clean and distorted settings, with plenty of twang and bark.

In particular, the bottom E-A-D strings ring out sharp and clear on any pickup setting.

Positions 2 and 4 deliver the traditional Strat 'quack' tone. Positions 3 and 5 are clear and bright without being harsh. The bridge pickup delivers sharp, biting twang on clean settings. I think the bridge pickup sounds best with a bit of amp distortion, as clean can be a bit too bright and twangy.

More than likely, the maple-top contributes a bit to the overall bright tone.

Can't say much more other than that it sounds like any good Strat.

Finish/Setup:
- Flawless finish. Not even a smudge on it. Couldn't even tell there was still plastic film on the pickguard.

- Factory setup was very good. Only needed to raise the string height slightly, as it was lower than I normally prefer, but just marginally.

- Intonation is spot-on. Frets are smooth along the edges similar to a Gibson bound-neck. I checked every fret position and could not detect any fretbuzz at all.

- Tuners are tight and solid. Once the strings were broken in, even with excessive string bends it stays in tune.

Playability:
- Typical Strat. Neck is slick, and easy to access all positions. Can't say much more other than that it plays like any good Strat.

Guitar is built rock-solid. The poly-finish is glossy and thick, and should not wear off if properly maintained.

Again, construction and finish is what you'ld expect from a well made Strat, which this one certainly is.

No experience with Fender Customer Support. The guitar came with a user's manual which describes care and setup considerations.

For the included manual, and Fender's online Mr Gearhead product support site, I'd give them at least a 8 for this catagory.

Overall:

A great playing, great sounding, and great looking Fender Strat at a killer price.

Fender hit a grand-slam homerun with this MIM Tex-Mex Standard Strat. If the quality of this particular guitar is any indication of what the Mexican Fender facility is producing, the reputation of the MIM Standard Strat line should go way up. IMO, this guitar would give the higher priced models a run for the money.

Highly recommended.

(Michael Behuniak, May 15,2005)

Made in Mexico standard strat. Alder body 3 single coil pickups. Body is alder and neck is maple. Finish is painted maroon with white pickguard.pretty standard feature set for a strat.

sound is kinda twangy with lite strings, and gets usable with heavier stuff. Neck pickup is pretty beefy, and the bridge pickup is very very twangy. Sound is good on most things, but is slightly too bright and the low end just isnt there. If I hadnt gotten this guitar as a trade I wouldnt have bought it.

finsish is good, no flaws present, paint looks good, and all materials are solid and well put together.

The action on this guitar is the only reason I keep it. I have played probably about 50 guitars in my life, and none have played this good. It almost plays itself. The previous owner was alittle bit too ambitious on getting a low action, so I had to replace the nut that he had filed down, and adjust the truss slightly to get it where it is. But the balance and feel is amazning now that it has been spruced up..

guitar is reliable and durable, ave not had any problems whatsoever.

n/a

I wouldnt buy this guitar today, and the pickups should be replaced, but the action is outstanding.

Standard Strat Features

I bought this guitar to provide the classic strat sound to my music. The pickups are very cheap and weak to say the least. The shielding of the guitar is of poor quality and a joke.

Where to start. Horriffic! The bridge was slanted at a 45 degree angle. Strings had maybe one wrap around the tuners. Action was sky high. Frets were flat in spots with file chatter marks. Fret file marks could also be found on the fretboard. I Could never get the 5th and 6th strings to intonate. 3rd string dead all along the fretboard. No allen wrenches provided (but you got a Fender sticker).

Everything is cheap. You are paying just for the Fender sticker on the headstock. I would not feel comfortable relying on this guitar as my main axe.

Don't know....I returned the guitar before contacting them.

I've been playing for 20 years. I have several custom models I've build. I own Ibanez RG550's, Schecter C-1's, and many acoustics. This guitar would be worth paying $250.00 for and not the $370.00 price tag. It's ashame Fender has to resort to putting out this kind of garbage. If it was stolen or lost I would say good riddens and purchase a real guitar.

Generic bits and pieces that come w/ the standard Tacocaster. Poplar body, black finish, maple neck/finger board. Old school bridge. It is what it is, I didn't buy it for "wide range" of features. The "5" is based on whats out there versus what fender provides w/ this model.

Again, Tacocaster generic single coils that weren't bad if this is your first guitar, in fact if it is, you'll be alright. Now it it sounds fantastic with a little help from seymour duncan by way of adding a ssl-5 in the neck, an ssl-1 in the middle and a lil' 59'er w/ a coil tap in the bridge. I have taken to purchasing cheaper strats as a base platform for project guitars. This guitar is a will be played thru seymour duncan convertables, my boogie, fender hot rod deluxe and various line 6 toys.

Brutal would be a little strong, but if my company put out some of the high end stuff fender is capable of and then put this stuff out with the same name on it, I would be embarrased. Where it to start? The neck or bridge (I'll determine that later this week) was not drilled correctly resulting in a neck that is mounted crocked, yikes. The neck mounting screws were not tight, eeks! What really got my attention was the difference in neck profiles from guitar to guitar. I had the guy at the local shop pull eight of these things out of the back room and they all had different profiles, so I chose the one best suited for me. Once open for rewiring, the guitar was filled with sawdust, if you chose to work on one of these, bring a vacuum. soldering was poor. Frets, yikes, there has to be one person in mexico that can properly dress a fret. Again from guitar to guitar, huge differences. I have several american topend strats to buying more to just to horse around doesn't make sense. I have also had low end fenders that started out as projects that sound fantastic and are using regularly to record after some tweaking. Consider the intent when reading this. Oddly the frets on this feel like tele frets. Compare to the current stock of american standards and they are noticeably smaller, which is fine with me.

It is what it is, it won't blow up. Lack of features also means lack of items to go bad or surprise you. If I was still playing live actively I would carry a back up. Finish on these things is like everything else on them, extremely varied from guitar to guitar. Evidently the C&C machines are the last thing to see the wood prior to patching them toegther, because the milling marks are very evident. basic colors go a long way to covering them up.

Good luck. Fender not having their own support websites speaks volumes about their intent on customer interaction. Their handling of this is also why I have not ordered any high end stuff from them in a number of years. Letting third parties host websites as a resource is weak, very weak.

This was purchased as a project guitar. I would not buy this guitar simply for what it offers stock. I have been playing for 25 years and music has put food on my table at various times in my life. If this is a first guitar, it's a lot better than the entry level stuff that was available 25 years ago. It does work as a base for tweaking and experimenting, so in that regard I got what I paid for. If you want a real strat buy one, save your pennys and buy a solid used american or new american model. I am fortunate to have a number of excellent guitars. The guitar manufacturing industry has changed significantly in the last 20 years and this guitar is a good example of more, cheaper, faster....

Made in 2000, in Mexico. 21 frets. Probably a laminated top, standard strat features, one volume, two tone controls, 5 way selector switch, three single coil pickups made by Fender, passive electronics. Body is probably alder, neck is maple. Mine is white with a maple fretboard, kinda resembles the one used by Hendrix. Strat double cutaway body. Standard Strat tremelo, string through body, standard die cast strat tuners (schaller style), neck is very nice, thin, fast, maple fretboard. Came with a cord.

Well, I'm 51 years old and I'm stuck in the music of my college days. I like Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Sabbath, Zeppelin, Blue Oyster Cult, America, Dire Straits, elecrtric Blues, like Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, things like that. Not much into the newer music, although I think with age, I've started to like country music. The guitar handles all of these styles of music quite well. This isn't a "heavy metal" guitar but it is a damn fine classic rock, blues and country guitar. Anything from a bright twangy sound at the bridge to a mellow bluesy sound at the neck. Good Dire Straits and Hendrix sounds on the in-betweens. The only noise you get is the hum you get from all single coils. This was my first electric guitar, have been playing acoustic for over 40 years, so I bought it with a Marshall MG10CD amp. Since that time, I've gotten a Marshall MG15RCD and a VOX AD15VT. Sounds good on all the amps, but best on the VOX. The MG10CD is a kick ass little amp, but the MG15RCD is a little dissapointing. I don't use any effects, just a little reverb, I do have a boss distortion pedal, but rarely use it. I've found that I like the crunch you get just from cranking the volume up a bit on clean. This is a very versatile guitar, will do anything but metal, and I suppose with effects you could play that too.

Flawless.

Well, I'm not a professional player, just mess around at my office and at home, but I believe it would withstand live playing. Finish is fine, hardware is fine, strap buttons are solid, I've had it 5 years now and it still looks, plays and sounds as good as the day I bought it. I don't gig, but I don't think anyone would gig without a backup.

Never personally dealt with Fender. I've bought all my guitars and amps through guitar trader. They've been great.

I've been playing 40 years. No, I'm not a pro. Back in the 60's my dad gave me an old harmony acoustic guitar, which I still have. Later I bought a Gibson Acoustic Guitar and still have it. I also have the amps I mentioned above along with a Fender Standard Telecaster and an Epiphone Les Paul Studio. I'm a psychiatrist by trade, so all through college, medical school and residency, my focus had to be on school and guitar was and is still just a pass time. I'm decent, but no Hendrix. I bought this guitar and the MG10CD Amp to mess with in my office. I ended up buying others for home. If it were lost or stolen, I'd get another one. I love it.

Made in Mexico.
Poplar body.
Maple neck.
21 standard nickel-silver frets.
Rosewood fretboard.
Die-cast machine heads.
Standard strat pickups.
Arctic White Polyester Finish.
Fender Bullet strings.

This guitar does everything well.
Humbuckers have never satisfied me anyway, they take away
the sparkle that really satisfies my ears.
The guitar has a fuller sound (better mids) than it's Squire counterpart, while retaining that classic chime.
Nothing like the neck/middle pickups together,
through a subtle vibrato with a little reverb
to finish it off!

Finish is excellent.
Paint is flawless.
I picked the Arctic White one because it looks so classy combined with the gold lettering on the knobs.
Fingerprints don't show up that way either!
I looked for how it was finished along the neck and around the frets
as well as the action. I have a Squire strat, and that is one area where that guitar came up short.
Those Mexicans really do make a nice guitar.

Built like you would expect a Standard Strat to be.

Usual Fender warranty.

I got home from Tom Lee, took it out of the box, tuned it up
and started playing.
No suprises, exactly as advertised.
Like an old friend.
That's what I love about it.

2004 made in mexico . this is my third strat i have one plus deluxe and one american series .i am from greece and i was really luky to find this strat in a color i did not expect to see in mexico strat(amber with honey burst).it is in the 10 more beautifull gtrs i have seen in my life .550 euro i bought it but i put a pickguard tortoise shell and 3 fender 57/62 pickups(the original sound)with 300euros and it is .....
21 frets ,maple neck,alder body of course ...,vintage tremolo(no the USA).the next thing i want to do is to replace the tuners with the spare Usa i have when i replaced the american series strat with schaller lock tuners ....this does not mean that the guitar has tuning problems . aaaa and the tremolo arm because i cant change the cnob with aged because it is stuck . i hate the MADE IN MEXICO they put in headstock.the guitar is USA in half.

for blues,rock,jazz it sounds like the original.this sound exactly offers the american vintage series strat(2.200euro).in this price you buy 3 mexico with the same features.

everything is perfect.but the guitar is like a woman .she needs to care her .dont expect that you will play the same time you buy it .you can make 60% better if you let a guitar tech do the care.

i use it everyday in my job as pro musician .no problem at all.

in my town the FENDER dealer is a very good friend something like brother and in the nights we work together . he take care of me .

i play pro 8 years.
i have a yamaha pacifica 621 for metal situations .
marshall amps.
rocktron preamp & midi controler
roland vg-880 virtual guitar system
.........if somone stole this guitar i will put people to kill him!!!
i wish it had 22 frets and the us tremolo

- Jap strat made roughly around 1984
- 21 frets on a rosewood neck
- Red body with the standard spec of 5 way selector switch etc...
- Only downer on the build seems to be that the trem blows and if used heavily can now and again knock a string out of tune a little.

For a vintage strat sound this guitar was perfect and has some really nice tones especially in the neck position. The bridge pickup lacked balls so replaced with a seymour duncan hotrails and now its super versatile for playing. My music style ranges from rock/blues/punk and it suits hese styles fine, I use it with a marshall jcm dsl 50 head with 2 speaker cab and can get a good range of tone from this setup. 9 with extra pickup 8 as standard

I got the guitar second hand from a local guitar shop and it was setup with a nice low action and everything was in good order. A connection with the middle pickup was loose so had to do some soldering... Other than that its been fine since ownership.

Like a brick is all I can say, I have dropped this guitar and knocked it by accident plenty of times and despite this the paintwork and neck are still in great condition. Gibsons have world re-knowned weak necks that break near the nut, u dont see too many fender strats with neck repairs about.

Never dealt with them, most guitar/ amp associated companies seem to be pretty crap so fingers crossed I wont ever need them

I have been playing close to 3 years now and have used some top class guitars within that period. From les paul customs to prs guitars, they do indeed have better quality in areas but cost #1000's of pounds more so for value a jap strat is the best about. My other band member uses a US strat and since the upgraded pickup mine blows his away, my advice is dont get the impression that only the american strats are worth your time.

i bought it at a music store for about 100 scratch and dent. the man who had it before me mustve replaced the tuners, they dont hold a tuneworth nothin. the neck is a rosewood its pretty easy to play on. my dad has a telecaster american series and its just as easy to play on. another thing i dont like is that i had to replace the screws for the pickguard.

it sounds ok with my music style which is classic/hard rock. i bought a roland micro cube with it and that is great too. i really dont play that often to judge the reliability and durability of it. i think its great. the only problem i have with it is the solos. it takes a lot of effort to do some tricks on it.

dont play it enough

never had to call fender

its a good guitar. i think the next guitar i get will be a les paul, or a bc rich. but i will definately buy another fender in the future.

Made in 2004 (probably - bought it early 2005) made in Mexico. Maple neck and board, 21 frets, nice skunk stripe down the back. It was a 25 1/2" scale, it seemed a bit big to me at first as i am used to 24" but i got used to it after a few days, and although you cant stretch as much it does feel better. Usual controls, 2 tones, volume, 5 way selector. I wanted to get a fat strat with humbucker in the bridge, but it was too expensive, so i just got the standard 3 singlecoil version. It says it has a popular wood body or something like that, just a plain white finish, although its more creamy. Its real thick, and on some of the edges it gets a little thinner in the middle, I have never had a strat before, dunno if this is common or not. The bridge seems pretty good, I dunno if there is a special way to string a strat or something but its kinda stuck up at the moment. I used fender bullets though, and though i cant use the tremelo that much because of the position it is stuck in , they seem to stay in tune more or less perfectly. The tuners are nice fender ones which seem well made, though i might upgrade to grover locking ones when i have the money. No accessories, a gig case would have been nice, I already have one, but I wasnt happy taking my nice new expensive strat through london in a plastic bag.

I mainly play clean sounds, although i do play all styles (metal, blues, rock, funk & pop) it sounds great, though there isnt that much difference between the neck and the middle pickups. Also the bridge pickup not haveing a tone control is really annoying, I might try to change that later on. I use a yamaha amp, though now I mainly play guitar through my guitar port, so i can do pretty much anything with it. Not having a humbucker is annoying, but it seemed to add more than #50 to the price and later on a can always get a cheap one put in. The bridge pickup I find is too harsh, even on distortion settings it sounds kinda wrong...(if only it had a tone control). The fender steel plated strings I got with it sound good, but I prefer the nickel wound ones for their warm tone.

I think the shop set this up its pretty good (esp after havign a late 60's guitar with no bridge saddles!) so the intonation is great. But i did play another strat exactly the same in the shop and it had realloy bad set up, buzzing all over the place. Pickups are all adjusted well, everything seems to work well.

It all looks like it will last, I would have prefered a more heavy duty bridge but apart from it being about #200 more expensive i dont want the hassle of changing strings on a Floyd Rose. The finish is real thick and doesnt look like it will come off or get scratched much, strap buttons are solid. I rekon i could depend on it, though i would like to make a few adjustments to the electronics.

N/A

Other gear i own is an Ibanez Soundgear Sr-380 (japenese I think), guitarport, my old Kay guitar and a computer with mixing desk etc. I wish I'd looked into the prices a little more before I bought this, instead of assumign that the lowest price I could find on the internet was the one they were going to ask for in the shop. I like it much more than the pacifica's (yamaha frets seem to be finished really badly, really sharp edges), of course they have a humbucker but, i dont like the jack on the side and the scratchplate is weird so you cant get to the insides so easy. If it were stolen I'd buy another one, but they are real expensive, so i might just save up some more and get a Jaguar or Mustang, pref Jaguar but they are a couple of hundred more pounds expensive. I just wish the fat strat version wasnt so expensive.

Mine was made in 1982 or 1983, can't remember. Was made in Japan. 21 Frets, I suppose it's a laminated top. Standard Strat setup with one volume and two tone controls with a 5 way selector switch. Has three single coil pickups, made by Fender, passive electronics. Body is alder, neck is maple. Candy Apple Red finish, body style of course strat. Standard Strat bridge, string through body, standard tremelo, but I had it blocked since I never use a tremelo and it makes it stay in tune better. Tuners are the standard schaller type tuners found on most strats. C shaped neck, medium frets, rosewood fretboard. I bought a case with it, as I bought it brand new in either 1983 or 1984 when I was in the military.

Suits my music style absolutely fine which is blues, blues rock, and crunch classic rock. At home I run it through a VOX AD15VT which I just got, and had been using a VOX Pathfinder 15R for many years, which I still do use. I'm in a blues rock band and use a VOX AC30 for gigs. Mine is surprisingly quiet for single coils, even on the single coil settings. It's a strat, so you get anything from bright and twangy at the bridge position to mellow and bluesy at the neck pickup. Very versatile for most types of music. You can even do heavy metal with it, if you have a good effects pedal, but I'm not into heavy metal, so I only use moderate distortion for classic rock type stuff and dirty blues. I've had this guitar over 20 years, I've had many others, including several Les Pauls but this stratocaster and my telecaster are the only ones I have kept over the years.

Mine was setup perfectly when I bought it, as a free setup was included in buying it. Everything was and still is perfect.

I've been gigging with this strat for over 20 years. It's lasted. I do take very good care of my guitars and this one looks as good as the day I purchased it. I never gig without a backup. I switch between this and my telecaster during gigs.

I've had two Fender guitars. This one and my telecaster, which I bought brand new in 1976. They've never broken down on me, so I have never had to deal with Fender.

I've been playing about 35 years. I have this strat, a Fender Standard Telecaster and two epiphone acoustic guitars, one of which is acoustic electric. That's it. Nothing I wish I had asked before buying it, as it was exactly what I was looking for. I love everything about it, especially the unfinished which is extremely fast. I compared it to several different types of guitars, mostly Epiphones and Gibsons but I really prefer single coils, so this is what I got. I'd cry if it were lost or stolen, because I doubt I could get another made in Japan Strat and they are some of the best strats made. Excellent guitar.

Mine is a 2004 Standard Stratocaster, made in Mexico. It's Arctic white with a maple neck and looks just like the Strat that Jimi was pictured with frequently. It is a modern version of the classic Strat, and as such, has all of the usual features: vibrato, 3 pick-ups, one volume and two tone controls, that fabulously sexy and comfy countoured body, five position pick-up selector.

My style is Rolling Stones/Black Crowes/John Mellencamp-type Roots Rock. The Strat is so obviously perfect for that. Primarily, I play through my 2004 Marshall AVT50 4x12 half stack, my 1984 Music Man HD150 212 combo or my 2002 Fender Pro Jr. The only effects I typically use are my Cry Baby Wah-Wah and a DigiTech RP50 Modeler. I have 3 other Strats, 4 Telecasters, an Ampeg Dan Armstrong, an Epiphone Dot Studio and a Vantage VSH-455 (335 copy). My Arctic white strat has all of the classic Strat sounds, from biting and sharp to deep and resonant and everything in between.

This guitar was perfectly set-up when I bought it. When I first saw it and played it I knew it was coming home! It just exudes that classic Strat vibe. It was extremely well made and set-up.

It's a Strat, and like the Tele, it's a tank that always delivers and always will.

I have yet to deal with Fender. Their products are so good I've never needed customer support! So, as a consistently satisfied customer I'll give them a 10 in this category!

The Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars continue to be the industry standards. Introduced over 50 years ago, these guitars have remained essentially unchanged. The reason is they were brilliantly designed, rock solid instruments with a fabulously versatile array of sounds. The Strat, in particular, remains the most versatile electric guitar ever made, well suited to many different kinds of music. If someone could only have one guitar, the Strat is the one!

Made in 2001 in Mexico, 22 frets, laminated top, standard strat controls and pickups so no need to go into all that as it has been well covered. Alder body I think, maple neck, beautiful sunburst finish, maple fretboard. I bought it from guitar trader almost 3 years ago and they threw in a very nice gig bag plus free shipping. For the money, it's excellent. Can't tell the difference than it and the American Standard in looks, playability or sound.

I have a varied musical taste. I like classic rock but I also like heavy metal. I like jazz and blues, punk and grunge and even country. This guitar does it all well, except heavy metal, unless you are using a really good distortion pedal. It's a strat so it is not meant for metal, so I won't ding it for that. It's best for rockabilly and blues stuff and classic rock with mild to moderate distortion. Clean is excellent. Bright twangy sound at the bridge, good Hendrix or Dire Straits sound in the 2d position, middle pickup is good for softer rock, 4th position and neck position great for jazz and blues. Very versatile, but metalheads, beware, it is NOT a metal guitar unless you got a digitech or a zoom stomp box. I'm using this guitar on 4 amps, which are a VOX Pathfinder 15R, a VOX AD15VT Valvetronix, a Marshall AVT20 and a Peavey Studio Pro 112. Sounds good on all the amps, but seems most compatabile with the VOX amps. I'm not much an effects guy, I use a little reverb and mild to moderate distortion at times, and just use the footswitches that come with the amps for my distortion. I do have a ZOOM 606 but rarely use it. I bought this guitar to play blues and classic rock on and it has not let me down. Great guitar and quite inexpensive.

Everything was perfect.

Been gigging with it for almost 3 years and it hasn't failed me yet, so the answer to all the questions are yes. I don't gig without backups. I've had $2,000 dollar guitars go down on me on stage.

Never dealt with Fender, but guitar trader is great, so I give them the max.

Been playing 45 years, have what I mentioned above, plus a Yamaha Les Paul Copy, a highly modified Fender Squier Series Standard Telecaster and an Ibanez RG350DX. I have more acoustics than I can count. I'd get another one if it were stolen. I'm not gonna lose it. I love everything about it, as it does, exactly what I bought it for. I ordered it online, so I didn't compare it with any other guitars. Every guitar I've ever bought has been on impulse, and that seems to work well for me.

Mine was made in 1994, in Mexico, back when red was still a color option. Won't go into all the features, as they have been listed over a hundred times before my review. Mine's the same as the rest, color is a fire engine red with rosewood fretboard. Came with a cord and I purchased a hard case for it when I bought it.

I play mostly late 60's and early 70's classic rock, stuff like Hendrix, Stones and what not. I also play blues and have started to get a little into some country music in my older years. Suits all of those music styles just fine. It is not a metal guitar, but then again, that's not music in my opinion anyway - just noise. I am running this through a Marshall ATV 20 and I have no complaints about the amp. Not much of an effects person, I do have a ZOOM 606II pedal that I use occasionally. In 1, 3 and 5th positions you get the slight hum that you get in all single coils. Quiet as a church mouse on the in betweens. It can be rich and full or bright, depending on which pickups you are using and your amp settings. Of course, the bridge is twangy like all Fenders, and you get the good strat quack on the in betweens. Mellow and bluesy on the neck pickup. Very versatile guitar, I love it, have had it 10 years.

It was setup perfectly when I bought it. Not a flaw at all, beautiful finish, everything perfect.

Well, I've had it 10 years and it's still going strong. Still looks basically brand new and I play it everyday and gig with it three times a week. No one would gig without a backup.

Never dealt with Fender as a company.

I've been playing for 40 years. I also have an Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop with P-90's and a Fender Standard Telecaster that has been modified with Vintage Noiseless Pickups, which are stacked humbuckers. I've got a bunch of acoustics also....too many to count, I'm an addict. I would definitely get another strat if something happened to this one.

2004 Standard Strat---made in Mexico. S/S/S pickups. Solid body, maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. 21 frets, vintage style adjustable bridge, with 1 volume and 2 tone knobs. Lifetime tuners, 5 way selector switch.

In a nutshell--it sounds fantastic! The single coils are quiet for single coils. One can go from a very mellow sound--to the trademark quack of a strat! I have come to the conclusion (after owning far too may guitars---and then selling them!) that you just can't beat a Fender Strat for a wide variety of sounds! The pots, switch and instrument jack are the same as on an American Strat--so they are very good!

The fit and finish on the guitar is every bit as good as on an American Fender. The Mexican Strats have a vintage bridge---but everything else is the same except the price! No flaws at all on my guitar except that it needed a professional setup---which every
new guitar does no matter what the price! So many folks buy new guitars and don't have them setup properly---and then they wonder why they have problems with intonation and staying in tune! The factories can only do so much--and due to shipping--the guitars get out of whack anyway. Do yourself a favor--pay the $60.00 dollars to have it setup properly---you won't regret it!

One other reviewer said it "is built like a tank" and I agree! The weitght of the guitar is just right---not too light or heavy. Leo Fender got it right when he designed the Strat a half-century ago! Everything is solid on the guitar--no complaints at all!

I have read a number of complaints about Fender over the years but I've never had an issue with them. I have found them to be a really good company. You can't be in business for over 50 years and build thousands of guitars used by professional musicians all over the world and not be any good! I found the manual that came with the guitar to be very helpful---and you can't beat a lifetime warranty!

I have to honestly say that there isn't a thing I don't like about my Strat. Are there better guitars out there? Probably. But not at this price! If you have it properly setup---and take care of it--it should last a lifetime. I almost bought the American made version but in comparing the Mexican and American Strats---I could see little difference in quality (except the bridge---but I happen to like the vintage bridge on the Mexican version) but a big difference in price. Of course a Mexican made Strat won't hold its value like an American made one--but who cares if it is going to be a working guitar and you're going to keep it for a lifetime! Buy the American version if you are concerned about resale value and don't plan to keep it forever. Otherwise save yourself $400.00 dollars and buy the Mexican Strat!

Mine is a 2004 Made In Mexico...Even so its still a well made, beautiful
instrument...
21 fret
Standard aminities found on strats S/S/S
Maple neck w/maple Fretboard
Sage Green Metalic-Standard paint job
I gave this a ten because its a STANDARD strat...i knew exactly
what i was getting and didn't expect anything more

I play it through Morley PSW Wah into an Ibanez PT5 Multi-Effects Processor(has the tube screamer built in) into volume pedal then into my Pignose G40V All Tupe amp.
With the pickup selection i get great tones frome this thing
The processor unit i have has an EQ built in so i can get a great thick
tone from the stock sinle coil PU,s
Very little noise.
Cant do any real dramatic tremolo work with it(hence the "8" probably need lock downs)but it can handle some light stuff with ease...stays in tune great.
Plus this is the first maple fretboard guitar i have ever owned...and its great...much smother than rosewood.
Guitar is well balanced and comfortable to play...this is no lie, at practise i stood and played it for 4 hours straight.

The set was perfect...for me anyway...slightest buzz...doesnt bother me at all...cannot hear it through amp.
The intonation seems to be perfect...i can capo up the neck and it still is dead on tune.

Its a fender strat...it should out live me

Dunno...

I have been playing about 20 yaers...
I would Absolutly buy annother if this one wrere stolen...
I looked at tones of guitars and went with this one

Made in Japan between 1982 and 1987. Everything is stock, standard Strat features. Maple neck. Oh, it's black, originally with a white pickgaurd, but I changed it to red tortoise shell, cause it looks strange and cool.

This is a wonderfully versatile guitar. It's a strat, and sounds like a strat - if you want it to sound like something else, then buy something else. Between the pickup selections and tone controls, plus your eq on your amp(s), you can get a wide range of sounds from any strat. I play mostly power-pop and rock, and it suits me just fine. Only commplaint is it can be a bit noisey when only one pickup is selected, but that's single coils for ya.

Can't remember the factory setup - that was 17 years ago. But I've set it up myself since, and the action is very low, with no buzz at all. The tremelo, as with all Fender vintage style 6-screw tremelos, can whack the strings out of tune pretty badly if I really abuse it. But Floyd Roses are ugly as hell, so I've just learned to be careful, and to not pull on the bar (which seems to do the most tuning damage, to mine at least).

My only minor complaint is with the string trees. They are these crappy little plastic boxes with metal rollers on both sides. I think they're supposed to help keep the guitar in tune when using the trem. They're ugly, and I'd change them, but I'm afraid the classic "T" shaped tree would make the tremelo tuning problem even worse.

This guitar is absolutely a tank. For seventeen years it has been abused and sometimes neglected, and it still plays perfectly. Other than a bit of oxidation on the bridge sadles and normal wear on the fingerboard, it looks like new. Well, except for the huge belt-buckle scratch on the back. :) I give it a nine only because one of the string tree holes became stripped. Of course, being the guitar abuser that I am, I just drilled a new hole in the headstock and screwed it back in. Shameful.

Never needed it.

Been playing for 23 years, and I've had and played a lot of different guitars from crappy no-names to Rics to a sweet vintage tele that I wish I still had. Right now for electrics I play an Epiphone Dot and a Fender Jaguar reissue, but I'm gonna sell the Jag as the strat really gives me all the sounds the Jag can, plus some more, and it's not as tempermental. My playing is 99.9% home studio work, and at this point I don't even own an amp, I just have a V-Amp modeller, with a seperate tube preamp for warmth and an eq to tweak the sounds.

This has been my main guitar for 17 years (though it's tied with the Dot, which I also love). I wouldn't sell it or trade it for the world. I know some people are purists about getting American made, but I honestly don't think most people could tell the difference between my Jap strat and a USA strat. As I said, it has been used and abused for 17 years, and it still plays as good as, if not better than new. I've taken it apart and put it back together again, drilled holes in it (for USA pickguard), dropped it, bumped it into all kinds of things, left it out of its case for years at a time, lost and replaced pieces of it, and I know that every time I plug it in it's going to sound great. If you can find one, get it - it's worth every penny you'll save.

A 2003 made in Mexico, 21 frets, rosewood neck, 3 single coil pups,dark sherry, vibrato, with all the other features of a standard strat.

I am playing mostly heavy rock from the 60's and 70's... Yes, even some Jimi Hendrix...from the Beatles to our days...The Strat response very well to that style combined with a Peavey 400 Chorus stereo 212... The middle position on the pups is a bit noisy, but that's the only complaint...

Before buy'n'it, I was to buy a American Strat...Once at the music store, I tried a few Fender of every model...even a Telecaster and 2 or 3 American Strat...I did'nt even want to look at a mexican one...But that Dark sherry color came to my face...so I ask to see that one...when I saw it was a Made in Mexico, I wanted to put it back without touchin it...but finally I played a few notes... so I could'nt say what happen, but I feel it was my guitar...done expressly for me..I know it's sound crazy, but I think it's the only way to buy a guitar...

It's only 3 months I owned it...will see...

Never used it till now, but some of my friends owners of Fender eqipement did, and were very happy with the service

I'm playing guitar since am 13 yo...i'm now 52...so it's been a long time.. I have played so many kind of guitars, would take to long to enumerate...I would'nt remember them all anyway...My Strat is like a candy I wanted to offered to myself...and it do make me happy...I would by another one like it, no question... I was playing accoustic guitar ( Norman ST-68 )for the last 10-12 years...My Strat brang back my teenager feeling in me... I even got back in a band since then..and my hairs are growing....:-)

Little I can add to what the other proud owners of this excellent guitars have said below. Mine is year 2000, finished in sunburst with a maple neck. The neck has a lovely flame in the maple. The body seems to be a single piece of alder with gorgeous birdseye marks amongst the grain. A lovely bit of workmanship, and all the wonderful strat controls are there.

I play melodic rock, jazz, country and classical. This strat covers all the bases. The stock pickups have lovely tones from tubey at the neck throught to a tangy prickle at the bridge, stopping at all stations in between. I use it through a Roland ST100 and a Behringer firebird, mostly using clean settings, but sometimes with a bit of drive. I don't use effects, not even a little reverb. It sounds lovely as it is.

All as it should be, including the set up.

Nicely built guitar. I've replaced the standard strap buttons with a pair of straplocks to avoid accidents. I don't gig - too shy - just play to entertain my dawg!!!

Only ever dealt with Fender about an amp, but they were friendly and informative.

So much better than a squier in terms of tone and set up. Would I buy another - well, I bought a standard telecaster in sunburst as a big brother for this baby. Love playing Ravel's Bolero on the strat - get it from OLGA - sends shivers up the spine. Best feature is the look - pure strat - and that lovely wood and tone.

I have a 1995 Fender Standard Strat (Mexican), in a 3 color sunburst finish and maple neck with 21 frets. It has a 5-way switch and 3 controls (volume/tone/tone) and 3 single coil pickups. I think the body is alder. The finish is very nice with a generous orangey-red fade. I took off the white 3-ply pickguard and installed a cream-colored tortoise shell guard and (cream/beige colored, not the green ones) pickup covers, knobs and switch tip. I have a killer purple rose temp. tattoo which I have put on the end of the standard headstock as a tribute to Hendrix. I have gold S.R.V. letters on the pickguard because he is a God. I have the mandatory "cigarette burn" on the headstock a la Clapton (and many others)....done by using a torch-style lighter. I have a Hendrix-style purple psychedelic strap with Kurt Cobain and Hendrix buttons on it, like Neil Young. The string-thru bridge is the standard Fender right-handed with tremolo bar. The tuners are standard Fender tuners and seem fine. The frets have lasted me this whole time and are fine for bending. I use D'Addario EXL120 nickel wound 9/11/16/24/32/42 strings. I got the guitar and a black Fender hardshell case from a source close to the Fender Corona factory for $220.00 used, but in "like new" condition. Finish and overall package was a great price! This is my 2nd electric. My 1st was a $50 sunburst fake Strat which I played the crap out of, then smashed in my bedroom floor a la Pete Townshend and then lit on fire (outside) like Jimi!!!!
May that beast R.I.P. Thus, this was a "real" Strat and WAY better!
By the way, I am a drummer (insert "BOO!" here) and I just could not justify buying a nice guitar. However, I just love the guitar and taught myself and had to get one.....I heard the Mex. strat is just like the American but poorly made. I bought it and tightened the screwes and it was pretty good, initially. Overall: 8/10.

After a year or so, I decided to upgrade the pickups to Fender Custom Shop Texas Specials a la the S.R.V. Strat.....all I can say is WOW!
I have a Fender Princeton amp and this baby sings from clean to raunchy! Through my Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, Hendrix Special Dunlop wah wah, a Boss chorus ensemble and Boss flanger, I can get all kinds of sounds! I can get the Clapton Cream 1960's tone, hillbilly country tone clean, the SRV tone with the neck pickup, and can get a great Hendrix tone with the fuzz face and wah.....I am the Voodoo StepChile! With the tone turned all the way down, I can get a sort of Les Paul sound like Neil Young and I can get it pretty grungy with just distortion and a flanger, when I feel like Smelling Teen Spirit. This guitar kicks ass and I have played American Strats. This blows them away! The pickups are amazing and
worth the $100.00 I spent in 1996... Can you say TONE, TONE, TONE! The clean tone is amazing!!! Overall sound: 9/10.

The initial setup was crappy. I totally took it apart (except for wiring) and put it back together again. It played much better but had intonation issues, according to my L.A. professional music buddy.
I went to the Guitar Dr. in Fountain Valley and he totally set it up for me, installed the Texas Specials, and redid the thing for $200.
I can say this was the best $200 I have ever spent! The thing plays like my dream Strat.....I have no complaints. There is a little noise but overall, it is Fender all the way.....I love it.
Overall: 6/10 before the Guitar Dr., but now a 9/10.

This thing is great. It is not too light but it is still very managable. The hardware is solid, the tuners are pretty good, the finish is wonderful and no cracks, the strap buttons are solid and it is my only electric guitar. I would use it as my sole guitar if I had the balls to play lead guitar in a band (remember, I am a drummer!).....I do get the urge to smash the thing when I am really into the music and I have to fight back the urge since she is my Baby now. I do find myself stroking it and talking to it and my wife thinks I am losing it. The middle latch on the case broke off and that sucks, but otherwise, the black-fur lined case is solid and works well. Durability: 9/10.

Never dealt with them. I bought it used and no warranty. However, besides the case issue, the guitar has given me no problems at all.

I have always been a Fender guy....my heroes (Hendrix, SRV, Clapton, Cobain, early Page, and on and on)....all played Fender. I lived in Fullerton, CA, about 1 mile from the old factory on Fender Avenue!
There is just something SO sexy about the design. I like Les Pauls too, but their action is just too high and I am clumsy playing them. The only regret I have is that this is Mexican. Even though I scratched off the "Made in Mexico" on the headstock, the "M" serial number is a nagging reminder. However, in my mind, it has a great retro vibe and TONE, TONE, TONE!!! I did not compare it with any other guitars....Strat is my choice. I thought about changing the neck to a lefty to be a reverse Hendrix and putting a left handed bridge in (like SRV), but didn't hassle with it...after all, I am a drummer! Overall, the thing cost me about $220 with case, $130 for pickguard, Texas Specials and misc small parts, $200 for professional installation and setup, for a total of about $550. Again, I had played American Strats and was not so excited. I didn't think I would spend this much but hey, it was all worth it. I love this guitar. My buddy has a U.S. Strat with no modifications and this blows it away. I played an early 1970's U.S. Strat in a recording studio and my axe chopped it up! Again, it is all about the Texas Specials....they make me sound like a California Special, even when I just noodle around with my Fender Champ 15w amp! I have played it thru a Marshall full stack and it was HUGE.....I need to get me one of those, but hey, I'm a drummer.....ba dum dum!!!

Feel free to email me for pictures. Peace, love and 420 to all... 8-)
Overall rating: 9/10 as modified and only because it is Mexican.

Fender Standard Strat, made in Mexico, 2003 year model. Standard strat features eg. tone, volome etc... White body and maple neck (Hendrix!). The guy at the shop kept telling me its Alder, but the sticker on the guitar say's it poplar. Not sure who to believe, although people have been telling me that Fender have supposidly stopped using poplar.

Tuners won't stay in tune, has a thin, weak, (even for a strat, it's terrible) tone. Not the strat tone I was looking for. CEREMIC pickups.

Vintage frets. Just because it's VINTAGE don't think it's any good because that only means that the frets are tiny as, which in turn makes bends as HARD AS. Considering the fact that the strat already has a very long neck (compared to say, a Les Paul) they shouldn't really make life harder for those of us who like to play lead or blues etc. But once you get used to them, it's nothing.

Gets a five because... well it doesn't really have any features, it's just a basic strat.

We are reviewing a mexican strat aren't we?

Let me say something about this guitar. It stinks. Its horrible. Its thin, weak, wimpy and has no character. Noisy. Terrible. Sustain is frighteningly bad when I first got it. Whatever you play on it sounds cheap.

- BUT -

The Standard Strat is like a... Japanese sports car. It's not a Ferrari, and it never will be, but it can be made to go as fast if you upgrade it with the right parts. First thing I considered changing was the pickups. I wanted a REAL strat tone, something that can be soft and sweet or harsh and ballsy so I went out and got a packet of kinmans. It cost slightly more than half the price of the strat, but I think it's worth it, it breathed new life into it and now I think the tone is as good as or better than most american strats.

After that you may want to change the frets etc...

I've upgrade this thing so much it's not really a standard strat anymore. It's more of a strat style guitar that looks and sounds like a good strat - a really good strat.

About the horrible sustain - it kind of went away after about a year. I think it might be beacuse it got "played in", or maybe I just got better... Not sure of the real reason.

Factory setup was ok... I kept fooling around with it until it screwed up on me so... had to go to a pro, made it even better than it was before.

The finish looks more like a bloody suit of, I don't think theres anything out there that can scratch this thing.

Everything else was ok, not that many problems here...

It's a brick.

You can use it as a weapon if you want.

Hmm.. frets wore away really quickly. But I play alot so...

Never dealt with them.

Overall I'm giving it a nine because its solid, reliable and its cheap. Although it may sound bad at first, its got lots of potential, it can be made to sound as good or better than higher priced guitars for a fraction of the price.

Just for the record, I love my guitar. I've even given it a paint job (it looks good, trust me). Sounds good, plays good - what more can I ask?

If it got stolen, I'd probably buy an American and do that up - although I probably won't give it a new paint job...

This is my 5th Strat purchased over the years. I really liked my MIM Tele so I took a chance and bought this used MIM Strat on an internet auction.
Fiesta red and maple neck, white single ply pickguard, 1995 year model.
Typical features but this was in great shape cosmetically and all stock

Noisy pickups, buzzes, needs a fret level and recrown, crappy tuners, pot metal bridge compensator, very little sustain. Sound is weak through my PodXT and all my amps. noisy and anemic. A POS!

Replaced the pickups with Fender Tex Mex
replaced the pots with CTS matched 250 OHM
Replaced the 5 way switch
replaced the cap with a Hovland
Used vintage wire in the electronics
Replaced the pickguard with a 3 ply American Standard with copper shielding
Replaced the bridge compensator with a Callaham unit with stainless steel trem bar
replaced the saddle screws with shorter ones
Replaced the bridge screws with new ones from Callaham
Replaced the tuners with Fender/Schaller locking tuners
Did a fret level and recrown
Installed Schaler strap locks

This guitar absolutely rocks now. Plays much better than my SRV and Strat +. I love the pickups and the sustain is great. The action is low with no buzz and the intonation is perfect. The trem unit comes back to neutral and it stays in tune.

total cost of the guitar and parts was $480.00 including shipping. I did all the installation and work so there were no labor charges. This guitar is easily as good or better than any American made Fender now and the price is impossible to beat. This is a real player and I don't have to worry about dings as the value will not be affected.
If you are on a budget but want a custom shop quality Strat, this is the only way to go. I'd put this up against any CS Strat out there. i've had Squires and they are junk. The MIM is a sold piece of wood and is built by craftsmen.

After I replaced all the hardware and did the fret work, I did a factory setup and intonation. I had to losen the truss rod a bit as I installed new Dean Markley Blue Steel Strings in .009 to .042.

The neck to body joint and all other fit and finish areas are very nice on this Strat. No issues with the factory work. The body is a bit chunky compared to American and MIJ Strats as the edge radius of all the body edges are very small and sharp. Reminds me of a Charvel. The slightly narrower nut and string spacing on a MIM seems OK and doesn't bother me at 2 1/16".

The guitar body/neck is built very sturdy and will take a ton of abuse. I can push on the neck and the pitch hardly drops. Better than my SRV Strat.

Don't need any support. No warranty and highly modded.

I've been playing for 20 years and am mostly a Gibson player. I wanted a Strat that played as well as my Gibsons. If this was stolen, I'd put another one together immediately.
I may replace the stock string tree and nut in the future but I find no need at this time.
A comparable American Strat would be at least 3 times the cost of this one and I don't see any reason to spend the extra money.

This is a Mexican made Stratocaster, made in 2003, 21 frets, you know the drill. 3-color sunburst, a real beauty!

I mostly play Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. For Zeppelin, singlecoils are not the best you can get, but for purple and floyd, it's perfect! Don't know what the pickups are called, but I personally think they sound better than the ones on the USA model. They have more personality, with a more bitter bite in the bridge-pickup. The neck-middle position has a warmer sound than any other I have been into. Gotta love it. It's a strat, so don't expect humbuckers.

Guitar was perfect set up. Came with 9's, but as soon as I got some Ernie 10's on it, it was the guitar of my dreams. Lowered the E a little, for powerchords.. Perfect neck! The pickupselector stopped functioning but I just pulled it a little and it was ok. Never had the problem again. Probably dust or something. The jack is loose and impossible to tighten. I guess there's some kind of sick reason why Fender has KEPT THIS PROBLEM the last 50 years. Perhaps to give the vintage feel to it?

It's reliable. It's my primary, also own a Tokai Les Paul (Love Rock), but I only use the Strat. Never use a backup. Don't need to with this axe.

Never had to deal with em

This is a strat as good as it gets. I would prefer this one to the american ones. And concidering the price, whew what an axe! Love it, and if it was stolen, I am quite sure that I would get anotherone right away. Now it's a bit cheaper too.

This is a 2004, MIM Standard Stratocaster. 21 Frets, solid alder body finished in a glossy black with a maple fretboard. Other feature are 3 single coil pickups, vintage style tremelo, and one volume and two tone controls. The neck has a 9.5" radius, with vintage style "nail frets". The features are pretty in line for what you'd expect from a strat: an ageless design that was right the first time. I bought this guitar as a "project" with plans to install texas special pickups, and graph tech saddles.

Needless to say, I never installed the texas specials, but I think the guitar will sound a little better with the texas specials or fat 50's pickups. I'm an amateur "hobbyist" who has been playing for 31 years. The stock pickups are more bright and twangy than my American Series and Classic Series strats, but have a unique voicing of their own. A number of reviewers look at these pups as crap, but they actually sound pretty good in my opinion, and the 5 position switch really allows for a variety of sounds, from warm and rich (neck pickup) to bright and biting/glassy (bridge). This guitar sounds awesome for the money.

This is the first fender I bought that playable out of the box. The action was low, the bridge saddles were radiused properly, and the nut was cut/shaped very well. The neck pocket is tight, and all the frets seem to be shaped and polished as well as my other 2 strats. The black finish was flawless, and the maple neck is excellent. The only complaint that I have is that I'm not crazy about the bridge saddles as on prior strats I've owned with this "vintage style" trem, the height adjustment screws had stripped, but on a lighter gauge string, I don't think this would be a problem. Plus for the money, the bridge is better than other guitars I've tried in this price range. The trem arm wobbles a bit too and unlike my other strats, you cannot place a spring in the trem arm cavity to eliminate the wobble. I replaced the saddles with the new graph techs, and I am very surprised at the quality of this guitar.

Other than the saddles, this is a well-built guitar and much better than a 95 american standard strat that I owned. The gloss black fnish is absolutely flawless. The switch is sturdier than a japanese strat that I owned in the past, and I expect that this guitar will last.

As I previously stated, I've been playing for 31 years and have owned about 20 guitars in my life and now own 3 strats. All are played through a Line 6 Flextone III amp. This is an absolutely awesome guitar for the money, and the quality is excellent. The sound is very good, the neck is smooth and well-dressed, and the finish is gorgeous. I've seen other reviews criticizing the MIM Fenders, but I own two of them, and both are of very good quality and sound excellent. This guitar surprised me as to how well it was built.

The Standard, Made In Mexico Stratocaster doesn't come with a dizzying array of features, but it gives you enough to do your own thing, whatever that may be. 21 Frets, a beautiful white finish, a rosewood fretboard. Basic pick-ups. That's about it.

This guitar is great for those who have yet to commit themselves to one style of music. You can get decent hard rock crunch out of it, you can get nice big, open chord sounds from the middle pickup, but by far my favourite sound that can come out of this Strat is the beautiful, round neck pickup tone. Clean, yet cool, you can get an angelic hollow melody going, or churn out smooth minor licks with ease.

Even through a cheap amp, this guitar casn still sound sleek and sexy. However it does lose something in excessive distorion. I'd say at it's best crunch, you can get some awsone Led Zeppelin-esque sounds from it- but this wouldn't be your first choice if you play in a Megadeth cover-band ( although, thats not to say it's inpossible to shred your way through "Holy Wars..." with your Strat).

When I first played my Strat on Valentines day 2003, I felt a sudden connection with my Strat that I just didn't get with other guitars it it's price range. It felt great to me right hand, my left hand, and my side. I slumped over it's contoured body and relaxed.

The action was perfect, the frets and freatboard were in order, and it it was playable right form the beginning.

I've never played live with this. But theres no doubt in my mind that I would use it if given the chance.

The hardware seems nice and stable. Strap pegs are nice and firm. If I got shot while playing it, it might not save my life, but it would keep me happy and content in the last few minutes of my life.

i've never delt with them ,but because their so well know, I think that I shouldn't encounter too much tropuble.

I'd just like to say, there is a reason so many cheap copy brands model their products after the Strat. And it's no coincidence that when you hear the word "electric guitar", a mental image of a Strat-style comes to mind. All around great. Maybe the jack-of-all-trades. Not really a master of any.

I've been playing a short two years, one with my acoustic, the next in the company of my Strat. Compared to it's same-priced competition, the Epiphone Les Paul and SG, this was the right choice for me. It just felt right, it felt comfortable. The other two, though great I their own way, didn't feel like the Strat did.

It is kind of a bummer, that today the Strats once unique body-shade has turned to run-of-the-mill indusrty standard. But hey, I'd rather conform to the norm than play a guitar that didn't feel good to me.

Over, a great value for the money. This is a rather cheap guitar that you can be proud of. A work of art.

Note: This isn't my guitar, it's a friend's. I've had many chances to play it, so I know it pretty well.

As far as features go, it's your typical strat. Three single coil pickups, 2 tone, one volume, vintage style trem, 21 frets, rosewood fretboard, and so on. Alder body, beautiful maroonish finish. Made in 2000, I believe.

Frankly, when compared to most guitars out there today, strats are pretty versatile. 5 position switch + 3 single coil pickups = plenty of tones to choose from.

Like I said before, this is a typical strat, hence it produces a typical strat tone. If you play it through a good amp, or add loads of gain, the single coils can almost sound like humbuckers... just a little thinner sounding. With lower levels of gain, that bright, strat-like quack becomes noticable.

The clean sounds are great. If you use one of the in between position and add some chorus in front of the amp... beautiful.

The pickups really impressed me. This guitar has proven to me that mexican made does not equal to shit.

And for all you 12 year old pop punk beginner fabs out there... keep in mind that this is a strat. It has SINGLE COILS. You aren't going to get true humbucker kind of tone out of SINGLE COILS, no matter how many effects you add in front of the amp. Don't call the guitar shit just because you don't know how to buy a guitar.

After a good setup, this thing plays great. The neck is fast, although I believe it's a bit thicker than some american series necks. In the grand scheme of guitars, strats have pretty fast necks, and the neck on the standard is no exception.

If it's set up properly, there is minimal fret buzz. The guitar rarely goes out of tune even after relatively heavy use of the whammy bar. It obviously won't stay in tune as well as a floyd rose will, but for a non-locking trem, it does very well.

The finish is flawless.

The initial setup of the guitar doesn't matter. All that matters is that the guitar can take a good setup. The standard certainly can.

This guitar is built like a tank. After several years of use, my friend has yet to scratch the finish. The strap buttons are very solid. I don't gig, and neither does my friend, so I can't exactly comment on how it would handle live playing. Based on it current condition, it shouldn't be a problem.

I've never dealt diretly with fender, so I can't comment here.

Overall, this is a great guitar. Fender has succeeded in producing a low cost, but still high quality alternative to an american strat. Keep it up, Fender!

2004 made in mexico model.
21 frets
alder body
5 way select, 2 X tone, 1 X volume
maple neck
arctic white body
standard bridge and tuners

i like rock and blues, especially that amazing hendrix guy. i have been playing that long but for AUD$788 its a bloody good beginner style guitar. it seems just like an american made strat but made in mexico with standard bridge.

the finish is next to perfect, set up at factory. low action and feels great. strings are also of the highest quality.

well made, comparing this to any guitar in the price category you couldnt probably buy a better guitar.

havent had to deal with them yet, but the shop i bought it from are great.

just perfect for $788. in a different league to heaps of other guitars i looked at in this price range. maybe only a yamaha pacifica can come close.

2004 MIM Fender Standard Strat. Black, with maple neck and fingerboard. I won't go into all the details, as many before me already have. You know what a Strat is right? Of course you do. It's a straight-up Strat.

The pickups sound right once they've been adjusted to the correct height and slant. The guitar came with what feels like .09s, and I'm sure the guitar will sound even better with a heavier set on. Typical single coil 60hz hum in 1,3, and 5- dead quiet in 2 and 4. This MIM Strat sounds much better than my 98 USA Fender Standard Strat!

Factory setup was passable- slightly high, but playable. I tweaked the truss rod, reradiused the bridge saddle heights to match the radius of the fingerboard, raised the pickups up a hair and slanted them slightly. The neck to body joint is very tight, the nut is cleanly cut with no sticking, all the controls feel solid. I'd say this is as good as any of the USA Fender stuff in terms of build quality.

Fenders are warhorses. Everyone knows that. This guitar sounds and plays as good as guitars 3 times the price. There's no reason why someone shouldn't get a MIM Strat if they're looking for a decent guitar. Bang for the buck factor is very high.

I've been playing for 17 years professionally and own more gear than I care to type out and list here. This is a fantastic guitar for the price. There's really nothing I can bitch about with this guitar- its a good one.

I recently purchased a MIM Fender Standard Strat made in 96 for $249.99. Guitar Center threw in a Red Label Fender molded hardshell case for $.01, so I spent a total of $250.00!!!! Black with white pickguard, knobs, trem & switch tip, & rosewood fretboard. Has all the standard features, 3 single pups, 5 way switch, vintage trem, etc.... Your basic everyday strat, what more could you want?

I play primarily blues & southern rock. This guitar has really good sound, although I am planning on changing out the pups. The sound goes from pretty bright to a low growl. Not too shabby.

I bought it used @ Guitar Center & they set it up perfectly. Whoever had this before me took pretty good care of it, as there were no problems with the finish, electronics, etc. I found no rust spots, everything looked really good. Although I did notice that the 2 pickguard screws by the trem were newer & different than the others.

This is a very solidly built instrument. I would definitely gig with with this guitar. I would not, however, play any guitar without a backup.

I haven't had to deal with Fender yet, but the guys at Guitar Center are great!!

I'm really a novice but know enough to tell the difference between a knock-off & a real strat. If this guitar was stolen, I'd have to try & find a similar deal.

"Standard", just like the name implies: 21 frets, 3 knobs, etc.. Since the Strat may be the most versatile guitar ever, for the money, this one does what it's supposed to.

Mine's a 1992, black, maple fretboard.

Again, it's a Strat. It sounds like a Strat is supposed to, not a "Fat" strat, or a "whatever" Strat - a plain ol' Strat. Thin, chinky single coils with different combinations. Awesome!

Absolutely lousy finish. In my opinion, the worst thing about this guitar are the very visible and frequent splotches in the paint. Bad, bad paint. Oh, and the 16th fret was bad when I bought it (new).

As for the rest, it's made alright, and it plays great. I use it primarily as a backup, but every once in a while I just pull it out to play. If it didn't play so well, this category would rate a "0".

Sure, but who care. Like most Fenders, it's more like a toy than a real instrument. Never gig without a backup...

Never tried - they discourage by not being able to use e-mail. Too much work.

Been playing ~25 years. Have aquired lots of gear over the years, and I have several Strats.

Love the sound and playability; hate the finish.

Great value for the money.

Pretty much the std strat, 3 p/ups, 21 frets, maple neck. Made in good ole Mexico. Std tuners, std (vintage) bridge. Made in 1998,or possible 1999, bought it new.

Sound was a 7, mabey an 8. Pulled out stock p/ups, put in set of vintage noiseless, now, at least a 9. Pretty big difference here. Good rich sound, quacks like a strat, sounds like clapton. Mainly use position between mid and neck. Using through a s/s fender princeton chorus. Would like to use it through a deluxe reverb as soon as I get the money.

Guitar was set pretty well, had it tweaked by my guitar center, adjusted the action, put on 10's. Everything else was fine. One thing I did notice. At least compared to the Strat Am. Deluxe. The neck is "narrower" on the MIM!? A little tough to play some of the F and G barr chords. Not sure if the new MIM are like thism But I did measure, and sure enough, there is a difference. Would've been nice to have Jumbo frets as well. Finish on the body is excellent!

The stock p/ups ( and pots), crapped out a few times. Soldering was sort of shoddy, and pots sucked. Since I put the VN p/ups, problem solved. Only other issue is, there seems to be small little "pimples" coming up on the neck? Doesn't effect my playing yet, just somewhat of a cause of concern. Also, frets beginning to wear. Would love to just get a new neck, same as the deluxe. Someone, let me know where.

Never had to call.

Since I had some tweaking done, and VN installed, a great guitar. My preference would be to get a new neck, same as the deluxe, and I would give it a 10! There is a HUGE difference here. Frets are not as good, 21 compared to 22. Wood, questionable, vintage frets compared to jumbo's, well I choose the jumbos. Since I bought it for 279, paid 125 for the p/ups, brings it to 404, I wonder how much for the upgraded neck, 150, 200? Makes it 604, tops. Compared to the Am, Deluxe, going for about 800 or more, (a great guitar), you can get this for some 200 less, and basically have the same thing. Since I don't have the neck, not yet anyway (anyone reading, please email me and let me know where to get one), I'll only give it a 9.

This is a BRAND NEW 2004 model MIM Standard Strat w/3 single coil pick-ups. Gloss black finish w/maple neck & fingerboard. You know all the rest.

I play in a 4 pc. band (2 guitarists, bass guitar and drums) We play top 40 and classic country, oldies rock and 70's & 80's classic rock.
Myself and the other guitarist both play straight into our amps with no effects. Both of us are currently using Peavey 1-12 combo amps, but I should be receiving a new Traynor YCV40 amp in the next few days. I have been wanting to try a tube amp and got a good deal on this one. The other guitarist uses MIM Std. Fat Strats.

The action was set-up properly and played just like a strat should.
pick-ups seem to be adjusted properly and the intonation is right on the money. Finish is excellent. This was NOT the case with some of the other new Std. Strats that I tried out. I also tried out a Hwy 1 Strat and it fretted out due to some high frets.

I don't see any reason why this guitar won't last. It WILL be played out live (6-8 nights/month) along with my Fender Standard Tele. I bought this guitar to be an addition to the Tele and give me additional tones which I can use when playing out live.
I will tell you at this point, that I take very good care of my equipment! NONE OF MY EQUIPMENT IS ABUSED! If you want your gear to last and perform as it's supposed to, you have to take care of it!
A little common sense goes a long way in taking care of your equipment in order to get the most out of it.

In the 35 years that I have played music, I have only had to use warranty on equipment twice-both on Peavey Amps. I have never had a problem severe enough with a guitar that I've had to contact the manufacturer or a repair center. Maybe that's because I check my instruments out carefully before making a purchase!

I am 47 years old and have been playing in bands since I was 12 years old. I have at one time, owned just about every make/model guitar you can think of. I have owned some real JUNK over the years, and I have owned some real JEWELS of guitars that you could never imagine.
I have owned several American made fenders, Tele's and Strats, as well as some of the MIJ and MIM guitars. LIKE WITH ANYTHING--YOU HAVE TO PLAY SEVERAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE SAME MODEL IN ORDER TO FIND THE ONE THAT "FITS" YOU AND HAS THE SOUND AND TONE YOU ARE LOOKING FOR!!! I have yet to play a new model Amer Std Tele or Strat that is on a par with any of the MIM guitars. I can buy ANY guitar that I want to, but I'm NOT going to pay for something I don't like, regardless where it's made!! I would prefer to buy and use American made products, but it has to be at least as good as something else of the same model. If you take the time to play several guitars, you'll either find one that you like, or you'll find that you don't like that model after all and need to look for something different. Not everyone will like playing a Strat! Think of what kind of music you want to play and check to see what kind of gear is used mostly for that kind of music. You might not want to buy a Strat and Fender Twin if you want to play Heavy Metal!

It was a gift. Made in mexico, I think. 3 single coils, 5-way switch, rosewood fretboard, 21 frets(sucks), medium frets.

Typical fender crappiness with no balls. Fretbuzz like crazy, extremely noisy coming out of the amp. The 5-way switch lets you go from "painfully harsh" to "wimpy with no balls" and everywhere in between. It has a cool way of making my teeth hurt during solos.

Fretbuzz city. The action sucked, and it still buzzed. I could feel the lack of quality associated with fender when I first held it in my hands. The guitar looks nice but feels cheap. Luckily it was a gift.

This guitar feels cheap. I'm gonna sell it before something breaks and I can't sell it. It feels like it was just thrown together. Strap buttons are decent. I would'nt use it live without a backup...wait, I would never use it live.

I've never dealt with them before, but I hear they're snobs.

Wouldn't piss on this wimpy thing to put out a fire. Look, if your into that kind of sound, get a quality instrument like a Tradition. There is no sense in blowing your money away on a piece of crap fender. Quit buying guitars because of the name on the headstock. Fender sucks.

98' Standard Mexican Strat. Bought it brand new in 1999 from Zeagler's Music in Monroe, LA. It's black with a maple neck. It no longer has it's original pickup's or electronics, it now has the complete pickguard assembly from American Strat (not sure of the year of the guitar it came from, I bought it off ebay, it still had the protective film and sticker on it) with the Delta Tone Pickups w/aged plastic parts (p'up covers and knobs, trem. tip). Other than that, everything is original.

This is my main guitar and I always loved the sound the of the original pickups but while looking for parts on ebay to build another Strat with, I stumbled across an auction for a complete pickguard assembly from an American Strat. After winning the auction I decided for shits and giggles to drop the assembly into my Mexican Strat and loved it so much, it's now in there permenently, hell, I even took the 'aged' parts I had installed on the Mexican Strat and transferred them to the American assembly. I love the sound of the new setup, though I don't have any complaints with the original setup, it will work fine in the backup guitar I'm building. If I hadn't made this change, I would have to say the original pickups would have to be about an 8 at best.

From the day I took it off the wall at the music store, I loved it's action. I have to honestly say it as low as any American Strat I've ever played on or looked at and even lower than some of those. The paint job is about as good as you can expect for a Mexican Strat, hell, it's took several dings here and there over the years and it's holding up fine.

I know without a doubt that as long as I own this guitar, it will hold up and be there for me. It stays in tune very well with the stock tuners and that's with lots of abuse from the whammy bar. As far as the strap buttons go, I can't tell you if they're shit or not, I always change to schaller strap locks as soon as I get a guitar. I never play without a backup, but it's not because I don't trust my Mexican strat, it's because I always have an extra guitar on hand just for the fuck of it. I like to use different tunings and I keep one or two guitars at hands reach, pre-setup for what the song calls for. My black strat is my number one and it gets used 95% of the time and I plan on keeping it that way.

I've been playing guitar for over 10 years and I started out with some Harmony Electric finger ripper Pawn shop special that is now in various parts. I then moved on to a Korean made Fender Squier, then to a Jagstang, a Strat made exclusively with Mighty Might parts and Fender parts then to the Mexican Strat in 98'. I've since bought a 60' Fender Musicmaster, a 97' Japanese Crafted Jaguar and I'm almost done with another Strat project. I have several guitars that are gig worthy to say the least, but I keep reaching for my Mexican Strat every time. I use all sorts of effects on my SKB pedalboard, these are as follows: a Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Wah, an Ibanez Chorus/Flanger, a DOD Stereo Phaser, a DOD Stereo Chorus, a Digitech Whammy 4, a Johnson Tremolo, DOD 96B analog delay, a Big Muff and a DOD Thrashmaster (the Duke). I can get pretty much any sound I need out of this setup, though it changes from time to time.

Made 2003, In Mexico
I purchased it on Friday the 13th (lol, I dont know what thats supposed to mean)
Maple Neck

Great sound, the exact sound I was looking for in a guitar, that sparkly trebly sound that Fender Strats are known for. sounds great clean, and nice overdriven.

Very nice action, out of the box, the action is lower [and plays better] than my Les Paul that I purchased last year. Midnight Wine finish, I love red, and this is a beautiful burgandy/raspberry color that I fell in love with.

I would think that we all know that Stratocasters are indestructable, and very reliable, now my 'paul is my backup.

I dont know, but I registered my guitar online just to be sure.

this is a great guitar. the price tag on it was 349.99. but the salesman at guitar center marked it down to 299 seeing as I only had $320, (F.Y.I. Guitar Center is a great place for buying a guitar, and anything you need, very friendly, and good low prices.) so right off the bat, it was an amazing deal.

Year 2000 Made in Mexico.
21 Frets
1 Volume, 1 Neck pup tone, 1 Middle pup tone, 5 way selector. I don't think there's any player around who doesn't know the features of a strat.
3 Fender single coil pups, ceramic magnets I think.
1 piece maple neck w/maple fingerboard. Double cutaway Poplar body.
Black polyurethene finish.
String thru body tremolo bridge (not a patch on the US one though).

Sound is amazing for the money, completely different to other Fender strats. It is very versatile and is perfect for beginners who haven't found their style yet. Obviously not as warm as humbuckers, but has nice bite and can cut through the mix easily.
A fairly bright clean sound, but when you turn up the gain it goes from a slight grit to a vicious snarl.
I find it suits me fine for the moment, but I may get a guitar with humbuckers and a coil tap for my next guitar for added versatility.

I don't know how it came from the factory, but I think any decent guitar shop should set their guitars up correctly before putting them on sale. Mine came pretty much perfect with no flaws, except that within a month or so the treble strings began to break frequently. I told the tech this when i was handing my guitar in for the free setup and i've had no problems of that nature since.
The maple neck is perfectly smooth.

This is the ultimate guitar for live playing. Besides being comfortable, it has never failed on me when playing live. The strings haven't broken (and i don't change strings for months). Maybe that is down to the ernie ball strings i use though.
The finish is slightly scuffed where my arm meets the guitar, but that is completely understandable considering it has been my primary guitar, both at home and live for 2 years.
I use the standard strap buttons with no locks and i've neva had it fall.
I would always depend on it and always gig without a backup (i haven't got the cash for a new guitar yet, ive only been playing 3 years). I'm looking at Gibsons and Ibanez however and I would definately bring this guitar as a backup.

I've never had to contact Fender, but their support website (mr gearhead) is pretty good.
Living in England, i havent a clue about the warrenty for my country.
The shop i bought it from is pretty helpful.

I've been playing for 3 years and have owned this guitar for 2 of them. I also own an epiphone AJ-15 acoustic, a Peavey Rage 158 (best practise/beginner amp ever!) and a Digitech RP 200 multifx processor. I am acquiring a used Fender Twin next week, which i'll probably review.
The strat sounds best straight into the amp, but that's more of a reflection of the fx unit (it's not that good). I've played it through a Dunlip crybaby though and it sounded great.
If it was stolen/lost I would consider buying a US/US Deluxe strat before buying another one of these, although I would likely still end up getting this. The only thing i don't like about this is the bridge/tremolo, it's not nearly as good as the ones on the higher strats.
I compared this to a Squier Strat before buying and there really was no comparison. One thing I wish it had (besides a better bridge) would be 22 frets. A lot of the songs i play need 22 at least.
I would recommend this guitar to any player of any skill level, the only genre it doesn't fit well is metal i've found. At this price you really can't afford not to invest in one of these beauties.

I have two of these, one 1999 and the other 03. The major difference is that the older one is a poplar body as compared to alder.

I do a bit of customizing on most of my guitars. The the '03 which has seen more play lately has Dimarzio Virtual Vingage 54'S, grapfite nut, grapfite string tree and locking tuners. It's currently being played thru a Boss GT-6 for effects into a Traynor YCV40-WR. The tone is sick. Also sounds great thru my fender tube amps. There seems to be an issue here with comparing these to American. IMHO they are different tho not necessarily one better than the other. By the way, the only thing going on in Mexico (besides the loss of American jobs) is assembly and painting. Yes, the maple neck with one less fret (not medium jumbo) and alder body is made in California. From the late 90's on the quality of the electronics has been about the same. By the way the '99 was only modded with Vintage Noiseless PU's that gives it classic jangle w/o the noise.

Factory setups are OK. What you have to look for is a neck that is well matched to the body. These are the least expensive in my collection. No matter what you spend the intonation is never dead on, you have to ajust action to your taste etc. Finish is fine.

They answer emails and the phone.

Been playing long enough, have a ridiculous amount of gear, and currently playing in a hard rock band. (My American Strat gets a 9 as well, that's another review).

2004 MIM 2-tone Brownburst, Rosewood FB, S/S/S; you know the rest.

Had to send the first one back because the line between the nut and the headstock was crooked.

I mistakenly thought this was a flaw but the replacement was crooked also (Although not as bad) as well as an American Strat I bought later.

Other than that, the guitar was pretty flawless. Feature-wise, you know what it's got and you know what to expect. And it delivers.

I've always loved the Fender tone. Especially the brightness of the S/S/S config. I've owned a Lead I, a P-Bass and a Flame but this was my first Strat. If this had been my first guitar, I might've saved alot of money in the meantime.

It has the typical noise/buzz at 1, 3 & 5 which pisses me off. I don't know why they can't fix it. Without a decent noise suppressor (at the expense of which you may sacrifice tone and attack) those positions are basically unusable.

I'm one of those freaks who actually likes the stock ceramic pups and it pisses me off to have to replace something after I just purchased it so I'm going to re-ground it per GuitarNuts.com rather than replacing the pups.

Since I love the tone but the electronics suck, I'm knocking it down 2 points.

The finish was flawless. Hard to believe these things are made assembly line style in Baja.

The action was reasonable but a little high and the neck was just a tad convex. Which through off the intonation a little but nothing to bitch about.

One of the greatest features of all Strats is how easy they are to work on. A few 60 second adjustments and this baby almost fell right into place. Now it fits like a glove.

I'd ditto what everybody has said.

Basically, you can't kill it.

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing off and on for 20+ years and I'd replace this PDQ if something happened to it.

I hate that Fender has to put "Made in Mexico" on the FRONT of the headstock.

Interesting note: I stumbled across a great deal on an American Strat in a color that is no longer in production so I jumped on it. I was quite surprised at the tone. The MIA stock pups are obviously more quiet (still not noiseless) but at a sacrifice in output. Maybe the "Vintage tone" just isn't for me as I found it a bit muddy sounding. I also didn't care for the deeper "U" neck. I strongly prefer my MIM so I sold it. :-o

Lately I've been wanting more oomph in my sound. The S/S/S strat comes up pretty short in this area. This guitar comes routed for a HB at the bridge but I doubt I will get what I want by doing that so I'll probably get an LP copy for that fatter sound.

The feature I least like are the saddles. They're cheap cast metal and have rough edges which bother me alot when I'm muting. A set of GraphTech saddles will fix that.

So eventhough I hate to spend money on it to bring it up to my preference; $40 for saddles and $10 for the supplies to fix the grounding issue is nothing.

This is a great guitar for any level of play and I am a firm believer in the increasing general concensus that some of the new MIM's are rivalling the US mades.

But if I was an MIA snob and spent twice what I paid for almost the same guitar, I'd disagree too.

As far as pure value - this guitar gets an easy 10.

made in 2001 in mexico. blue agave with 21 fret maple neck, and a single volume and two tone knobs. vintage style bridge, comes with tremolo bar. five way pickup selector. three single coil pickups. comes with a gig bag and if i remember correctly two allen wrenches for the bridge saddles and truss rod. an extra spring is included too. i have to sing the praises here. the neck on this strat is flamed tiger striped maple...it came that way stock (O_O). if anyone has a similar neck on a mexican strat contact me so i'll know that i'm not deluding myself or something. i kinda wish fender would throw in a hard shell case with these but i guess that's pushing it a bit for a guitar in the >$500 range. i wish fender would make a few shorter scale model strats to make some of those big bends easier on the hands as well but that's what gibson is around for, right?

my musical style tends to be rock and roll.....yep. basically everything but punk, (and all its lame subsets....emo, hardcore, et. al.) indie and metal. my ideal sound is the bastard child of dave gilmour and jimmy page. for that sound i look no further than the neck pickup. the bridge pickup of course has that typical stinging fender treble that has made it famous. all the other in-phase and out of phase positions are great but i'd say that the neck pickup and the neck/middle pickup combinations are used the most by me with the bridge/middle combination shortly behind. combine it with a good overdriven tube amp (a fender hot rod deluxe in my case) and you'll have the kind of sound that rattles your soul. of course the bridge, neck, and middle pickups are buzzy. but sometimes you have to sacrifice quietness for good tone. i use a patchwork of vintage and modern effects into a fender HRD.

i've played some shite mexican strats and some great ones and i have to say i lucked out exceedingly with this one. it came decently set up from the factory but after a setup which included adding extra springs to the tremolo configuration and effectively turning the guitar into a hardtail (something every strat player should consider) and some minor truss rod and intonation tweaks the thing stays in tune and sustains very well. the frets were very nice from the factory, very few inconsistencies in the wood and body work...a solid 8.

i could spit the typical "dude it's a fender!!" line but i'm not. truth be known if you play like a shithead your guitars wont treat you very well. i play with a rather gentle and subtle style (except when things get more raucous as they always do when playing out) so durability of guitars isn't a big deal to me. i try to take decent care of them.

i've never contacted fender before.

although not as luxurious in build and components as the american series guitars that fender makes, a handful of the mexican strats are definately up there in terms of build quality and sound. a few yards behind the american series but light years ahead of the squier series. through my years of playing music i've had a handful of other guitars (many of them trades) but this particular strat has never left my collection. as of late i've been bitten by the gibson bug however, so we'll see about that in the coming months.

'94 model...? Call me an idiot, I tend to spend my time playing my guitar rather than learning how read the serial number to identify what year it was made. It has a "Fender 50th Anniversary" sticker on the back.

This is my only electric guitar. It has 21 frets, looks like any other Fender Stratocaster you can buy. Volume, Tone, Tone, 5 way switch, blah blah blah, for controls. All stock pickups, all stock every thing, I don't think this guitar was ever touched in a "modified" way by its previous owner.

The make of the wood is probably the same as every Mexican Strat of the era, the finish is somewhat strange, I think the current paint job on it might be custom or something. The paint looks fine, but there's a little diamond of faded color set squarely in the center of the body below the bridge. You really can't even see it, but I guess it alludes to the possibility of a new paint job... ?

Bridge is a wonderfully cheap feeling Stratocaster bridge. The tuners do everything a tuner should do except keep the guitar in tune while it's not being played. Maybe that's the bridge. I dunno. Fender tuners.

The neck is maple, the frets are vintage style.

It came with the Gig bag.

I give it a six because it is a basic guitar. I'm not complaining, I love this guitar no matter who says it's a hunk of crap. I may not own anything special, but I've played some crazy guitars. From some Paul Reed Smiths to the Silvertones Hasting's is starting to sell, this guitar falls right in the middle, err, a little above middle. It feels like a guitar you SHOULD pay 260 dollars for, if slightly used. However, the features are somewhat better than most guitars you could buy for 260 dollars, and with a little adjustment (hell, everyone's different, if you aren't satisfied with what a guitar can do for you because you're too pussyfooted to make some adjustments, especially on a guitar that leaves some room for such things, you're probably sitting upstairs playing the intro from "Smells like Teen Spirit" over and over again.) it sounds decent, if not half bad.

I like to play music that most would deem independent. I would say that that generalization comes from my lack of musical knowledge and lack of guitar playing skill.

But it's whatever.

I play it through an old Digitech PDS 1000 Digital Delay and a Visual Sounds Route 66 compression/overdrive pedal into a solid state (yeah, SOLID STATE, bitches, I'm 16 and I have a shitty job) Fender Ultra Chorus amp (also used, the newer model is called the "Ultimate Chorus" (?) but it comes with alot of BS fx features, etc, I think)

It's not noticeably noisy. I like the sound because it's neutral. I tend to write stuff for rythym,(lack of skill evident here) and to me, a neutral sounding guitar rythym tends to be more harmonically sound than some attack heavy, prickly power chord progession. The sound is just rich enough, bright enough, etc, to satisfy me.

The guitar makes a variety of sounds for sounding like the same guitar on each setting, if that makes any sense. The range from the neck to the bridge pup is wide enough, country to semi-heavy rock.

The effects on the controls are somewhat of a bitch, however. Each of the knobs seem to have about three different settings for changes in the sound. This doesn't really bother me, but I know there are people who complain about that sort of thing. Basically, the volume goes from quiet, to medium, to max. settings 1 - 3 are about the same, 4 - 7 are about the same, and there's really no difference between 8, 9, and 10 unless you have the gain way up. Tone knobs are identical. Full tone, less tone, some more less tone. What can I say? It's a cheap guitar.

Set up very neutrally.

Had a severe case of "stratitis", had raise the pups.

The bridge and the nut suck, they're falling apart/warping.

Again, it's a cheap guitar, but it is a Fender, and I treat this thing poorly. It still sounds like the day I got it, which is fine with me.

One thing about this guitar is it takes whatever I give it. I'm poor, so a backup is out of the question.

I've been playing for about two years, I don't take lessons, I practice as much as I can, I started out learning radio songs and now I just BS around trying to write my own shit.

I like how this guitar sounds, but I can probably guarantee than any guru with an empty wallet will be disappointed. I got what I paid for, but had I paid 400 dollars for this thing new I'd probably bitch too.

I love the color.

I hate the bridge.

... Oh shit. I forgot to mention. I noticed that some people have put that American Strats are essentially the same. I think this is absolutely not fuckin true. The MIM's have a shitload of tone wood missing in the pickup area, to save Fender some time and resource money in the assembly line. This makes a world of difference. My friend has the Highway 1 Strat, which does not have the "swimming pool" build. If all you do is play out of low volume practice amps, I'd say this would be a good guitar if you got the right price. However, if you plan on playing out of anything bigger than a twin, you will notice a drop off in tone and a considerably larger amount of annoying "shit guitar" hum coming out of the Mexican. If you want a cheap strat, save an extra 100 dollars and buy the highway 1.

2002 Mexican Strat. passive s/s/s, 5-way blade, 2 tone 1 volume, trem.

I didn't mind the guitar until I played something else. Now, this guitar has such a bland, uninteresting, weak, and generally unexciting sound. Sustain is pretty crappy. I realized how much of a pain the neck is to adjust after I got to work on a Warmoth double truss rod neck. Don't go with anything besides a Warmoth neck, really.

Finish is solid maroon-ish. Action can be adjusted of course, but it was poor when I got the guitar. So was intonation. The Fender trem's saddles are so crappy! I really dislike the design of them. A hipshot bridge is much nicer to work with, and stays in tune much better.

It works, but I don't espcially like it. Wanna buy it?!?! Everything on this guitar seems half@$$. The tremolo, the pickups, the wiring, the nut mount (a hair crooked, but it matters) Strap buttons weren't even screwed all on the way......

never dealt with them.

I honestly cannot stand this guitar. I just finished building my new guitar from all Warmoth stuff. Nice body, nice neck, floyd rose, roller nut, schaller lockers, the works. And I loooove it. Better sustain, even with the floyd! Pickups are screamin demon in the bridge, blue lace in the center, and silver lace in the neck. I love this guitar, even though I paid out the arse for it. I cannot stand playing my Mexican strat now. That's why I'm selling it.

1999 Made in Mexico. 21 frets vintage. Was a 3 way changed it to a 5 way.

Sounds absolutely the same as a USA strat and I know I have had many. I have had Gibsons, Fender strats, ESP, flying V etc etc. Depending on your pick ups and amp you can get any sound. I put 9 because I changed the pups to Seymour duncans.

Finish was nice and neat. Action doesn't matter I have all my guitars set up no matter what. No flaws. I always refretmy guitars and mexican srats must be refretted. More on that below.

Solid as a rock. I tortured it.

Never dealt.

Over all I give a 10 easy let me tell you why.
I can buy a USA strat for $856 at any music shop.
For $300 average I can get a MIM strat. I had it refretted with dunlop giant frets 6100's. $150. I then bought custom pickups of "my choice" not Fenders. I bought Kinmans pickups. $260. Total - $710. I have same guitar with much better frets, (SRV and Kenny Wayne Shepard among others use these, and top ofthe line pups. If I got the USA version I would still change pups and refret. $860 + $410 = $1270. Think about it, easy choice.

To the person <Anonymous at 05/02/2004 22:35> below who wrote:

"the neck is EXACTLY the same as the American Series"

I'd say you've wasted the last 28 years of your life playing (around with) the guitar. For the record, the MIM Strat has 21 vintage style frets while the MIA Strat has 22 medium jumbo frets. The two are in no way "exactly" the same, other than perhaps being made out of the same species of wood and having a 9.5" radius I suppose.

Black Standard Strat, 2004 model made in Mexico, 3 single coil pickups, 2 tone 1 volume, 5 way switch. Tone controls are for the neck and middle pickups. "Tremolo" bar, floating bridge. Sealed tuners. I own 2 Black Strats.

Has everything you want and nothing you don't, though a tone control for the bridge pickup would be nice. Truss rod hex screw at nut for adjustment, no need to take the neck off for adjustment.
Individual inotation and height adjustment for each string at the bridge

To me the guitar sounds great on most of its settings, humming be not soooo damned. When I first purchased the guitar, the stock coils surprised me, these coils sound hot. I own LP type guitars with upgraded pickups, never could replicate sound that certain rock groups make, now I know why. This guitar rocks, literally. I can reproduce a humbuck, heavey sound as well as clear,
bright tones, just need to know how to work the volume, tone and switch to get the desired effect.
Single coil setting on the neck and middle pickup hum on the treble side of the tone control, turning the tone control about midway toward a more muffled tone, humming is greatly diminished. This is why a tone control on the bridge would be nice though I think it is the best sounding coil sans the humming.

Fit and finish were good except for a couple missed paint spots. These spots were small and only a few. Black automobile touch up paint is a perfect match for this paint. I own 2 black Strats, purchased 6 months apart, both had the same issue with paint, not a biggie, touching up can fix any minor imperfections. Most guitars in this price range do have imperfections, but I would expect the Fender brand do a little better.
Fret board for each is straight right out of the box, both guitars feel nice, fast, comfortable.
One thing , one guitar is a little heavier than the other, though they are the same size, model ect. ,,both sound similiar.
Switches and Pots are on the loose side, this is something that is really not that important and they can be replaced, but why should they? My question is, most of the "made in the East" guitars do not have this flaw, why should Fender? Tuners suffer the same fate, not as smooth as the knock-offs. I give it a 10 for the fret board, Fender really knows how to make these, to me , one of the most important parts of the guitar besides the body (and bridge) which is also 10. You can't fix the body and fretboard too easily, if either are bad, the guitar is trash. For the pickups a 9, really suprised at these, electronics (sans pickups) and tuners, I give it a 6 each. Averaged out overall an 8

it's a strat, though i suspect the electronics will need attending to

Been playing for a few years, mostly rock, blues, shred guitar. Purchased the second Strat for pickup upgrades, experimentation, (at least this was the excuse) but I like the stock ones still. Probably will upgrade in the future, no rush. Really disappointed in the hardware -- pots, switch, tuner,,, this is where Fender tried to save some dough. I suspect most people will change these out when replacing the pickups. But saving money on the hardware is better than skimping on the body, fretboard and bridge. All in all, I'm a true believer and will buy another one if lost.

Made in Mexico.Pretty much the features of any Strat.22 frets,volume,2 tone knobs,5 way selector,Maple neck,standard tremelo.

I play pretty much every kind of metal but death metal.This sounds good even without humbuckers.Tremelo sucks ass,but other than that it is a great guitar.

I've never played live and I've never dropped this guitar,so I can't really rate it.

I've never dealt with Fender,so I can't tell.

I have been playing for less than a year.I own a Peavey Classic 30 combo amp and a Sansamp GT2 amp emulator and a Boss ME-50.This a great guitar.I compared this to a Schecter, an Ibanez and a Dean and this one was the best.If it were stolen,I would probably buy the kind with a Floyd Rose.If you are looking for a good first guitar,I recommend this one.

I think my strat was made in 2002...it has 21 frets, it has volume/tone/tone and a 5 way switch...its all single coil...it has a trem bridge...fender american die-cast tuners...nice neck...

I play a lot of alt-rock stuff (vines, sonic youth...) and it fits pretty nicely...i play it through a crate 20W or through my carvin pre-amp into my PA...its not nearly as noisy as my bass...the pickups dont pick up the high E string played on the higher frets well...I like the bridge and neck pickups and occasionally the bridge/mid pickup combo...

Its a nice cheaper fender...it feels good...

I havent had it that long...

Havent tried

Its a nice guitar...it has a bright sound with the bridge pickup and a jazzier sound at the neck pickup...itd be kinda cool if fender made a strat with 2 humbuckers and a single coil betweeen them like an ibanez or something...but i have no problems with this guitar..i play bass and thought id branch out and id rather not get a squier strat...

1986 made in japan fender stratocaster. like i just said this is one of the "coveted made in japan 80's guitars" that every one is made aobut these days. standard strat features. 3 pickups tremeo blah blah ect..

alder im asuming. black finish single ply pick guard! thick though.
gloss finished neck in a nice amber color maple finger one peice neck with skunk strip

trusrod adjusts at hell making u have to remove neck to make adjustmetns wich sucks, damn u fender!
nine cause of the trus rod thing

the best damn strat ever in terms of sound. no noise unless high gain treble. sweet sounds, i just love it. even shines on a shity crate practice amp

cant say my uncle gave it to me. i needed to set it up after string change. damn that trusrod!

paint is durabel. tuners were swappwed with pimpin gotohs when i got it so i cant say what the origonals were like. bridge sadles lightly coroded from years of palm sweat. neck unfaded. origonal freets shine on
only problem is that i need to resoder a wire on the pick up switch. this is normal 20 year wear in tear. is especialy if u like morelo stlye pcikup flipin.

never delt

best damn strat ever. these japanes ones kick ass. get your hands on one.

Mexican strat, alder body, three ceramic single coil pickups. Neck is EXACTLY the same as American strats.

From Holly to Dick Dale to Hendrix to Frank Black of the Pixies -- the Standard offers the classic strat sound. It's really that simple.

Action is exactly same as American. Feels heavier, finish and wood grains obviously not quite as nice, but still terrific.

Like a rock ... guitar. Just got it, so we'll find out if it holds up. But electrical parts SUCK, that's obvious. The pots and the five-way are crap and should be replaced.

Don't know, don't care.

I'll cut to the chase: don't believe the "Made In America" hype about Fender American strats. If someone's stupid enough to pay $850 for a few extra bells and whistles, they've confused mystique with true quality. The Fender Mexican strat is by far a better value than any other strat model made by Fender or Squire. I've been playing for 28 years and owned many high-quality guitars. Let's look at the numbers: the American costs about 250% more than the Mexican. In either case, the immediate resale value (see Ebay) is about two-thirds. What you do get with the American is neglibly better hardware and a body made of three pieces of alder rather than five pieces. The neck is identical. You'll hear people claim how the fewer pieces make a big difference tonally, but that claim is way, way overstated.

2003 made in mexico stratocaster, maple neck, 21 frets and everything else that you have already read below. Mine is in 'midnight wine' which is similar to candy apple red.

I play some kind of alt rock and shoegaze, and this guitar fits the bill perfectly. I'm currently using it with a cheap Laney HCM60R and various effects pedals. It can get a bit noisy when used in a bedroom at low leverls right next to an amp, but strangely the noise seems to get quieter as the amp volume is increased, and most of the time, I mainly play at band levels meaning that the noise doesnt really bother me at all. I use the neck pickup most as it has the warmest sound, although I occasionally venture over to the bridge pickup for a treblier sound. The neck pickup can get overly bright at some settings, but on most settings its ok, depending on what sound you like I suppose. The middle pickup and out of phase positions are nice, but I havent found a use for them yet. I would reccomend this guitar for most styles of music barre high gain metal/rock, where you would probably need some higher output pickups. This is my favourite guitar in a collection of five and there is not much soundwise that I have found I dont like with it. When I first bought the guitar it was strung with 9 gauge strings, it sounded good then, but I restrung it with some 10's and the differemce is remarkable made a great guitar an amazing guitar. It gets a nine because things can always be better.

The guitar was well set up when I bought it, have had no problems with playability or excessive string breakages yet. The pickups seemed to be adjusted fine and everything seemed to be routed properly. The frets are great (I have only found better on guitars nearly twice the price and upwards) The finish isnt perfect, but I am being picky, as you would not notice what I have noticed unless I specifically showed them to you, and if I did show you the 'flaws' you would probably just call me a picky bastard and walk away. Anyway, I have yet to find a guitar in this price range with a perfect finish. There is slight tiny scratching that is visible in some lights on one of the frets and one of the tone knobs, but this is probably teh stores fault. The only other thing is that on one part of the 'skunk stripe' that runs down the back of the neck, the wood is slightly uneven, again not really a problem at all. One thing I did notice though was that some of the other mex standard strats I tried (and I tried a lot of them) were totally horrible, but the one I got is among the nicest guitars I have played, feels so much nicer than a few more expensive guitars. So if you are consideing buying a mex strat try a few first and find a good one, you will be rewarded for your searches.

This guitar has withstood night after night playing in sweaty clubs e.t.c no problems as of yet, the hardware seems as if it will last (I am convinced that I will jinx the guitar by writing this review) The finish seems durable, it has flown around the back of a van for a few hours (much to my dissmay) in a soft case, and the finish was still unflawed, the strap buttons seem fine and it is still pretty much in the same condition as when I purchased it about 6 months ago, I have and will gig it without a backup, the only thing that has gone wrong is a string breakage once, and becasue of that only happening once It is unlikely that it was caused by a bad saddle e.t.c. After the incident of it flying around the van, I now keep it in a hard case, and wonder why I didnt think of soing that earlier, it definitely helps keep the guitar in shape, and I would suggest that you purchase a hard case with this guitar.

nNever dealt with tem.

I have been playing for a while now (6 years I think) and own various other guitars as well as having played a ton in my time. If this guitar was stolen or lost, I would cry and thne spend another month or so looking for one as good as I have got, or I would possibly upgrade to an American Strat due to the fact that I am overjoyed by this guitar and a guitar any better than this would be like a dream. I love its sound and playability, Im not so hot on the colour (none of the mex strat colours are all that great) and I basically only got the guitar in this colour because it played and sounded way better than the other mex strats I tried. The only thing that I could as for is that fender increase the build quality of their guitars in general, I got an amazing guitar, but like I said, some were horrible. The only thing I would change about the guitar is the colour, and maybe a slightly higher quality bridge pickup, even though I am satisfied with what I have.

I would just liek to add, once again, LOOK FOR A GOOD ONE YOU WONT BE DISSAPPOINTED

Made im Mexico with 21 frets, 3 single coils S/S/S, maple neck. strat model.

I play rock and this guitar does not suit it at all. I use a Peavey XXL and it doesnt work. Sound too bright.

The bridge wasnt properly set up so i had to pay $40 for it to be fixed. Other than that fine

Pretty Reliable. Strap buttons stink, made my strap fall of. It bounced on rock but still worked fine so i guess that shows it reliability.

Never Done

Not very good for Rock. got a blues sound. Well put together but kinda flimsy soundwise. It has a huge range of sounds, but that makes it difficult to find a sound u really like. I wouldn't recommened this for a beginner unless u want to play blues.

1994-95 Mexi Strat. 3 single pickups. 5-way selector switch. Blah blah blah.

I play Bluesy chunks, funky cleans, and punk rock dirtys. Other than a tuner and wah, I use NO FX. Actually, I use a delay and phaser now and then when I want to get a wierd, saturated "progressive" sound aka R-Head or P-Floyd. I use a Rivera KHR half stack. I replaced the bridge pickup with a lil 59 and it sounds great. Maybe I got lucky, but this guitar has been my favorite guitar for ten years. I recently purchased an American Fat Strat Texas Special, and I have been trading pickups so that it sounds more like my Mexi (just the humbucker, the singles are perfect on the Tex). I love this guitar. It sounds very spongy and warm. Like my wife, it is tough as hell and responds well to abuse.

Anyone who buys a new guitar and doesn't have to screw with it until it is absolutely perfect is a goddamn tool. It was set up very neutral like a good guitar should be. The action, tuning, and everything else was good-not great, but good. It had no flaws, and looked beautiful from day 1.

A Tank. Not one of those nazi-loving french tanks (does France have tanks?). This is 100 percent USA...and Mexico. It's tough. The hardware might need some replacement soon, but it has never failed me. Bar fights, beer showers, car wrecks. It still lives.

I am pro-warranty. I am not some anti-warranty hippie. Some call me a warranty-monger.

Muslim activists want all of us dead. Arm yourself.

my strat was made in 1999, and i have owned it since christmas of that year... it was my first guitar. It has all the basic stratocaster features. I have the midnight blue finish with rosewood fretboard... all my friends think it looks purple, but it's just a dark shade of blue, it looks real nice. I switched the tuners for the ones off my american strat, no real reason... i just thought that maybe they would be better, but it didn't improve anything.

this axe has got a great bright sound. It is not too noisy for a guitar with single coil pickups. When i started playing i only played punk, and it didn't really fit that sound too well... the single coils just didn't get a heavy enough sound... but now i play alot of different kinds of music, this guitar can handle just about anything i throw at it, blues, jazz, great sound for playing lead solos.

This is where this guitar really shines in my oppinion. When i first got this guitar, i was really stupid and i didn't appreciate it for all it's true value and great sound. When i went through my nirvana phase i threw it around alot... it took many slams to the neck, the any the body, it hit the side of my bed really hard one time and only had a minor ding in the body, and the neck has absolutely no dents or dings, and is still straight as an arrow!!! I also covered this guitar with stickers, i am now in the process of removing them, and after some goo gone to remove the sticker residue and a good polishing, it looks as good as it was new. The only problem with the finish that i have is that right above the pickguard, the shininess has faded cause i rest my hand there and i never polished it... but i think it looks kind of cool and "worn in". The action was great on this guitar right from the box. since this was my first guitar i didn't really know what i was doing, and i put heavier strings on it than the nut was cut for, so now the nut on the low e string broke off, i am going to be replacing it this summer.

As i stated in the above, this guitar can be put through anything. This guitar has been through hell and back, and came out with hardly a scratch! The finish will definitely last as long as you take care of it and polish it. the strap buttons are pretty good... but if your gonna be playing live i would look into some dunlop straplocks to secure it, i would recommend this with any guitar however. I would definitely use it without a backup, and i think this guitar wil be with my until the day i die.

i have never dealt with them, I have owned many fender guitars and have never once had to contact them, they make really solid instruments, but if i did have to call them for whatever reason, i'm sure they would be able and willing to help me.

I have been playing guitar for about 4 and a half years now, and i currently own this guitar, an american standard strat which i put a seymour duncan distortion humbucker in, a tom delonge stratocaster, a Gibson SG standard, and a WD music telecaster (also an awesome company that i would recommend!), alvarez acoustic, and ernie ball musicman stingray bass. this guitar is everything i wanted it to be. It looks great, sounds great, plays great, and is reliable as hell. If it were stolen or lost, i probably would not buy another one, because no other guitar will be able to replace the sentimental value of this axe! and i also own so many other guitars now, that i wouldn't really need to buy another one. If it were stolen however, i would hunt down the guy that did it, and make him wish he was never born!

MIM 2001. 3 single coils. 5 way switch.1 Vol, 2Tone. Maple Neck (21 frets) with rosewood fingerboard. Alder body finished in a kind of metallic blue.Vintage tremolo. Non locking tuners.

I play mine through a bunch of stomp boxes (VisualSound JH1, Danelectro Wah, Boss TR2, CE3, DD3), plugged into a Marshall VS100r.I instantly fell in love with the sound of the neck PU and the mixed "bridge-mid" position, but let's be frank: after 2 days, although the stock pickups are of decent quality I was fed up with the hum in position 1/3/5. I replaced these with a set of EMG Select. These cheap things cancel the hum, and provided you also change the pots (500k instead of 250k), you can retain some of the brightness the Strat is famous for. Their output is quite low (but so was the stock pickup's) and they're less twangy than say a set of Custom'54, but for the price the Select deliver a decent sound. I recently joined a cover band (70's, 80's,90's rock classics) this guitar really proved versatile. If your thing is High Gain metal, consider a PU change (Hot Rails, or "real" humbuckers since the body is routed for larger pickups)...or another guitar.

Set up quite ok. Although the frets would benefit a professional set up. The neck pickup was misaligned (or is it the bridge or the neck?): B and E strings did not run above the pickup's poles, resulting in an unbalanced string to string response. Once again, the EMG Select sorted this out thanks to their dual blade design. Nearly any guitar with a tremolo in this price range will have problems with tuning stability. A few tweaks will help you sort this out:
1.sand the nut slots with 800grit sandpaper and add a touch of vaseline.
2.tighten the tremolo springs (or add 2 springs) so the unit rests flat on the body.
Unless you're a dive bombing freak, this will greatly improve tuning stability (it did on mine)

This guitar looks and feels reliable.Spare parts for Stratocasters are available from quite a lot of suppliers, so (basic)repair should not be a problem.If you're a soldering iron freak, don't forget to visit websites like http://www.guitarnuts.com, and discover that this guitar seems to have been designed for customising purposes as much as for playing.

MIM Standard Stratocaster 2002

The basics; maple neck, maple fingerbord, non-lockin ping tuners, bone knut, one butterfly string retainer, 21 vintage-style (small) frets, 3 single coil pick-ups with the bridge pickup at an angle, 3 ply pickguard, 5 way switch, S/S/H routing, one master volume knob, tone knob for Neck pickup, tone knob for middle pickup, vintage style saddle and bridge, arctic white in color (a cremy off-white).

Absolutly stunning color and fingerbord combination!

The stock pickups have been bashed as being bad in the worst sense. It's not bad, it's just different. I can get a bright, clean sound to a growl. Although it's not bell-like, it does have it's uses. It's one of the hottest single coil pickups i have ever heard. I have no problem emulating the sound of a Gibson with this. It has a "modern" sound, but it's perfectly capable of doing a vintage sound.

It is extreamly versitile in it's abilites. I've found that i can do anything from Blues, to country, to rock, to death metal, after playing around with the tone and volume knobs on both the amp, guitar and whatever pedal i may be using. I personally love the sound i get for blues and blues rock. It has a nice hot sound that gets me closer to a Albert King like tone.

in the neck position, it gets a hot sound that's perfect for a driving rythm part or blues. I use the neck pickup the most, using it to solo as well as play rythm. middle/neck combo is made for the blues with tones of "quack". It is the closest to a humbuckler in sound, i use this second most. the middle pickup is usable, but i find no real use for it. The middle/bridge combo has a very nice sound (has the "quack"). i use this for jazz or acustic-like things. I also find myself playing rythm here the most. the bridge is the brightest sounding position, perfect for a solo that cuts through the rest of a band.

Me, i play alot of blues, blues-rock, and jazz.

Ah, the most difficult part for me to judge...

OK, the set-up of the guitar was atrocious and the stock strings were rubberbands at .09s. For about 30 bucks, i got a setup and switched the strings to .10s. The best thing about a Strat is that everything can be changed.

craftmanship wise, this is one of the best i have ever seen, regardless of price. The neck pocket is tight. I had to tug at the neck to get it to come out of the neck socket once i unsrewed the screws. no wiring problems to mention or flaws in finish (when first bought).

In one word, my strat is a Tank. Heavy tremelo use (doing my best Hendrix impression) dosent mess up the tuning. I lubericate the contact points of the string with graphite. No matter howmany thimes, it dropped, dented, scratched, the internal electronics are fine. Most of the time i gig only with this guitar. Ultra versitile, ultra sturdy, and very reliable.

The Standard Stratocaster has been faulted for being crappy insturments, but this is due to the bad quality control (like the 7CBS stratocasters). Once in a while, you find a diamond in a rough. I found that diamond. I've been playing two years. Im in a band that gigs about twice a month and i found the strat to be perfect for my needs and my style.

94 Mexican Strat. 21 Frets, rosewood fingerboard. Pick-ups were replaced which has drastically improved this guitar.

I play blues, funk, rock, and occasionally some country and jazz. This guitar is a great lead guitar once you get rid of the shit pickups. I put in Seymour Duncan JB Jr. humbuckers on the bridge/neck and a Duncan Quarter Pounder single coil in the middle and wow did this change the characteristic of the guitar. Instead of having a thin, overly trebly sound, I now have a strat sound that is like a more modern, slightly more humbucker-like sounding SRV tone. I seriously suggest also putting on pretty heavy strings to give a strat more balls. Either way, my guitar still sounds like a strat, except it has more balls than your standard one (even american strats), but more presence, clarity, and definition than a standard Gibson tone. Obviously it doesn't have as much bass as a Gibson, but it's close enough. I would give a mexican strat a 5 w/o pickup mods, and a 5 or 6, but with these pickups and thick nickel strings it deserves a 8.5. You can basically make a mexican strat sound as good, if not better than a US one, but you can still tell the feel and quality of the woods/construction is a little worse. Still I have people asking me what the hell I did with my guitar tone. Also, Don't even think about using a strat with a solid-state amp, unless you want diarrhea coming out of the speakers.

Pretty good. Had to add springs to the tremolo for heavier strings. Screw on fat E string for intonation keeps slipping so that sucks.

The wiring has some short in it when I switch pickups. The volume knob sometimes has inconsistent power at lower settings....but this guitar seems to sound better with age and can take a beating (like dropping it, dinging it, etc.)

I defintaely don't need another strat, unless I become a millionaire. This guitar is great for blues, rock, country, and even jazz because I thickened it up a bit.

Bought new in 1999. Absolutely the worst crap I have ever seen. Korean made guitars make this look like a total joke. The trem springs creak, the tuners are garbage. The pickups squeal, and the volume pot took a crap on me after owning it for a month, and even with the trem blocked it wouldn't stay in tune long enough to finish a song. I had to replace everything. Once I did, I was quite satisfied with the guitar, as the neck and body are just fine. Fender should be ashamed to call this a "standard". Standard piece of shit is closer to the truth.

I play in one of the areas Top 40 bands. Mostly clubs and weddings. 70's, 80's, and 90's. Whatever is popular on the radio. I use the strat on the 70's stuff like Doobies, Deep Purple, Credence, and Lynard Skynard. I have other guitars to cover other styles.
Once I replaced the pickups with 2 SH-1's and an SH2, I was quite pleased with the sound. The bridge was full, yet still retained some quackiness in the middle position. The neck was lovely for those "end of the world" lead tones. Probably one of the nicer sounding guitars I've owned. 5 because I had to invest $180.00 in pickups alone to make it useable.

Neck and body were great. Frets were dressed nicely. No buzzing even after I lowered the action substantially. The factory set-up sucked. The bridge was garbage, and had to be replaced with a Wilkensen tremelo. The paint job was decent, although a visible line magically appeared in the body on the back were the two halfs are joined about a year after owning it. Neck and body, 8 Every thing else 4, hence my score of 6.

Wouldn't gig with it without making SERIOUS mods first. Here's what I had to do to mine. Replaced pickups as noted above. Replaced tuners with locking Sperzels. Replaced bridge with a Wilkensen trem. Replaced all switches and pots. Added a tremesetter. For the money I spent on this I could have had an American made Strat Plus. After making the above mentioned changes it was a JOY to play, and a great sounding guitar.

Fenders support is great! I called to get some specs on setting up the neck and the support rep I got was friendly and helpful. Gave me some excellent advice. No wait on hold either!

Been playing since 1981. All styles. Owned many, many guitars in my life. I purchased this guitar knowing I was going to replace all of the hardware. I was bored at the time and wanted to build a "project" guitar based on a strat body and neck. With that said, I feel sorry for those who purchase one thinking it's going to be a playable axe out of the box.
Fender should be ashamed to manufacture such shit. I know the Mexican factory is capable of much more. It's Fender management who calls all the shots and decides what hardware to put on what guitar. No wonder Leo left and started his own company. This guitar is A JOKE with the factory harware on it. FENDER, ARE YOU LISTENING??? Change your ways, or the Korean guitar manufacturers will put your ass right out of business!

2000 mexican strat, the usual stock stuff, 21 maple frets, high-gloss midnight wine finish. 3 single coil standard p-ups, passive electronics. String-thru body. Blah blah, the basic start.
It came with a gig-bag, strap, and a crappy cord.

I play metal, hard punk, and rock. So mostly all I do is hard or heavier music, and it suits me just fine.
I play it through a Roland cube 30, and the distortion is perfect for me, but it can be hard to get that slightly distorted acoustic sound.
The p-up selector is always in either the bridge or neck position, and I don't get much background noise, other than the usual fuzz from single coils.
Basically the only thing I don't like about it is the lack of a humbucker.

When I bought the guitar, it had decent action, but I play with .52 gauge strings, so I was getting lots of buzz on my E and A strings. But I just got the nut raised and everything was fine.
The p-ups where fine as far as stock stuff goes, and everything was fine and dandy.
I've owned it for about 2 years, and I havn't found anything wrong with it yet.

Will it live up to playing live? Hell yes.
I've played a few times live, nothing big, just basements and stuff, and it's just fine. There're scratches and stuff on it, but that's just from me either picking to hard, or it scraping my belt buckle.. something like that.
I'd use it backup guitarless anyday.

N/A

I've been playing for about 4 years, and I don't have alot of other gear, I just don't need it.
I've got the Roland cube 30, and Ibanez smash box distortion, and my mexistrat.
There isn't alot I don't like about this guitar, aside from the p-ups, and the bridge, just cause I'd like a hard-tail.

Mine is a 2002 MIM Standard Strat, Sage Green Metallic finish with 21 fret maple neck and 3 single coil pickups.
I beleive it's made of poplar.
It has all the stock stuff.

I play it through a Fender Princeton 65 or a Crate GT80, sometimes with a Digitech Genesis 1 processer or an Ibanez Tube Screamer a Dan Wah and a Boss Compressor/Sustainer.
I play mostly blues, rock, funk and fusion (Remeber fusion?)
It is capable of getting almost any type of sound I want from it. Only it tends to be buzzy for some reason, when played unplugged. And when I try yo dig in around the 14th fret and make it scream, it kind of chokes and moans instead.
I've tried to love this guitar, but something about it just rubs me the wrong way. I don't exactly hate it. I just don't love it.

The guitar looks beautiful. The edges of the frets are a bit rough, but not as bad as some. They won't take your fingers off or anything.
Everything seems to be decent quality. It stays in tune. There's just that buzzy sound. I've tried adjusting the saddle hight and truss rod. I tried checking all the screws. I just can't get rid of it. It's driving me crazy!I can't give it a perfect grade because of that. But it does look great.

I've played it quite a bit since I got it. It's never given me a problem other than the buzzy sound that bugs my butt.
I think it would hold up well. It seems very solid.
No one should ever show up for a gig without a backup, no matter what they play. But this guitar seems as reliable as anything else I've ever had.

I've been playing for about 36 years. Aside from the stuff I've already mentioned, I have a Standard Telecaster, aLes Paul Custom, a Guild S300-D, a Kent Les Paul Copy, Hamer Echotone, Takamine Sante Fe, Martin, a Kramer Focus,an Ibanez,several project guitars and a mess o pedals and stuff I can't remember off the top of my head.
I played another guitar just like this one at the store and it was awesome. I couldn't buy it at the time. And when I went back the next day it was gone. I really liked the Sage Green Metallic finish, so I ordered one. It isn't nearly as nice as the one I playd in the first place. I still like the finish. But That damn buzzing drives me mad! You could do much worse than buying one of these. Just don't make the same mistake I did. Play the one you think you want and buy the one you played. These are not consistant enough to expect the next one you pick up to be as nice as the last one.
I'm not crazy about the one I have, but I've played some Standard Strats that were a lot nicer.

1999 Mexistrat. 2 tone sunburst. I replaced the original p-ups w/ 50's Fat Strat p-ups and had the Tech connect the Bridge and the middle to the bottom tone control, the neck is by itself. I also changed the saddles to graphtechs and had an extra string-tree installed. Other than that, it's stock.

The stock sound wasn't bad, but this is better(i.e. post-mod). This gets all the traditional strat ssounds (plus a few). If you like a strat, you'll like this.

The set up was pretty decent from the factory, but I changed the .009's to .010's and tweaked the neck, bridge, action etc. The neck was/is tight in the pocket with no gaps. Everything was ship-shape.

I've used this puppy every weekend since the summer of '99. It's been dropped, tripped over and knocked out of the stand a few times (I had a klutz of a rhythm guitarist, he knocked my amp over too), forgotten overnight in my van in sub-zero temperatures (like last night--oops!)and you can"t even tell!!! I did have to readjust the spring tension on the bridge after it fell once b/c somehow it suddenly became flush with the body. The frets are small and soft and to tell the truth, it looks like it could use a refret, the pockets run so deep in some places. If I ever decide to get that done, I'll probably have bigger frets installed. That's just normal wear and tear though, overall this thing's been a beast.

I've been playing on and off for thirty years (-- Oh my God!!!--) This guitar has been a great value and to tell the truth, I've played them stock at the stores since I modded mine, and while I do like the Fat 50's better, the stocks really do sound good. So, even though they're going for more $$ now, they still represent a GREAT value...I just wish they had 22 frets.

Standard Mexican dealie... 3 single coils, standard trem, 21 frets... you get the picture. Simple and to the point. Just the way i like it. I love the feel of the neck, i've tried Les Pauls, Ibanez's, ESP's and i still love fender necks best.

Yeah it buzzes in the 1-3-5 positions but i like that. Maybe cuz i'm nuts and i listened to too much hendrix as a kid. Excellent Strat tone clean and crisp. Works well with distortion, again too much hendrix as a kid, if you don't like all that single coil noise than you can always upgrade. I plan on boosting the pickups to Texas Specials but these do the job for Van Halen, Hendrix, SRV, Floyd, and even some of the heavier stuff. I tune to Eb and run it through a Boss Flanger, Dunlop Wah, and a DOD Fuzz box and i get a load of funky sounds. Before i bought it i tried it through a Marshall TSL and ooooohhh yeah that was awesome. No complaints here.

Set up fine right from the factory. I like how the bridge was set up to move up and down so i can raise the notes as well. Feels great strapped on. The Sage Green Metallic Finish looks beautiful. Intonation perfect.

I've only had it for a few weeks so i really can't tell you about gigging with it.

havn't needed to use it

I've been playing seriously for two and a half years and i've only had shit equipment, so maybe that's why i love this thing so much. I really have no complaint about it. It's certainly not a Les Paul or an American Strat, but it's still a bitching guitar. You can make a lot of great sounds with it. Leo designed a great guitar, and i'm glad to own one.

Typical Heche in Mexico Strat, made in 2002. 21 frets down the neck controled by 5 way switch sharped in with two tone knobs and some volume. Staggered single coiled stock sounds great for the price. Installing custom shop fat 50's in it pretty soon. Finish is a light green metallic satin on an alder body. All stock today other than aftermarket pearloid pickup 11 hole that i had to drill new holes into the body, cooler design though!

I've been playing blues the better part of my career. I would have never considered buying this guitar. Since i got it i have since bought another one. They're fun to play with, and easy to modify to your own needs. And if you keep it stock they still sound pretty dang tough for a 300 dollar (new) guitar. Sounds better than an epiphone les paul custom that they're selling for 570 new! I play mostly directly through my pa, when i need something more than clean i use a digital prosessor manufatored by digitech. Bridge stock pickups are perfect of rhythem.. hands down. When i became lead vocalist all i played was this strat. As for leads, i'll pick something else up.. main reason i'm changing the pickups. but come on... ebay you can get a good one for under 300.... if all i wanted to spend on a guitar was 300... i could deal with the neck pickup.

Factory set up.... who knows, as soon as i got i i took it apart and re-assembled it the way i like it. i kinda tinkered with it right before..... action was good in my opinion... the actual way the guitar was built.. i'd send my parts to those guys in mexico too.. they did a great job on making her pretty dang durable... its not a 10 pound les paul.. but for 7 pounds she can take a hit!

Finish.... it would last a normal player forever... some people... couple years you'll get some wear spots like anything u have. It'll play live... i dont ever play it in studio or practice... i might tune it of stage anymore. I'd use it on a gig without a backup.... but your an idiot to ever do that lol....

why would u ever call customer service... they could never fix it like i could. no customer service is that good. never have called

I'm 23 years old... i play 5-6 hours a day, i play chicago and texas blues. I was playing guitar in my baby pictures. i personally think they should put the mtex-mex pickups in her stock and just charge about 35 more. for any beginner or intermediate player this thing is GOLD! For semi-pro, fun to doodle with and its nice to have an axe that you dont have to care much about because its durable and cheap. Pro's... lol... if your that good the record companies buy the guitar for you.. you wouldn even be looking here right now cause u'd be playing your free prs custom shop dragon III

3 single coils blah blah blah, if you don't know the features, don't even bother to read this.

Well lets say that i hate fenders...i'll get that point out right away. I've tried many many kinds of fenders over the years and they just don't work with my music. I play alot of stuff like punk, jazz, metal, classic rock, and my own style. At live performances, it buzzes like crazy, feedbacks like crazy, and it doesn't have a nice warm tone like a les paul has. And people whine about how heavey they are. I like it..it makes me feel secure. and the les paul in my ears sound really nice clean and distorted. the strat however has a lot of intonation problems, fret buzz, that can't be fixed and having it stay in tuned with locking tuners is absolutly horrible. Playing distortion is a big no no..feedback, buzzzzzzzzzzz hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm buzzzzzzzzz CRACK!!! SQUUEEEEL!!!!!no way i'm going to use this guitar for distortion. This guitar, however sounds great playing clean country riffs. I have to admit that, but other than that, i don't like it.

um i upgraded to 10's because the strings are way too bright, and they buzz, so i raised the action a bit and it didn't help. I've done all i could to help this guitar and i have no luck.

it took me two times to smash this guitar. very tough.

who cares

Fenders don't fit my music style. I have owned a fender cyber delux, which i sold because it doesn't work well in live situations, and i owned a fat strat, an american strat, and a standard strat. I can't stand any of them. Fenders aren't for me... So now i have a Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall JCM 800 that absolutly put that guitar to shame. Yeah i smashed it. its the last fender i will ever own in my life

Standard MIM strat features. Alder body, Rosewood neck, Midnight Wine color. This guitar is really very nice. Zero complaints.

All stock parts - this guitar sounds great. I had it professionally setup and it came back sounding and playing fantastic. I am going to replace the stock pickups with some Texas Specials just to give it more punch.

Factory setup was ok. The fit and finnish are wonderful. It's a beautiful guitar.

So far this guitar has not failed once. Everything is rock solid. For a MIM guitar you really can't beat it.

Never used it. Never had to.

This guitar is an outstanding value. For a small amount of money I came away with a beautiful guitar that sounds great. I may upgrade the pickups but other than that - it's great.

1998, Mexican made Fender Standard Stratocaster, bought used - ebay with Mighty Mite Alnico Pickups, CTS Pots, American Tuners. 21 Frets, Black body, White pickguard and pickups, rosewood fretboard. Stock (bleck) bridge. Came with gig bag.

Use it with a Legend R&R 50 1x12 combo, crybaby, dod flanger. Not noisy in the 2 and 4 positions, a little noisy in the 1, 3 and 5 positions. Vintage srv meets blackmore sound, turned up it drives my amp well into growl and feedback and harmonics territory. I have been using this for everything from gnr to benatar to ac/dc -- our entire set.. it sounds great.

Excellent. no neck flaws, body flaws, etc. all is good here. I have had american, japanese and mexican strats before.. and I have seen issues, on all of them.. this axe seems to be a well made one.

It's a strat. It will last. I am already depending on it in a live setting. I know how to fix them, modify them, repair them, so if it breaks, it isnt an issue, I would never send a guitar back to the factory anyway. too much time away from home.

never dealt with them, never will

Complete bottom line: I had to set up the neck -- torque the truss, shim the heel and pecker with the saddles.. but after all that, the neck is straight, the action is good, and the baby screams. She is especially nice with the mightymite alnico pickups and after using her live this past weekend, she is my new baby -- replacing my epiphone les paul (which I love too).. but hey, the epi may be good for backup and detuned songs -- the strat is good for everything. Only giving an 8 because it has had upgrades.... and I believe they were necessary to make the guitar as good as it is now.

I have a 2001 Fender MIM Strat. Standard all the way. Not sure if the body is poplar or alder. Some websites that sell them new say they are alder and some say poplar. All single coil pickups, all stock. My Strat is sage green metallic in color with a maple neck. Truely one of the most beautiful Strats I've ever seen. I put a pearloid pickguard on it and it looks awesome! Nice tuners and standard mexi-made tremelo. I think the machineheads are made by Ping and they say "Fender" on each one. Mine came with a custom fit case.

You can get all types of sounds for all types of music. I play through an Ampeg SJ 12R 50 watt tube amp. I go through a Metal Zone for distortion. The pickups are pretty quiet. It has a bright and clean sound, as most Fenders do. If I want deep and heavy, I just grab my Les Paul.

Not sure of factory setup, I bought it used. But it was set up very well when I got it. Absolutely no flaws! Good quality!

This guitar would stand up to a live show, and it does. Sturdy hardware. Finish is great. I replaced the strat buttons with a Schaller StrapLock system. Very dependable. Great backup guitar.

I have been playing for 18 years. I own a Gibson Les Paul Studio, an Alverez RD20S acoustic, an Ampeg SJ 12R, a Jordan 10 practice amp, a Boss Metal Zone, and a Vox wah pedal. I have owned many guitars in the past 18 years. Nothing can replace a Fender-the look and feel. I bought an Ibanez and an LTD thinking they would be close to a Fender as far as feel and sound--boy was I wrong! If it were lost or stolen I would replace it for sure. The only thing I wish it had was the graphite tremelo like the Americans do.

It's a midnight wine cheap Mexican strat. 21 frets, etc...the standard strat stuff is good if you're a beginner, but if you want to keep playing it after a while, ya gotta do some stuff to it, but nothing too major. I give it a 5 from the factory, and a 9 for what it is now, so how about an 8 overall.

I play all kinds of music. I'm in school right now, and I have a Rock performance class and a Jazz performance class, so I need all the versatility I can get. I love playing blues, country, rock, metal, and some jazz. I'm running a Marshal JCM 2000 stack, a Boss MT-2, a Cry-Baby, and an Ibanez Smash Box (for rhythm). Now, with stock single coils, it sounds like crap, unless you know how to adjust your settings just right. even when you get it just right, you still cant do much with it. I swapped all of my pickups out. I used to have an EMG 85, and that was it. I got tired of that setup, b/c I had only one pickup running, and needed more variety of tones, so I bought a Pearly Gates for the bridge, and 2 Texas specials for the middle and neck. I would have to say that this is about the best pickup combonation i have ever heard, as far as the number of different tones I can get out of em'. The clean tones are amazing, and if I wanna get dirty, it gets REAL dirty...the Pearly Gates is a very good, versatile pickup. I give it a 10.

This is the one thing I'm not too keen about, is the fact that I cant have my action super low. Of course, part of my problem is that my frets are dying away, so I get a good bit of fret buzz at times, but It's not a mile-high action...its low enough. The body is in great condition...I try to keep it clean as much as I can. I give it a 7

This guitar, believe it or not, despite it's cheapness, WILL withstand live gigs. I have used it for about 6 years on gigs now, and apart from broken strings every now and then, I have had no problems. They are really reliable guitars if you take care of them, and play them right. I play the hell outta my axe, and it still plays great. I dont think I've ever had the strap fall off while i was playing, which is a very small, but nice thing. I have used it for about 6 years without a backup, so yea, i would use it without a backup, however I have been looking for another guitar, so I can get a better feel.

Never have dealt with them, b/c its been such a good axe. I'm sure they would be very helpful.

I've been playing about 8 years now, this really has been my first guitar, although I have 2 old crappy acoustics that I learned on that my dad gave me. If it were stolen, I would be shit outta luck, b/c its my only guitar right now, and I need it for school. I would probably cry, b/c its such a beautiful guitar, and I love it. I kinda wish it had a floyd rose, more frets, fatter frets, and the heel is annoying, b/c it makes it kinda hard to get to the higher notes when soloing. But hey, its held up to the abuse i've thrown at it for about 7 years now, so I can't complain.

this is an update to my other stratocaster review. I now have '57 RI pups in my strat, and it sounds great. The stock pickups were lifeless, toneless, bland pieces of junk. These '57s, though not heavenly, certainly do a better job than the stock ones did. They have a mellower tone and a softer reaction to picking dynamics. My distortion is also more controllable and the guitar doesn't feed back as much. The '57s are spring loaded, so whenever I want to dive for a different tone, I just tighten or loosen the screws in my pickups, and wallah, brand new tone. These pickups aren't the best you're going to get, but they're certainly an upgrade to what I had in my strat beforehand. I think my problem with an amazing tone is the amp. I need a good, high class all-tube amp. My Behringer is an excellent amp, but it just doesn't have the tubes in there to drive my tones over the limit.

For those who are anxious to swap the pickups but are cautious about how well they would react to high levels of distortion (like I was cautious of), they do just fine. I use a british drive on my GM110, kick on an SD-1 for extra drive, and these pups have no problems with singing sustain. I also use a DOD Classic Fuzz, and it sounds ALOT better with these than it did with the stocks. MUCH better tone and resonance...that's a plus.

Clean tones are no task for these. The bridge position quacks like a duck, the 4 position is flat and midrangey, the middle position (my favorite) is a perfect combination of all five positions. The two position adds bass, and the neck position is great for powerchords and heavy bass work.

These Alcino magnets do hum; but not too badly. My amp is the main source of the hum I get. These pickups suit me just fine for about anything I'm ready to give it.

Hope I helped! Any questions, just ask.

we all know what this has. i just figured i'd add my two cents. im not sure where else to put this item so i figure i'll talk about it here. the nut was messed up quite bad when i got it. the slot for the high e was too big im guessing cause there was a badass buzz coming from it. it was also affecting intonation. meh. the tuners did nothing but exacerbate this problem. crap hardware= :(

i play everything. not well, but i try. the guitar is surprisingly unbright for a strat. but i play through a crap marshall valvestate thats great clean but no good distorted. im not sure if thats the amp or guitars fault though. unplugged its great. loud and bright and all that good stuff. noisy as any strat i suppose. its good for my level of playing and stuff though i guess.

all this stuff was great. the neck was perfect feeling for my hand. the finish was great. the action set just right. except the wuss strings. string it up with .12's and its snappy as hell. but i can't say enough good about the neck.

good enough for all this stuff i guess.

i guess it was good for the price. im getting a g&l s-500 or asat soon havent made up my mind but this guitar has been good enough to me while ive had it. i guess its that synergy or whatever where the total outcome is greater than the sum of the parts. hence the 8 instead of 7. or something.

Standard strat features. 1 volume 2 tone, 3 single coils, you know it all.

This thing's sound kicks butt, and if anyone on these reviews tells you that you cant play metal with it, then they obviously just dont have a good distortion pedal (I use Boss MT-2) But anyways, its got that wonderful strat sound that fender is made famous for. The most useful pickup positions are 2 and 4. If you get a really good tube amp then nothing beats the sound of a Strat. Using the middle or neck position pickup this guitar has the best clean sound you can think of. But in the bridge position its got that humbucker highs that sound awesome, even thought its not a humbucker.

The action when I bought it was quite high but I lowered it and now it plays like an american strat. The pickups were set up just how I like them at the factory. And if anybody tells you that mexican strats dont play good, have them play one for themselves.

I've gigged with this guitar many times. And it holds up fine.

The hardware seems pretty solid and seems like it will last.

The finish on this guitar is just really cool and really hard to scratch (its quite thick).

I changed the strap buttons to dunlop straplocks, but the old strap buttons were solid but they came loose a lot and you always have to tighten them about once a week so change them

I don't do gigs without backups incase I break a string but if I knew I wasn't gunna break a string, I would definitely use it without a backup.

Never had to deal with them so I dont know.

I have been playing for 4 years now. and I own 3 other guitars.

If it were stolen i would defenitely buy another.

I just love strats in general and this is a great strat for someone whos not that rich and wants something to keep with them for life and in about 30 years call it there semi-vintage axe.

I have a 2001 Arctic White standard Mexican strat. It has been really reliable guitar with great range and beautiful sound. I have been more than happy with it. Of course you get what you pay for, it really is standard in all the ways, but I think it's worth every penny and even more. The sound is really great, and you get that crazy Fender twang and vibe without paying extra for US-made guitar. The pickups are quite noisy as single-coils usually are, but you they're of course replaceable if that's what you want. I've been satisfied with the pickups and haven't changed any of them. Even if you'd come up with the idea of changing pickups, I still would recommend to buy this guitar. It's value for the money is extremely good. And I've played quite a lot, more than 10 years now. This Strat isn't my only guitar, but I still play it and like it a lot. It has Schaller tuners, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and floating through body-tremolo. I't stays surprisingly good in tune even when using the tremolo arm. There is still one problem with the tremolo. There are only 3 tremolo springs instead of 5 installed in the US models. So i've been thinking of adding the missing 2 springs in order to relief some of the pressure caused by the string pull. Besides this I haven't caught up any kind of ideas of upgrading this thing. When I bought it, I got deluxe gig bag with it, a great looking genuine leather white moto strap (which I managed to add to the deal instead of the basic strap), a cable, a guitar stand and a pack of extra strings. The guitar itself had been equipped with Fender Super Bullets, .010 - .046's. I also got few different sizes of Allen tools for adjusting the bridge and the truss rod.

The Fender Twang. That's the thing. It's THE weapon of choice for many styles of music. R'n'r and blues - you can't miss when you pick this thing and play. But it doesn't limit it in any ways, you can play anything with this thing. The sound can be rich and warm, it can be bright or deep and dirty. And all this is just a few pickup-selector switches and tone-knob turns away. Variety is big. There are things that it's not capable - I guess trash-metal players don't find it that good, but for the rest of us - play it and you'll see.

The factory set-up was good. The action was quite all right, although I've been adjusting it later on. The finish looks great, I've been always into the arctic white colour, and it looks good as ever. The neck is great and the frets are comfortable and properly fitted. The Schaller tuning machinery is accurate and can easily be adjusted.

I think this guitar is extremely reliable. Like every guitar, it has to be maintained and cared properly. When you have that thing going, this guitar is not going to let you down. The neck joint, hardware, electronics, finish, everything is a mark of good craftsmanship and is definetely long-lasting and takes a hell of a beating without any sings of failing you down. I've installed Schaller strap locks in my guitar for safety reasons when rocking hard.. I would use it on a gig without any kind of backup, that's for sure. I trust this thing like I trust my brother.

The place I bought this was F-Musiikki in Helsinki, Finland. The customer service was absolutetly great. I had been playing this guitar in that shop occasionally for about year and a half, and now when I was going there planning to finally buy one, the only one with the arctic white colour had just been purchased by another customer. I got a bit anxious, because I was sure that was really the only one. I started talking to the salesman, he was really nice and went to search for another one from the warehouse. He took his time and I was absolutely certain there would'nt be any, until he finally came back with this beautiful, untouchable arctic white Stratocaster. He adjusted it accurately, fine-tuned it and this thing was ready for me. I of course played it a little to check it was good, and then I told the man what else did I need and we made a deal that satisfied us both. The customer service was great. The guitar itself had one year warranty, plus the Fender 'limited lifetime warranty', whatever that means (propably it means just that one year :). But it hasn't been repaired in any ways.

Wonderful value for money. The best choice in it's price class, that's for sure. Try it and make your own opinions. But remember - never buy any guitar without playing it first. And properly, not just few notes. Guitars are all individuals. They are different. The results of guitar-making may vary incredibly much. You need to be sure what you are paying for. So play it. That's the only way. If you have any questions about this guitar or anything else considering guitars and playing them, feel free to ask me. I'm fairly experienced and happy if I can help.

1996 Mexican standard. Standard in everything.Poplar body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard, 21 thin frets etc. No-name standard pickups, through-body tremolo. I had to buy a gig bag to carry it home to St.Petersburg where were no official Fender dealers at that time so Fender was sold only in one shop for $650, would you believe. So I travelled to Moscow where the ATTrade shop was present, the official dealer of Fender and Ibanez. It cost me $450 with the bag while the guitar itself was 450 and the bag was $20 or$30, I don't remember. The choice was 3 strats(I went for a tele but they didn't have it at all.)Two of the three were red, cherry or something, I thought it to be a porno colour for a guitar and bought a Lake Placid Blue one.Never regretted it.Girls like it, really.

It sounded like a fir -tree cut by Santa when it was new. It was in 1996, so the wood was fresh and the notes were far from distinction. Now it's been 6 years and it sounds. But it took time for my Fender to become a Fender. Noise? Standard.First, third and fifth positions give that strato-noise. But that is mainly the problem of recording sessions which can be solved by turning your arse around the studio room or by choosing humness 2 or 4 position. The bridge pup gives that tele-like "blaaam" sound. 2 and 4 positions are very suitable for perfoming the delicate new wave sound which I play. It's perfect with my JH-1 wah pedal by Dunlop. Like bride and broom, sorry, groom. I also use my old 20x20 Zoom soap-box and it's OK for gigs. When recording I use the clean sound and then we put the FX on. Use Amplitube FX, my opinion.The only thing that bothers me (if anything can bother me) is that the guitar gives it all only at full volume. When the knob is turned down a little the sound loses some frequences.

The action could be better, I must say. I had to make little cuts in the string saddles to fit the strings. Then it took some time to optimize the bridge itself to make the perfect tune. I put two extra springs and kneed the bridge to the floor. I don't use much of tremolo so(although it's still possible with the same effort) it's OK. I then screwed the tuners to death so they became more stay-in-tune. Pardon me my French, I am Russian as you might have noticed. Customizing was not finished at that stage. I changed the knobs(used old ones from my Rockwood by Hohner strat copy, they are obviously better in turning and look more elegant than Fender ones).Finish is real. I spent hours sitting and worshipping the guitar. Back in 1996 Fender meant everything for a young Russian guitar player. I was a real rock star:) Yes, this guitar was made to buy it.

It's like oxford shoe that SEARS was making long ago called Die Hard. The guitar fell from the belt three or seven times when I was too drunk or stoned to play it and it bears only slight mathces on the finish. I've been constantly playing it since '96 until now, doing gigs sometimes two a day. Nothing. The strap buttons lack confidence. I would change them for stronger ones, but I am very lazy. Having some vintage Czech guitars you would never even think of, I use only my Fender during gigs. My Zooom effects are tuned to it. I once tried to play an old semi-acoustic 60's Musima(a brilliant guitar mr. B.B.King won't ever have)with my proccessor. The feedback was so horrrible that my girlfriend that came to our gig left me. Bitch, I never loved her anyway.

You must be joking!

There are few material things I will give to my son when he grows up. Four pairs of vintage LEvi's and a Fender.

The Basics:

21 frets, S/S/S, Trem, Adler body, Maple neck/fingerboard, mine's arctic white (a cream colored white; I thought artic was pure white, but i assume that that's olympic white).

I also got a gig-bag with my guitar.

It sounds like a strat. It has the nice high twang in the bridge pickups, the hot beefy sound in the neck pickups and the 2-4 positions give a hum cancelling effect. The sound is perferect for what i play: blues, blues/rock, jazz, alternitve, some tinkerings with classical intergrated with rock. I love the sound of the pickups. i believe i got lucky and got some special set because these pickups do not sound like crap. Maybe it's just the way i set the pickup height for. but it's great.

Hmm... This is a tough section. The set up it came with from the factory just sucks frankly. I changed the .09s it came with to .10s. .09s to me feel like rubberbands. i got the thing set up at the local music store. No matter what i do however, i get buzzing on the low e string. it's strange. I've gotten used to it and have intergrated it into my playing, but it reallly irked me at first. I had the play around with the truss rod and the bridge to get the buzzing to a acceptable level.

this is my main guitar. It's my work horse. It's been beat up a good bit since i got it but it still works with the occational set up. No cracks, scratches, warped peices of wood or anything like it. It's a tank. it never went all sh*t on me on any gig. I keep a Esteve Classial behind me for the more softer peices i do (maybe a classical peice i throw in during intermissions while the rest of the band rests), mic-ed up of course.

Never dealt with them, hope i never do.

Great guitar for blues and rock. recommend it to beginners. as soon as you buy it get it set up and replace the rubber bands they call strings to .10s. The strat is the perfect guitar.

Made in 2003 In Mexico, I think it's close enough to an American for the price. It comes with all the standard features, 22 frets, 1 volume, 2 tone, 5 way selector, S/S/S u get the idea. I had all 3 stock pickups but i got a dimarzio Super Distortion for the bridge, that thing rocks! I think it's Active. Its an Alder body and Maple neck with the Flamed Maple fretboard, very light weight. I got it with the Black finish cause I think it looked attractive . Just a simple Tune-O-Matic bridge with Non Locking Tuners. i got it with the Case which i got for free. Just talk to the guys, they will go very low.

This Strat is made for any music style, you can play anything and it sounds great, it is noisy though because of the single coil. I think it's a real bright sound, especially when compared to the Telecaster. I love the sound especially on the combination of the first to pickups, it's very "twangy"

Everything was set up great, There's no errors in it at all. I cant say anything else but, good job Fender

This guitar takes a lot of punishment, when i get mad i get a temper and I will sometimes hit my guitar lol, it's still fine, Iv'e only had it for 6 months but the hardware is still stayin up. The finish will last, i banged mine a couple times so the finish is a little faded in 2 places but you can't notice it unless you're trying to look for it and you already know that it's there. Its very dependable, I wouldn't even think about bringing a backup.

I haven't had to deal with it so No Opinion for this one.

I've only been playing for a year but I know my stuff pretty well. It's hard for me to choose between this and my gibson SG but I think the strat is much more comfortable and it doesn't way as much. It's a great guitar, if you're just startin and you want more than a squire but cant spend a lot, I think this guitar is good for you, It's great for anybody, It plays great for all types of music, especially blues.

I have a 1993 MIM Fender Stratocaster. 21 frets, maple fretboard, 2-tone sunburst finish, alder body, skunk stripe, all your usual bells and whistles. I've had mine for about three months now, and it's suited me pretty good. The user before me had swapped out the tuners with some Kluson Tuners (VERY nice tuners, btw), and a genuine 50s strat backplate.

I have been playing guitar for about 15 months now, and I own a Yamaha FG412-S, an Austin AU341S, a Fender Stratocaster (this one), and I use my dad's Ventura SG Copy. I run this through my effects chain : Arion SAD-3 Stereo Analog Delay > Boss SD-1 > Boss CE-5 > Danelectro Corned Beef Reverb > Electro Harmonix Small Stone > Morley PWV Pro Series Wah/Volume > Arion HU30 Auto Chromatic Tuner, and into one of two amps : Behringer GM110 or Kustom 250. I use the Behringer almost 90% of the time, because of it's versatility.

I play modern hard/alternative rock, with a touch of space rock. My main influences are The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, U2, Tom Petty, etc. I use this strat as my main axe, and it suits me great for what I use it for.

The stock pups are a little weak in my opinion, but they do their job. I have a set of '57 Reissue Strat pickups in my dresser drawer that are aching to be put in my strat, but I'm not electronically inclined, and I need to learn how to solder properly.

The tone isn't something that would make you tremble at the knees, but it will get you by until you realize what you're missing out on. I'm sure once I put those '57s into my strat, it will be a tone machine.

Everything came stock except the tuners and the backplate, and it seems pretty sturdy. At first when I showed my mom the picture of the stratocaster I was going to buy, she said she didn't like the sunburst finish. When it came in the mail, I showed it to her and she quickly changed her opinion. The 2-tone sunburst has a fair bit of wood grain that shows...it's really beautiful.

I've dinged up the finish once or twice, but with the abuse that I give my gear I'm surprised at it's toughness. The other parts are really sturdy as well, they haven't let me down.

I would definately use this on a gig. I would more than likely carry a backup anyways, because I like to switch guitars every now and then, so I'd be prepared just in case. I think this stratocaster will outlast me. It's been going strong for 10 years or so, and she looks prepared for any battle I could give her.

No Opinion.

In my opinion, the Standard Fender Strat is one of the best deals on the market today. It has dependability, playability, tone, and good looks for a fraction of what you pay for other instruments of the same nature. The American Series Stratocasters are so high priced, about $500 more than the mexican. why? Because they are made with better finishes and better parts that could easily be replaced on a mexican strat for alot less. Here's a tip : If you buy a Standard Stratocaster, replace the tuners, swap the pickups, and adjust the bridge, you'll have a guitar that's twice as good as it's American counterpart for only a fraction of the cost.

Overall, I love my strat. Some handywork is required to make this guitar an ultimate weapon, but it's worth it in the end.

Traded a MIM Tele for it - got $300 for my Tele, and paid a difference of $115 to get the Strat. Used 2000 Mexican made Standard Stratocaster. The serial # says '99, but I took the neck off and it's dated February 2000. Four piece Alder body, basic black - like Claptons, one piece maple neck. All the standard features seen on a Strat.

The PUP's aren't as bright as the ones in my Highway 1 Strat, I was really suprised. They are kinda dull sounding, but louder. In positions 2 and 4 it seems to cancel hum, so that's cool. I think I'll change the PUP's later.

It is used. No chips in the body, but a few marks. The neck has quite a few marks up near the base of the headstock where it would hang from a guitar hanger, but they don't bother me. By the twelth fret there is a large dent that seems to have been filled with epoxy, but it IS used, so what am I to expect? Setup needed to be adjusted, obviously, the neck was a little shifty, but I tightened the bolts and fixed it. There seems to be too much relief. I put a shim in the truss-rod nut hole but it didn't help, though it IS used. I like the finish on the neck. It's the gloss-ish polyurathane that wears better on the sharp edges of the fingerboard and chips better, like my other MIM Strat did. It will look cool in 5 years.

I don't gig at all. The ployester on the body will last 2000 years, but the finish on the neck won't, but that's why I chose it.

I didn't deal with Fender, but the store gave me two free sets of string when I got the guitar, so that was cool.

I love it. It reminds me of my old Traditional Strat, which was my first Strat. I like the finish on the neck. I've been playing since 1996. I have a 2000 Northwood MJ-60HM, a 2002 Highway 1 Strat, 1997 Traditional Strat, 2003 Pro Junior and a 1964 Standel Studio X. If it were stolen I would probably go looking for another used one from 2000, when they switched to Alder bodies, but they still had the gloss-ish finish on the neck.

This is the 331 or so review of a Fender Strat; so I'm not adding anything new, by any means. Please allow me to explain: I've reviewed other Electric Guitars on this site; mostly, they were middle of the road or cheap end ones. I found this Fender Strat, Made in Mexico, at one of the local pawn shops here. Every now and then, I make some discovery to my liking with a guitar, and buy it. So, I talk the guy down to $130.00, tax and all, out the door. The Strat is beat up, to say the least. It's got a pearloid pickguard, stock pups (3 singles), some chips on the front of the body, and the previous owner tried to cover it with (get this)flat interior latex paint!!! The body is a either a ash or alder, light wt. Arctic White at one point; it's aging and yellowing, which is actually cool, IMO. Rosewood frtbd, maple neck. The neck reminds me of those Musicman or Peavey EVH guitars where there's no lacquer on it. Feels smooth, yet not polished. Get it? Burn marks, like the previous owner sanded it down with a belt sander, the sander got hot, and put burn marks on the back of the neck. Straight as an arrow, nonetheless. Truss rod I slightly tweaked, but nothing major. Good frets. This poor previous owner, I got 3 sets of Ernie Ball heavy gauge strings and various heavy strings (11-48, 12-50, etc..)gig bag, strap. Std. trem bridge, which I'll block. Stays in tune better than most non locking ones, but still. Read on...

So, when I brought it home, needless to say, had to do some adjusting. After thinking 'bout it, I took it all apart, and simply sanded down the front. Took off all the latex paint (aaahhh!), and then it was just the white/yellowing paint. Maybe it's an off white or yellow, Fender paint job. Dunno. The lacquer in front was gone. Then, I thought, "Stevie Ray played his Strat down to the nub; all that strumming chipped away the paint". It'd look cool if I kept the front intact, with the paint and no lacquer. So, that's what I got. It resonates well; almost an acoustic quality to it, when played unplugged. I bought from MusicYo.com last year their Pickup pkg; those Quad Rail pickguard and all pkg. For chump change, $59.99 or so. Those sound great; ppl reviewed them here @ H.C., and so I endorse them as well. I own a Austin Strat Copy, and had the Quad Rails in that one. I swapped it to the Fender, and WOW!!! I reviewed the Austin here too, mentioning the Quads. But now, in the Fender, awesome!!! For the $130 I paid for this Fender, I modded it for cheap, and it came out well. A cheap alternative to the Seymour and Dimarzio pups are those Select by EMG's or the Kramer pkg from MusicYo.com. Check 'em out. I cleaned up the Strat as well; the bridge needed it. Put it all back together, and voila! Made my mods and it turned out well. I like the Strat, never was a Gibson player. Maybe I could handle the SG from time to time, but that's it. A Strat just feels right to me. The Quad rails on the Fender make it sound great!!! Not noisy, actually rich sounds. Pearloid pickguard, Bridge Humbucker, middle and neck singles. A coil tap for the Bridge. 2 tones and 1 volume. 5 way selector switch. I play rock, covers from the last 30 years or so, some blues, country, jazz, originals, etc. I think my modded Fender can handle it now. Pleased as can be with it now...

I'm willing to bet that the neck/action was probably was set up great at the factory; but when the previous owner got ahold of it, ack!!! He also left some music written on notebook paper, and instructions on medical treatment for diabetes. Sad, that part, maybe he was sick. One thing 'bout this guitar, after resetting the bridge/saddles, and putting new strings on, all I had to do was slightly turn the truss rod. Neck was basically staight, no bowing or anything. Says alot 'bout Fender quality. Frets were straight, no overlapping, smooth. Pups were fine, lowered them slightly. The Nut I had to file a little; when the guy put on heavier gauge strings, he neglected to widen the nut slots. Easy as pie, and I might have elimanated some string buzz in the process.

Yes, I'd say it was as reliable/sturdy as can be expected. The Hardware will go due to age; many replacement parts out there. Will gig w/ it. I like my mods and all; that's how I like my guitars to be. Off the shelf ones are kinda boring to me. Have to do my "Frankenstein to it"!!! LOL!!!

Don't need it; but Fender is a legend, needless to say, and don't doubt their ability to assist, when needed. No warranty; bought it as is.

I've reviewed lots of gear here: amps, many guitars, basses, pedals, etc..I dig this site for the fact that it helps in my deciding on a purchase of most music gear. I knew what I was buying in this beat up Fender Strat; I just modded it to my taste, and it came out well. Thanks again for letting me share.

Bought it either late '01, or early '02 brand new, Hecho en Mexico. 21 frets, I think, 2 tones and a volume, 3 single coils - you know, standard stuff, straight stock. Maple neck. Everything a meat and potatoes strat guy needs.

I play rock at home, alt/punk/seattle/pixies/pumpkins-ish, and praise and worship at church with a rock flavor (because of me; everyone else is either tejano, contemporary, or jazz). At church, I use a big, nasty, old amp ran through the PA (don't know the amp brand, but it's old and country). For extra special services (youth, college age) and at home I use a plain old Boss distortion. At home, I have a lot of bills and a practice amp with maybe an 8". It's fine for my bedroom and my daydreams. I have a Tascam mkIII 4track, still fine tuning sound for that too.
As for the guitar's sound, when the switch is in the middle, of course it hums, but that's really my favorite setting due to the warmth I get. I use the next one down (not sure which pickups are being activated, but some of you probably know that) for some clean rhythm stuff, or if the hum gets too annoying, and the bottom (really high tone) switch every great once in awhile if I'm feeling punky or ska-y. It is very high though, and needs some tweeking to keep it from tingling your ears off. The top switch position, the really bassy one, is good for if I'm doing some power chord emo type rock, but I usually don't. The other setting is too bassy, but not thick enough, so I don't really use it. My "G" string (on the guitar) has a rattle to it when played open. It's exremely obnoxious, and I've been too busy to get it taken care of. One time, I put a clothespin on it (above the neck on the headstock) and it shut it up and sounded fine, but who wants to do that? Overall, feels nice and clean, and it's the nicest guitar I've ever known (refer to above "bills" statement).

The action is high, but I only noticed that when someone pointed it out to me. And the pick guard was all scratched up, and kind of dingy, but then I realized I hadn't taken the plastic off (duh). Looks great. It's this funky Saturn motors not quite blue color, which is questionable, but it was the last one there. Really nice looking, if you like the color (it's growing on me). I don't use the trem, but it makes this loud, springy noise (like an old gate shutting) when I mess with it.

Live playing is fine, for my level (don't play any arenas, most people so far is like 350), the hardware does seem pretty solid, finish looks fine as long as I don't let it fall off the guitar stand, strap buttons solid, it has been dependable, and for the types of gigs I do, it's fine on it's own.

Never had to deal with them.

Ive' been playing a little over 10 years. This guitar will be great once I shut that G string up and get my action touched up a little. A better amp and some kind of noise gate will probably help (I hope) with the sound. The tone is nothing that can't be tweeked. I'm looking to branch out tonally, but I think the strat will go as far as one guitar in my budget can take me.

Mexican made, arctic white finish, ash body, s/s/s pickup configuration, 5-way selector, standard hardware, maple neck.

I don't think you can find a better all-around guitar for the money. Sure you have to put up with the 60 cycle hum but so what, it's a Strat right? I mainly fool around with classic rock and older metal and plugged this into an old tube Laney half-stack. The stock pickups are a little hotter than I imagined and very bright. With the Laney's bass boost knob, I was able to dial in a pretty fair crunch with the bridge p/u. The neck p/u is where this thing shines though. Very nice tone for such a cheap instrument. Very bluesy with a lot of sustain. I ran through everything from the Beatles to Black Sabbath and was not disappointed at all. Not a great instrument in the grand scheme of things but I give it an 8 due to the good quality at such a low price.

Factory set-up was horrible. The action was set very high and had to be adjusted right off the bat. No big deal though. Screws around the jack plate and pickguard were loose also. They weren't stripped and tightened right down. Finish is very nice with no visible scratches or flaws and the fretwork is nicely done. Bridge saddles look a little cheesy but that can be rectified as well. Maple neck is smooth and plays effortlessly. Overall good quality.

Has held up well so far. The finish is thick and durable. I have some questions on the durablity of the bridge but I may replace that anyway.

Had a P-Bass a few years ago with a faulty truss rod and the Fender dealer I bought it from had a new neck installed under the warranty very quickly, so I can vouch for the fact Fender honors their warranties. No problems here.

Been playing for 15 years and own a lot of equipment. This isn't a top of the line instrument by any means but it is an incredible value for the money. I also own a Deluxe Super Strat. The tone on this one doesn't quite measure up but it's darn close. You can't go wrong with Fender products IMO.

Recent manufacture of the MIM Standard Strat in sunburst. All the things that make a Strat one of the greatest instruments of all time are right there where they are supposed to be. Read on............

Sounds like a Strat. Not vintage like say a 50's, 60's or 70's Strat reissue. No! These pickups are alot hotter than a vintage pickup. I'm not too sure why, but it's a good thing in itself. If it was played with a Strat or sounds good being played with a Strat then this thing can do it. Single coils are noisy. Get over it. If you wanted hum canceling pickups then don't go here. I'd have to say, single coils put out a sound like no other and sometimes you gotta put down your shred machine and lighten up a little. Clean or dirty, this does the job.

Of course the action and adjustments were off, but I can take care of that and I did. After all was said and done it came out well and plays like a Strat should play. There are only 2 flaws that are nothing major. There is a shallow scratch in the finish at the top of the body which isn't very visible. The top cutaway at the neck pockect has a finish crack as well. Whatever you do........don't yank up or down on the neck to allign the strings. Loosen your bolts and gradualy tug the neck to either side in order to allign it. I've seen alot of people do this and it causes the neck pockets to have finish cracks. Cosmetics are nothing realy. As long as it plays who cares. Ask Dimebag Darrell. He finished a song with one his MLs that he had cracked the headstock off on. Cosmetic flaws mean charector. Funny thing about the body. It's alder for sure, but it has alot of figuring in it. It looks beutiful. I found this one and couldn't live without it.

It'll last. I've had plenty of these and I know for sure they can take a beating.

It doesn't matter how far away I get from Strats I always end up with one. I guess I'll keep this one. I always piss and moan when I'm without one. If you have money for a USA Strat go ahead and buy one. If you want 3 Strats that do the same thing for less save the money you would use on a USA Strat and buy 3 of these. After 20 years of playing I can assure you, MIM Strats are hard to beat and get the job done.

This is a MIM Standard Strat, 21 Vintage Style Frets (meaning they are thin), 3 single coils, 2 tones, 1 volume, Vintage style bridge, 3 ply pick guard, maple neck & finger board, Poplar body. I bought new early in the year 2002 from a local shop for $350. So I'm guessing it is a 2001 model. Fender switched to Alder bodies now, so it was made before that time. It's the Sage Green Metallic color, I think it is a great looking paint job, the metallic flakes set it off nicely. Good color for a vintage looking rig. Most people at first think it's a much more expensive Strat. Nothing to fancy on the features, it a Standard Strat, a nice vintage everything. All the features a beginner could ask for.

This is my 1st electric guitar and I'm still learning the basics. I play it though a Tech21 amp which sounds nice. I bought the guitar not knowing if I was going to "stick with it" or if this was another one of my passing phases. Well a year later I'm still playing and I love it. With that said, I decided to upgrade the pickups - which most people seem to do after awhile. I know how to solder alittle but I was nervous doing the work myself. After I took the pickguard off I noticed I had nothing to worry about because the factory job was nothing special. The stock shielding is dreadful at best, just a small patch over the control pots. So I added some copper foil to the back. I put a CS Texas Special in the nech and CS Fat 50's in the middle and bridge. It sounds great. Nice guitar just a little thin on the electronics. It's a $350 guitars what do you expect? Do you realize how little money that is???? Some reviewers are like, "My Gibson Les Paul sounds way better dude" it's like no sh*t pal, the guitar also costed $1000 more! For the price this guitar is hard to beat. I think the factory set up and quality is very good out of Mexico. Better than China or Korea anyways. Sounds quality is good stock and very good after pickup upgrades. I also changed the string to .10's (comes with .09's)

Everything was set up good, pickups were set up good, neck was good. Very happy with it. No flaws to speak of.

This is a solid guitar, hardware is descent, finish is nice, strap buttons are good. I can definately depend on it. I was on a cruise ship where they had a Raggae band playing live every day. They sounded great. I went to see what kinda guitar they were using and was shocked to see it was a Squier Strat! With the Standard Strat being a big step up from that I'm sure it can handle live playing very easily.

Never used it

2002 MIM
21 frets
S/S/S
adler body, maple neck... the whole nine yards.
It's a basic strat.

Well everyone complains about the hum at the 1-3-5 positions, well deal with it. It's natural for a single coil to hum like that. It's almost a trademark of the strat.

The guitar fits me perfectly. I bash out the blues, from the delta blues of muddy to blues rock of Hendrix and SRV. I play rock n roll, perfect for that. I play punk or ska if i am bored, and it can work for that. I also jam it out in jazz. It works for that. It's the most versitle guitar ever made. The sound is everything i ever dreamed a strat would be.

Nothing wrong with the guitar when i bought it. The maple neck and the adler body works well. the Arctic white finish is not completly white, a bit more cream colored like a manilla folder. Just the way i wanted it. It is as perfect as i could have asked for it to be.

THE STRATOCASTER IS A TANK. No matter what i do to it, it willnot and cannot break. It's very reliable (taht it if you dont use the tremelo bar).

No problems with it ever.

It's the best guitar ever created. It it the most versitile and a living classic. It is worth every penny.

bought in winter of 2000, mexican made
alder body i believe, standard strat controls and standard pickups except for the bridge (i swapped it out for a seymour duncan little 59) midnight wine with rosewood board and had had a scruggs drop d tuner installed

thick but not muddy. not to thin like squier strats. good solid body and neck, open cords shimmer when not plugged in and every note come through clear.

amazing action and set up, pickups were set alright but every guitar should be set up after buyign it, stays in tune quite well but the strap buttons are weak and have been torn out a few times (i also get very physical onstage)

been dropped, stepped on, sweat all over every night, road worn and covered in blood and smashed into drum kits. still plays great and still stands up to everything.

most solid guitar i've ever owned.

never dealt with fender, never really had to.

with the new mod's it works perfect, it's an excellent building block to add to and is cheap enough to be a project guitar, solid and sounds great. buy one now, in fact, buy two.

This review is for a 2002 Mexican strat - arctic white, rosewood fingerboard, standard spec. I've had it over 7 months now so hopefully I can be fairly objective.

The satin finished neck is very nice, it doesn't gumf up with sweat like a gloss finished neck would. The only feature I feel the standard strat lacks is the ability to adjust the tone on the bridge pickup.

It's quite easy to get all the familiar strat sounds out of this guitar. I'm going through a POD XT, and with the wide choice of amp tones on offer it's possible to assimilate the likes of Clapton, Dave Gilmour, Mark Knophler, Hendrix, Steve Ray Vaughan, etc.

I previously owned a Squier Strat and had only ever played Strat copies prior to owning this beastie. So, I only have my past experience with copies and the strat sounds I have heard on record to compare this guitar's sound with. Compared with my Squier, the sound is less harsh (esp in the bridge position), has more depth and sounds smoother when overdriven. Compared to *some* of the sounds I've heard on record, this guitar is slightly 'nasal' and has less top end sparkle. However, that could also be attributed to amp choice, the recording, or x other factors. The main thing is, I can plug it into my amp and it sounds like a strat. That's what I bought it for, so I'm happy. I've heard that replacing the pickups on Mexican strats can yield a great improvement in sound, so perhaps I'll give that a try some time.

I think it's worthwhile noting that, when playing in isolation, you will usually stuggle to achieve an exact replication of a given sound with just one guitar and one amp (or amp simulator). However, by the time the guitar is part of the mix, getting close to the sound you're after is usually good enough for your audience. This guitar is perfectly capable of 'getting close'. Of course, you may not be at all interested in covering other artists' material, in which case the important thing is that you like the sound. That of course is very subjective.

Everything seems bolted together well. You can't beat a strat for sheer sturdiness.

The first thing I did with this guitar was to swap the factory strings for 10s. I tightened the 2 internal trem screws to bring the bridge flush against the body (just a personal thing - I don't use the whammy bar). I've set the action as low as I could without getting choking on string bends. It's lower than it was on my Squier, but not quite as low as you could achieve on a Gibson-like guitar with a flatter fingerboard. Perfectly comfortable though.

The fretwork is all very tidy, no nasty fret ends protruding from the fingerboard edges. Certainly tidier than on my Squier.

Paintwork is OK. White is a good colour for hiding flaws. The paint appears to have been applied slightly unevenly around the edges of the cutaway horns, but it's not bad enough to bother me. The scratchplate doesn't sit exactly flush on the upper bout, but this is fairly common on strats - regardless of price.

The pickup selector switch has a nice soft action as opposed to the unrefined clunky feel of those that are often found on strat copies.

Played around 30 gigs with this guitar and no major problems to date (could I be tempting fate?).

I'm very impressed with the way this guitar stays in tune. I did have to apply some pencil lead to the nut to eliminate snagging with the E & B strings, but everything works smoothly now.

One slight niggle - every so often I have to raise the low E saddle. The saddle seems to 'sink' over a period of playing, presumably due to me resting my hand on the bridge during muting. My Squire had the same problem. Not a big deal, but annoying nonetheless.

Never used them.

Been playing for around 17 years with varying levels of diligence (I started when I was 10). I really ought to be much better than I am. I still enjoy it though which I suppose is the main thing.

I also own an Epiphone SG for humbucker sounds.

I would certainly buy another one of these guitars based on my experience to date. I might also check out the American series guitars. However, the price difference between the Mexican and American models would have to be justified for me to spend the extra cash.

Overall, a fine guitar for the money. Suitable for guitarists of all abilities.

More than brilliant quality guitar for for the price. Its got enough gadgets for me and does the job perfectly. Mine is mexican, 21 frets, Sunburst, rosewood fingerboard, 3 pickkups, 5 way selector switch, 2 tone knobs, one volume knob, bolt on neck, and has a standard tremolo bridge.
Cant fault the features of this guitar, the workmanship of all the gadgets is noticably well thought of. the standard strat isnt suplied with a case tho, it comes with a gig bag and allen keys and stuff for adjusting your action and intonation.

Has that awesome 'Strat' sound (especially on the bridge pickup)
This guitar is perfect as a guitar for covering most types of styles, but if u play it (especially on the middle or neck pickups) you can tell that this guitar wants to spill some Blues. I have it hooked up to a Marshall MG30DFX, Fab combination and spills out some expensive sounding notes!
I play METALLICA, Chilli Peppers, Nirvana and Guns and Roses, this guitar handles them fine but Shines especially if you hammer some Chilli pepper, Pink Floyd, Nirvana kind of tunes on it. Now for Distortion, STICK THE SWITCH ON THE BRIDGE PICKUP! if you like power chords that Roar with loads of Girth.
This guitar can easily S**t out a Thundering E5.
I wouldent say that the strat distortion will tear your ears off as good as a metal suited guitar tho, But this guitar does the job for heavy stuff. If u have the distortion on on the neck pickup tho, And u like Blues, You will never put this guitar down again!

This guitar was very well put together, The thing that stands out for me is the finish, Its like a F*****g Mirror! The fit is very well done too, the electrics seem solid on my strat, can sometimes have a slight buzz tho on a single selected pickup. Every thing has a quality feel, Smooth turning tone and volume knobs, secure and quality feeling pickup switch selecting, very durable tremolo bridge and very secure and tight machine heads.
One thing that fails tho is the tremolo arm grip, The turning motion on the arm does not get get stiffer as you screw it in the bridge, which is an annoyance when i want to grab it quickly during a fast solo, ive gotta reach down and try and grab it while its swingin about, so i tend not to use the tremolo arm often. Im sure that this is a rare fault as every other strat ive played dosent have this fault. But for craftmanship, This guitar rules!

This guitar is extremly durable, you could drop it 1000 times and it still wouldent give up. The finish is thick and tough, Ive never actually scratched it. This guitar would easily cope with live playing and is so reliable, id play without a backup.
This guitar is very dependable, Very rugged and very tough.
A Hard B*****d i must say.

Never dealt with them, Never had a problem.
These guitars are that tough, im wondering if there is customer suppport!
The guitar does come with a warranty, cant remember how long though.

Ive been playing for about 2 years now, I also own a Lorenzo flame series acoustic guitar. I got this guitar beacause of how good my mates Strat was, his is a Californian Fat Strat. Before i bought this guitar i compared it to getting a Gibson les Paul and an Epiphon Les paul But i couldnet ignore the Strat, I nearly went the further #300 and bought an American Strat but theres not anything about the American Strat worth spending the extra money on. There is a slight differene in the sound as it has different Pickups, and it has a slightly better sunburst Finish and denser(Darker) coloured Fretboard and Neck, thats about the only difference on the noticable factors. If this guitar was lost or stolen, i would definately get another one. I have This guitar roaring through a Marshall MG30DFX Amp, They get on so well together they probably F**k each other when im not looking. The next guitar i want will be one of the Kirk Hammet ESP models For some Neighbor Killin, Ear Tearin, Wall Shakin HEAVY METAL Riffs and SCREAMIN, ORGASMIC SOLOS!!!
I love my Stratocaster, I love its Sound, I love its looks And i love its Quality, If it was a Girl, Id F**k Her! I love My Strat!!!!

Standard made in Mexico Strat. Very nice sunburst finish. Nice feeling neck and frets.

I am pleasanly suprised with this axe. I quit playing strats many years ago because everyone in Pittsburgh was jumping on the SRV bandwagon. Recently I re-aquired Dire Straight's communique CD (I had it on vinyl back in the day) and it reminded how much I love that clean strat sound. I play with my thumb and fingers. I've also been checking out the new Scot Henderson CD, and he is amazing on a Strat. So anyway, I bought this Strat at Guitar Center and am pleasantly suprised, and in love all over again.

Set up nice with 0.009" - 0.042 gauge Fender Bullets. I will probably change to 010" gauge.

I wonder about the saddles. Will eventually upgrade to graphtechs, but so far - so good.

I've been playing a long time. I do R & B, soul, blues, reggae, and occasional roots rock. I am presently using a Reverend Hellhound 112 which sounds fabulous with this guitar. This Strat is fabulous for clean soul music and reggae. I really like how it sounds through a wah. My other guitar is a high end Hamer USA Artist Custom. I have to say that for some things this cheap Mexican Strat is cooler.

Made in Mexico.

21 frets.

1 volume and 2 tone.

3 single coil pickups.

Alder body and Maple neck.

Standard strat through body tremelo.

Maple fingerboard.

Gig bag included.

I play punk and blues and this guitar covers those punk strat sounds like alot of punk bands use. And its a strat, no duhh its a strat, its a blues machine.

I use a Pignose g40v tube amp and don't use any effects with this guitar. But it sounds wonderful.

The single coils are a little noisy, but not unbearable.

The bridge pickup has a really bright sound good for distortion but too bright for my clean taste. The mid and neck pickup are great for clean or that bassy distortion.

This guitar can make a wide variety of sounds. Its got that bluesy sounds on the mid and neck pickup but on the bridge its wonderful for distortion. But for you heavy metal people, this is not the guitar for you.

I love all the sounds. No dislikes.

The action was just how I like it when I bought it.

The pickups were adjusted fine for what I like.

I don't know if it will gig well, But will find out wednesday.

The hardware seems very strong and durable.

The finish seems pretty darn thick so I doubt it will scratch easily.

The strap buttons feel pretty solid to me.

I defenitely can depend on this guitar, its rock solid.

I would gig without a backup.

Never had any problems.

I have been playing 3 years and also own an Ovation Celebrity Deluxe c257, Dean Tonic FS, Yamaha FJ-junior, Pignose G40v tube amp, Rocktron r20, Boss HM-3, and a Danelectro hash browns flange pedal.

If this guitar was stolen I would go buy another one as soon as it was stolen.

I love the beatiful sound and looks. And I dont hate anything.

I compared this guitar to about 20 others, and this was the best sounding and playing in the price range. This guitar plays and sounds a lot better than some of the more expensive ones too.

I do wish the pickups were noiseless but oh well.

I reccomend this guitar to any strat lover without much money.

I'm guessing it's a 2003 MIM model since i bought it in march of 03. 21 frets, vintage frets, beautiful 3 tone sunburst, all the strat features that i know and love are avaliable in this guitar. maple neck, rosewood fingerboard.

The sound on this guitar is superb. Everything that i could ask for in a strat. from that signature quack to the hard neck picking sounds such that eric clapton uses. It covers a variety of sounds, from SRV to EC its great. I use a crate GX30 with it, and run it through a crybaby and then through a metal zone or a boss od 3 which suites this guitar much better than the metal zone, such that the strat is not a metal guitar. It is not particulary noisey i mean with the single coil u are going to get that hum from the pickups. the pickups have very rich and full sounds, and come off being very balanced. I use the neck pu the most and the harmonics seem to just jump off the strings. Its a strat it has the most variety of any guitar on the market. I went to the store and tried maybe 5 other mexico models, a american, and the jeff beck model. This guitar took the cake, it sounded as good or better than all the models i've listed.

i'd give it a 6 for factory set up it wasn't set up that well, the action and neck were all off and it was constantly out of tune, so i took it back and got it set up and its been beautiful ever since. I had the bridge blocked so its basically hard tail now and had the action adjusted to medium since i play hard. they also added 2 extra springs, it actually stays in tune better than a hard tail i think. i have 10s on it also, those sound great. It buzzes alittle bit, but i did alot of reasearch on why guitars buzz and what i could do to stop it, and strats are just going to be a pain in the ass when it comes to buzzing, the best thing to do is get it adjusted just right so that there is very little buzz. other than that this guitar is set up great.

i've only had it a few months but its a strat and they don't really die or go broke unless you f**k with them.

never dealt with customer support

i've been playing for about 6 years now. i own a epi explorer as well, i would definitely buy this guitar again if it were stolen its a great value for the money, its almost exactly like the American model and sounds better in my opinion. Thanks to NAFTA we have ourselves a nice deal on a great geetar. i love everything about it, its got all the characteristics of a great strat. the overall feel and the quickness of the neck is probably my favorite feature.

Alright kids, I'm addressing my Flame-o-Caster, which is an all-black Standard Stratocaster, with flames (Fender used a red dye to color the "flame" hues on the wood. Its been clearcoated.
Its a limited edition, and it was a fluke that it arrived at the guitar shop. I've nevr seen anything else like it, so i don't know very much about the guitar, other than what i figured out.
I'm guessing it was made around 2002-2003 in Mexico. its got 22 frets and its got that beautiful black flames top on it. (its not flamed maple, its the fire, flame, get it? Like if James Hetfield had a strat, he would have this one)
The flames run along the bottom of the guitar, on the headstock, and on the back. It's wicked.
Pickups are stock, pretty noisy, but they're decent. You'll live on stocks, unless you wanna go for Duncan Juniors.
I'm guessing here, but the guitar is probabaly alder, if not ash. (Well, through the flame, you can see a nice grain so, it could be ash...)
Tuners are probably the Pings, and on this particular model, their nice and very tght and dependable.
Nice vintage tremolo, though its a screw in, and I thought it would be a pop in, but its nice.
And i just got the guitar when i bought it.
its a very nice, beautiful axe.

The single coils don't have much depth to the sound, the bass on them is not that great. I was kinda disappointed, but they Are single coils. Pretty good, but their noisy. As much as that old 80's Charvel I used to have...
I play punk and hairmetal, and for heavier sound, this guitar isn't that great. You'll need hums for that. But for punk bands who use Strats, this guitars pretty much nails it.
I'm using it with my little 10 watt Marshall. (My punk rig people, those two and my beaten Yamaha Rg-420 D6 stickered like Chris Shifflets old Les Paul)
The pu's are noisy like stated above, on high settings. They feedback pretty loud too.
They're pretty powerful on the bright side, not too muc for lowness and darkness.
I just wish the singles had more tone and more depth, but they'll prolly get switched later to duncan single-spaced hums and maybe a single Alnico 2 pro.

Good action, well set-up. It was set to EB already, which was nice of them. The only problem was the fretwire, the first two frets aren't placed dep enough, so theres a tiny bit of space under them, but its really not problem. This thing is beast. I inspected it for a long while, especially after my cracked Charvel ordeal. Everything's nice, especially the tremolo, it doesn't put it out of tune. And I know, I normally tear up those Floyds and Kahlers.

I haven't gigged this yet, but its awesome. The hardware to the finish seems fit to last. the buttons are great, since I jump around and do Van Halen stunts! I can definitely depend on this, and if my band won't need the humhucker girth, I'll def. go without the RG.
This thing is my babe', and I'm sure it'll hold!

Na, never dealt with Fender. I hear stories from horrible to best, so... I neevr got a warranty actually, but the music store I dealt with was pretty cool about eevryhing, so...

Oh well, I hate the guys that say they've been playing for 50 years and crap like that, so I'll stay away from it. I've played eevrything from McCarty's to old 80s shred-monsters, to guitars who hate me(my Yamaha, but we have mutual understanding!), and this one is a great one. I would perhaps get a different neck (kinda fat for leads), but I can't replace the paint job on it! If it were lost or stolen, sigh, then someone must hate me outt here, and I have no idea where to even begin to look for another.
I love the finish, the dependability, its awesome.
I hate the way people disregard you because you play a Mexican Strat, those jerks...
And the pickups need some replacements one day. but all in all, this is awesome. I wish it had better pickups, a warranty, the Made in Mexico sign gone, and I wish I was owned the only one! But it is awesome, and I'll prolly always have it. Maybe put in a few mods or 7, but this guitar is #1! it Was a fantastic value. I feel bad for the kids who had to look at this, have no money and then buy a "normal" Strat! Not really, I laugh at all of you...(Kidding)

Stock pickups almost always suck, and these are no exception. The hardware sucks too, and if you replace the stock bridge, tuners and pickups, you'll be happier. Mexican or not I expected more from them, kinda shabby if you asked me... shame on you Fender! You'd never catch Gibson short changing. Even the bottom of the line gibsons are super quality and great craftsmanship. This guitar just lacks craftsmanship. I pick this guitar up, and it screams "production line", as opposed to one of my les pauls that feels special. This ain't a bad guitar, just not a great one. If you changed the stock tuners, bridge and pickups, it'll be a good guitar, but still not great. Like I said, it just doesn't feel special.

sounds like a strat. I put a duncan jb in the bridge position and the improvement was noticeable. The stock bridge pickup is to trebly and the tones controls aren't responsive enough.

I didn't like the way it was set up. Seemed amateurish.

this guitar sometimes feels like it'll fall apart? I guess I'm just used to the thickness of the les paul?

This is an ok guitar, maybe good, but NOT great. I don't hate it. I actually own two, and the older one sounds better and feels more quality? Anyway, I actually play this guitar a lot. It's always out of the case and lying around, mainly because I don't care if anything happens to it. Like I said, it's not a bad guitar. I'll actually go so far as to say that it may be the best in it's price zone. Maybe I'm being too critical? You do get what you pay for, remember that. That's why the american made strats are better.

Oh no, not another Stratocaster review. This one's a 2001 White, with the maple fretboard. The funny thing is, the Standards are suppose to be "Artic White", but mine looks like the "Olympic White", as seen on the more expensive models. The difference is, Artic White matches the pickguard, while Olympic White is more of a creme color. I think this is a Sam Ash exclusive. The funny thing is, the tag said Artic White. I think the employees at the local Sam Ash store are clueless...
Another point worth mentioning is that Fender went to Alder Bodies exclusively during the 2001 production year. As I bought mine in August '02, it is most likely Alder. I don't think this is a big deal, however, as most people think Poplar is a perfectly good tone wood. The fretwire is smallish, not like the Jumbo type so prevelant. Although the fretboard is about average width, the neck is very deep. I think fat necks give you more leverage; something you appreciate when you get older.

To me, it sounds alot like my '75 Hardtail. I think they're heavy on the Lows and Mids, and light on the highs, more ideal for lead guitar than rythmn IMHO. It's a simple as this; This sounds like a strat. If you like that sound, it sounds good. If you like Les Pauls, then why would you buy a strat. In other words, these pickups are very usable, but I'm sure there are better out there for $$$$.
BTW, I play through a SF Super Reverb that I bought new in '75, and practice with a Frontman 15R.

Setup was absolutely perfect. In fact, I was at the store checking out Amplifiers, and just picked this up because I 'd rather not handle expensive guitars that I don't intend to consider buying. It played so perfectly, with a nice fat neck. The action was perfect, very low, but you can still bend. I came back the next day and bought the guitar, not the amp. Well cut nut, and pickups adjusted well. I've heard that the Ensenada factory is state of the art, and this guitar would certainly not disprove that.

Seems to have better hardware than the various asian knockoffs. I love the tremelo. The guitar doesn't go out of tune, although the machines kind of seem cheap. How many tuning problems are actually caused by the machine turning? None....
I like the four bolt neck. The three bolt neck on my '75 always seemed like a weak point.

I really have never had to put this to the test.

I think that there are some guitars that stand apart. The Les Paul, Gibson 335, Telecaster, Epi Emperor, Stratocaster, and a few more really should not be compared to other guitars, rather they are Icons. BTW, these go for $150 to $250 on Ebay, and that is an outstanding value.

A very versatile instrument. I've seen them used for rock, country, blues... you name it. Nothing fancy about a Mexican Strat but it works. I bought it used at Guitar Center (it looked new) for $200.00 because my money was burning a hole in my wallet. I have top of the line music equipment including Mesa rack gear, various tube amps, Guild electrics, Martin acoustics... and just bought the strat on a whim. I gig regularly and play for a 3000+ member church.

If you can't make a Mexican Strat sound good, you best get rid of your $20.00 amp or head out for some music lessons. I was not at all surprised by the single coil noise. It is especially bad on the 1/3/5 settings (2 and four offer some hum cancelling). I was suprised by how versatile the sounds were. I liked this guitar so much that I sold it (for $200) and went out I paid the big bucks for an American model. I give it a ten not because it sounds better than my high-end equipment (it doesn't) but because it sounds soooo good for $200 bucks.

Better fit and finish than my American Strat(so I had the factory finish removed from my American and had a custom job put on it). This guitar is so prevelant and cheap, you could use it in Who fashion and bash it through your speakers at the end of your set. Really, this is a great little inexpensive guitar. It would not be at all difficult for a good musician to make this thing sound and look good.

I owned it only for four months. I had no problems in that period.

I wouldn't expect tremendous support on a $200 dollar guitar. Most folk who keep playing these things for any length of time so augment them that the factory probably would not touch it. fender does have all sorts of internet groups and the like (although the point appears to be to get you to buy more products).

A Mexican Strat is a decent instrument (I liked it enough to upgrade).

the features are all basically listed below, but it is a 1996 mexican made standard strat. maple neck, fingerboard, trem. bridge, all that stuff. I don't like the tuners. they are hard to turn, well, I just don't like 'em.the tremelo bride positively stinks. It goes completely out of tune, whether you use the tremelo, or not. another huge hassle is that I like to switch from dropped d tuning to standard, and what the bridge likes to do, is when I tune one string, all the other strings go sharp or flat, causing me to have to tune it relatively 6 times over again to get it so it sounds anywhere close to being right. I semi fixed this by taking the back cover plate off, and screwing those three screws tighter. Now I only have to tune about four times!(If you didn't catch on, that was sarcasm) oh, yeah, I knew to expect some hum from single coil pickups, but not hum that was louder than the playing itself. It also made this nice little rythmatic feedback. At one point in time, oh, wait, I still do, I have to keep something pulling up on the guitar cord, so that I could actually get a signal out of the guitar. I don't know, maybe the newer strats are better, but this one stinks. Oh yeah, uh, one last thing, buzzy notes and bad intonation, every where. this guitar was lucky to get a 5 for features. Though alot of this probably should go in another category, anyway, on to sound.

I play mainly rock. I like to fool around a little with overly effected, modulated sounds sometimes. The strat, after seeing hendrix, stevie ray vaughn, and countless other rock/blues players use the ever so famous stratocaster, one would think that it is a very good sounding and nice guitar. WRONG. Though this guitar sounds halfway good for the clean channel, distortion, right. Well then again it may just be that I've never heard the sound of it without a whole bunch of noise making me angry and frustrated and therefore just putting the guitar back in its place so I don't slam it on something and put its nice, sensative tremelo brige outta tune. the sound is not cool. Well maybe its just because this is a mexican made strat we're talking about here.

Hey, I think this one may be the highest rating I'll give the guitar. One of the few things I can't really complain about that much, is how sturdy the finish is. since 1996, There is only one small chip on the finish. the pickups were adgusted well. Um, alot of the stuff was adjusted nice, but after I bought it, it slowly got worse. now it is awful, And I have tried to fix it. I took it to the pawn shop once to see If I could get anything for it. And they offered me $100.00 for it. I regret not taking that offer so much. With a hundred bucks, I could have been that much closer to getting a nice guitar. OOPS, sorry fender.

um, lets see, yeah the guitar would withstand live playing, its a solid body. the hardware as said earlier is terrible. As far as using this on a gig, I would not use this on a gig, period. Note: I did say I wouldn't use it on a gig. I would possibly let it sit there and let people say, ooh a fender stratocaster. would I pick it up to play even once, no. I would not embarass myself to that degree. although I must say, I have never had any sort of problems with the strap buttons. One thing though, if I push forward on the neck at all, it detunes. not a very solid neck joint

never dealt with, but imagine they're not that great

Please do yourself a humongo favor and do not buy this guitar. buy a nice guitar. The cheapest model of samick available, brand new for 119 dollars is better than this thing.

1999 Mexican Standard Stratocaster with Alder body; standard stock PU's; four-bolt, one-piece maple neck and fretboard with 9 1/2" radius; Midnight Wine color. Has stock sting-through tremelo bridge, but I've put a sustain block in it since I never use the trem. It came with the standard tuning machines(which weren't that great hence the 8 rating), but I changed them out for the Sperzel locking tuners. If I remember correctly, the nut measures 1 11/16".

With the sustain block and the locking tuners this guitar has some damn good sustain. Eventually I will swap out the trem bridge for a hard tail, since Fender doesn't make a Standard with this option(that I know of, anyway). Fender has always been known for that Strat tone and this guitar is no exception, even with the stock PU's.

Speaking of the pickups, I really don't have any problem with them except for the bridge PU. It's a bit too bright for me, but then again I'm not a fan of "uber-twang". I play a wide variety of styles from blues, jazz, funk, rock, punk and "experimental" and this guitar can cover just about all of it, sans Jazz.

I really like the flatter fretboard radius since I prefer bending strings over the tremelo. Plus it just feels faster. I bought the guitar new, so I've had it a few years now and the grain is finally starting to open up a little more providing a warmer tone. I just put some Elixir strings on it and so far they seem to accent the tone nicely. I plan on changing out the PU's eventually, maybe Lace. I'll definately keep this guitar around for a long time.

The guitar came relatively well set-up from the factory. I had to raise the action quite a bit, but that was only because I play a lot of slide and have learned to adapt to high action. I'm not very familiar with setting up pickup height, but they seem to be fine considering I also put slightly thicker strings than what it came with. Intonation is pretty easy to hit with this guitar, too.

The finish is what I would expect from a Fender Strat... beautiful color!

Hey, it's a Strat... it's like my old '67 Ford Galaxy. I've knocked this thing into door jams, my amp, me... and it hardly goes out of tune. This could be helped by the tuners and sustain block, but even the finish is virtually flawless.

N/A

Overall, this thing is the jack of all trades for sound. It's a damn good bang-for-the-buck! If I had it to do all over again, I'd try really hard to find a hardtail. If it were stolen, I'd find the mutha and kick his ass with it! If it were lost, I'd kick my own ass for losing it... then I'd go by another one because it's just a rock solid investment. The *only* thing I don't care for is that the tremelo spring housing was not sealed in laquer and needs to be to avoid humidity damage over time. Other than that, it's solid.

Just a basic 3 single coil Standard made in Mexico. It's light blue with a rosewood f board, aged plastic parts and a pearl white pickguard ( I added after ). The tuning keys are Fender but they are great. I showed it to a friend of mine who has been playing longer than I've been alive and the first thing he said was, " wow you must have paid $1,000. for that." So the features don't look or feel cheap at all.

Now here's where so many people disagree. A lot of people buy these guitars and change the pickups to stacked or hum-canceling single coils...what's the point of that? I happen to love the sound that this brings, even with the hum. It may be too brittle, brite or too thin for some people but as for me, I love the old tone. I play this through a Fender Blues Jr. and it sounds great. I may change the pickups one day but I will take my time. I've read here of people who changed out the pickups only to find out that the originals sounded better.

It was set up ok and it doesn't really matter anyway for if you don't know how to set up your own guitar, well that's just sad. Everything is in place perfectly, I see no flaws. The only thing I don't like is the cheap control pots, they turn very easy and scratchy if you know what I mean. This really doesn't do anything to hurt the sound but it feels cheap. When I replaced the pickguard (for looks) I noticed that the wiring was actually better than I thought it would be. I am getting it rewired however, with a master volume, master tone and a blender control. Oh ya I changed the little string guide on the headstock to a nicer one.

This seems to be a pretty sturdy guitar. The finish looks like it will chip and scratch easily but who really cares, it'd probably look better all dinged up anyway.

Don't know but I hear they're cool.

I've been playin' for atleast 100 or so years and I'm 27...so that's a long time. Nah I'm teasin' but I did start when I was 12. Anyway I know you could care less. Well here's the great thing about Fender- They make every possible replacement part for strats so if there's something you don't like just change it. Like a car or something, you can totally customize it. I own an Ibanez RG550 and, other than pickups, getting parts for it is Hell. No one even knows this fender was made in Mexico. I do love it and at this price I will probably buy a couple more...well maybe one more.

Standard Mexi-Strat features; we all know the dope on this.

Killer. This is what every boy hopes for in a Strat; chime, sustain, clarity, and personality. I have been playing for 30+ years professionaly on and off, so when I say this axe is "primo" you can take it to the bank. I know Strats. I have 3, (now 4), and this one ranks with the best of them. I am amazed at this guitar's ability to compete with my American models considering it cost half as much. I put this Mexican on par with my favorites. It's voice is more clear than any of my guitars and is especially effective in a band environment. It has that beautiful unique quality of cutting through any mix without having to load up on the volume. This is something I have always had a problem with when using my Les Pauls and my other humbucker giutars. Humbucker guitars are great distorted, but don't really cut the mustard when played clean. To me, single coils are great in both arenas, clean or distorted (as long as you don't overdo the gain distortion-wise). One of the best things about this guitar and good Strats in general is that they retain thier lively colorful personality no matter what style or amp/effects you use. That cannot in my opinion can be said for humbucker guitars. Strats, in my humble opinion (to quote a phrase), are so much more versitile than say, Les Pauls. A good Strat can emulate a decent humbucker sound by simply dialing down the tone or volume. By the way, dialing down the volume on a Strat rolls off the high spectrum, while turning down the tone rolls off the highs and upper mids. Take note, these two controls are very useful, and available right at your fingertips! And what's awsome is that the character of your Strat is retained no matter how what you do with the tone or volume controls. It still sounds great. This can't be said for a humbucker, which almost always turns to mud when you roll down the controls. As for the pickups in this guitar, I can't complain; they sound great and like I would expect in a Strat. Here's a little known secret: a pickup, even the most expensive ones only cost the manufactuer about 5 bucks apiece at most. What you pay for is name recognition. The pickups in these guitars are as good as any out there. The only difference between these pickups and the ones Seymour Duncan puts out for Strats is that these are tuned specifially for a regular Strat sound, whereas the Duncans are tuned for the after-market whims of snobs. Take it from me a seasoned old fart, the best pickups for your Strat are the ones that came with the guitar.

Perfect, and as good as the best American Strat. Sure, I've tweaked the action some, but the neck pocket fit, flawless finish (sage metallic green), and satin stick-free neck left me totally satisfied. On the subject of finish, who gives a rats ass if this it poly and not laquer? The guitar sounds beautiful and immensly resonant with poly. Do I give a shit if it's poly? No, I am glad. The poly can actually be cleaned with normal everyday polish, whereas the laquer has to be cared for most delicately. My Les Pauls are a total pain in the ass to clean. They are easy to scratch, and the scratches don't come out. While I'm in this category, I'll say something on the touchy subject about quality of materials and origin of country. Guitar snobs love to harp on the American vs Everyone else way of building guitars. That is such a joke! As if Americans are the only ones who know how to put together a plank of wood and pickups! Pa-leese! This is not rocket science. The Mexicans and Asians are just as good as we are at copying vintage tone. Check it out for yourself, go down to your local music store and compare. I gaurantee you will find toneful guitars both American and foreign. Don't fall for that American only bullshit.

The key is to try out a bunch of them. And don't be embaressed to ask a more experienced friend for help. It takes years of experience to identify good guitar tone. There are both dogs and gems out there, your mission is to find a gem.

Here's a hint on identifying true sustain, which is probably the most important thing a guitar can have: if you strike a note (say the low E string), and the note swells in volume before it dies, you have sustain. Preferably the note should last for at least 20 seconds. If you don't get that, don't buy the guitar. You'll be fighting it for tone, and it will wear you out.

It's a Strat.

Dunno.

I think you can gather from the other categories my opinion of this guitar. I would just like to add that you MUST try out many guitars to find one that speaks to you. American guitars are not the be-all. There are plenty of dogs to go around from ANY maker. I am confident that if you look, you can find an excellent Mexi-caster which will rival in both tone and looks the best of the output from the American Fender Custom Shop. No shit.

I bought mine new in 1997. It's got a beautiful brownish, yellowish, sunburst finish, flawliss, 21 frets, older style smaller frets, good for my smaller hands. The edges are nicely filed, hardly a rough spot anywhere on the rosewood fretboard. The neck is slim and easy for me to get my hand around on. Boy, they did a nice job on this one. The thing stays in tune real well also, just needs a little tweeking to get it perfect. I got mine with a nice deluxe heavy padded gig bag that does the job well. It's a Strat, KINDA based on the first ones made in the mid to late 50's I guess. The pickups are H O T, hotter than my American Tele for sure. Whoa, what nice tones from this guitar and my Ampeg SS70C amp. I guess mine was made on Monday or would it be Friday?

I've had guitar playing buddies jam with it and they were impressed with the hot sounds from it. I usually use the neck pickup or a combination of neck and middle and it's wonderful. It's typical Strat in many ways. If you learn how work the tone knobs well and experiment with your amp settings you can dial in just about anything you want. My amp is solid state, but I can get a nice warm jazz tone with my guitar and amp if you set it just right. I play some blues, old time rock and a bit of country and this guitar can do it all.

Before I walked out of the store with this guitar, it was checked completly, The action was set just right, as were the pickups. The fit is perfect. Can't even get a piece of paper in the groove where neck meets body. Tight, real tight. It's got a beautiful sunburst finish. Can't ask for more. I guess the body wood is Poplar. It weighs just over 8 lbs, but Strats are well balanced guitars and comfortable to play standing up or sitting. Tuning pegs are good quality. I've never had any problems with switches or any other thing with this guitar. MIM is a real bargain for the quality guitar you can get.

I've taken this guitar on the road once, for a Idaho/Montana concert. Actually, a friend played it more than me, and he loved it so much, he used mine almost exclusively in the two night concert series. The hardware may not be the best, but it's good quality, and so far in 6 years, I've never had any problems with this guitar. I plan to put on the locking strap buttons someday, but for now what I've got is doing it's job. I can depend on it. I get it out of the bag, tune it up if needed, plug it in, and away I go. I am sure I could trust this guitar without a backup.

If I ever have trouble with this guitar, I'll take it to my guitar tech at my local guitar store. I still have that warranty paper/slip for it, but so far I've not had a problem with this guitar. It always works perfect. I've heard good and bad about calling Fender support for help.

I've been playing off and on since 1965. This is the 5th Fender guitar I've owned. I have an American Series Tele and a Guild D25. All three are quality guitars with no flaws. For a relatively inexpensive true Fender electric guitar, the Standard Strat meets my needs and the needs of a lot of other players as well. This guitar looks, sounds and feels wonderful. It's easy to play with a nice smooth fretboard, and the neck is kind of a modern oval, just right for my smaller hands.

Typical Stratocaster configuration. 2003 Brown Sunburst. Alder body. Maple neck and rosewood fretboard. Great Strat features so it gets a 10.

Very big surprise. Played on it for over an hour and was shocked. The stock pickups could one day be considered 2003 classics. A reissue would be in order. Very rich sounding and full of harmonics. Very out of the ordinary, but then again............I was playing it through a Fender Cyber Twin. I played it on the Concert Stack setting and it rocked. I played until I started to buy it. I had to stop myself. I didn't want to, but I have decided to go back and put it on layaway, ( I'm waiting to see where my finances are going ). Bitchin sound, great tone and no need to change the pickups out.

The guitar was definately worked on at the shop. Very low action and very easy playability. Everything was new so no telling how this one would hold up, but I've 4 Mexican made Strats and they hold up very well. This one should be no exception.

Never seen or heard of a bad Strat.

I played a few other Strats at the shop. A MIM 60's reissue Strat, MIM Standard Strat with a maple neck, MIM 50's reissue Strat and a nasty looking green MIM Standard Strat. This one is the best out of all of them. I really wanted a 60's reissue, but sound, tone and feel outweigh the asthetic features. It's basically the same damn guitar less the ultra vintage look. I am going to get it this Friday. Period.

Just a good old Stratocaster, a design that lasted almost 50 years. Mine is a 2002, Made in Mexico 2-color Sunburst, Alder body, maple neck and Rosewood fingerboard. The rest is Standard Strat stuff: Vintage trem, Sealed tuners, 5-way selector, volume and 2 tone controls, and 3 ceramic Fender single coil pups. Just a Strat, nothing more or less, just the way it should be. Simplicity has it's advantages. Although many people have opinions that "MIM" means subpar against the made in the USA guitars, this is very far from the truth. The quality of this Stratocaster, made in Baja California, Mexico is as well made as any axe made by any company period, not just American Fenders. I was very impressed by the quality here, and the finish of the guitar as well. Top notch stuff.

It sounds like a Strat, and this means like no other guitar. All the tones that you've heard on so many songs for 50 years are here. I play it through a Fender Blues Jr., along with a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver pedal. The pups, even though ceramic, offer up a very nice combo of familiar Strat sounds, but as usual positions 2 & 4 give you that sweet Strat feel that you just can't find anywhere else. Overdriving my BD-2 slightly, you can find those awesome tones from Clapton to SRV, and it's so luscious that you just don't want to put the guitar down. The ceramic pups are higher output than the alnico Fender ones that are offered on their higher end models. The neck and middle are pure Strat: jangly, sweet and tight. The bridge alone to me doesn't have enough punch, but still it's ok. That being said, I'm planning to swap out the stock pups for a set of Bill Lawrence 280s, which are noiseless and just have an incredible sound, and really give the guitar a sound that rivals Custom shop and American Deluxe Strats, at a fraction of the cost. I would also recommened to swap the strings to at the very least .10s, or even better .11s. The heavier guage strings really give the guitar new life, and with the new Lawrence pups will really make this axe something special.

As i mentioned above, I was very impressed with this axe from the start. The quality coming from the Mexican plant is top rate, and fit and finish was excellent. There are absolutley no flaws whatsoever. Everything from top to bottom was just right, from the tuners, to the pups and controls. The maple neck was fast and comfortable, as is the Rosewood fingerboard which had a very nice darker hue that rivalled American neck. Everything was was flush, no fret wire sticking out. The neck and body joints very perfectly aligned, and the body's 2-color Sunburst finish is absolutley gorgeous. The strings were perfectly aligned over the pups. Action was good out of the box, but i lowered just a bit, and also swapped the strings for .11s which make a world of differnce in tone. I also had the trem flush against the body, and put 5 springs into the trem block. I don't use the trem that much, since i prefer to bend alot. The extra springs add alot to the sustain of the guitar, and also aid in tuning. I can bend and bend, and this thing does NOT go out of tune!! Pretty amazing actually, and better than alot of hardtails i've played.

A Strat is a Strat. Built like a brick house, and meant to last. I don't foresee any problems, and with a little care and attention this guitar should last for many many years.

I called Fender customer support before buying this axe, just wondering about the body woods. I had heard that they had switched to Alder from Poplar, and just wanted confirmation. The people there were friendly, and answered my question quickly. And yes, they are Alder bodies.

I've been playing on and off for 25 years, and have owned and played mainly Gibson SG and LPs, and have owned a few Ibanez and Yamaha axes, along with a Godin. Never had a Strat, and decided it was time. Very impressed with the quality of this guitar, from top to bottom it's first rate. With a few little mods (swapping strings, and pups), at a very reasonable cost, this guitar rivals those costing 2 & 3 times more in sound, feel and quality. It's a Strat, so what's not to love. I'd buy another at a drop of a hat.

95 MIM, Maple board and black poplar body. Standard Strat, every one knows the drill

I play blues, and blues/rock. The Strat suits it perfect. Pickups have the usual single-coil hum. I use a SRV as my main Strat, and also use a Lonestar Fender to back it up. I was looking for a Maple fret-board strat with original sounding chimey p/us. [like the 57-62 re-issues. My SRV and Lonestar cover the hot mid-range. The Texas grind! This Maple board nails Hendrix with the melodic, bell like tones. The low end also has a nice clang to it. I went out heading for a US Highway with maple board. Or possible a used Amer. Stand. I played this MIM next to a Highway, I though the MIM sounded much better, especially in the bridge position. The neck on the MIM is flawless. No sharp fret ends [All the US-Highways WERE sharp,] The frets are leveled perfect, nice low action no buzzing. The guitar was seriously played by the previous owner. There is already wear starting in the pentonic positions. Nice look feel and vibe. Well I guess you could find a really good MIM Strat if you look. Mine is proof.

Really Really Good. My SRVand Lonestar don't have as good of action as my MIM. I bought it used so the body finish has some dings. But the way its painted is idendical to the US strats aside from the US Highway [laquer]. My beef is the Tuning Machines, in 95 they were using vin. style. [Now fender is using sealed as with there US Strats]. Its not that iits going out of tune easily. They just seem cheezy. The saddles are also a discontinued brand. Fender is back to vin. style. They haven't created a problem yet. But from other low line Fender's I've owned, I know they are suspect.

Its a Strat......You'll be hard pressed to find a more durable guitar.

N/A Used,

I haven't played a lot of these, so I don't know if they are inconsistant. This particular MIM has very, very good action, and sounds better than the US Series with the Delta=Tone P/u's. I've owned a few of those and always had to upgrade to P/U's This one I don't have to touch. A used MIM that don't need any tone-changes. I'm very happy with it. Only thing I've done to it is change the nine's over to 10.s and add a sping to the Trem. Also changed the String Tree over to US Stand. style. Very nice guitar!

Not sure what year it was made,Was made in Mex.22 vintage style frets I believe.Solid alder/poplar guitar(check fenders website).1 volume two tone controls.Three single coil pickups.satin midnight wine finish(looks really cool).Vintage fender synchronized bridge.basic fender tuners.25.5 inch scale length, 9.5 fingerboard radius.I didnt buy this guitar I just tried one out at steves music in Toronto.I must say that this guitar was actually a great guitar for $514 cdn.Those mexican standard strats are really great guitars.Especially for the price.The one I tried had a ONE peice maple neck(I hate to see 2-peice maple necks).With headstock truss rod adjustment.Im giving features a 7 cause I noticed that almost every review on HC is way to high,and cause it could have better features but I guess it wouldnt be so cheap ya know?.

I tried this guitar through a Cyber twin which sounded great.This guitar has pretty good tone for the price.I was doing squeals and all that metal shit on this cheap little guitar.Good sound Ill say that much.

The action on this guitar was REALLY LOW with no fretting out,it had .09's on it so that could be why.I personally dont like satin finishes on the neck/fingerboard of guitars,but the satin midnight wine finish was awsome(it looks great).I didnt see any flaws with this guitar but only played it for like 45 mins.Pickups were set at a good height.

Its a strat so Im guessing it is reliable and durable as most strats are.

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If I was looking to buy a guitar right now I would probobly try to get that guitar cause I really liked it.With a set of 10-46 strings and a good setup,some lace sensors this would be a great guitar.Im sure I t would be great even without the lace sensors but I dont like 60 cycle hum(which every strat has,some people dont mind it though).