I live in sunny Florida where it never snows and where Spanish is spoken by a good number of people. Granted, I live near Tampa, not Miami, so it’s not a huge percentage, but in the small department where I work we have three staff members who speak Spanish. I’ve been trying to get one of them to teach me how to say “dumbass” in Spanish, but she’s really nice and polite and she won’t tell me. If you can tell me, please email me at richard@budgetguitarist.com. It’s important. Well, not really, but I’d like to know.
Fender Strat lovers often talk about the differences between Mexican and American Strats. Fender Mexico has been allowed to make some higher end guitars lately and the line is definitely blurring. I can’t tell the difference in a Mexican and American Strat body in terms of how they sound. I can tell the difference in necks – but that difference is getting smaller every year in my opinion. I’m pretty sure they both use the same fretwire. They put more expensive tuners on American necks, but those can be upgraded.
I will say that I can tell the difference between a Strat made in Indonesia (Modern Player) and one made in Mexico (Standard.) But I have to wonder – as technology becomes more accessible and more tasks are done by machine, how long will Fender America be able to say they have the best Strat? That’s something to ponder.
But right now, Fender Mexico is putting out good Strats. They often come needing setup, but that’s not a big deal.
But while we covet our American-made Strats, what about Fender amps? Most of them are made in Mexico. Buy a new Bluesbreaker, and it’s made in Mexico. Same with the Hot Rod Deluxe. This isn’t discussed very often. SuperChamp X2? Mexico. Does Fender make any amps in America at this point? I asked mighty Google but couldn’t get a definitive answer, so I won’t guess. But if they do, it has to be a small percent of what they actually sell.
If you’ve read this far, you might wonder if I’m going to touch on the obvious elephant in the room, which is the big wall that American President Donald Trump campaigned on. I’m no dummy – in my lifetime I have never seen a more polarizing President. Families are dividing and not speaking to each other. I won’t let this site fall into that trap. Politics are important but people tend to have strong opinions based on tribalism (meaning political party) and there’s a huge deficit of wanting to listen to the other side right now. We don’t talk politics here. Both political tribes are welcome. I have family and friends in both tribes. The only thing I can say is that we ought to stop being tribal and start looking at whether ideas are good or bad based on research and evidence.
And Fender Mexico makes some good products and some great ones. My Bassbreaker 007 is the best amp I’ve ever owned (when played through a 12 inch speaker.) My favorite Strat has a Mexican body. Thank you, Fender Mexico, and please continue to keep up the good and great work.
