2002 MIM Strat question

[Mystrom]

I am looking at a 2002 70'S reissue MIM Strat on the bay. With all of you strat guys I thought I could get some insights into this guitar. Was that a good year or time, body wood etc.. Thanks in advance. heres a link http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170510805809&_trksid=p2761.l1259

[t_ross33]

Starting price seems a bit high to me for a MIM (?) but with free shipping and a case it might be a good deal. Nice looking git :thumbsup

I think MIM Strat's are fine guitars. Some take issue with pickups, electronics and hardware, but those are easy fixes if the price is right to begin with.

[Mystrom]

Thanks

[LeadedEL84]

I am looking at a 2002 70'S reissue MIM Strat on the bay. With all of you strat guys I thought I could get some insights into this guitar. Was that a good year or time, body wood etc.. Thanks in advance. heres a link http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170510805809&_trksid=p2761.l1259

Being an owner of a 2001 MIM strat I can tell you they(early 2000s MIM fenders) are pretty well built guitars. The important thing to buying guitars on ebay is to ask questions. The pickups and electronics on the reissues were not great but they are not bad. One important question to ask when buying early 2000s Fenders is fret condition. They were using fret wire that was a little on the soft side back then. Ask many questions about fret condition. You should always do this when buying an ebay guitar anyway. If the condition of the Strat is very good to excellent the price is not too bad. The reissues were not cheap new. Condition is the key. Ask as many questions you can think of. There is a lot of time left in that auction. Ask your questions but don't bid too much too soon. I don't know what your experience is with ebay. If you need any help with nabbing a nice strat for a good price let me know. I am a superb ebay sniper. PM me I will help.

[markb]

The MIM Classics like the 70s RI are mostly good and a bit better than the MIM Standards ime (slightly nicer pickups and hardware). Apart from that, follow the advice immediately above.

[Tig]

I've been told that the MIM's from 2007 and newer are of better build quality than before 2007.
I'm I wrong?

Bueller?
http://laantonia.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/ferris.jpg

[LeadedEL84]

I've been told that the MIM's from 2007 and newer are of better build quality than before 2007.
I'm I wrong?

Bueller?
http://laantonia.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/ferris.jpg
You pulled out the Bueller picture and made me laugh. I loved that movie. Jeniffer Aniston got her first big role in that movie. Mathew Broderick was much better back then.
I am not so sure about the 2007 date. What did they change in 2007? I do know in about 2005 Fender responded to complaints from customers like me who complained about premature fretware and announced all new medium jumbo frets around 2005/2006. They mentioned a pickup change in some standard models as well. I know the price went up on standard models in 2007 but I am unaware of any changes that make them better. My 2001 standard was a great buy aside from fretware issues. I wasn't crazy about the ceramic magnet pickups but my friend who bought a 60s reissue MIM wasn't happy with his pickups either. Also I know thay changed from poplar to alder bodies on the standards around 2003 to 2004. Can you expand on the quality improvements that were made in 2007?

[Tig]

Bueller! :pancake

I heard that the general quality and craftsmanship of the MIM's were improved, but that's all. No specifics.
That's why I put out the question... To see if there's any truth, and if so, what were the actual improvements. It might just be BS.

[Brian Krashpad]

The big change that's most noticeable circa '06 is to medium-jumbo frets, though there may be other changes as well.

However, note that the guitar for sale is a "Seventies Strat," not the MIM Standard. I wouldn't be surprised if '70's Strats had bigger frets anyhow. Also, as previously pointed out, the Sixties and Seventies series were considered one step up from the MIM Standards. An easy way to remember is if they put "Made In Mexico" on the front of the headstock it's probably a Standard, for higher-priced models the "MIM" went on the back of the headstock.

[sunvalleylaw]

Brian is right about the frets being changed in '06, but there was also better shielding, and maybe most importantly, an improved trem block (bigger, better, more sustain) installed stock. A trem block upgrade was one of the most common mods done before that change. This all started in 2006. My strat was a beneficiary of those changes. Mine is a "60th Anniversary" model with pickup upgrades as well. Generally, the build was reported to improve as well. Who knows about that I suppose, but the other improvements are legit.

So bottom line, unless I was getting a pre '06 really cheap, or it was a special model, and liked the guitar better than a later one, I would hold out for a '06 or later. I see them sold on local craigslist pretty cheap sometimes. Looking at the pics of this one, it seems to have some special features, (the tuners look different than the normal ones, and the heel plate looks to be a special piece.) But I don't know anything else about this guitar. It is a a bit pricey for a used standard MIM.

[Katastrophe]

New '70s (2010) Strats are going for $749 new at MF.

It's most likely going to have the smaller vintage frets and a 7.25" neck radius.

What I would look out for (and I am far from an expert) would be fret condidtion and stress cracking in the wood at the body / neck joint. The three bolt joint with microtilt is not much of an issue to me, as its been solid on the newer 70s models that I've played, but if the previous owner overtightened the joint, removed the neck a bajillion times (that's a technical term), or tried to bend the neck for a vibrato effect too many times, it can loosen the joint and cause tuning stability issues. That I've seen a time or two.

$399 for an 8 year old guitar does seem a tad high, considering that the model has gone through a few price increases over the years.

Here's what I don't know:

Wood: Could be alder, poplar or ash. All three make a good guitar wood, and all three can sound like crap. It just depends on the guitar itself and how it plays / sounds. MF says that the new models have ash bodies, but I don't know if that is a post '05 improvement, or common to the model from the beginning. Number of pieces used is unknown as well (there used to be a great site for this info called allthingsstrat.com, but it's gone now).

I don't know if Fender was using the "swimming pool route" back then, or if the body was routed for single coils only, or if it had the current MIM HSH routing. My SWAG is that it's routed for three single coils.

The seller provided quite a few pics that show that the guitar appears to be in decent shape. However, the only way I'd buy from ebay is if the offer is obscenely cheap and I can absorb the loss or part out the guitar if it's a lemon, or if the seller has a really good return policy in case an undisclosed issue pops up.

All that said, I really like the 70s strat. I like the neck shape, and the shallower contouring on the body adds to heft, making it feel like a solid guitar. I also dig the bigger headstock. Stock pups sounded great to my ears.

I can also say that when I was looking to buy my '06 Standard, I played a number of 05s and found the build quality to be as good as my '06 (My wife bought the guitar when there were quite a few 05s around). The deciding factor for me was that the medium jumbo frets were more to my liking. I tend to be hard on frets, and needed the extra "meat" there for recrowns, leveling and fret dressing.