Fender Myths I cannot stand!

[ch willie]

...then they charge an arm and a leg. It can be cheaper to buy from the US and pay the customs.

[Erock_Germany]

Quality ranges in MIMs and MIAs--according to where you are and what guitars you have a chance to check out.

I found a shop in Germany with a wall of lefty Fenders. I played three or four Am Stds and the same number of MIMs. All of the Am Stds has frets sticking out over the fretboard, but MIMs were smooth. I'm not claiming this is a general rule, but this is just one experience. My MIM is well-built and was setup to play when I pulled it out of the box. I got lucky.

Yep, it a joke isn't it. Now, I have found nice USA guitars here from Fender but there is a difference that what is on the wall in any GC in the States. I have all my USA guitars from the US of A. I did find an awesome MIM Baja Tele here though!

[Erock_Germany]

Don't get me riled about this one... it's 'cause the FMIC - on the general whole - ship any 'USA made' crap they know they won't get away with selling Stateside - to Europe... and've been doing it for years... a punter in Europe who's being playing 5 minutes but has a little bit o' dough says to himself "the USA made one's bound to be better" based on the fact that so much hullabaloo is made of where it's made that - hey presto - everyone's made their money and the poor sap's none-the wiser and won't find out for years... I see it happen all the time - and even sadder yet - have had to listen to it too

Criminal, ain't it. Spend a Saturday running through all the stores in Tin Pan Alley in London and you are bound to find a nice one but at the same time lots of USA "seconds" at full price.

Look at the difference in the Gibson flame tops here. Things they sell as flame tops here are qualified as plain in the good 'ol homeland. We maybe that is a bit extreme but the difference is similar.

[redb]

this post may very well get me in trouble but I over the break (go go 1 month off) I bought a guitar from a fender subsidiary that starts with a C that has two humbuckers, a floyd rose and a neck thinner than kate moss. I paid less than 800 dollars with tax from a very friendly man who's guitar shop unfortunately went out of business.

Im going to go on record and say that there is literally no way I could see to improve the guitar short of putting in patent applied fors.

As a general principle, I believe that every guitar is unique, in my admittadly short time Ive seen some lovely guitars and some absolute shit. Often from the same line of a particular company. Price doesnt really factor into it other than the frequency at which you will get a good guitar out of a batch.

I honestly believe that most production guitars are bad. I think that the customs shops that just churn out guitars in a way that is not really custom makes some stinkers too. Ive even noticed a few not up to par guitars out of a company from maryland.

At the end of the day, the effort you put into a guitar is what youll get out of it. If you work to find the right guitar, work to get it set up right, work to know its nuances, work to know how it acts with your gear, you will be rewarded.

As for distortion + fender amps, get the amp that does what you want it to best. Damn, its not that hard. If you want your guitar to ROAR then get a marshall. If you want it to chime get a vox. If you want it to play black metal then go find yourself a diezel or something or a triple rectifier. I dont understand how there could even be a discussion about that.

Custom shop strats wont sound exactly like the originals, Ill admit. I think they sound pretty good though. But to my ears, the john mayer strat has the best strat tone Ive ever heard and thats just a cheap artist series.

[phantomman]

+1, redb!

I know a luthier who keeps two MIM Standard Strats hangin' on the wall in his shop. He bought them both new, on the same day from the same store. One is dead-stock (your garden-variety import). The other, he did a full level/crown/polish on the frets, a full bridge and intonation set-up, and adjusted the pickups for optimum response (no parts changed, upgraded, hot-rodded, or anythang else).

The difference between these two seemingly-identical instruments is like night and day!

Any time some customer asks him if his $100 charge for such work is really worth it, he hands these guitars to the customer and tells him to play both for a while. Invariably they all write that check an' they all leave the shop wif a smile on their face.

Nobody can make a silk purse outta the proverbial sow's ear. But some careful attention can at least turn a turd into a suede dufflebag.

[redb]

well Ill tell you what phantomman I think its features working for you and the way you play that makes a guitar "good". Having a compound radius fretboard that goes from flat to FLAT and a neck that is like .8 - .9 inches works well for me since I dont play very many chords and it allows me to be extremely on top of the strings so that I ALWAYS play with my fingertips no matter the situation and I dont fret out with 2 step bends is stuff that I like.

I know for a fact that a lot of guys on this forum would use words like "trash" "rubbish" and "garbage" to describe it. I prefer the word "love".

[Stonefreefuzz1]

But some careful attention can at least turn a turd into a suede dufflebag.

[pseudocat]

+1, redb!

I know a luthier who keeps two MIM Standard Strats hangin' on the wall in his shop. He bought them both new, on the same day from the same store. One is dead-stock (your garden-variety import). The other, he did a full level/crown/polish on the frets, a full bridge and intonation set-up, and adjusted the pickups for optimum response (no parts changed, upgraded, hot-rodded, or anythang else).

The difference between these two seemingly-identical instruments is like night and day!

Any time some customer asks him if his $100 charge for such work is really worth it, he hands these guitars to the customer and tells him to play both for a while. Invariably they all write that check an' they all leave the shop wif a smile on their face.

Smart.

Nobody can make a silk purse outta the proverbial sow's ear. But some careful attention can at least turn a turd into a suede dufflebag.

Or at least naugahyde.