Mexican Fenders

Clarky

a pal of mine is asking me what's the difference between a USA and Mex Fender

I have a USA.. but I've never played a Mex so I don't really know

I'd imagine it'd be things like build quality and materials..

thoughts guys??

Richardj

Wood and hardware on USA is a bit better, as can be electrics/pickups etc.  Actual fit and finish not much to choose between the two until you go Deluxe/Elite series and upwards.

Well documented that if there are machine issues at either plant work can be shipped to the other.  You can have US guitars machined and possibly finished in Mexico and then assembled in the US.  Or certainly could, this might of course have changed.

Calling @MattFGBI.

EricTheWeary

I looked it up once, I think there's something like 75 miles between the two factories. 

bluechargeboy

Rolled fretboard edges on the MIA is the big noticeable difference for me. Not worth £700 extra though!

MattFGBI

Everything is different. 

The wood selection on US product is better, most of the hardware and pickups on US is made in the Corona factory. US made is just better all round in terms of materials and specification. 

The build quality is comparable. We've been making guitars in Mexico for a long time so the guys there are very good at what they do. 

Philly_Q

bluechargeboy said:

Rolled fretboard edges on the MIA is the big noticeable difference for me. 

Agreed.  It's a small but irritatingly noticeable detail.

But generally, the build quality has improved a lot over the years and in those terms I don't think there's much to choose between Mexico and USA now.  Of course there are Mexican Fenders aimed at different price points just as there are in the USA Fender range, but I think the top of the range MIM models - Classics and Classic Players - run the bottom of the range USA models - American Specials and Standards - very close indeed.

I wonder what Donald Trump thinks?

dern

I tried loads of telecasters at guitar village and although I don't have a lot of experience I didn't find a massive amount of difference between then although the details got slightly better the more you paid. The one that really stood out for me was the Japanese made one that I bought. There was more difference between two supposedly identical lp studios I also tried out than all of the telecasters. I wanted the red one but bought the black one at it played really nicely while the red one played like an absolute dogs breakfast. Gibson should get fender to do their quality control IMO.

Sambostar

On the standards the biggest thing that struck me is the bridge, it is cheaper and has a closer string spacing and hole spacing on the MIM's.  Although some cheap USA's like the Highway One etc have the correct hole spacing but close string spacing and the MIM Classic 50's and '60's series have both, the holes and string spacing the same as a USA, but a cheaper bridge.

Other than that and obvious hardware differences I really don't think there is that much in it to be honest.

Perhaps the wood is better on the USA's although I don't buy that looking at some of the grain of the neck and parts of the bodies of USA's.  Certainly the pickups and hardware are a lot better, that is a given.

But you can make a great guitar out of a Classic Series I think.  Those USA bridges, decent pups and tuners ain't cheap though.

Also paint, I assume USA's use nitro over a poly base, where as MIM are all Poly.

My favourite necks are MIM.

Teetonetal

My mim tele is a wonderful think. New pups and it's as good as any USA guitar I've played. Just a lot cheaper.

ICBM

I think the Mexican Classic series are better than any USA Fender below the Custom Shop. You can even get some of the models with nitro finishes now, if you like that.

I accept what Matt says about wood selection and hardware quality, but the Mexican ones just feel better to me, and possibly sound better although that's not a fair comparison really because the pickup types are different. I've owned USA Standards in the past and didn't really like them, although I did like *some* aspects of them better than some of the Mexican ones.

The lower Mexican series aren't as good, but at the price points they're made to they're not meant to be.

Same with the amps. There is still some snobbery about Mexican-made versions of amps that used to be made in the USA (eg the Hotrods) but in my experience the Mexican ones are slightly better made and more reliable.

sweepy

Different fret wire on the Mexican compared to the US Strats , the Mexican is a lot softer

nick_s

I've had my fair share of both US and Mexican Fenders (admittedly all Strats), and they were all superb guitars.

Noticeable differences for me was the weight (Mexican bodies have always been heavier), as mentioned the rolled board edges and of course pickups. 

Electronics is an interesting one as my old MIA Deluxe Strat ran Vintage Noiseless pickups which I didn't care for a whole lot.  Don't get me wrong, they were great pickups but tonally not for me.  My MIM Sambora runs a DiMarzio PAF Pro in the bridge which is a killer pickup.  The hotter single coils aren't that great, a bit dull and lacking clarity.  The 57/62 pickups in my 60th Anniversary MIM are simply killer pickups in every position.

I can't say I spotted a great deal (if any) difference in build quality between any of my Strats, they've all been bang on.

phase3

Pretty difficult question to answer as it's totally dependant on model , year , pot luck etc etc. If it's a new guitar he's after then it's easier to define the differences ...whether that makes one guitar better than the other is a different matter. Second hand?  it's a lottery, there are some really good and bad guitars from both factories and they most certainly did share bodies and necks.  In 2008 when the road worn series came out, i went to a well known guitar shop and played a road worn tele against 4 custom shop tele's  - the cheapest being just over 2 grand.  I asked the staff to walk to away and look the other way... i played same thing on all 5 through same amp etc.  They ALL picked the road worn by a country mile on sound quality. Actually it played the best as well ...so i of course bought it. Then sold it some years later for a Nash 52T ... which really wasn't any better ... just had a bad attack of gas.

GuitarMonkey

I think the Mexican guitars feel more like an old Strat, rather than what the USA models have evolved into.

Philly_Q

Any thoughts on MIM vs MIJ?

I've only owned a couple of Japanese Fenders so I'm no expert, but it seemed to me they were better built than MIM - almost flawless, in fact - but didn't actually feel or sound as good.  Might've been partly due to basswood bodies, I think, I'm no fan of basswood.

HAL9000

I own a US Tele and a MiM Strat. Build quality is probably better on the Mex, but hardware is better on the US. Both great guitars. At the moment the Mex is my go to.

ICBM

Philly_Q said:

Any thoughts on MIM vs MIJ?

I've only owned a couple of Japanese Fenders so I'm no expert, but it seemed to me they were better built than MIM - almost flawless, in fact - but didn't actually feel or sound as good.

I completely agree. I've never really liked Japanese Fenders, despite the high quality and that I like some other Japanese guitars. I don't think they feel as good at the Mexican ones, the electrics are mostly worse and they don't sound as 'right' somehow.

littlethoughts

I have had American, Japanese, Mexican and Korean Fender badged guitars. I now have three Mexicans - a stratocaster, telecaster and cabronita bass. I liked the mexican instruments the most and after replacing pickups and pots in the strat and tele I'm very happy with the pair of them (not that they weren't good beforehand), and I have no plans to buy anything fancier unless it was for a very fine price.

Teetonetal

Mim now better than mij in my opinion. Unless you buy higher end mij.

Alterlifeson

I've played a few American Strats and Teles yet own 2 MIM models. The specs I was after for both of them would have forced me to go into American Vintage money, which s pretty much 4x the price I paid for the Tele. (2nd hand RoadWorn). The American Vintage stuff is very nice and worthy what you pay for it, but I'm just as happy with my 2 Mexican models. (Both nitro, vintage specs)

Fuzzdog

Ask that question a few years ago and there would have been a huge list of differences.  These days the Mexis have improved so much that it pretty much comes down to individual taste and just how much you like the 'Made in USA' decal.

Honestly, the Classic Player 50's Strat I bought a couple of months ago is one of the best Strats I've ever owned, and I've had more US Fenders than I can shake a stick at.  Yes, it needed a little tweaking and a small upgrade or two, but then so have all my US Fenders to get them exactly how I like them.

Played a Classic 60's recently which really did blow me away, was absolutely everything I like in a Strat.  If you had stuck an extra 1 on the front of the price and stuck a 'Made in USA' decal on the headstock, I'd really not have even raised an eyebrow.