[camocowboy777]

What advantage (if any) would this model with the humbucker coil give me over the standard 3 single coil setup.

[allthumbs]

Fatter, warmer tones, hum canceling

[s1120]

Its nice to get that 'bucker sound without having two guitars. If you have just one guitar, and want diferent sounds, its nice.

[GotDeeBlues]

Plus, most can split that humbucker to use a single coil bridge pu.

[camocowboy777]

That sounds like a good deal to me. I am still in the research/shopping phase, I want to make sure that I am going to get the best guitar that I can for the money.

I would love to have an American Standard or Deluxe, what will I loose if I go with the Made in Mexico varieties?
Is it worth the extra 600-700 dollar price difference for someone is just learning, and wont be playing professionally?

I can afford the American, but I could also save money for an amp, pedals, etc.

[Stratrat]

Originally Posted by camocowboy777

...what will I loose if I go with the Made in Mexico varieties?

About $700 off the price tag and a little decal that says "Made in USA".

Seriously - the MIM and MIA guitars use the exact same electronics (pots, jacks, switches, wiring), the same woods, etc. The necks and bodies are cut by the exact same CNC machines, but they're about 100 miles apart from each other and in two different countries. The American models have better pickups and tuners, but other than that there really isn't much difference. Quality control on the MIM guitars is very good - I'd prefer to be able to inspect and play them before I bought, but that goes for any guitar. You could end up with a "stinker" that slipped through quality control from either Mexico or America.

Originally Posted by camocowboy777

...Is it worth the extra 600-700 dollar price difference for someone is just learning, and wont be playing professionally?

Only you can answer that question. If there's one particular MIA model that really appeals to you or you've just gotta have that "Made in America" on the headstock to feel right about it, then it's worth it. For me, the answer is "no". I've played both, and never found anything in the MIA guitars that inspired me enough to cough up the extra dough. I'd rather spend it on a pickup swap or pedals, or put it toward a better amp. As usual, IMO and YMMV.

[GotDeeBlues]

My Strat is a MIM Fat Strat and I like it a lot. Good build quality and nice tone through a Roland Cube 20.

[acoustic1260]

Just got a new Strat at my local GC at their Labor Day sale. Never played an American, but I do like the feel of the mim ones. I have an 85 mim with single vintage pu's on it, and the humbucker on the new one definitely sounds different. I was glad to see Stratrat's comments on the difference on the two Strats. That's basically the same thing that my friend at GC told me, same stuff except for the pu's and tuners. Body and necks are the same and factory is 60 miles across the border. A Fender forum says different. I play at church every week, but don't play professionally for money. Only been playing for a few years. My two cents.

[Maddog54]

I'm sure the guitars you're talking about would just blow mine out of the water, but I do have the HSS setup with the 5 way switch on my Yamaha and I like it better than the 3 single pickup guitars that I've played...particularly what I guess would be the 4th position(neck and body together). The humbucker is nice when you want throw it in overdrive for some rock/metal. The one I don't really care for and never use is the body/humbucker combo. Not sure what sound you're supposed to get with that. Like everyone else, just my $.02