Ratae Coritanorum wrote:
Coops, you know damn well he said you have to go CS to get a proper nitro finish and light body, although in fairness that description fits the Highway 1
Not gonna lie, my HWY1 strat was one of the better MIA strats I owned. And every time I go to my local Long and McQuade and pick up a MIA standard strat, I quickly put it down and then try some other guitars because my MIJ strats feel and sound just as good, if not, better. Uninspiring is what I'll also use to describe that line. In retrospect, I should have kept on to the HWY1.
I tried a Fender Select the other day, hoping it would justify the price tag and at least give me the impression that it was indeed a step up from Fender's other offerings. I honestly wanted to like it, but I walked out feeling like I could put a partscaster together that felt and sounded better. Too much bling, not enough attention to other details. I'll stick with my MIJ and CV Fender/Squier guitars for now.
Originally Posted by GW348
Note: I did say I had yet to do "the mother of all set ups." It was just so DULL out of the box ... yes, I do my own set ups, and with the exception of classy nut filing, I think I do a more careful job than most "pros" (and I used to work on big time tours, and know what an actually decent guitar tech does). I still haven't done the set up, because I'm thinking about returning it to Hello Music. I do agree that one needs to spend time with a guitar to know it well, and that doing so informs set up.
Politely I will say I disagree with most of you who find consistency across model ranges. I don't. I have also had hundreds of Fenders pass through my hands, and each and every one - to me - has it's own personality. I played a '62 once, it had one owner, was just amazing ... and I've beheld Custom Shop monstrosities that made me feel badly for the people who paid so much for them. And I have a $140 Indonesian Squier Tele that sings like a horny canary.
Guitars just ARE. It's like saying only girls from rich families are pretty. Money helps, but it ain't everything.
I had been pretty heartily disappointed with the stock at the local mom and pop, but curiously, not a few days after I bought this Dark Turd (and don't think that I won't name the guitar that if I keep it), what should appear in a FMIC shipment but a terrific US Strat in sexy Jade Pearl metallic, and that thing is NICE.
Then I got an unexpected financial windfall ... He works in mysterious ways ...
Funny thing is, I learned that lesson long ago - and my REAL issue with returning it is that I feel cowed by Hello Music because I've had to whine / plead / cajole simply to get them to send what I originally ordered. Yes, $800 is a lot, but I don't want to go to war with them and worry that's what will happen. And I've begun tweaking it to the point where at least now it has some decent resonant sustain ...
... which does nothing about my "problem" in the Jade Pearl finish down at the Mom and Pop. I can feel it getting pissed at me for not taking it home.
Re: "are there such things as terrific MIM Fenders" ... y'know. Everyone's experience is different. I agree that batting averages change with regard to which production series and country of origin, but Sound, I just disagree with you. I have a '94 MIM Tele that is a fine animal. In case you did not wish to read the thread (which is cool, I skim) I have indeed had the opportunity to play some very nice "full of life" Fenders. Which, really, is the shot I was taking in the dark - maybe HM will send me one, and if not, hey, I'll return it. Now, I am fatigued by the back/forth with them. Bad call on my part.
I have a MIM Jag that compares favorably to the last Johnny Marr I played. I also have played a lot of MIM FSRs, Pawn Shops, and yes, US Standards that leave me just really unimpressed. The nicest Strat I've ever played was the '62 ... really, just a beautiful, beautiful guitar (it was a burst, maple fretboard ... drool). And for a while I had a '66 Mustang on semi-permanent loan that was quite nice for being an "entry model." A '73 Tele Custom ... the EJ Strats sure can be nice, too.
Those are good guitars. So's my MIM 50's RI, my MIM Tele, and my MIM Jag. And my MIC Squier VM Jazzmaster (and I have played literally dozens of very nice JM's).
i'm kind of lucky in that i turned out to be the `mr. average guy' that the modern c neck was made for - i love those fuckers and they fit my hands perfectly. i have a bunch of american standards now, don't mind swapping pickups and stuff, don't even bother trying to keep them stock - but i love a `modern c' neck on a `original contour body'. one of the few benefits to being mr. anonymous everybody/nobody 
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