Will all Fenders be made in Mexico someday?

[sqadan]

Originally Posted by fazendeiro

I just said in an earlier post that I didn't think this was about the people who build it or where they're from, but the model and components of the guitar that some guitarists don't like. We're talking guitars/hardware, and you guys are talking workers/nationality. You're the ones making it into bigotry. You guys are just looking for a fight.

My bad... I misunderstood.

Of course the parts etc... are lower cost though - they are cheaper lower-end models. It's not like Fender tries to pass off the MIM stuff as top of the line.

If Fender decided to move all production to Mexico my guess is that the materials / parts made to make the various lines would remain the same - I doubt they would start using cheaper parts on sa the Vintage Reissue stuff.

[Joe_Steeler]

Originally Posted by fazendeiro

I just said in an earlier post that I didn't think this was about the people who build it or where they're from, but the model and components of the guitar that some guitarists don't like. We're talking guitars/hardware, and you guys are talking workers/nationality. You're the ones making it into bigotry. You guys are just looking for a fight.

I am not pot stirring or want to make a fight.
I detect a sense that if its not american then it is not right. The quality is not the same, blah blah blah

I just pointed out that some Mexican-American FMIC workers are making some pretty darn good guitars now, in the future and certainly have in the past.
So if a fight must be brought on, it would be because loss of American jobs (due to corporate greed) rather than mexicans stealing them.
Furthermore, the fact that they will be made down there does not make them inferior in one bit.

[BPSUL]

I hope a majority of you guys will continue the anti import propaganda for as long as I live. The result is I can actually afford a decent guitar - so Im fine with most people thinking my mim fender, my mic Epiphone and Artcore are crap - if the hatred wasn't keeping the prices down I'd be stuck playing a squier.

[tildeslash]

Everybody say MIM or MIK this and that.
How about somebody saying to Fender Corporate douchebags that learn to live with $50 profit instead of $100.

[yucatown]

On the parts issue, are Mexican parts really all that different? Could they be possibly worse than the crap that was used on 70s strats, which are now considered great by some?

I own a Korean guitar that plays and sounds amazing, and it does compete in playability and sound with some of my more expensive US-made guitars. There is definitely a stigma about certain countries of origin that regardless of quality of parts or build will always make those guitars somehow inferior to guitars built in other countries. The Botswana scenario above is an interesting one.

[scorpio]

Originally Posted by relic54

About a year ago, I was reading on the net...a guy...supposedly a Fender specialist...said that all Fenders would be made in Mexico someday. What do you pickers out there think of that?

Then you'd better get a good ol' USA model before they quit making 'em.

[webe123]

Originally Posted by scorpio

Then you'd better get a good ol' USA model before they quit making 'em.

LOL! Good thing I have my 57 reissue strat or highway one texas tele. I am still waiting to see proof that this guy is even associated with Fender.

Maybe the original poster can direct us to the article he read on the net that started all of this in the first place?

Then we could decide for ourselves if this guy is genuine or not.

Oh and to address something else, to all the people who think supporting a US company or wanting them to stay in the US is somehow racist, is plain silly.

I have bought other types of Fender guitars, but my favorites are the USA made ones. Sorry if that offends anyone, but that is just my opinion of them. I am not basing this on country of origin, but on my experience as a player and the materials and skill involved in making the US guitars.

But I have also played guitars made in other countries and never before has the quality been so high than it is right now. I played a Chinese acoustic guitar the other day for 70 bucks that blew away the 99 dollar starter "arrow" strat copy I had years ago to start out on. I only wish I had that kind of guitar when I was starting out! Was it comparable to a Martin or Taylor?

No, but at least you didn't have to have strings a mile off the fretboard when you pressed down on them, like my old arrow guitar. I didn't know anything about adjusting the bridge back then or if was even adjustable, so I learned to play it as it was. Made my fingers strong, I can tell you that. But this Chinese made guitar came with a decent set up right out of the box, so some poor beginner would not have had to go through what I did.

People today have so many choices when it comes to guitars, I don't see what the beefs about when someone likes a particular brand or even where it is made. It's their money, let them spend it as they like. After all, we will not be the ones playing it.

[Boris Bubbanov]

You mean we're ceding California (and the Corona plant within) back to the Republic of Mexico to pay our debts?

Hmmm. Hadn't thought of that; I'd better call my niece and nephews and make sure they know.

:^)

[Jade]

I think if things keep up the way they are, eventually all Fenders will be built right here in the USA, because the labor will be so much cheaper. Then they'll ship em off to countries like China where the standard of living will be much higher.

Sounds like a bad joke. I think it's a scary possibility.

Jade

[webe123]

Originally Posted by sixstrings

I don't know Jade. Maybe India will be outsourcing jobs to the U.S. in 10 years.

Both prospects are scary if you are a US citizen.

[Eagle1]

They always used cheep labour anyway .Half the staff in the 50s were Mexican so what difference will it make.

[XmasTree]

i doubt it

[1973Marshall]

Since Mexico is slowly taking back the US, a lot of us will be Mexican by default, and therefore

SI, TODOS LOS EQUIPMENTOS DEL FENDER ESTARA HECHO EN MEXICO

[cube]

as long as people are willing to pay more for made in USA they will make em there

[guitarfish]

Fender purposely specs out the USA guitars with better components than that used for the MIM guitars. The USA line also gets a little more hands on during the build process for better fretwork, fingerboard edges, etc. If they spec'd our the MIM's to use the exact same components and be built the same way, I doubt most of us would be able to tell them apart. It's not an issue of Mexico making inferior products. The issue is that, compared to the MIA models, the MIMs are not supposed to be as good.

If they are moving the Custom Shop to Mexico, it shouldn't matter as long as skilled luthiers are still making them with the same quality components.

Having said all that, I prefer to buy models made in the USA, and contribute to the economy in which I live. I also wonder what it would be like if USA models were built in a more business friendly state, for example Texas.

There's still a LOT of manufacturing going on all over the US. There's no need for Fender, or Gibson for that matter, to move the production of their flagship models out of the country.