Upgrading Mexican Strat vs. Buying an American Strat

[PeteManic]

Hi guys! First post! And it's a biggie!

Ok, so I have a MiM strat that has certain sentimental value.

I'm thinking of upgrading it - roasted maple neck with new nut, new tuners, new bridge, new wiring, new pots, new PUPs etc

I know the real answer is probably "it depends" BUT would you invest this money in upgrading the MiM, or would it just be a better idea to buy a secondhand American Strat?

The biggest hump I'm trying to get over is that I bought the guitar new for around £500 in 2006 and the roasted maple Fender necks are around £300!

Just looking for your stories if you've done similar?

Cheers!

 

[guitarchaeologist]

Well, to me it seems simple. The only parts you plan to keep of the MIM are the body & input jack, so why bother.... just buy a different guitar.

 

[misterwogan]

would you invest this money in upgrading the MiM

No.

 

[Jigawatt]

I think if you really want to buy all these parts you might as well buy another body at the same time and just build a parts guitar. Keep the mexi as it is. Two guitars.

 

[Gridlock]

Keep the MIM Strat but also buy a used American Standard Strat ($800 used all day long).

 

[nadzab]

Agree with the above. After the changes you're proposing, you'll pretty much have a different guitar, especially with a neck swap - so if it has sentimental value, I'd keep it as-is and buy a new guitar. If you're planning to keep all the MIM parts so that it could be restored to its original state, that might be a different story.

 

[sgarnett]

You need to decide what problems you are trying to fix. You can’t just back up the truck full of goodness for a fill-up. Or to put it another way, what are you looking for in a guitar? What kind of frets do you like? Neck shape? Tone? Is there a model that comes close?

if you are set on a roasted maple neck, then maybe buying a new guitar doesn’t make sense either, unless you get an FSR that came with a roasted neck originally.

Maybe you would be better off buying a loaded body from stratosphere and putting a neck on it.

Just remember that the resale value of a partscaster is rarely even close to what it costs to build them.

 

[slowesthand]

Hi guys! First post! And it's a biggie!

Ok, so I have a MiM strat that has certain sentimental value.

I'm thinking of upgrading it - roasted maple neck with new nut, new tuners, new bridge, new wiring, new pots, new PUPs etc

I know the real answer is probably "it depends" BUT would you invest this money in upgrading the MiM, or would it just be a better idea to buy a secondhand American Strat?

The biggest hump I'm trying to get over is that I bought the guitar new for around £500 in 2006 and the roasted maple Fender necks are around £300!

Just looking for your stories if you've done similar?

Cheers!

Too many upgrades to justify.
Upgrade the bridge block....cheap and easy to do.
Maybe pickups if you want something cleaner and more articulate.
Maybe locking tuners.

Anything beyond that and you really would be much better off looking at a different guitar.

 

[Thrup'ny Bit]

It would be a waste of both your time and your money. Hang it on the wall and buy the guitar you actually want.

 

[jrbirdman]

with all these upgrades?, it will only be a partscaster.
@Jigawatt is on the right track about buying a body and building your guitar if you desire this customizations.
Although buying a USA model (like from the professional line) would be my target. These are really nice guitars with great necks.

Welcome to ST...hope all goes well for you.

 

[RadioFM74]

I second everyone else’s sentiment. If you don’t need to sell it, keep it … but buy another guitar. You’d spend perhaps a little more, but by “upgrading” your MIM so radically you’d be losing a lot of resale value and not have the same guitar anymore.

I’ve had the same dilemma twice. Both times I sold the guitar and got me a new one I liked better. Happy both times – zero regrets.

EDIT: oh, and welcome!

 

[El_Pistolero]

At that point you're a pickguard, jack, and body away from a new guitar. Might be best to buy another. Best of luck and enjoy.

 

[jrbirdman]

My guitar tech once told me "no matter what upgrades you make to your MIM, it will still only be a made in Mexico guitar"...black hole!

sentiments is much deeper...

 

[charlie chitlin]

If you replace the neck, how much of your sentimental value will remain? Unless you make a little shrine for the neck, or something.
There's a guy who has George Washington's original axe.
The head has been replaced 3x and the handle 7x....but it's the original one!
And think of why you want to upgrade.
I recently scored a Custom Shop Strat.
Probably worth 2-2500.
I'll probably flip it because, overall, I don't like it any better than my MIM Jimmie Vaughan.

 

[jvin248]

.

If you do all the typical mods that forum posters say 'ya gotta do!' then yes, you should just buy the MIA model.

However, Here are the mods for the MIM that will make it a much better player.

-Level the frets which also gets a full deep setup, highest value mod you can do to any guitar. This will be needed anyway on a new neck. You now have custom shop level playability, or at least as good as the guitar tech you find. Try for one who levels with string tension in mind.
-Shielded cable to the jack
-I put an Armstrong Blender mod in my SSS Strats, second tone pot blends between SSS and HSH. wiring only change.
-Use pot and cap swaps to push any tone problems around, not pickups swaps.
-Lower the stock MIM pickups to the pickguard, 1/8th inch height difference means a lot of tone change, especially if you have the older ceramic pickups. Ceramic pickups are better for rock and blues as you have more height vs power adjustment than Alnico. Use your ears to set heights, not factory specs (that were written for alnico not ceramic).
-Alter your new string installation process, wrap posts three times, thread and pull taught the string through the post hole, a couple of knob turns it is up to pitch. Practically as fast as locking tuners. Learned from a Roadie guitar tech. No measuring no plastic cranks. done.
-Graphite powder in the nut slots, saddles, any friction points. no grease as that collects dirt and friction. Then you don't need special nuts.
-I deck or block the trem as I find they are a huge distraction to playing and then to tuning. Wood Blocking gives better results than a big steel trem swap.

That's about it. MIM models are a great value and are solid players.

Last mod I did to my main MIM player Strat was a new Tort guard with a reverse Hendrix angled bridge slot for $10 off ebay. It changes the tone. Gives more insight into the Hendrix Experience. I'll probably move the volume pot further from the strings to get more playing room opened up like playing my Teles, which will require a stacked concentric tone pot to have tone and blender controls.

.

 

[33db]

Won't be the same guitar when you're so nothing to be sentimental about, buy another guitar instead.

 

[PeteManic]

Thanks for the many many replies!

New guitar it is!!! I shall go tell the wife! Pray for me.

 

[BallisticSquid]

Thanks for the many many replies!

New guitar it is!!! I shall go tell the wife! Pray for me.

Good luck!!!

Welcome to the asylum!

Especially since the MiM guitar has sentimental value, I'd leave it as is.

 

[sgarnett]

Get a set of nut files and learn to use them. I like the double sided files from Stewmac. All three of my Strats (two MIM, one American) had the action height at the nut set fine from the factory, but all three had slots that stick and/or buzz. A little slot cleanup work, without actually lowering the action, can do wonders for the tone, trem pitch stability, and sometimes even intonation.

Graphite does help, but it does not reduce the importance of the slot shape.

In other words, the whole slot matters, not just the front edge, and there’s a good chance they need work.

In fact, the difference that a good setup (all of it, not just the nut) to playability AND tone is remarkable. That goes for American strats too.

 

[Tuner Sandwich]

Depends on the situation.

I bought my MIM Standard new for $299 in late 2000, early 2001. The depreciation on $300 dollars over close to 20 years makes it basically a free guitar at this point.

So spending a couple bucks on upgrades here or there over time is really no big deal or expense.

Over time, I put less than $200 into upgrades.

So, ignoring inflation, that's $500 over 20 years or $25 a year. No big deal.

Would I buy one brand new and immediately upgrade everything? No, I'd go with a model more to my needs stock. And then do incremental upgrades over the coming years as needed or wanted.