I really don't understand why people are ugly in the comments. I just love guitars and I have found in my guitar journey that we all have something to bring to the table. I feel that we should love and support each other better than we do, after all it's all about the love of the instrument. One thing I have learned is no matter how good you are there is ALWAYS another level to go to. Please, be kind making a video is hard work!
Its all about Brains. It takes time when the wires gets connected. Some earlier some later some never. Beatiful guitar. Modification is so exciting and rewarding. I do that also. Sometimes get paid also😎
I love the gold hardware but don’t it just bother you that the pickups and frets aren’t gold and I suppose you could put gold strings if you like any that are gold as in the way they feel sound and play
I took a MIM Standard, Put a Virtual Vintage Blues 2 in bridge. Area 61 in Mid and Neck, jumper wire so mid tone pot also controls bridge ,put on locking tuners, American deluxe string tree, put foam inside the trem springs, strap locks, and bone nut. Flipping amazing
I picked up a 2002 Ice Blue Metallic HSS with Maple neck and Maple fret board at a Pawn Shop for $150, with the Fender form fit hard case. It had a bad soldering point in the jack, causing a buzz. I replaced it with a Switch Craft. I also changed it over to a Seymour Duncan SSL-1 California Classic 50's setup with a parchment colored pick guard. While I was at it I installed a Fender bone nut, Fender locking tuners, and did a fret job and setup. I'm in the guitar a total of about $350 and not only is it gorgeous, its an amazing player with wonderful tone! My go to, and favorite, electric out of the 25 or so I own.
I did about what you did. I have a Mexican Strat, I put a titanium block on the tremolo. I did a roller nut made by fender. The roller bridge and Lace Sensors for pickups. Mine never goes out of tune because the tremolo. I did a 7 way switch like you and a coil split for the humbucker tail pickup. I play my Mexican Strat more than my 1978 MIA Strat. They don't kill you with the price of the guitar. The left over money or a little of it goes to fix stock stuff you don't like. They are great Strats, I play, work with and record more with my MIM than any other. It feels 100% my guitar. Not just something off the rack.
MiM Strats have a few weak points which the Fender modular construction allows you to upgrade. I did 4 things on mine.... 1. New bridge.... super vee bladerunner 2. Fender noiseless pickups 3. New nut..... Tusq 4. New machine heads.... Fender lockIng. The guitar cost me 600 incl. roland ready hex pickup and hardshell fender case, whereas the upgrades cost about $250. Now it plays like a strat worth about $1500.
Murray Rowley I have a MIM Deluxe Player’s Strat that I absolutely adore. However, it comes with vintage-style tuners which I wanted to upgrade to fender locking tuners (I have a set lying around that isn’t being used). I know I would have to drill the two guide holes for the pegs, but do you know if I would have to enlarge the actual hole itself to 10mm or if they already come as 10mm?
@@ryancoburn6607 You can do whatever you want but, depending on the type of routing under the pickguard, you might have to remove some wood in order to create space for humbuckers. Then, you would need a new pick guard too. If you don't want to remove wood, you can find ''stacked''humbuckers meaning that the 2 coils per hum buckers are one over the other instead of side by side. Seymour Ducan, Dimarzio (my choice) and others do that. You keep the guitar body intact, the same pick guard and you sound much more gibson or ibanez like. You won't ruin your guitar or yourself with some fancy products.
Eric D. My MIM is a 2006 and I was thinking about installing an SD JB4 but was wondering if I had the space for it. If not, I’ll either use a Hot Rail or JB jr, probably a Hot Rail though.
Viva la Mexico!!..👏🏾😆 Hey!!..don’t let no one tell you that you don’t know what you’re doing ‘cause that Strat sounded cool to me!...✨🎶🎸👍🏾 I’m building one this year also from scratch so wish me luck!..✌🏾✨🎶🎸
I've got one! souped it up with Seymour Duncan cool rails at the neck, Duncan's SSl's in the middle, and it came with a DiMarzio humbucker at the bridge! I run it thru my Princeton Chorus. Great sounds! very versatile. very happy! rock on!
That's the magic of Strats; you can make it your own! :) I'm thinking of relic work on my sunburst strat but only enhancing the current dings etc... I have a Tele that was used in a band in Arkansas that has real relicking; I enhanced those and it looks great. Enjoy your strat and detail to color palette 🎨
I got a MIM STRAT and I changed the strings for D’ADDARIO and I play it every day It's an amazing instrument without any mods at all. Tho, locking tuners do look good
Yup.. I practice 4 or 5 hours a day and i can attest to this. Some guys will just mod and mod and mod their guitar but actually never put any time into playing it because they think it's inferior.. Sad
Locking tuners dont just look good, the change to string height/tension and break angle at the neck/nut absolutely changed and made my MIM a real pleasure to play
How did you find the bridge screw holes fitted? I’d like to get a better bridge with a push-in whammy bar and cast saddles, but am wary of buying a bridge that doesn’t quite fit, because MIM string spacing is closer than on US Strats. So I may just change the saddles, to escape the sharp protruding saddle screws and bent saddles, which I dislike - and tame the droopy whammy bar wit plummer’s tape. It seems like the MIM bridge is a bit of a hole in the market which someone could capitalise on and make a better bridge that fits the screw holes perfectly. They are hard to find.
Just to remind people that this isn't a MIM standard strat (around $580) but a MIM deluxe strat (around $750). I think deluxe is closer in quality to American strat than Mexican. Really excellent guitar. Standard is good too
I put locking tuners on my MIM strat, and changed out all the electronics for Fender Yosemite Single coils, and all USA electronics. Tusk nut, and the fret edges sanded down. Sounds and plays like a vintage strat now. Ive never played another strat that had such a dynamic sounding bridge pickup. The neck pickup sounds more "neck" than any neck pickup Ive heard.
Not a fan of the look of hot rails but that aside it's a lovely looking guitar. I went for the Graphtech string saver block saddles and swapped the nut for the Fender LSR nut and chucked in Fender locking tuners. All works great together
That sounds like a nice combination of upgrades. That lsr nut is the metallic roller nut I think. I wanted to get one but it would have cost me for a pro to install so I bailed on the idea and bought the graph tech self lubricator.
I had ordered an American standard neck for my build and had the shop install it for me, think I paid about £15. There was no way I was going to try my non skills out on a £350 neck :)
cryptonet007 the only thing about the tusq, even the pre slotted ones, a lot of times they need to be adjusted at the slots still or even they wont hold tune
The only non locking term that I've seen holding tune as well as a Floyd is the set up on the Jeff Beck Strat. Scott Groves and your good self have come up with set ups that are way better than the original version. I always block my trems for better tuning stability but seeing your mods has tempted into looking into doing something different with my Strat. Great clip. Really enjoyed it. Thanks from the U.K.
Trem set up, put an 1/8" block under the back of the bridge to body, tighten up the springs to hold the block in place, do your set up - neck relief, string action, tune the guitar, when your happy with it slacken off the springs slowly until the block just slides out - Your Done, should stay in tune now, you may need 3 or 4 springs for personal preference.. On the last bit of video using tremolo with guitar laying flat, from 8:47 the sound didn't seem right especially the 3rd string. Regards from uk.
I think your Strat looks great, thanks for your ideas. Where did you buy the pick guard / scratch plate and what is name of the sty,le, turtle shell? Thanks Craig
Hi Craig, Sorry for the late response. Its a genuine 4 ply Fender White Pearloid pickguard. Genuine 11 Hole USA MIM Stratocaster Pickguard Genuine 4 Ply White Pearloid SSS Shielded 11 Hole Pickguard. Fits USA, MIM 11 hole Fender Stratocasters and others. $24.95 on e bay. here is the title of the solicitation. Stratocaster Pickguard White Pearloid For Fender Stratocaster! New! Global! Although I bought mine through best buy online, back in '09 this is the same one. Hope that helps
The only roller saddles I can find are with the string spacing of American models. Did you actually find ones with mim spacing or does the deluxe version have American spacing? Thanks.
Hello from Tassie Australia cryptone007, nice guitar, I noticed your new bridge has not been set up to follow the neck profile, they look straight to me and should have a gentle curve, Intonation also looks flat they tend to step down in two groups of three, wound strings and plain strings.
Pickups, bridge, tuners and you're in, for les than $300, depending. I went with Fender vintage 57/62's, Hipshot stainless bridge with block saddles and Hipshot locking tuners. IMO the biggest change of sound is I the pickups, then the rest is on both ends of the strings. When upgrading the MIM bridge, the string width from E to e is 2 1/16" at the bridge and the MIA is 2 3/16. Fender has several good pickup options in the vintage 50's range, the difference is in their use of the Alnico 3's or 5's. I think it's more than worth it. In essence, you can upgrade a MIM better than a stock MIA. My MIM is a real player, it was about upgrading the sound. Perceptions tend to drive this market. a MIA Strat is supposed to sound better, but I'm not seeing $1,000 worth of difference between the MIM and MIA. I think the real value is in a MIM, or a used MIA.
@@valueofnothing2487 you could. But you don't have as nice of materials as far as the woods selected. Fret wire isn't as nice/durable. There are certain considerations when it comes to picking the "base" of your instrument
@@BreadandFaxes Well I put a Warmoth neck on a Rando body, which was fine and made out of real mahogany. Today I'm forced to buy light guitars. But if I wasn't, I would probably buy a Slick or an Eart with stainless steel frets. They have two models that are more expensive that have alinco pickups. Philip McKnight did a review of a Fender player and found the fret work to be just good and not great, the fret ends could use work. On the other hand, he found the Eart to be flawless, as well as the Slick. I think Fender has simply become irrelevant today. I would also consider the Yamaha 11? for $300 with Alnico pickups. Ibanez has also entered the market with their AZSES. It has 22 frets unlike the Squires absurd 21.
That may be one of the best looking strats I've seen. Sound is quite good too. I always like the Gilmour look and tone. Mine is almost there FSR MIM. I may grab the Gilmour pups individually.
@@cryptonet007 Hell with them. I know what I like. And I like that. Funny I heard people say they hated the 50s classic in red with gold parts stock. Most liked it. But I saw replies of hate. To each their own. That color looks great there. The gold stands out nicely. I might get another and do just that. For now mines the gimlourish FSR MIM you'll see on guitar center and Sam Ash etc for 599.00 and often 499.00 which I think is a steal. If it had alnicos it would be US other than the silly arguing of what factory is better. I say shit ,. Shut up to them and play. Hahahaha. Keep it up brother. You have individual taste. That blows followers out of the water. Hahaha. Peace.
fascinating string of comments here. I have a 60th anniversary Squire CV Strat that I'm thinking of upgrading. Do its dimensions differ from the guitars and their parts mentioned in this thread? Mainly concerned about the bridge, pickups and the tuners. Am assuming pickups will all fit the same on "strat" models....huh oh, assuming.......
A lot of people buy a MIM and mod it without thinking. I just picked up a 2009 MIM in excellent condition for €250. I've been playing it all the time and tweaking it for the set up that suits me. Now I can't fault the stock ceramic pickups, as the guitar sounds great. If I put stainless steel saddles on it, SD pickups, locking tuners I'm adding another €400 so that's €600 and for another €100 I'd get a used USA Strat. Is upgrading worth the money? No. If you want a 'better guitar' buy the more expensive one and save yourself a lot of hassle. And I find the stock machine heads on the MIM Strat are great simply because it stays in tune. That's all you need really. Remember the Standard is good enough for gigging, it's great value and has good resale value. It's even easier to go to a music shop and try lots of Fenders instead of modding. The goal is to find a guitar that sounds good and plays well then trade in the one you're not happy with. An expensive guitar will not make you a better player, but playing everyday will. So practice your chops and forget modding. It's just pie in the sky and once you mod one then you'll want to go higher chasing some guitar utopia. Modding is the buzz and fashion now, soon it will be playing your guitar backwards or somthing. A lot of people don't even know what they're doing. No disrespect to cryptonet007 or any one that mods, it's their own business. All I can say is ask yourself why you don't like the stock standard before rushing out to mod it. Sit down and listen carefully to it. A lot of the time it's people using cheap crappy amps and expecting great tone.
I want to do the same for my American Series stratocaster, but the bridgeplate has the holes for the intonation screws for the side of the saddle, not the center, I can't find roller saddles with the hole on the side, so I am thinking about changing the bridgeplate.........can anyone help me identify the exact name of the part from Fender, so I don't screw up
great looking guitar. I love building and modding guitars, taking a junker and making it into a playable instrument, hours of fun, but my favorite axe is my MIA deluxe strat, roller nut, 2 post floating bridge, locking tuners, noiseless pickups (except for the humbucker, it shit itself and I replaced it with a Seymour) otherwise it's perfect. To put that kind of hardware on a cheaper strat would make no sense as it would end up costing just as much, may as well spend it on a deluxe MIA.
An easy fix for out of tune Guitars with the simple Fender Trem. or factory whammy bar systems. After doing a pitch bend ( usually a downward motion ) simply try a slight pull in an upward direction. You'll find the strings will reseat themselves and there's no more tuning problems. It truly works , so just give it a try before you say No Way Man. Ok great tips and mods can be found here keep up the good work thanks for sharing
I have a 95' "text mex" strat that Jimmy Vaughn played while touring that year with the fabulous thunderbirds. He loved that guitar so much that in 96' they actually made a Jimmy Vaughn fender signiture model based on the tex-mex! I have various strats, U.S. made and have to say.... my Mexican one (of the non-modified) is the best sounding one! It's slightly heavier too. Maybe just my opinion, not fact, but I love mine.
there's a channel called Dylan talks tone. He's a custom builder and pickup manufacturer in NY. He has a whole series on guitar set up including floating the tremolo and fixing tuning instability. If you have a question, you can even text him through his Facebook page, and he'll get right back to you. He has been extremely helpful and is seriously knowledgable in the tech stuff. Good luck with your Strat, it's a nice looking ax. Hold on to it.
Shit, Im sorry, I lost my mind for a second. I did wire in the SD. Go to the SD site and click on the Hot Rails, then wiring diagram for the pickup. Read carefully as it tells you that you have to use the red wire for ground instead of the green to jive with the other two remaining pickups in the guitar. Although those pickups I have in there were the noiseless vintage, I think those are stacked humbuckers as well. Anyway try both ways and see what sounds better for you in your playing style. Later
I modded my silver 60th anniversary Strat with David Allen Stratcat pickups, Babicz full contact bridge, and Tone Shaper module. Only thing left to do is install a black pearl lid pick guard.
I've owned early 90s, mid 2000 and a recent 2014 Mexican strats. In the end, they all had terrible fret work. To me a guitar made in the US, say American Speical. The second I put my hands on it. The fret work, the feel was night and day. The frets are polished, pressed correctly into the fretboard etc. Just totally different feel.
Have you noticed a difference in tone and sustain by using the roller saddles? I was told the they deffinately affect tone but you're guitar sounds fine to me. I love the finish btw.
Maybe they were. One of them, I think the "G" tuner stripped out on me before I sold the guitar, so the set was probably a knock off Chinese copy I suspect. German stuff is way solid metal, great quality. Aren't the Schaller M6 tuners stamped Schaller?
Ya, well sometimes you have to learn the hard way. Which I certainly did. Thanks for pointing that out. I wanted to put the fender rolling nut on it at one point, but that would of been a failure too. Another reason why I sold it.
"Is it worth it?" I was thinking the same thing. Then it occurred to me, if it doesn't work I can just take the upgraded parts (that I like) and try them on the next experiment. Trial and effort... It works with the music. It'll work on the machine. In the end we're all the wiser.
the more i watch these videos about how bad mexican strats are and how many mods they need to play well..the more i LOVE the MIM strat i have. it was made in 1991 and if you know the history of the mexican shop 1990 through 1992 MIM guitars are the ones to get. mine is 100% stock except it got wiring , pots and the selector switch that have been changed thru the years. i can string it, tune it, and it stays in tune even with extensive dive bombs with the trem.. and GAWD i can't even imagine using 9's ,, i use 11 thru 52, i like a beefy sound. i remember when i was a kid strats from the factory came with 12's
Ya I think that might be the key to keeping these type of tremolos in tune. Put some heavy cables on it so it goes back to where it came from. 9's definitely don't do the trick. I have a soft touch and use Extra slinky .008's on all my double locking Floyd rose tremolos and I have no issues at all. Because of the tuning issue for me, I do not own any Fender Strats anymore, just two teles and thats it, one USA standard and one spalted maple top MIK.
cryptonet007 it can be done with the 9's, actually Ive found the lighter the string is generally the string that stays in tune best, within reason though, to thin and its a spaghetti noodle.
i use .11 .15.19p 30 .40 .50 gauge set on all my electric guitars, i dont have a tuning issue with any of them, especially my MIM strat. i was saying that there are lot of videos on here that tell you all the work you have to do to a mex strat to make it work. mine is 100% stock except for a couple of new selector switches thru the years
I have the body and neck for the MIM deluxe Strat identical to yours; Thanks for info on the upgrades. It's great info to have as I move forward with my project! BTW~ Are those saddles the same as the Dragonfire part# 2028 that says "2 3/16" string spacing is required" as found here? www.dragonfireguitars.com/Bridge-Tremolo-Roller-Saddles-Your-Choice-of-Colors-2028.htm Thanks again for the video!
A good guitar player can make any reasonable guitar sound good. I have this guitar also but with an ash body.the stock noiseless pickups are the weakest pickups I have ever heard my guitar also has sharp frets also the whamy bar is to loose when you tighten it it actually hits the tone nobs. beautiful to look at but that's it another mim. standard strat I have is an excellent guitar its a crap shoot seems like there all a bit different cheers!
In m/o Mexican strats are worth it to mod. I do have a Mexican strat sunburst that I put in Lace sensor gold pickups, Tbx control pod, changed to a different 5 way switch. My strings from 1st to 6th is, 12, 16, I change the third wound string to unwound 20, 32, 42, 52 by DAddario. Finally I hard decked the tremolo. It is a real challenge to keep those things in tune and since I am not famous I don't have a tech with the tricks of the trade working on my guitar constantly. I love the sound my guitar has and a lot of pro musicians and the famous use Mexican strats. Henry Garza, jim Vaughan, and buddy guy to name a few. These guitars are made for a working man and fun way of creating a sound unique to your tastes. Nice strat cryptonet007, very sold nice looking guitar. I think the button for bridge pickup to play with the neck pickup is cool. If you are a big bender like I am I suggest when it is time to change your frets I suggest steel jumbo. I wear out medium jumbos about every two years. takes about ten for steel.
+space ghost Hey thanks for the interesting comments! Although I like to set up my guitars to my liking, this one has been a constant struggle for me to get it right. Cosmetically, the Fender 4 ply pearloid pick guard improved the look for $85. Had to have the hole drilled on it and the frets worked on for another $100. Then the locking tuners cost $100. Rolling saddles were 30 beans, and the tusque XL nut was $30 dollars I think. Oh yeah, I forgot the Duncan Hot Rail Humbucker at around $85. String tree @ $5 plus shipping. So What we have here is a $599.00 dollar guitar (2009 price) with around $435.00 dollars in upgrades. So now Im in $1035.00. For that price I could have bought a US made 2 point trem, 22 fret strat which alone is another two upgrades. Anyway, If I could sell it tomorrow for $800 bucks It would go. Take it easy! Steve
+cryptonet007 So if you had to do the mod again, would you do it considering that you spent close to 500 bucks on a 500 buck guitar? I ask because I plan on buying one of two, a MIM strat and modded myself or a MIA strat to keep stock
+StreetArtillery Hello I'd do the MIA, unless your good at working on guitars, and you enjoy it. At the time I bought this MIM, I didnt want to pay 1k for a single guitar. After I did all the mods, I ended up paying more than that. Of my 26 guitars, only one I paid that amount, and that's my 2011 60th anniversary Fender Telecaster standard in black. Which I had a custom paisley pick guard made for it, and put the Duncan LiL'59 in the bridge. That was about a $150 combined in cost. Check my vids to see the axe if you want. Thx for the comment Take it easy!
I don't understand why the fret ends come out of the Mexico factory like that. I suspect they do that by purpose to favor sales of their american goods. It barely takes 10 minutes to file those fret ends.
Sudbury Man not exactly, the qc is lesser and the necks also tend to shrink, which means the frets need to be shaved down, its in the QC, its a cheaper guitar because they simply put less into it, still a great working guitar no doubt
Heres the deal on that Ensenada factory for me. Ive never said this but the neck pocket wasnt machined straight so when the 6th string (E) reached the high frets 12-21 it wasnt aligned and was damn near at the top of the neck/frets. It must of been put in the jig crooked when the cnc machined it. It was good enough for them to pass it. If your thinking I could of just adjusted the vintage bridge down a bit to get it centered, think again. Its got 6 screws and I could not move it at all. Then I buy a Jackson LE pro tiger stripe from sam ash, same factory, one month and where the neck joins the body, it started to develop the little cracks in the inside of the horns like Ibanez S guitars do after many years. I had to send that back. Then I buy a Jackson LE pro slime green swirl from crazy daves and guess what? The slot that is machined for the 5 way switch wasnt centered in between the (2) screw holes that hold the switch in place, so I could not get position (1) or full bridge pickup, it was hitting the end of the slot wood. Couldnt adjust the switch either. It was either send it back or lengthen the slot and ruin the paint finish. Sent the guitar back and got a replacement from that crazy dave. The replacement is ok but again the frets are now sticking out and feel sharp, and it even has binding. Check my channel and see the guitars for yourself as I did demos and unboxing. So this factory for me is a big FAIL. I will not buy another guitar from that plant
Oh and I forgot, the EVH bumble bee striped guitar I bought online at GC, well you guessed it, the fret tangs stick out so much i could probably cut somebody's throat with it. And thats a 899 dollar guitar thank you very much. Nice work guys at the ensenada plant
The is a mex strat I paid 20 at flea market and did a charger theme play amazingly _lh3.googleusercontent.com/D_xJpfCqo4RK5Kq-7kcXCr86dyOT7U17x_LAtCLP0clDe6rP3kYE5mYTExsuwV4R3BvmziaJfg_
Watch Dave's World of Fun Stuff here on YT. He'll show you the best way to set up a Strat. Remember real Fender products & Schaller products have their logo. Lots of Knock Offs around these days. Good luck. You didn't tell us the price of the Hot Rail. One note, if you use your trem & the string reads sharp, it's usually the nut slots. Tusq are good products, but some time they need tweeking too. Also your action should be 4/64" at 17th fret for all strings. Adjust the saddles appropriately, & it'll play like butter. My Telecaster (USA) is nearly 30 yrs old, I had only to intonate it. Also your action at 1st fret should be between .020 to .018. Adjusting the nut slots on an old beater acoustic I had, setting the action at .018 at 1st fret, & .080 low E at 12th fret & .070 at high E, has brought that guitar to life, it's intonated up & down the fret board, sounds great. Have fun.
that was intended as a joke, but I can say I've seen them in concert. At one point of the show people started booing, and soon to follow, leaving. Given the fact that they only have one even close to memorable song *cough cough* "Down", I wouldn't expect any less. Sure, they might have some other good songs... but who would know? there kinda irrelevant.
you buy a Mex because you want a Fender Decal - but there's no Fender parts in it - so you keep the 3 ply guard, body and neck and realize there's crap tuners and cheap hardware throughout - the trem block is light - the entire wiring needs upgrades and nothing you pull is worth anything to anybody because it's Mex - - get a used Fender USA that needs frets for $550 and you're all done for another $200 - or get a used Squier Standard or Deluxe with the 2 pivot trem like Fender USA [ Deluxe has 3 Hot Rails ! ] - you will notice that many Squiers have zero fret wear because some one gave up - touch up the fret ends and you have a new Strat for $200... add loaded pickguard and better tuners for another $250
I wanted for your sake to have this all work out excellent but I see that was not the case here. I guess it is what you pay for sometimes, but you can get lucky and find a cheap part working good ( but that's rare in my opinion ) we should invest in what we want on even a very expensive guitar if the manufacturer has not Provided it for us already, But it doesn't Pan out on cheap models the $$ we spend is pretty high, unless it is your everyday beater that you may even gig out on. I did not like the sound of that guitar I was hoping at least the Seymour Duncan would help because his Pup's are awesome, that being said I believe that after you sold this if you got a good guitar your sound is great because I did appreciate your chops on the Blues you were Playing very nice Bro...Don't give up on Videos because even if the results are poor in the end because just the experience of you putting the work in ..I am sure has helped others in many ways Thanks Again, Bro '.
Hello Jeff Nice to meet you and read your comments about the guitar and my videos. Its interesting feedback and its really appreciated. Just posted a new guitar I just bought. Its a Les Paul. Check it out if you want to. Thx
Just play the guitar I had a mexistrat and a mexitele and both were awesome. I'll play the shit out of anything and don't obsess over upgrading it because the more you play it, they wear down to what you want. Believe me.
would you say that's true for anything? not that I care about brands or high end versus low end guitars, but in your opinion would you say a shiffordable guitar like a squire etc. would gain a good sound after a good amount of play?
In 1998, when Fender first came out with the Players strat (then called the deluxe super strat), they only offered it in trans-blonde. Combined with gold hardware and tort pickguard, I thought it was gorgeous and I wanted one soooo bad (now, I think they look cheap). Fortunately, my attention was hijacked by a similar colored, used Music Man/Silhouette Special and I bought that, instead. Best decision, ever...made in USA and only cost me $850 (plus $100 for a pro fret dressing. Had it done at the MM factory, since I live nearby).
if you are going to highly moodify your fender from frets hardware to your pickups (that is the samething squier owners do) why not buy a cheaper squier deluex strat it is cheaper and they nearly identical to a fender
Squier guitars feel cheap to me in my hands. Mostly the neck. I just cant go there. I wanted to buy that gold sparkle 60 year unit a few years ago, but when I played it at GC, it was a no-go. Thx for the comment
I really don't understand why people are ugly in the comments. I just love guitars and I have found in my guitar journey that we all have something to bring to the table. I feel that we should love and support each other better than we do, after all it's all about the love of the instrument. One thing I have learned is no matter how good you are there is ALWAYS another level to go to. Please, be kind making a video is hard work!
Mark Daniel Amen to that my brother. We are all guitar playing brothers from different Mothers.
Seems like there's more and more nasty comments these days! It's sad how our society has become!
Its all about Brains. It takes time when the wires gets connected. Some earlier some later some never. Beatiful guitar. Modification is so exciting and rewarding. I do that also. Sometimes get paid also😎
your strat is beautiful. The combination of dark blue, gold, and white pearloid is gorgeous
I love the gold hardware but don’t it just bother you that the pickups and frets aren’t gold and I suppose you could put gold strings if you like any that are gold as in the way they feel sound and play
For real. Those tuners were mirror finish...super clean
I took a MIM Standard, Put a Virtual Vintage Blues 2 in bridge. Area 61 in Mid and Neck, jumper wire so mid tone pot also controls bridge ,put on locking tuners, American deluxe string tree, put foam inside the trem springs, strap locks, and bone nut. Flipping amazing
Great guitar, ya i think it's worth it for the upgrade, you made it your own, very nice work and choice of parts.
I picked up a 2002 Ice Blue Metallic HSS with Maple neck and Maple fret board at a Pawn Shop for $150, with the Fender form fit hard case. It had a bad soldering point in the jack, causing a buzz. I replaced it with a Switch Craft. I also changed it over to a Seymour Duncan SSL-1 California Classic 50's setup with a parchment colored pick guard. While I was at it I installed a Fender bone nut, Fender locking tuners, and did a fret job and setup. I'm in the guitar a total of about $350 and not only is it gorgeous, its an amazing player with wonderful tone! My go to, and favorite, electric out of the 25 or so I own.
Screw the haters, great vid man, thank you for posting it!
I did about what you did. I have a Mexican Strat, I put a titanium block on the tremolo. I did a roller nut made by fender. The roller bridge and Lace Sensors for pickups. Mine never goes out of tune because the tremolo. I did a 7 way switch like you and a coil split for the humbucker tail pickup. I play my Mexican Strat more than my 1978 MIA Strat. They don't kill you with the price of the guitar. The left over money or a little of it goes to fix stock stuff you don't like. They are great Strats, I play, work with and record more with my MIM than any other. It feels 100% my guitar.
Not just something off the rack.
That's cool. I just had a bad experience with this one. I'm glad its gone.
cryptonet007 what happened dude?
So the rollers Don't kill the sustain?
MiM Strats have a few weak points which the Fender modular construction allows you to upgrade. I did 4 things on mine....
1. New bridge.... super vee bladerunner
2. Fender noiseless pickups
3. New nut..... Tusq
4. New machine heads.... Fender lockIng.
The guitar cost me 600 incl. roland ready hex pickup and hardshell fender case, whereas the upgrades cost about $250. Now it plays like a strat worth about $1500.
Murray Rowley I have a MIM Deluxe Player’s Strat that I absolutely adore. However, it comes with vintage-style tuners which I wanted to upgrade to fender locking tuners (I have a set lying around that isn’t being used). I know I would have to drill the two guide holes for the pegs, but do you know if I would have to enlarge the actual hole itself to 10mm or if they already come as 10mm?
I have a MIM Strat can I replace the single coil pickups with humbuckers
@@ryancoburn6607 You can do whatever you want but, depending on the type of routing under the pickguard, you might have to remove some wood in order to create space for humbuckers. Then, you would need a new pick guard too.
If you don't want to remove wood, you can find ''stacked''humbuckers meaning that the 2 coils per hum buckers are one over the other instead of side by side. Seymour Ducan, Dimarzio (my choice) and others do that. You keep the guitar body intact, the same pick guard and you sound much more gibson or ibanez like. You won't ruin your guitar or yourself with some fancy products.
Eric D. My MIM is a 2006 and I was thinking about installing an SD JB4 but was wondering if I had the space for it. If not, I’ll either use a Hot Rail or JB jr, probably a Hot Rail though.
Viva la Mexico!!..👏🏾😆
Hey!!..don’t let no one tell you that you don’t know what you’re doing ‘cause that Strat sounded cool to me!...✨🎶🎸👍🏾
I’m building one this year also from scratch so wish me luck!..✌🏾✨🎶🎸
I've got one! souped it up with Seymour Duncan cool rails at the neck, Duncan's SSl's in the middle, and it came with a DiMarzio humbucker at the bridge! I run it thru my Princeton Chorus. Great sounds! very versatile. very happy! rock on!
That's the magic of Strats; you can make it your own! :) I'm thinking of relic work on my sunburst strat but only enhancing the current dings etc...
I have a Tele that was used in a band in Arkansas that has real relicking; I enhanced those and it looks great.
Enjoy your strat and detail to color palette 🎨
I got a MIM STRAT and I changed the strings for D’ADDARIO
and I play it every day
It's an amazing instrument without any mods at all. Tho, locking tuners do look good
Yup.. I practice 4 or 5 hours a day and i can attest to this. Some guys will just mod and mod and mod their guitar but actually never put any time into playing it because they think it's inferior.. Sad
Sure! MIM's are great guitars! And the best mod any guitar deserves is practice practice practice, yes sir! 💪😎🎸
Locking tuners dont just look good, the change to string height/tension and break angle at the neck/nut absolutely changed and made my MIM a real pleasure to play
well done, mate! its great to see your passion and your research... keep up with these brilliant vids!
311 blue album in the background. I wore that album out when it came out back in high school.
All mixed up :D love 311
rockstarimotski nobody loves 311
Neat opinion kid!
How did you find the bridge screw holes fitted? I’d like to get a better bridge with a push-in whammy bar and cast saddles, but am wary of buying a bridge that doesn’t quite fit, because MIM string spacing is closer than on US Strats. So I may just change the saddles, to escape the sharp protruding saddle screws and bent saddles, which I dislike - and tame the droopy whammy bar wit plummer’s tape.
It seems like the MIM bridge is a bit of a hole in the market which someone could capitalise on and make a better bridge that fits the screw holes perfectly. They are hard to find.
I just bought a beat up 96 Mexican standard strat for 300 and it's an excellent guitar.. Ceramic pickups and all.
Congratulations!
Please put some part numbers in the description.
Just to remind people that this isn't a MIM standard strat (around $580) but a MIM deluxe strat (around $750). I think deluxe is closer in quality to American strat than Mexican. Really excellent guitar. Standard is good too
I put locking tuners on my MIM strat, and changed out all the electronics for Fender Yosemite Single coils, and all USA electronics. Tusk nut, and the fret edges sanded down. Sounds and plays like a vintage strat now. Ive never played another strat that had such a dynamic sounding bridge pickup. The neck pickup sounds more "neck" than any neck pickup Ive heard.
Not a fan of the look of hot rails but that aside it's a lovely looking guitar. I went for the Graphtech string saver block saddles and swapped the nut for the Fender LSR nut and chucked in Fender locking tuners. All works great together
That sounds like a nice combination of upgrades. That lsr nut is the metallic roller nut I think. I wanted to get one but it would have cost me for a pro to install so I bailed on the idea and bought the graph tech self lubricator.
I had ordered an American standard neck for my build and had the shop install it for me, think I paid about £15. There was no way I was going to try my non skills out on a £350 neck :)
cryptonet007 the only thing about the tusq, even the pre slotted ones, a lot of times they need to be adjusted at the slots still or even they wont hold tune
That is a nice looking guitar..I’m looking to get a candy apple red Tele with a white pearl pickguard
Good on ya mate!
Great job! I have been steadily upgrading my old blacktop strat too. Turning it into a 22 fret hss tone monster 😎
Nice!!
The only non locking term that I've seen holding tune as well as a Floyd is the set up on the Jeff Beck Strat. Scott Groves and your good self have come up with set ups that are way better than the original version. I always block my trems for better tuning stability but seeing your mods has tempted into looking into doing something different with my Strat. Great clip. Really enjoyed it. Thanks from the U.K.
+Alex Hollins
Hello Alex, Thank you, and
Im glad you liked the video!
Good luck in your modification project, I hope your successful!
Take it easy
Trem set up, put an 1/8" block under the back of the bridge to body, tighten up the springs to hold the block in place, do your set up - neck relief, string action, tune the guitar, when your happy with it slacken off the springs slowly until the block just slides out - Your Done, should stay in tune now, you may need 3 or 4 springs for personal preference..
On the last bit of video using tremolo with guitar laying flat, from 8:47 the sound didn't seem right especially the 3rd string. Regards from uk.
I think your Strat looks great, thanks for your ideas. Where did you buy the pick guard / scratch plate and what is name of the sty,le, turtle shell? Thanks Craig
Hi Craig,
Sorry for the late response.
Its a genuine 4 ply Fender White Pearloid pickguard.
Genuine 11 Hole USA MIM Stratocaster Pickguard Genuine 4 Ply White Pearloid SSS Shielded 11 Hole Pickguard. Fits USA, MIM 11 hole Fender Stratocasters and others.
$24.95 on e bay. here is the title of the solicitation.
Stratocaster Pickguard White Pearloid For Fender Stratocaster! New! Global!
Although I bought mine through best buy online, back in '09 this is the same one.
Hope that helps
I have a mim Tele that I have made a few upgrades on, some improve the sound some don’t, noting wrong with that, make it your own!
don't get those roller chinese saddles... just get some graphtech string saver saddles... the tone will thank you
You got yourself a very pretty strat. Love it.
Beautiful guitar, I like the pickguard and the clean frets
Me too!
Thx
The only roller saddles I can find are with the string spacing of American models. Did you actually find ones with mim spacing or does the deluxe version have American spacing? Thanks.
The tuning stability on that is awesome!
Hello from Tassie Australia cryptone007, nice guitar, I noticed your new bridge has not been set up to follow the neck profile, they look straight to me and should have a gentle curve, Intonation also looks flat they tend to step down in two groups of three, wound strings and plain strings.
Keep an eye out on the gold finish. They usually tarnish over time.
All my Strats get SuperVee BladeRunner bridges - period. Single-best mod, bang for the buck for Stratocaster.
any videos? very curious bout supervees but all i see here are "sponsored adverts"
I''ll do a video. Stay tuned.
Dingle Berry how much did ur super vee tremelo cost u? And we're u get them from?. I'm thinking of getting one!
Gerardo Lozano direct only from SuperVee, 179.00 plus little shipping.
Dingle Berry best mod I've put in. I have a Gilmore style MIM, it plays like a USA
Pickups, bridge, tuners and you're in, for les than $300, depending. I went with Fender vintage 57/62's, Hipshot stainless bridge with block saddles and Hipshot locking tuners. IMO the biggest change of sound is I the pickups, then the rest is on both ends of the strings. When upgrading the MIM bridge, the string width from E to e is 2 1/16" at the bridge and the MIA is 2 3/16. Fender has several good pickup options in the vintage 50's range, the difference is in their use of the Alnico 3's or 5's. I think it's more than worth it. In essence, you can upgrade a MIM better than a stock MIA. My MIM is a real player, it was about upgrading the sound. Perceptions tend to drive this market. a MIA Strat is supposed to sound better, but I'm not seeing $1,000 worth of difference between the MIM and MIA. I think the real value is in a MIM, or a used MIA.
If you upgrade everything, couldn't you start with a Squire?
@@valueofnothing2487 you could. But you don't have as nice of materials as far as the woods selected. Fret wire isn't as nice/durable.
There are certain considerations when it comes to picking the "base" of your instrument
@@BreadandFaxes
Well I put a Warmoth neck on a Rando body, which was fine and made out of real mahogany.
Today I'm forced to buy light guitars. But if I wasn't, I would probably buy a Slick or an Eart with stainless steel frets. They have two models that are more expensive that have alinco pickups.
Philip McKnight did a review of a Fender player and found the fret work to be just good and not great, the fret ends could use work. On the other hand, he found the Eart to be flawless, as well as the Slick.
I think Fender has simply become irrelevant today. I would also consider the Yamaha 11? for $300 with Alnico pickups.
Ibanez has also entered the market with their AZSES. It has 22 frets unlike the Squires absurd 21.
Cool video. Will those roller saddles work on a Squire Bullet strat? Where did you buy them? Thanks
That's exactly what I was thinking. I got a neat Strat Squier for $40, so upgrading should be well worth it.
That may be one of the best looking strats I've seen. Sound is quite good too. I always like the Gilmour look and tone. Mine is almost there FSR MIM. I may grab the Gilmour pups individually.
Looks good until people start knocking gold hardware.
That's when you start to think that its cheesy.
Thx for commenting!
@@cryptonet007 Hell with them. I know what I like. And I like that. Funny I heard people say they hated the 50s classic in red with gold parts stock. Most liked it. But I saw replies of hate. To each their own. That color looks great there. The gold stands out nicely. I might get another and do just that. For now mines the gimlourish FSR MIM you'll see on guitar center and Sam Ash etc for 599.00 and often 499.00 which I think is a steal. If it had alnicos it would be US other than the silly arguing of what factory is better. I say shit ,. Shut up to them and play. Hahahaha. Keep it up brother. You have individual taste. That blows followers out of the water. Hahaha. Peace.
Would be cool too if you found some gold frets. Hahaha man. That's a bad ass strat. One of a kind.
fascinating string of comments here. I have a 60th anniversary Squire CV Strat that I'm thinking of upgrading. Do its dimensions differ from the guitars and their parts mentioned in this thread? Mainly concerned about the bridge, pickups and the tuners. Am assuming pickups will all fit the same on "strat" models....huh oh, assuming.......
A lot of people buy a MIM and mod it without thinking. I just picked up a 2009 MIM in excellent condition for €250. I've been playing it all the time and tweaking it for the set up that suits me. Now I can't fault the stock ceramic pickups, as the guitar sounds great. If I put stainless steel saddles on it, SD pickups, locking tuners I'm adding another €400 so that's €600 and for another €100 I'd get a used USA Strat. Is upgrading worth the money? No. If you want a 'better guitar' buy the more expensive one and save yourself a lot of hassle. And I find the stock machine heads on the MIM Strat are great simply because it stays in tune. That's all you need really. Remember the Standard is good enough for gigging, it's great value and has good resale value. It's even easier to go to a music shop and try lots of Fenders instead of modding. The goal is to find a guitar that sounds good and plays well then trade in the one you're not happy with. An expensive guitar will not make you a better player, but playing everyday will. So practice your chops and forget modding. It's just pie in the sky and once you mod one then you'll want to go higher chasing some guitar utopia. Modding is the buzz and fashion now, soon it will be playing your guitar backwards or somthing. A lot of people don't even know what they're doing. No disrespect to cryptonet007 or any one that mods, it's their own business. All I can say is ask yourself why you don't like the stock standard before rushing out to mod it. Sit down and listen carefully to it. A lot of the time it's people using cheap crappy amps and expecting great tone.
I think you dud a great job. Nice Strat.
I want to do the same for my American Series stratocaster, but the bridgeplate has the holes for the intonation screws for the side of the saddle, not the center, I can't find roller saddles with the hole on the side, so I am thinking about changing the bridgeplate.........can anyone help me identify the exact name of the part from Fender, so I don't screw up
great looking guitar. I love building and modding guitars, taking a junker and making it into a playable instrument, hours of fun, but my favorite axe is my MIA deluxe strat, roller nut, 2 post floating bridge, locking tuners, noiseless pickups (except for the humbucker, it shit itself and I replaced it with a Seymour) otherwise it's perfect. To put that kind of hardware on a cheaper strat would make no sense as it would end up costing just as much, may as well spend it on a deluxe MIA.
No brass trem block? I put Schallers on a Squier back in the late 80s. I seem to remember a big fat "S" on them, and I think "Made in Germany."
Kewl!
An easy fix for out of tune Guitars with the simple Fender Trem. or factory whammy bar systems. After doing a pitch bend ( usually a downward motion ) simply try a slight pull in an upward direction. You'll find the strings will reseat themselves and there's no more tuning problems. It truly works , so just give it a try before you say No Way Man. Ok great tips and mods can be found here keep up the good work thanks for sharing
It works to a point, not for severe abuse most of the time in my own experience
I have a 95' "text mex" strat that Jimmy Vaughn played while touring that year with the fabulous thunderbirds. He loved that guitar so much that in 96' they actually made a Jimmy Vaughn fender signiture model based on the tex-mex! I have various strats, U.S. made and have to say.... my Mexican one (of the non-modified) is the best sounding one! It's slightly heavier too. Maybe just my opinion, not fact, but I love mine.
there's a channel called Dylan talks tone. He's a custom builder and pickup manufacturer in NY. He has a whole series on guitar set up including floating the tremolo and fixing tuning instability. If you have a question, you can even text him through his Facebook page, and he'll get right back to you. He has been extremely helpful and is seriously knowledgable in the tech stuff. Good luck with your Strat, it's a nice looking ax. Hold on to it.
I had a Mexican Strat and it was one of my best ones all stock and sounded way better and played better than my American Standard.
I think they're hit or miss
Sounds great! Good work.
Cool, Thx!
Do you still have the wiring diagram for that? I am planning on wiring this exactly the same so long as it auto-splits in position 4.
+cryptonet007 thanks, I didn't know the players strat came in hss
Shit, Im sorry, I lost my mind for a second. I did wire in the SD. Go to the SD site and click on the Hot Rails, then wiring diagram for the pickup. Read carefully as it tells you that you have to use the red wire for ground instead of the green to jive with the other two remaining pickups in the guitar. Although those pickups I have in there were the noiseless vintage, I think those are stacked humbuckers as well. Anyway try both ways and see what sounds better for you in your playing style.
Later
I modded my silver 60th anniversary Strat with David Allen Stratcat pickups, Babicz full contact bridge, and Tone Shaper module. Only thing left to do is install a black pearl lid pick guard.
I have that same guitar, color & all. You got me thinking!
Great video. I see it stays in tune very well when you dive bomb. How well does it stay in tune when you pull up on the bar?
I've owned early 90s, mid 2000 and a recent 2014 Mexican strats. In the end, they all had terrible fret work. To me a guitar made in the US, say American Speical. The second I put my hands on it. The fret work, the feel was night and day. The frets are polished, pressed correctly into the fretboard etc. Just totally different feel.
I switched the rollers with guitar strings ball ends they're smaller and the actually roll
Can you PLEASE give the name of these saddles ?
Who makes the trem? Any link? Thank you
Have you noticed a difference in tone and sustain by using the roller saddles? I was told the they deffinately affect tone but you're guitar sounds fine to me. I love the finish btw.
Hi,
Not to much in the tone category, but mostly helps the tuning stability!
I saw in the back of the room a Kramer satchel, you like it?
Yes Its a nice guitar!
where can I buy that bridge tremolo
Very nice guitar!
Looks badass!!
Those look like Schaller M6 locking tuners. If you check out Shcaller F locking tuners they will retrofit the Fenders.
Maybe they were. One of them, I think the "G" tuner stripped out on me before I sold the guitar, so the set was probably a knock off Chinese copy I suspect. German stuff is way solid metal, great quality. Aren't the Schaller M6 tuners stamped Schaller?
I've seen Schallers that are marked and some that are not. But yes if the things are too cheap on E-Bay they may not be genuine.
What’s the music in the background
Why did you put in a hot rails bridge pickup?
For fun
cryptonet007 Did your tone change with the new change?
Doesn't make much difference having roller bridge on a Strat or any other guitar unless you have a locking tremolo, which you don't have.
Ya, well sometimes you have to learn the hard way. Which I certainly did. Thanks for pointing that out. I wanted to put the fender rolling nut on it at one point, but that would of been a failure too. Another reason why I sold it.
Flyers 50 i have neither, stays in tune great
Flyers 50 if you use a roller nut and locking staggered tuners it does.
"Is it worth it?" I was thinking the same thing. Then it occurred to me, if it doesn't work I can just take the upgraded parts (that I like) and try them on the next experiment.
Trial and effort... It works with the music. It'll work on the machine. In the end we're all the wiser.
Name of the saddles?
the more i watch these videos about how bad mexican strats are and how many mods they need to play well..the more i LOVE the MIM strat i have. it was made in 1991 and if you know the history of the mexican shop 1990 through 1992 MIM guitars are the ones to get. mine is 100% stock except it got wiring , pots and the selector switch that have been changed thru the years. i can string it, tune it, and it stays in tune even with extensive dive bombs with the trem.. and GAWD i can't even imagine using 9's ,, i use 11 thru 52, i like a beefy sound. i remember when i was a kid strats from the factory came with 12's
Ya I think that might be the key to keeping these type of tremolos in tune. Put some heavy cables on it so it goes back to where it came from. 9's definitely don't do the trick. I have a soft touch and use Extra slinky .008's on all my double locking Floyd rose tremolos and I have no issues at all. Because of the tuning issue for me, I do not own any Fender Strats anymore, just two teles and thats it, one USA standard and one spalted maple top MIK.
cryptonet007 it can be done with the 9's, actually Ive found the lighter the string is generally the string that stays in tune best, within reason though, to thin and its a spaghetti noodle.
i use .11 .15.19p 30 .40 .50 gauge set on all my electric guitars, i dont have a tuning issue with any of them, especially my MIM strat. i was saying that there are lot of videos on here that tell you all the work you have to do to a mex strat to make it work. mine is 100% stock except for a couple of new selector switches thru the years
That MIM deluxe players strat is good by itself
I have the body and neck for the MIM deluxe Strat identical to yours; Thanks for info on the upgrades. It's great info to have as I move forward with my project!
BTW~ Are those saddles the same as the Dragonfire part# 2028 that says "2 3/16" string spacing is required" as found here?
www.dragonfireguitars.com/Bridge-Tremolo-Roller-Saddles-Your-Choice-of-Colors-2028.htm
Thanks again for the video!
Those should work fine,
Good luck
Thanks!
Your video was quite helpful.
see how thin the paint job is. fender are tight when it comes to paint. terrible finish, mine has the same.
It looks super great, I am doing the same with mine, add some gold parts.
Kool!
A good guitar player can make any reasonable guitar sound good. I have this guitar also but with an ash body.the stock noiseless pickups are the weakest pickups I have ever heard my guitar also has sharp frets also the whamy bar is to loose when you tighten it it actually hits the tone nobs. beautiful to look at but that's it another mim. standard strat I have is an excellent guitar its a crap shoot seems like there all a bit different cheers!
Can you send me the link for buy this ?
No
Check out the Floyd rose Rail Tail trem -- I just did a review on it on my channel. I think it's even better than the blade runner.
In m/o Mexican strats are worth it to mod. I do have a Mexican strat sunburst that I put in Lace sensor gold pickups, Tbx control pod, changed to a different 5 way switch. My strings from 1st to 6th is, 12, 16, I change the third wound string to unwound 20, 32, 42, 52 by DAddario. Finally I hard decked the tremolo. It is a real challenge to keep those things in tune and since I am not famous I don't have a tech with the tricks of the trade working on my guitar constantly. I love the sound my guitar has and a lot of pro musicians and the famous use Mexican strats. Henry Garza, jim Vaughan, and buddy guy to name a few. These guitars are made for a working man and fun way of creating a sound unique to your tastes. Nice strat cryptonet007, very sold nice looking guitar. I think the button for bridge pickup to play with the neck pickup is cool. If you are a big bender like I am I suggest when it is time to change your frets I suggest steel jumbo. I wear out medium jumbos about every two years. takes about ten for steel.
+space ghost
Hey thanks for the interesting comments! Although I like to set up my guitars to my liking, this one has been a constant struggle for me to get it right. Cosmetically, the Fender 4 ply pearloid pick guard improved the look for $85. Had to have the hole drilled on it and the frets worked on for another $100. Then the locking tuners cost $100. Rolling saddles were 30 beans, and the tusque XL nut was $30 dollars I think. Oh yeah, I forgot the Duncan Hot Rail Humbucker at around $85. String tree @ $5 plus shipping. So What we have here is a $599.00 dollar guitar (2009 price) with around $435.00 dollars in upgrades. So now Im in $1035.00. For that price I could have bought a US made 2 point trem, 22 fret strat which alone is another two upgrades. Anyway, If I could sell it tomorrow for $800 bucks It would go. Take it easy!
Steve
+cryptonet007 So if you had to do the mod again, would you do it considering that you spent close to 500 bucks on a 500 buck guitar? I ask because I plan on buying one of two, a MIM strat and modded myself or a MIA strat to keep stock
+StreetArtillery
Hello
I'd do the MIA, unless your good at working on guitars, and you enjoy it. At the time I bought this MIM, I didnt want to pay 1k for a single guitar. After I did all the mods, I ended up paying more than that. Of my 26 guitars, only one I paid that amount, and that's my 2011 60th anniversary Fender Telecaster standard in black. Which I had a custom paisley pick guard made for it, and put the Duncan LiL'59 in the bridge. That was about a $150 combined in cost. Check my vids to see the axe if you want.
Thx for the comment
Take it easy!
Absolutely gorgeous guitar. It's too bad you decided to sell it. I would have held onto this one.
I don't understand why the fret ends come out of the Mexico factory like that. I suspect they do that by purpose to favor sales of their american goods. It barely takes 10 minutes to file those fret ends.
Sudbury Man not exactly, the qc is lesser and the necks also tend to shrink, which means the frets need to be shaved down, its in the QC, its a cheaper guitar because they simply put less into it, still a great working guitar no doubt
Heres the deal on that Ensenada factory for me. Ive never said this but the neck pocket wasnt machined straight so when the 6th string (E) reached the high frets 12-21 it wasnt aligned and was damn near at the top of the neck/frets. It must of been put in the jig crooked when the cnc machined it. It was good enough for them to pass it. If your thinking I could of just adjusted the vintage bridge down a bit to get it centered, think again. Its got 6 screws and I could not move it at all. Then I buy a Jackson LE pro tiger stripe from sam ash, same factory, one month and where the neck joins the body, it started to develop the little cracks in the inside of the horns like Ibanez S guitars do after many years. I had to send that back. Then I buy a Jackson LE pro slime green swirl from crazy daves and guess what? The slot that is machined for the 5 way switch wasnt centered in between the (2) screw holes that hold the switch in place, so I could not get position (1) or full bridge pickup, it was hitting the end of the slot wood. Couldnt adjust the switch either. It was either send it back or lengthen the slot and ruin the paint finish. Sent the guitar back and got a replacement from that crazy dave. The replacement is ok but again the frets are now sticking out and feel sharp, and it even has binding. Check my channel and see the guitars for yourself as I did demos and unboxing. So this factory for me is a big FAIL. I will not buy another guitar from that plant
Oh and I forgot, the EVH bumble bee striped guitar I bought online at GC, well you guessed it, the fret tangs stick out so much i could probably cut somebody's throat with it. And thats a 899 dollar guitar thank you very much. Nice work guys at the ensenada plant
No name on the tuners?? Very suspicious. But they look nice. Maybe Gotoh?
Nah I think they were knock-offs from china
I remember the hot rails. Had one in the 90s. Butt ugly but fun pickup as I recall.
I say just save up for a used american standard. Still very cool video, I like the pickups and bridge.
totally love the concpt i do a super strat with lic floyde killer
Cool!
Have you checked out any of my creation ?
The is a mex strat I paid 20 at flea market and did a charger theme play amazingly
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The rollers
Home made p bass hardtack maple
_lh3.googleusercontent.com/4Bs9KZOWcL9ywUmclD6gxU2NfaCiD50JvjUrEr5iyuHRxs3QNNIy5mAACE308pvptzN-hFiVRw_
Watch Dave's World of Fun Stuff here on YT. He'll show you the best way to set up a Strat. Remember real Fender products & Schaller products have their logo. Lots of Knock Offs around these days. Good luck. You didn't tell us the price of the Hot Rail. One note, if you use your trem & the string reads sharp, it's usually the nut slots. Tusq are good products, but some time they need tweeking too. Also your action should be 4/64" at 17th fret for all strings. Adjust the saddles appropriately, & it'll play like butter. My Telecaster (USA) is nearly 30 yrs old, I had only to intonate it. Also your action at 1st fret should be between .020 to .018. Adjusting the nut slots on an old beater acoustic I had, setting the action at .018 at 1st fret, & .080 low E at 12th fret & .070 at high E, has brought that guitar to life, it's intonated up & down the fret board, sounds great. Have fun.
that was intended as a joke, but I can say I've seen them in concert. At one point of the show people started booing, and soon to follow, leaving. Given the fact that they only have one even close to memorable song *cough cough* "Down", I wouldn't expect any less.
Sure, they might have some other good songs... but who would know? there kinda irrelevant.
you buy a Mex because you want a Fender Decal - but there's no Fender parts in it - so you keep the 3 ply guard, body and neck and realize there's crap tuners and cheap hardware throughout - the trem block is light - the entire wiring needs upgrades and nothing you pull is worth anything to anybody because it's Mex - - get a used Fender USA that needs frets for $550 and you're all done for another $200 - or get a used Squier Standard or Deluxe with the 2 pivot trem like Fender USA [ Deluxe has 3 Hot Rails ! ] - you will notice that many Squiers have zero fret wear because some one gave up - touch up the fret ends and you have a new Strat for $200...
add loaded pickguard and better tuners for another $250
That's a very informative reply.
Thank you!
Maybe a Super Vee Bridge?
Good job
Beautiful!
Damn man. You coulda bought allparts locking tuners for about 45 bucks. They look exactly the same. Sweet looking guitar though.
Looks sexy I’m thinking of copying it luv the gold the only thing I want different is festa red
Cool, what color is festa red?
Those tuners are NOT Fender/Schaller locking tuners! The real part uses no screws and is a direct drop in for MIM and MIA standards.
Totally, our manufactury is better than chinese everybody buy mexican fender guitars
I wanted for your sake to have this all work out excellent but I see that was not the case here. I guess it is what you pay for sometimes, but you can get lucky and find a cheap part working good ( but that's rare in my opinion ) we should invest in what we want on even a very expensive guitar if the manufacturer has not Provided it for us already, But it doesn't Pan out on cheap models the $$ we spend is pretty high, unless it is your everyday beater that you may even gig out on. I did not like the sound of that guitar I was hoping at least the Seymour Duncan would help because his Pup's are awesome, that being said I believe that after you sold this if you got a good guitar your sound is great because I did appreciate your chops on the Blues you were Playing very nice Bro...Don't give up on Videos because even if the results are poor in the end because just the experience of you putting the work in ..I am sure has helped others in many ways Thanks Again, Bro '.
Hello Jeff
Nice to meet you and read your comments about the guitar and my videos. Its interesting feedback and
its really appreciated. Just posted a new guitar I just bought. Its a Les Paul. Check it out if you want to.
Thx
Just play the guitar I had a mexistrat and a mexitele and both were awesome. I'll play the shit out of anything and don't obsess over upgrading it because the more you play it, they wear down to what you want. Believe me.
would you say that's true for anything? not that I care about brands or high end versus low end guitars, but in your opinion would you say a shiffordable guitar like a squire etc. would gain a good sound after a good amount of play?
i think you need to play all guitars before you buy them, never buy one online.
7:34 is when you hear him play. You are welcome
scott grove? well alrighty then.....
In 1998, when Fender first came out with the Players strat (then called the deluxe super strat), they only offered it in trans-blonde. Combined with gold hardware and tort pickguard, I thought it was gorgeous and I wanted one soooo bad (now, I think they look cheap). Fortunately, my attention was hijacked by a similar colored, used Music Man/Silhouette Special and I bought that, instead. Best decision, ever...made in USA and only cost me $850 (plus $100 for a pro fret dressing. Had it done at the MM factory, since I live nearby).
if you are going to highly moodify your fender from frets hardware to your pickups (that is the samething squier owners do) why not buy a cheaper squier deluex strat it is cheaper and they nearly identical to a fender
Squier guitars feel cheap to me in my hands. Mostly the neck. I just cant go there. I wanted to buy that gold sparkle 60 year unit a few years ago, but when I played it at GC, it was a no-go.
Thx for the comment
American Patriot the Squier is a turde. All the hardware is Shit the electronics are shit and they are a bitch to work on.
What god is this guitar for? The money spent on this is insane.
It'll be on Craigslist for $600 less than he's put into it