MIM vs MIA Fenders... your personal preference and why?

[Edward]

MIA, the difference is unbelieveable!

The difference? No, I find it completely believable that a guitar at twice the price can be superior in several respects. What I find quite unbelievable, in terms of what those differences add to the instrument for me is the price. YMMV.

[nanobug]

Personally I just pay no attention to the label. I shop by the quality of woods used, feel of the neck, resonance of the body, and overall mojo of the guitar in relation to price. I think Fender/Squire quality control is all over the place and how good their guitars are depends on far too many variables to be simplified down to the country of origin. How good your guitar is can be influenced by:

 

• What species of the specified tonewoods were used (there are 30 different species of Alder, around 60 species of Ash - five of which are commonly referred to as "Swamp Ash" despite being different species from different geographic locations)

• How old the tree was before being cut down

• How long the wood was dried

• The quality of the blank that the body was cut from, in regards to grain, density, whether it was cut from the outer or inner part of the tree, etc

• How many pieces the body was constructed from, how much glue was used

• What kind of finish and how heavily was it applied, how skilled the worker who applied it was and how many paint fumes they inadvertently inhaled

• Whether the person in the finishing room working the morning, afternoon, or late shift; Whether they just started their shift, were about to call it a day, counting down the minutes until lunch, completely overwhelmed all day long, or having a great day with minimal stress or pressure at the time of assembly.

• Same for the person who made the neck for the guitar in question, the person who wired the pickguard, and the quality control person who examined the finished product and signed off on it meeting their standards

• How rigorous those standards are combined with all mentioned concerns in relation to the price point of the product.

• Where the guitar was purchased, and whether it was exposed to any extreme variations of temperature, humidity or pressure in transit to the dealer/your shipping address.

• Whether the guitar was ever at any point in time in the possession of UPS before sale, or left unattended on the sales floor near a UPS agent while the sales person signed something, or otherwise within immediate striking range of a UPS employee.

• Whether the guitar was purchased at Guitar Center?

• Whether it was handled frequently by prospective buyers and bored teenagers before purchase, or sold as new in box?

• What kind of tolerances are the pots rated for? How close to or far away from the rating are they?

• How long were the electronics and hardware sitting before being installed, and what kind of temperatures and humidity were they exposed to?

• What year was the guitar made? Were there any layoffs that year?

• Do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do you?

 

Aside from all of that, what makes a good guitar has a lot more to do with the quality of the woods used, the routing and contours, how well the neck fits into the pocket, how resonant the body is and the quality of the finish of both the neck and body. Everything else comes down to personal preference and features. I can rock out every bit as good with crappy Squier Affinity tuners as I can with the tuners on my MIM, pickups are very subjective and one man's holy grail is another man's garbage, the quality of the switches pots and wiring is highly variable across the entire range of Fender guitars to the point of being insignificant, bridge style and fret size depend on preference. Unless the neck is visibly warped, will need completely re-fretted, or has an obvious truss rod issue I don't even take action, intonation, buzzing or the nut into consideration because more often than not a few hours of work can sort those things right out and I've yet to find a Fender nut that didn't need replaced right out of the box.

[soundcreation]

It's interesting that you say this because I believe, per a recent article done by a guy who'd just toured the Mexican plants, the necks for the MIMs are, in fact, made in the states and sent down. Hmmm.....

Did you bother to read the rest of the discussion we had on why those necks might be different?

[GCDEF]

I've always found the American necks to be better. The foreign Fenders are okay, but I've never been able to get the action and setup quite where I like it on the foreign ones, whereas the MIA can be dialed in really well.

[GRAF]

Well, because of this thread I decided to head to my local GC and play my way through a bunch all over again... perhaps I'm just an idiot, but I've been playing for 15 years now and frankly I can't tell any real difference between the MIA and MIM strats.

Obviously there are tonal differences in the various blends of pickups as well as differences in neck woods, etc.

But, where as one MIA would sound okay, the next MIM would sound awesome, and then the next MIM would sound okay but the next MIA would sound awesome.



My conclusion, there is really no difference and in fact I dare say the only differences to be found are between the guitars themselves and not at all where they're made or who makes them.

Thanks for the opinions and points of view, this thread really is helpful!

[drunkinminer]

Someone @Fender told me that the MIM neck and bodies are made in the States, then take a short trip over the border for painting and assembly. I own 1 MIA Strat, 1 MIA Tele, 1 MIM, Strat, 1 MIM Tele. I change pups and do other mods on all. Slight preference for MIA neck. The similarities far outweigh differences.

One of the factors that I took into consideration when I bought my two MIMs were that I was going to swap pretty much everything but the body and neck. after converting one into a Esquire and the other I swapped the tuners bridge Pickups and a few other things more for looks I still came out cheaper the if I had gone MIA. I just couldn't justify spending that much if I was going to swap parts anyway. And I must I've been pleased with how both turned out.

So to me it doesn't matter if it's a Squier, MIM, MIA, or any other at the end of the day as long as you are the one who gets enjoyment out of playing it then nothing else should matter.

[billybilly]

Comparing MIA standards to MIM standards, there is no comparison. I am only a hobby player and would never own a standard MIM. Call me a snob but my 08 MIA standard cannot be compared. It is better in every way. I have owned 4 or 5 of each.

Some MIM strats are good, just not the standard ones.

[drunkinminer]

Comparing MIA standards to MIM standards, there is no comparison. I am only a hobby player and would never own a standard MIM. Call me a snob but my 08 MIA standard cannot be compared. It is better in every way. I have owned 4 or 5 of each. Some MIM strats are good, just not the standard ones.

I would beg to differ their but as with all snobs there is no changing their minds. But then again that's not what I'm here for.

But I will say this when I bought both of my MIMs I tried every Tele in the shop MIM MIA and Squier and the MIM were better hands down and that was with two neck pickups that were muddy.

[billybilly]

I would beg to differ their but as with all snobs there is no changing their minds. But then again that's not what I'm here for. But I will say this when I bought both of my MIMs I tried every Tele in the shop MIM MIA and Squier and the MIM were better hands down and that was with two neck pickups that were muddy.

I wish I had cheap taste, but I don't. That's why everything in my life is so good I guess.

[Chippy]

I wish I had cheap taste, but I don't. That's why everything in my life is so good I guess.

[drunkinminer]

I wish I had cheap taste, but I don't. That's why everything in my life is so good I guess.

Talking to this guy is like:deadhorse:

BTW I didn't say that I couldn't afford nor did say that the MIAs were junk, it's just that I couldn't find a MIA that spoke to me. I unlike you a guitar has to speak to me before I buy it. I bet you went into the shop and bought the first MIA you saw without trying it because it was MIA it must be better. I'm done wasting my time on the likes you.

I have to go play my 'cheap MIM".

[Hood00]

I have to agree with drunkinminer on this.

 

I wanted a nice strat as a base for a project guitar. I tried many, many MIA's and MIM's and eventually found a MIM that played just great, and suited me fine. The only real problem with it I have to say were the pickups, but I intended to swap these anyway, so no big deal.

The neck is lovely to play, I am really happy with my new main guitar.

 

Dont be a snob about choosing a strat, take the time to try as many as you can, and if you find the nicest playing one for you to be a MIM, so be it!

[wader2k]

Don't own either but played a bunch helping a friend look. The obvious difference to me was the necks. The MIA nearly always felt much nicer. There was the odd mexican that felt better than the odd USA but that was rare. And to me there is nothing trivial about the feel of a neck. In my opinion it's probably one of the most important things along with resonance.

this......the neck was vastly superior to me feelwise om my 2008 am std tele

[MichaelSaulnier]

I've had both American made and MIM strats and teles and have found that both can be fun to play and sound good!

My #1 however has no MIM counterpart... so if I wanted this guitar... I had to get the American version.



I liked it the best, it played and sounded the best to me... so that's what I got!

Simple.



M

[DonK]

I don't have a preference out of the box, as I don't find Fender to have demonstrated a quality bias in favor of one line vs. the other. I've probably owned - I'm guessing - maybe 50 Strats/Teles in my lifetime. The two worst - by far, none of the others come close - were both American-made. One was a 1998 American Deluxe Strat - probably one of the first made - that was a total piece of junk, in more ways than I care to recount. The second was a 1999 Clapton Strat, another piece of junk. Other notable semi-junkers included a 1969 MIA Strat (bought used in '71), a pair of '72 Tele Customs bought new and a MIJ Reissue version bought in 1999.

 

I've probably owned maybe 10 or so Mexi's. None were abysmal, and one was superior, a Mexi-made '72 Tele Custom reissue I bought new in 2001. It's kind of ironic: I've owned four "72 Tele Custom" guitars (including two originals), and the best by far was the Mexi.

 

OTOH, I've owned/own a few stellar MIA's. By far the best has been my Eric Johnson Strat. It's one of the earliest ones; whenever someone picks it up, they offer to buy it. The '72 Tele Custom Reissue (MIM) was another; wish I hadn't sold it. My '62 Reissue Strat (it's from the 90's I think, signed by EJ) is a really nice guitar. I had a '96 Strat Plus that was a real gem; I sold it to a friend, and find myself constantly scheming as to how to get it back.

[csm]

No hard-and-fast rule in my experience -- as your attorney, I'd advise you to make each decision on a piece-by-piece basis, depending on whether or not any individual instrument happens to appeal to you.

 

You know -- the usual.

 

Jeez, it's so BORING being a Voice Of Reason when we all know that forcefully-expressed dogmatic prejudice is the way to go ...

[jrockbridge]

I've tried MANY MIM Fender Strat guitars over the years. I want so badly to like them because the price is right. However, they never feel quite as good as the better MIA Strats. I even took a Robert Cray signature MIM model Strat home because it had many of the features I wanted but the neck didn't feel as good as some of the better MIA Strats I've played. So, I returned it the next day. Finally, I decided I was going to have to pay for a MIA Strat to be happy.

I played about 10 MIA Strat guitars, but wasn't finding the right one. Finally, a sales clerk pulled a new box from the back. It was almost perfect out of the box, but needed a minor truss rod tweak. The clerk adjusted the truss rod and I paid a discounted price of $965 for a 2005 American Deluxe Strat. I ended up not being thrilled with the SCN pups because they don't really sound exactly like classic Strat pups...So, I sold the whole wiring setup with s1 switch and SCN pups to a guy in Germany for $365. He was pleased, and I turned around and bought a prewired Fralin set of 2 Vintage Hot + SP43 bridge pups for $265. So, final cost of my AM Dlx with Fralin pups $865.

There is a difference in the way the MIM and MIA Strats are made. A lot of the difference may come down to the materials used. Certainly, the tremolo on the MIM feels different and cheaper. Maybe part of the difference is QC, but I can't prove that, nor do I know that one way or the other. All I know is that the MIM Strats feel very different. The Robert Cray model I took home, for example, was super light. The neck actually felt imperfect in certain spots.

Maybe a luthier could tweak a MIM Strat to the point I would love it. Some of the MIM Strats have upgraded parts and those seem to be the ones I like best, but the feel still isn't there so I suspect the quality of wood holds them back...just a guess.

I wish I could not tell a difference in feel between guitars because I want a Tele and do NOT want to pay MIA prices! The current Fender pricing structure is WAY too rich for my wallet. Of course, there are some Fender Friday deals here and there. But, I may go outside of Fender this time around to get an excellent playing Tele that feels and sounds right for the money. YMMV.

[HarpBoy]

Did you bother to read the rest of the discussion we had on why those necks might be different?

Sorry, I "bothered" to read as far as that post and then responded. Did I do something wrong, Dad?

[soundcreation]

Sorry, I "bothered" to read as far as that post and then responded. Did I do something wrong, Dad?

Well then you might have realize I and others addressed why the necks might be different regardless of where they were CNC'd. But since you didn't read it now you look foolish.

[jrkman]

[HarpBoy]

Well then you might have realize I and others addressed why the necks might be different regardless of where they were CNC'd. But since you didn't read it now you look foolish.

 

Sure. Whatever you say.

[HarpBoy]

Don't own either but played a bunch helping a friend look.

Hey, just wanted to apologize for thinking your comment was pretty stupid. I didn't realize I was challenging a Fender expert. I'll be more careful next time. It sucks to look foolish.

Cheers

[jrockbridge]

If anybody can tell me which specific models of MIM Tele or Strats will feel similar to an American Deluxe 9.5" radius, I'd appreciate the heads up. You MIM fans are convinced they stack up as equals....looking at my wallet, I want to believe you!

 

I'm willing to give another intense search effort aimed at MIM Tele's, but I need to know which MIM necks will have the larger frets, the baseball neck, and the rolled edges. What model MIM Tele's will stack up to the American Deluxe neck feel?

[Promit]

I guess the MIAs are nicer, but the ones I've tried haven't been eight hundred dollars better. Maybe one hundred. And my MIM with a huge slew of upgrades is still only a 700 or so expenditure. It could be lighter I suppose, but that's a situation where I would prefer a chambered body, not just better quality wood.

[BIGD]

I own an 91 Am standard (maple, replacement Humbucker in the bridge), I had an Am Deluxe HSS rosewood a few weeks ago that I sent back to MF (Fender Friday deal), now I have an MIM HSS rosewood (also Fender Friday)..I'm keeping the MIM. It's the most enjoyable of the 3 guitars, sorry to say. The American standard I have has a pathetic trem block compared to the MIM..I have a replacement on the way, we'll see how they match up after that.

The American deluxe neck maybe was MARGINALLY better than the MIM. The rosewood looked a bit nicer. It didn't feel any more solid and didn't play better, and I actually prefer the pickups on the MIM. The Samarium Cobalts, to me, are lifeless, and the humbucker on the AM deluxe hummed like a single coil. I just couldn't justify the Am deluxe even at $899 sale price...unless my plan was to re-sell it, which it wasn't. I don't even really get the contoured hell on the AM delux..it doesn't do much of anything.

I do think, however, that there is a bigger difference in maple fretboards between the Fender series.