New Fender Blacktop series

[line6man]

Always liked most of the MIM line for what they were, until that last price hike. When they were retailing at $400 you could sometimes get one for $330 ish or even less. Drop in new tuners, replace the nut, and swap out the pickups & electronics and you typically have a pretty decent guitar. But at $500 it's just too much with all the options out there.

In the middle at $450 is probably where they get the most return but doesn't do much for me. But I do like Fenders, humbucker setups, and things that are cheap & the silver jag isn't bad. My problem is I'd probably wind up putting a Warmoth Pro neck on it later anyway.

What's wrong with the tuners?

I've never had any trouble staying in tune with mine.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Whoa - they've got covered strat pickups and amp knobs on that Strat? Yuck. Way the wrong guitar for that

Gibson's "Keep it Phresh" department has been hired on at Fender.  To compete with the Gibson Strat, coming this Fall, the Fender Les Paul.

 

[jay4321]

What's wrong with the tuners?

I've never had any trouble staying in tune with mine.

I have, in one case one got all stripped out and was unusable within a couple of months and another was missing a washer. Those are an automatic upgrade for me (along with that "synthetic bone" nut).

 

[bigguspickus]

Hmm, what would a Strat with humbuckers sound like...

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsNdCZSTqdo[/youtube]

 

[Jet-Jaguar]

This is just more cheap, low-end junk from Fender. For about $150 more you could build a 2 HB Warmoth Strat or Tele if you finished it yourself....

Normally, I'd disagree with you.  But there are some very nice, inexpensive bodies on the showcase right now.

 

[Cagey]

This is just more cheap, low-end junk from Fender. For about $150 more you could build a 2 HB Warmoth Strat or Tele if you finished it yourself....

Normally, I'd disagree with you.  But there are some very nice, inexpensive bodies on the showcase right now.

Those are always tempting, but finishing is fraught with opportunities to either wreck a piece or create more work. Even if you're all set up for it and good at it, it's time-consuming and error-prone. Being good at it just means you make less errors, not that you don't make any. That's why it always costs so much. I'll bet if you went through Fender's costs on a line-item basis, the finish would be the most expensive part of any of their instruments. Everything else is more or less automated, shy of a little oversight and touch up or adjustment.

 

[tfarny]

This one probably cost around $700, the body is extra-light about $200, and it has three Lollar pickups in it. $450 for that MIM fender plus another $150 for a pair of Dimarzios to make it playable, plus a $100 fret job, makes $700.

The finish on mine probably took three / four hours tops.

I don't understand why anybody on this board would be tempted by a cheap mexi strat with pickups they know will suck.

 

[bagman67]

Hmm, what would a Strat with humbuckers sound like...

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsNdCZSTqdo[/youtube]

I've heard Jimmy Herring's name a zillion times and never actually listened to him play.  This video sent me on a youtube orgy of bad-ass jazzy jam guitar.  How the aitch-ee-double-hockey-sticks have I missed out on this?  Dayum.  Time to go practice some more...

Bagman