Really wanted to try another Strat after selling my Squier CV a while back. There are so many great players who get terrific sounds with them, of course, but I wanted the warmer end as opposed to the very glassy, almost metallic sound that the single coils can have. Seemed to me that the MIM strats had more of that warmth (the ceramic pups, I imagine). I decided to keep an eye out for a beat-up MIM with a $200 price tag. Within 2 weeks, I saw this pristine 1999 in midnight wine on Craig's List for...$200! I love it - sounds great, comfortable to play.