Mexican Stratocasters

blackbox_dev · Post by **blackbox_dev** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 10:57 am

I know there's quite a few guitar players on these forums, so please bare with me...

Well, I think it's about darn time I upgrade from my cheap Squier guitars, so I decided to get a Fender Strat HSS. From what I've heard, the Mexican Strats can be higher quality then the USA models, you just have to hunt around for a good one. I also don't have the cash for a USA model, which seems to me is extremely overpriced.

Of course, there's some things I'm going to need to replace. I have some ideas, and if you have any suggestions for replacement parts then please post!

Here's what I plan on replacing:

Pickups: I played the guitar at a store yesterday, and the stock pickups aren't bad, but could be better. Do any of you know how good the EMG Select pickups are? (Neck/Middle with single coil, bridge with humbucker).

Tuners: I've heard bad things about the stock tuners, but I'd like some feedback to how bad they really are. If I replace them, I'm probably going to go with some Sperzel tuners. Sperzel is still good, right? Or would I be wiser to shell out extra cash for a set of Schallers? Does anybody here know what the diameter of the peghole is in Mexican Fat Strats?

Anything else that I should look into?

Thanks in advance!

-iam7805

Post by **Triton** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 11:14 am

dont know much about strats or guitars in general but in my experiance the danelectro 56-u2 is an awesome guitar! look it up

DK · Post by DK » Wed Dec 27, 2006 2:38 pm

Build one!!

Extreme_Jesus · Post by **Extreme_Jesus** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 2:54 pm

The Mexican guitars are really no different in my opinion other than it wasnt made in USA

For the pick ups: What kidna sound/tone are you going for? With that advice on arranging them is quite hard

And Stock tuners arent the best, i got one for christmas and it works perfectly fine on my guitar but crap for the bass. Get a Chromatic tuner pedal instead, its better in the long run

timmeh87 · Post by **timmeh87** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:04 pm

are we talking about electronic tuners or tuning pegs?

anyways. i have a mexican strat and the tuning peg on the B string rattles. you can only tell if youre playing without an amp though cause its not that loud. but its a decent guitar, nothing wrong with it.

blackbox_dev · Post by **blackbox_dev** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:30 pm

Tuning pegs.

As for tone, I play mostly punk (think Ramones, NOFX, Pennywise, etc.), pop-punk (think Blink 182, Green Day, etc.), and Ska (Rancid) so I need a powerful sound on the humbucker. I dabble into bluesy rock music (think Hendrix, Clapton) sometimes though, and want to have that classic Strat sound on the single coils.

Also, I'm pretty sure i'm going to need to get a set of strap locks. What's the best kind to get? I've played multiple gigs and my strap has fallen off. Not fun.

hcmtnbiker · Post by **hcmtnbiker** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:11 pm

My own opinion is dont go with a fender unless you find a good deal on a pre 1970s one, even thier remakes of ealier ones suck for how much you're dropping on them. If you wanted to be just a little differnt i'd say go with a Schecter for not too much money you can get a guitar that sounds far better then any fender i've ever touched. They're built a little more for Metal, EMG and Seymore Duncan pickups, ect, which are very nice out of the box pickups.

Although the guitar i'm looking at right now is a Parker Fly Mojo, but i'm not sure exactly what your price range is, because that is a ~$2,600 guitar.

As for tuners i'd go with Sperzel Locking Tuners if you where going to change them.

And for locking straps Dunlop makes nice ones.

blackbox_dev · Post by **blackbox_dev** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:18 pm

Well, I'll take your advice on the tuners and straplocks, but my mind is set on Fender. I tried an Epiphone Les Paul in a store yesterday, and to be honest it wasn't my thing. The neck angle just seemed strange, and it was awkward to do palm muting on the bridge. I also tried various other guitars in my price range, and the Fender just seemed to fit me. So Fender it is.

Krepticor · Post by **Krepticor** » Wed Dec 27, 2006 9:16 pm

ok there is a tele you need to look at that is a musiciansfriend exclusive, it has a set neck, dual hums with a coil tap and a mahagony body and neck, you can use the little spicier than normal hums for the punk sound and the early clapton,

but the neck single setting hels demonstrate the SRV sounds as well as some hendrix tones, for the more wild tones though, you will need to mod, yes jimi had a nine position switch on his strat

blackbox_dev · Post by **blackbox_dev** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 9:21 am

I live in Canada and Musican's Friend can't ship to me.

Krepticor · Post by **Krepticor** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 11:31 am

man that sucks for you,

Ummm... try finding a $100 les paulish body and outfit it with the set-up I explained, use seymour duncan pearly gates and 250K pots for the volume, they will open up nicely and they do come with the four conductor wire and you could insert taps with push-pull pots.

~Krepticor

blackbox_dev · Post by **blackbox_dev** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 2:01 pm

Ok, three questions that i'd like answered.

How good are the stock tuners (the tuning pegs on the headstock)?

If I should replace the tuners, what is the diameter of the hole size?

Are EMG Select pickups good for the music styles I listed earlier?

Thanks,
-iam7805

Krepticor · Post by **Krepticor** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 9:25 pm

ok If you want good tuners look for some very high ratiooed ones from
www.warmoth.com

I think they should help, also, remember that most EMGs are ACTIVE, wich means batteries, nine volts to be exact, also, they are VERY VERY Hot, I think they would be too hot for what you want, stick with hotter than average passive humbuckers with four conductor wire

there are no set diameters for tuners, they really are just individual things, they have mounting screwwsin the back so get the hole Close, get em in, them screw in the backs and bolt them down,