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'92 MIM Fender Tele


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the MIM teles or guitars in general are hit and miss, although they are getting better. I really do not recommend buying one of the web, because sometimes the intonation sucks so bad no amount of setup will fix the problem. I had this problem once and won't do it again. Once you've made sure the action and intonation are good, then you usually have a gem.

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The quality varies wildly on the MIM's. A few years ago, I tried out nearly 40 over a couple of days before I found a winner. Most of the problems I encountered were fret related and dead pieces of wood. I've owned a few Ame. Teles and I like my MIM as much as any of them. Fwiw I wouldn't buy any MIM before trying it out, but there are some great ones out there.

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I wouldn't buy any MIM before trying it out, but there are some great ones out there.

 

 

To be fair this applies to all guitars not just mexican fenders. Most serious guitar players wouldn't dream of buying a guitar they hadn't played first, (it's a bit like buying a car without a test drive)

 

...but some of us aren't really in a position to do it due to either needing the lowest price deal we can find online or not living in a location where we can try loads of guitars.

 

With something like a MIM with a good price I would take the risk, it would be easy enough to sell on.

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I just purchased one for a decent price. So far it sounds great. I don't believe I'm a discerning enough guitarist to know if it's a piece of dead wood or not. If solid bodies are supposed to be remarkably resonant when un-amplified, then I've played on a whole lot of pieces of dead wood, including high-end solid bodies. Maybe I'm not listening for the right thing.

The harmonics rang nicely when unamplified. The intonation is excellent.

I should post this in the Electric Guitar forum. :idea:

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To be fair this applies to all guitars not just mexican fenders. Most serious guitar players wouldn't dream of buying a guitar they hadn't played first, (it's a bit like buying a car without a test drive)


...but some of us aren't really in a position to do it due to either needing the lowest price deal we can find online or not living in a location where we can try loads of guitars.


With something like a MIM with a good price I would take the risk, it would be easy enough to sell on.

I agree, but a lot of people do buy without having played including some great players that I know. Fwiw, the only guitar I ever liked that I purchased without playing it first was my Carvin- but that was 20 years ago :lol: Wouldn't do it again, but point taken about not having the luxury to try out loads of guitars (fortunately for me, I've always lived in areas with a lot of music shops). The MIM's were REALLY hit and miss though, few really good/great ones and quite a few lemons- the inconsistency was pretty dramatic...

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I don't believe I'm a discerning enough guitarist to know if it's a piece of dead wood or not. If solid bodies are supposed to be remarkably resonant when un-amplified, then I've played on a whole lot of pieces of dead wood, including high-end solid bodies. Maybe I'm not listening for the right thing.

I didn't mean to come off sounding like a snob there- I was just sayin' :cry::o

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I didn't mean to come off sounding like a snob there- I was just sayin'
:cry::o



You didn't come off that way. I just meant that I don't have much experience choosing solid bodies based on that criteria, which I'm sure is a very legitimate criteria for serious guitarists. They all sound dead to me, compared to a hollow-body :facepalm: I could use some coaching on how to test a piece of wood.

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Nice score. How much did it set you back?

 

As for the "dead piece of wood" discussion, it's more about feel than anything. How loud a guitar is unamplified means little, as you'll be amplifying it.

 

However, you want a resonant guitar. If the body of the guitar vibrates with the strings, it's resonant. If it just feels like an unmoving chunk of wood, it's usually referred to as "dead."

 

Many argue that it just doesn't matter either way and it's the pickups that make the sound. While this is partially true, the resonance of the guitar body affects the string vibration. The pickups pick up those vibrations and amplify them. Hence why resonance is important in an electric guitar.

 

:thu:

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Nice score. How much did it set you back?


As for the "dead piece of wood" discussion, it's more about feel than anything. How loud a guitar is unamplified means little, as you'll be amplifying it.


However, you want a resonant guitar. If the body of the guitar vibrates with the strings, it's resonant. If it just feels like an unmoving chunk of wood, it's usually referred to as "dead."


Many argue that it just doesn't matter either way and it's the pickups that make the sound. While this is partially true, the resonance of the guitar body affects the string vibration. The pickups pick up those vibrations and amplify them. Hence why resonance is important in an electric guitar.


:thu:



I paid $250. Was that too much?

Thanks for the info.

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You didn't come off that way. I just meant that I don't have much experience choosing solid bodies based on that criteria, which I'm sure is a very legitimate criteria for serious guitarists. They all sound dead to me, compared to a hollow-body
:facepalm:
I could use some coaching on how to test a piece of wood.

I want a semi-hollow :cry: If I can feel a guitar vibrating strongly and it has good volume/sustains unplugged, that's a good sign to me. If a solidbody doesn't have those qualities to begin with, I usually won't even plug it in. That said, I'm sure the guys in EG have a lot more expertise than I do, but I don't frequent that forum :o And if you're ever in the Seattle area, I'd be more than happy to coach you :lol:

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Nice score. How much did it set you back?


As for the "dead piece of wood" discussion, it's more about feel than anything. How loud a guitar is unamplified means little, as you'll be amplifying it.


However, you want a resonant guitar. If the body of the guitar vibrates with the strings, it's resonant. If it just feels like an unmoving chunk of wood, it's usually referred to as "dead."


Many argue that it just doesn't matter either way and it's the pickups that make the sound. While this is partially true, the resonance of the guitar body affects the string vibration. The pickups pick up those vibrations and amplify them. Hence why resonance is important in an electric guitar.


:thu:

That's what I was trying to say for the most part, thanks for summing it up :thu:

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I want a semi-hollow
:cry:
If I can feel a guitar vibrating strongly and it has good volume/sustains unplugged, that's a good sign to me. If a solidbody doesn't have those qualities to begin with, I usually won't even plug it in. That said, I'm sure the guys in EG have a lot more expertise than I do, but I don't frequent that forum
:o
And if you're ever in the Seattle area, I'd be more than happy to coach you
:lol:



My wife and I love Seattle. I may take you up on the offer ;)

The MIM Tele I bought has a generic neckplate. Does anyone know if this is standard? Do all of the second run MIMs have neckplates without the logo?

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I have a '92 MIM standard tele that sounds and plays great although all those necks come from well before the whole 'rolled neck' crazy so the fingerboard edges tend to be pretty sharp. The necks are pretty thin too. I like them because the bridges are top loaders to the guitars are really punchy and you can play heavy strings without as much extra tension. My esquire is a top loader too so Ive decided thats the way to go with teles.

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I have a '92 MIM standard tele that sounds and plays great although all those necks come from well before the whole 'rolled neck' crazy so the fingerboard edges tend to be pretty sharp. The necks are pretty thin too. I like them because the bridges are top loaders to the guitars are really punchy and you can play heavy strings without as much extra tension. My esquire is a top loader too so Ive decided thats the way to go with teles.



Yes, I found the tele to be very punchy, which is exactly how a tele should be, I reckon. What does top loader mean? Does it mean you don't string it through the body? Sorry if that's a stupid question, but I'm still learning the lingo. I just learned yesterday what a 'top hat switch knob' is :o

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