I don’t understand why people are always complaining about the price of new guitars. They say that they are overpriced and they wouldn’t buy a new Strat or telecaster because they are overpriced and they think custom shop is way overpriced. But if you do simple calculations with inflation you see that from the very beginning from the first telecaster on that in today’s money the average Fender guitar listed in the two thousand dollars range. For example a Strat in 1965 cost $289.50 whereas in today’s money that is $2331.50 The same goes for amps people say $2000 is too much to pay for an amp but you would’ve paid about the same amount in 1950s or 60s dollars as you would today. If anything guitars have gotten cheaper (less expensive)as well as amps

Yeah, generally speaking, things made by skilled hands in the USA are grossly undervalued by consumers. We've grown spoiled by the USA's exploitation of cheap labor elsewhere.

Then again, it doesn't help that you can take a used Classic Vibe Strat, add some Pure Vintage '59 pickups, give it a fret job, and have something that plays and sounds just like a John Mayer Strat...

I don’t mind foreign made guitars but if I bought a USA made Strat like yours it would be more special to me than a foreign made model. I have a 2003 AVRI 62 Jazzmaster I bought new in 2003. It was $1150 if I recall. It’s nice that Americans made it and got paid to do so. I have a Japanese Mosrite that I love. I also have two US vintage Mosrites and a 1964 Gretsch Country Club. A Mexican Classic Player’s 60s Strat that’s awesome. I think the foreign guitars are great like you mentioned. By the way I remember in the late 90s US made 62 and 57 Strats cost about $850 now they are about twice that. Part of it is inflation and part may be Fender just wants to make more money.

Joel, I have to agree with you. If it's priced too high consumers won't buy it so in some ways it's a combination of inflation and the consumer demand. So if inflation causes the prices of materials and labor to go up they must raise the price and they also must make a profit yet at the same time depends on how much consumers will pay. So has to be priced enough to cover cost of making it and also to profit off of it but not too much where people are not put off from buying. And yes you are correct I don't have a problem with them wanting to make money otherwise why be in business?

With that said I wish I had purchased more guitars in the late '90s. Even though I make more money now and probably could afford to buy more now, I sort of don't want to. I make more money now but if I had just put out some money back then I would have had some nice instruments for less money than now. I saw a Custom Shop Strat, a 1950s in Shoreline Gold, flamed maple neck and gold hardware for $1,350. Sure I would have spent more than I should spend then but I had the money and would have made up for it. Oh well, woulda, coulda, shoulda ...

Last edited: Sep 21, 2019 02:15:00

The Strat Elite is the top of the line USA made non-Custom Shop Fender contemporary style guitar. All the components are top notch and workmanship and playability are typically stellar on these guitars (the most you will have to do is tweak the bridge height and/or truss rod to get to get perfection). I have found that most USA made Fenders are really well built guitars in general. The made in Mexico stuff can be very, very good also, especially with a good set-up (but that can be said for most guitars).
Regarding Gibsons, in my experience, when they are good, they are amazing; when they are bad they are disasters (especially given the price point). I have a 2016 Gibson J-29 acoustic that looks, plays and sounds amazing. But I had an SG Standard that the lacquer was to soft that you could put an indentation on the back of the neck with your thumbnail and also developed loose bridge posts. Hopefully, the new folks at Gibson will take some time out from threatening to sue everyone and successfully address those QC issues.

Last edited: Sep 22, 2019 11:05:14

Surf musicians especially strat players have it good. The used market is generally full of lower cost used instruments and parts. Deals on bodies, necks and parts can be found everywhere to the point that you can build an absolute beast of a strat with genuine fender parts for around 750.00 give or take. My last strat acquisition was a build with genuine Fender parts and its incredible. All used parts cost me less than 500.00.

The Chinese are making some incredible replicas of famous guitars for pennies on the dollar. I have purchased several and did many upgrades for playability and tone. Minimal dollar output and they play great. They are just home players. The strat is where I won't compromise. It's American or else.

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Surfing_Sam brings up a good point. I may add that even though adjusted for inflation a US made Strat is less than if you bought one in 1962, I don’t think a lot of guitarist think of that they just see the numbers. They just see $289 for a Strat in 1962 vs. $1,800 today. But with inflation you are better off financially today but most don’t think that way. Although I make a decent wage I rather spend $900 on a Mexican Strat than twice that on a USA. With that said I’m rethinking my way of thought and wondering if maybe I should buy a USA Strat. I bought a USA Jazzmaster and feel it’s just that more special. It’s even made in my home state just 70 miles from my home. But I don’t blame anyone from buying a Mexican Strat for less. Money doesn’t come easy. Also I don’t blame anyone from buying used. I do that but I also buy new.

I've been fortunate to acquire a lot of good USA-made gear over the past 50+ years. But I've been downsizing since these days because in the past few years I'm in the studio 90% of the time and since I recently relocated to Kansas City from Atlanta, it looks like it will be 100% now.

Yes, the USA Fenders and Gibsons are better than the MIM and MIJ ones. I only had one MIJ (a gorgeous '54 Strat reissue) that was beautifully finished but the electronics and the tuners were junk. Yes, I could have upgraded it but at the time there were other priorities.

The MIM ones, though, were really good guitars out of the box and felt and played more like USA Fenders. However, all the MIM ones I had or tried were either "Classic Series" or Road Worn ones which are a noticeable step above the Standard series ones.

Over the last half century I've had over a dozen Strats, most were AVRI's along with four Custom Shop ones. I kept my three favorite Strats and guess what?.....One of them is a completely stock MIM Road Worn.

My point is, not all MIM's are created equal. The now out of production Classic Series MIM's were great value for money compared to a AVRI. The new Vintera series MIM's seem to be a slight upgrade from the Classics. But if you aren't turned off by the light relicing of the current version, at half the price of a new American Original the MIM Road Worn Fenders are definitely worth checking out. They have hotter Tex-Mex pickups and have the look and feel of a vintage Strat if that is your thing.

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Redfeather wrote:

I think maybe the best deal in new guitars is the G&L Tribute series. They use all the same components as the American made stuff but are screwed together overseas for a vast discount in price.

Funny you mentioned that. I tried a used one at Guitar Center three days ago. I love the trem. I find it better than the various Fender Strat trems. Strat trems are good, don't get me wrong but the G&L I felt is better. If I didn't have a fine Fender Classic Players 60s Strat I may have bought the G&L.

I don't know why you think Fender's best is better than G&L's best but I'd be interested in seeing or hearing an objective point by point comparison.

G&L's vibrato system is better, owing in part to their stable arm mounting system, as well as their smooth saddles that don't chew up your hand like that stamped crap Fender keeps selling. Granted, they also use more modern saddles, I know.

Every G&L fretboard is put through a Plek machine and I don't know if Fender does that on anything.

G&L's PTB wiring scheme, in my opinion, is vastly superior to Fender's traditional Strat wiring scheme. That's only opinion, though. But I can say I'm using it on every strat I put together in the future. The bass cut pot is great.

G&L gives you the bridge/neck combo on some of their models as well. I think Fender probably started doing that in an act of catch-up.

Anyway, I don't think Fender has anything on G&L other than a (much) better looking headstock shape.