History 101Let me share a little bit history of Stratocaster. Stratocaster guitar is basically a follow up from one of Fender's most successful guitar which is no doubt the Telecaster(also called Broadcaster, Nocaster and Esquire; depending on the pickups/headstock). First built in 1954, it was designed to appeal many guitar player from different genres with three pickups configuration(Tele only has two pickups), futuristic dual cutaway body, and of course the Tremolo/Vibrato bridge that's better than current tremolo bridges on the market. The first Stratocasters features Alder/Ash body with Maple neck and usually comes with single sheet celluloid plastic pickguard.
On late '50s, Fender changed the pickguard from one ply plastic to three ply celluloid plastic pickguard. They also added the 3-tone sunburst color. On 1962, they added the rosewood fingerboard on top of the maple neck to make it look more clean and to make trust rod insertion easier; 1962 is one of the golden era for Stratocasters because by that time, Fender had reached its peak of build quality as well as tone and feel. By the mid-end of '60s, CBS company bought Fender and the quality of all Fender guitars started to climb down. On 1985, Fender was bought back from CBS and start producing good quality guitars again and thus the Stratocaster got its "dignity" back and is still in production until today.
Tips: mark the important years: 1954, late '50s, 1962, mid-end of '60s, 1985.
Different Type of Stratocasters Available on the Market
After a little bit of history, here's the list of Stratocasters that you can find on the market:
1. MEXICAN STRATOCASTER (MIM)
a. Standard Stratocasters - This particular Stratocaster is made in Mexico. It's the cheapest Fender Stratocaster that you can get(if you want to go cheaper, you have to get a Squier). The guitar comes at around US$500. It features low quality Ceramic pickups that doesn't sound really good to be honest. Most of the new Standard Strat comes with late '50s/early '60s visual characteristics such as three ply plastic pickguard, maple/rosewood fingerboard and vintage tremolo bridge. It features a CBS style logo on small headstock.
b. Deluxe Stratocasters - Made in Mexico as well but they feature better pickups(noiseless or Alnico, depending on the model) and sometimes a unique switching system for extra tone out of the pickups. They are pricier compared to the Standard Stratocaster, but they can give some features that even sometimes American Standard Strats don't have.
Other than those two models, you can also get Classic Player '50s and '60s, Factory Special Run, Black Top, Road Worn and some other models. They come with $600-900 price tag. Some Artist Series are also produced in Mexico.
Buying Standard Stratocaster will allow you to upgrade the parts and still pay cheaper than American Stratocasters. Deluxe Stratocaster will give you the upgraded parts already so you don't have to upgrade. But be careful, you have to try the guitar first before you are going to buy it. Mexican Stratocaster isn't too consistent, sometimes you'll get something which sounds so amazing but the other day you might get a total piece of junk sounding guitar. Mexican Stratocaster also doesn't age and turn yellowish due to its polyester finish (this doesn't affect the tone as long as it's applied thinly to the Stratocaster which is the case with Mexican Stratocaster).
2. JAPANESE STRATOCASTER (MIJ)
This particular Stratocaster is very unique due to its extreme consistency on its build quality. MIJ Strats are offered in many different models such as '57 Reissue, '62 Reissue, Standard and Deluxe. They are now only available in Japan but you can still find some used one from late '80s and early '90s when import guitars were plentiful.
MIJ Stratocasters usually offer a very neat finishing, wiring, as well as tone. They don't come with good sounding pickups, but once you put better pickups in it, MIJ Strats will usually transform into super nice sounding guitars. They come from as low as $600 to as expensive as $1200. Buy the used one will give you cheaper price
3. AMERICAN STRATOCASTER (MIA)
b. Standard - Comes with two point tremolo that is very smooth but still with vintage stamped saddles that everyone loves. They come with flight case and the current model has the Fat '50s pickups that sound very good. Most of MIA Standard Strats can sound very good during live situation and they have the best build quality in my opinion. It also features better tremolo block that improve the tone significantly as well as thinner coat for improved resonance.
c. Deluxe - Comes with modern style two point tremolo and deluxe saddles. They have the unique switching for extra tones from your pickups, as well as noiseless pickups that don't produce 60 cycle hum. They also come with locking tuner for tuning stability, compound radius(super comfortable neck), contoured heel for easier upper register access, as well as V-neck option. This is the most expensive non Custom Shop and non Artist Stratocaster you can get.Other than the three above, you can also get American Vintage Reissue '57 and '62, Artist Series, Select Series, Vintage Hot Rod and Custom Shop American Stratocasters. They come with $1200 to $2000++ price tags
MIM/MIJ VS MIA
American Stratocasters are the priciest compared to the other two because of its exceptional built quality and features that are not available on other Stratocasters. This caused a debate that has been going for some time whether is it really worth the price or if it's just a gimmick. I honestly don't know but owning both MIM and MIA Stratocasters, I can tell that they are quite different and not necessarily better from one another.
I say American Stratocaster is worth the extra price because of the different feel of the neck as well as the overall built quality of the body and electronics. The tremolo bridge has better metal block that causes the notes to sustain longer and to resonate across the whole body. While this is good for rock, blues and pop, this is not so good when you're playing staccato based songs such as some funk songs.
My MIM and MIJ Stratocaster come with standard bridge that has standard metal block and they are finished with polyester. It has some sustain but not as long as my MIA Strat, so they shine the most when I play funk songs. My MIM Stratocaster can produce some heavy spank when engaged at 2nd and 4th pickup position. My MIJ Stratocaster can also produce that but due to its basswood body, it tends to gravitate toward warmer bell-like tone. My MIA Stratocaster comes with humbucker and while it produce some bright tone and spank, it doesn't do staccato note easily(you have to do extra work with muting the strings) but it cuts through the mix easier and produces some great heavy overdrive tones. So they are all good for different situation.
So here's my conclusion: If you want to buy a Stratocaster, it doesn't matter if it's made in Mexico, Japan or USA, but as long as you tried the guitar first and hear how it reacts toward different playing styles. American Stratocaster will have better feel and quality but it may not have better tone if you don't try it first. Mexican Strat may feel a bit stiffer but it may produce some amazing clean tone. FIRST, decide the features that you need from the guitar and decide your budget; SECOND, try that particular model of the guitar that you want; THIRD, compare it with other guitars of same models and try to compare it with some other models on same budget level and see if the other guitar of same or different models sound better; FOURTH, make the decision to buy.
Don't get overwhelmed with so many types of Stratocasters, all that matters is that it sounds good to your ears. Cheers and God Bless :)
