what country?

kazaam

http://www.musicstore.de/en/global/0_0_G_0_GIT0002383-003/0/0/0/detail/musicstore.html

im gonna buy a fender soon, still unsure as to which country this 1 is from? i want a USA strat, probably gonna be a highway 1 but id like some info on this 1 here

Doctor J

Standards are Mexican

You wouldn't consider a nice Japanese one?

Paladin

I know the Fender name is nice, but for the lower end of the price scale I really like the Yamaha strats. Pacifica range are very very good. Not just good value, but good!

If you are looking for value for money just beware that lower end american strats do not deliver that. Whilst certainly good guitars in their own right, their are better ones for the money, or cheapers ones that are as good (see the Lite Ash Fender thread).

E600 for an American Highway:
http://www.thomann.de/thoiw6_fender_highway1_usspecial_wal_egitarre_prodinfo.html

E700 for a massive upgrade to Jimmy Vaughan Signature (Mexico)
http://www.thomann.de/thoiw6_fender_jvaughan_strat_prodinfo.html

E500 for the Lite Ash thats at least as good as the highway:
http://www.thomann.de/thoiw6_artikel-169086.html

E600 for a Yamaha with awesome specs (great Seymore Duncan pickups)
http://www.thomann.de/thoiw6_artikel-169312.html

Anyway, if your mind is set there is certainly nothing wrong with the highways, just you can get more for your buck.

kazaam

are u selling a japanese one doctor J? i think ill be going for a US

Doctor J

No, just that the Japanese Fenders I've played (and I have a 62 RI Jazz to back me up) are at least as good as the American ones, usually at a lot more down to earth price tag.

Voodu Child

Dont buy it. Much better guitars can be bought for that money. Mexican fenders, Epiphones, etc. all a big swizz. If they brought out a mercedes for 10 grand, made in bangladesh, would you go 'woopee, a cheap mercedes, ill have one of those!'
No, you wouldnt. A name on a headstock doesnt mean squat. You get what you pay for. Two people have to make money on these guitars -
1) Epiphone, squire or whoever
2) Gibson/fender etc.

That means you pay more. Dont be a sucker and buy this guitar. Describe what your looking for, and I bet people here will make suggestions of much better guitars for that money (eg like yer man said yamaha - those pacificas are quite good).

This post may offend people, but I felt it only right to express my opinion.

EDIT - im referring to the mexican standard, and not japanese etc which have been posted about since I read the thing first.

kazaam

i see ur point, but i prefer the feel of a USA strat, J i played one o those 62 jazz's(if ur referring to a jazzmaster and not a bass)..... whoooo! nice guitar, 900 euro for the last 1 i saw in dublin tho, im still leaning towards a USA strat tho

Voodu Child

kazaam wrote:

i see ur point, but i prefer the feel of a USA strat, J i played one o those 62 jazz's(if ur referring to a jazzmaster and not a bass)..... whoooo! nice guitar, 900 euro for the last 1 i saw in dublin tho, im still leaning towards a USA strat tho

You should. You can put dimarzios and whatever on a crap guitar, and its still a crap guitar. A teenybopper guitarist may not feel the difference between a US strat and a cheaper one, but its there, and in the long run, its money well spent to scrape up the few extra quid. But, again, im not referring to Jap ones here, cos theyre as well made as US ones, just different, with more of a vintage vibe I guess.

Quattroste

I bought a Highway 1 (Honey blonde with maple neck and fretboard) and I love it. Never even liked Strats before but I should have bought 1 years ago. If you go for a Highway 1 then I don't think you will be dissappointed. I wouldn't go for the one posted above with the humbucker because Strats aren't meant to have humbuckers. They're single coil guitars.(I'll probably get slated for that) My 2c

If I'd had more money I would have bought the SRV model.

Rustar

The way I shop is to go to the guitar store. I hate ordering anything, when I want something, dammit, I want it NOW!
I have a certain amount of cash burning a hole in my pocket. I start trying everything from that price on down until I find the 2 most important things together in one guitar:
-The way it plays, sounds, and feels, and
-The looks. That's important too.
Though I have a nice Schecter that plays just about anything, I'll never give up my inexpensive Squier Strat.....the body just resonates so much it's almost like playing an acoustic, and sounds frikkin' hot through an amp.
My opinion is that price isn't everything, country of origin isn't everything, but your happiness is. When you order something sight unseen for tons of ca$h, you can be fairly certain that it will play like a dream.....but not 100% sure.

Schecters are made in Korea, by the way......Koreans kick butt these days.

kazaam

http://www.musicstore.de/en/global/0_0_G_0_GIT0004425-006/0/0/0/detail/musicstore.html

i think thats the 1 ill be ordering

Doctor J

Rustar wrote:

Schecters are made in Korea, by the way......Koreans kick butt these days.

So are Ibanez Prestige and G&L Tribute models, neither of which have been found lacking in quality.

Suggesting that a non-first world guitar manufacturer cannot build guitars as good as the Americans/English/etc is just plain racist. The reason a lot of Asian built guitars are of low quality is because they are models sent out there to be made and constructed cheaply by (usually) an American parent company (eg, Epiphone, Squier etc). Fender Japan are top quality because Fender Japan decides what to build and to what spec, not FMIC in California (who control the output of the Mexican factory). Same goes for Ibanez. Ibanez have now switched to Korea for the Prestige models, no doubt these instruments will be made with the same level of hardware as their Japanese predecessors. The aforementioned Schecters are excellent quality because they are also fitted out with top quality hardware. What counts in a guitar construction is the spec it is built to, not where the frets were hammered in, the employees merely work off differering salaries which is a discussion for another time and place. Personally, I'd take an instrument that costs $1000 made in Korea over a $1000 US guitar any day because I know more of that $1000 went into the guitar rather than a bloke's wage cheque.

The point is, if it is built to a good spec, then the nationality of manufacture is largely irrelevant. The spec is the key.

Voodu Child

Doctor J wrote:

So are Ibanez Prestige and G&L Tribute models, neither of which have been found lacking in quality.

As an Ibanez nut, i should point out that only one prestige model is made in korea, an SZ or something i believe.

Otherwise I agree with most of your points

Doctor J

I didn't say all of them were made there (my two are MIJ) but it looks like it's only a matter of time.

The are many stories to this years NAMM show. The biggest probably, the confirmation of the first Korean made Prestige guitars, the S2075, the SA2020, and the SZ2020, both made at the World factory and priced accordingly. Close inspection showed the SZ to be below typical Prestige standard in fret finishing, but, the SA was excellent, again proving, it all comes down to the hands that do the work. Also noted was that ALL Prestige line bass guitars have moved to Korean production as was expected. All guitar production was supposed to have moved this year also but has for the most part been held off until 2006, according to the rumor mill.

Ravelleman

I definitely wouldn't buy a highway 1 Fender. It may be 'made in America' but there isn't a huge difference between them and the MIM standard models.

You really should take a look at the Jimmie Vaughan Strat or any of the higher end Japanese Fender offerings on Ishibashi - the 62, 58 and 57 reissues.

Voodu Child

Well, if it doesnt have 24 frets and a locking trem its not a real Ibanez..

Seriously though, the thing is....when a company shifts production to a cheaper country, they do it for one reason - to save money.
So, bearing in mind that they are trying to make cheaper guitars, do they still allow the craftsmen to spend hours on fretting, neck shims etc? Im not so sure...

That argument above does not presuppose that Koreans CANT make good guitars, but considers whether they are allowed the freedom to do so.
Anyway, im sure ive said this before, but i judge guitars case by case. Ive played american guitars that were made by trained monkeys (Gibsons stand out as being pretty inconsistent), and korean guitars that had fret jobs that were 10/10. However I stand by my argument that this fella would be better off with an American strat rather than mexican, its a false economy to buy a crap guitar.

Doctor J

voodoo_child wrote:

However I stand by my argument that this fella would be better off with an American strat rather than mexican, its a false economy to buy a crap guitar.

No arguements there, though I would plug a Japanese one or a G&L Tribute Legacy as an alternative

Voodu Child

Oh yeah, for sure. The only reason I wouldnt buy a Jap strat is the vintage trem (fender vintage trems dont work, pure and simple, only really matters if you use a trem, unfortunately, I do). Otherwise, brilliantly made guitars.
Someone link to ishibashi for this guy (can be a bit hard to find stuff)

Ravelleman

Ishibashi here you come!

Rustar

Whoa! Those Apocalypses from Silvertone are turning me on!