zeero9 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 11, 2018 4:54 pm
I'm not here to discuss the merits of specific bridges. I personally dislike the AOM bridge on a Jazzmaster and I've replaced it with a Staytrem. But others have said many times that it works perfectly for them, who am I to judge that?
I think you don't get what I'm trying to say at all. You are basing your evaluation of the pricing of these guitars based on an arbitrary amount of $1k. I paid $366 for my MIM Strat many years ago. Today the equivalent model is $650. Your nice round number of 1000 doesn't look so pretty in my local currency. I'm sorry but I just can't get why you maintain this view that "MIM should be under $1k". In a few years inflation would have caught up with that, if it hasn't already done so. You can judge a product against its price based on its own merits, but you shouldn’t establish an artificial benchmark.
I didn't say I think the vintage look is important. I said that FENDER thinks it's important, particularly pertaining to the bridge. I don't necessarily agree it's a good direction, but I can see why many players want things to look more vintage.
I think saying that Fender puts in cheap parts to save money is over-simplification. Cheaper doesn't mean cheap, how much do you think they save by skipping a lock button, when they already mass produce the locking version? I'm saying they decide which parts to use, what features to put in, not purely based on how much those parts cost. You can get guitars from them that work better at lower price points. Again, the cheaper Player series has "Mustang-like" bridges. Yes, I've done some mods to make my CP work better. Does my anniversary work properly without mods? Yes it does.
If you've gone ahead and switched out your bridge, I'm confused at what we're discussing then. All I'm saying is that bridge sucks and many people say and think this. You yourself have taken the liberty to change out your bridge. Obviously something made you unhappy enough with the original bridge to change it out.
I do know what you're saying. You think it's ridiculous that I'm putting a price cap on MIM's. I don't think that's ridiculous. I also hope you don't think I'm taking a knock at MIM's, I'm not. I have MIM's and Squire's that I've toured the world with and still do to this day. One of my main guitars, a MIM Strat, I bought for $50 from a guy in a car. Over the years I've heavily modded it, but that's my point. MIM's are really well functioning guitars that don't break the bank to own . When you're younger and can't afford expensive guitars it's great to get MIM's and/or Squire's and over time work at making them function a little better through upgrades for you. Or even if you want to start a project of spec'ing out a guitar. This is the fun and beauty of Fender's assembly line design. You just said that when you bought your MIM Strat years back it was $366 and now they sell the same strat for $650. This is what I mean, I think I've missed something. The price on MIM's have gone up. They still function the same way they did when the price was lower (or maybe not) but now they're more money. Maybe I'm getting old and haven't been paying attention. I just feel like the way my 60th AC Jazzmaster feels and plays is more indicative of something around the $800 price point. From my experience, MIM are delegated more as really good "budget guitars" that you can modify yourself to make almost better then MIA's. IMO there's nothing "budget" about a guitar that is $1200 - $1400. I feel like back in the day I would never see a MIM go over $1k, this is my confusion, I believe they've increased their pricing, that is all. In my mind anything over $1k should play very damn well, you shouldn't have to change out basic components like nut, bridge, and tremelo, just to make it function better. That sounds like something more for the $200-$800 price range.
"I think saying that Fender puts in cheap parts to save money is over-simplification. Cheaper doesn't mean cheap, how much do you think they save by skipping a lock button, when they already mass produce the locking version? I'm saying they decide which parts to use, what features to put in, not purely based on how much those parts cost. You can get guitars from them that work better at lower price points. Again, the cheaper Player series has "Mustang-like" bridges. Yes, I've done some mods to make my CP work better. Does my anniversary work properly without mods? Yes it does."
It's not that overly simple. That's the discernible difference between MIA and MIM's. That's sort of the whole thing. That's why MIA all have nicer parts.
by the player series do you mean this ?
https://shop.fender.com/en-US/electric- ... 03500.html
because these have the vintage bridge.
I'm glad your 60th AC works well without mods, mine doesn't. That's why I'm sharing my project.
My other point is that I think this guitar is over priced, and that MIM's have gone up in value with out a change in parts/playability. They still play well, just not at their price point.