Fender Standard Stratocaster

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.