So I finally got my first real Fender Stratocaster, though this one is a little different than most. It is a limited edition MIM standard strat with direct mount pickups, and no pickguard. I didn't really have enough together to buy a regular standard strat, but I saw this one on MF and was intrigued. They regularly have it for $349 (and still do), but I ordered this one as a blem at a time they were taking an additional 10% off blems. The net price was $268. When it arrived, I could see that it had been out of the box once and very carefully repacked, but I've gone over it carefully and cannot find anything else that would qualify it as a blem. It was very well set up out of the box and I've not had to make any adjustments. As a major bonus to me, it came through with a maple fretboard when the picture on MF and Music123 show rosewood. It feels great, sounds great, and I like the cream color knobs and pickup covers much more than I thought it would. It has one tone knob rather than two, and the volume knob is a little further from the bridge area than a regular standard strat. That suits me well because my clumsy knuckles would tend to hit the volume knob on the Squier strat I had. It also has a small 60th Anniversary coin on the back of the headstock.