Bought an MIM Tele... Surprise... It's Great!

[jtm622]

I've had nothing but USA-built guitars for too many years to remember... I never even considered an MIM Fender - no way in hell! Well, I spotted an MIM marked down a good bit (had a small body ding on the side) at the local GC. The sunburst finish on it looked pretty good, so I bought it on a whim (I should also mention that I also have a 5-year old USA-built Tele to compare the new MIM to.) Well, I got it home and worked on the "action" a little and put new .09's on it - and I mean, the thing sounds just as good as my trusty USA Tele thru the Marshall 900 MKIII I use for gigs. I'm serious here - that's not an exaggeration... The MIM really sounds and plays suprisingly good - regardless of where it was manufactured. IMO, this just proves once again that if you open up your mind just a little bit that good things can happen... Maybe I just got lucky here, I don't know... but based on my limited experience, I can recommend that you at least consider an MIM Fender Tele if you're shopping around...

 

[ReddRanger]

I had a MIM Standard Tele for about two years that I thought was great. It did just fine on gigs. I only sold it to fund another amp. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another.

 

[Boris Bubbanov]

They're very respectable. Some individuals guitars are short, but for the most part they can get the job done and often have the features I prefer.

 

[aphelion]

i seem to have the idea that MIM fendrs, cost savings was in the cost of labor not in the materials.

i could be wrong though. i find nothing wrong with my mexican tele however.

 

[AshlandBump]

My '04 Muddy Waters Tele is MIM and is very well made -- outstanding fret finish. A solid guitar that sounds great, all for $400.

 

[Beauhooligan]

I'm not surprised, you can pick up MIM Tele and have an excellent guitar. I have one about seven feet away. I cherry picked to find mine, but you can pick a good one up at any store. Congratulations!:AOK

 

[Ouchz]

I'll have to agreed that some MIM teles sound great. I've tried this MIM tele that has dings and chips all over and it sounds awesome especially on the bridge pickup with some distortion smacked on.

I actually made the shop owner grin and he turned up the volume of the amp. He even asked me to play more but the tele body was uncomfortable to me especially when I'm used to the strat's contour body.

But teles differ from each other even if it is the same model. I tried 2 CIJ tele and even though they are the same model, I prefer one over the other by alot. Bottomline, you're a lucky guy to score with that guitar.

 

[billy budapest]

Until very recently I had a strict "No MIM" policy, but I have to say that I picked up a Telecaster Deluxe '72 RI that I honestly think in stunning. The fit and finish is superb and the neck and playability is first-rate.

Another irrational bias shot to hell!

 

[drolling]

And if they stopped shipping them north, they'd all of a sudden become very desirable, like the export MIJs that players used to turn their cork-sniffin' noses up at - now they're paying extra to independently bring 'em in from Ishibashi.

What's the model? maple or rosewood fretboard,.. or, hey, how bout some pics?!

I'm a fan of the 'classic' series; especially the thinlines - and they're very different from the CIJ/MIJs. My '69 RI, for example, the Japan-made guitar always had that modern 'C' neck profile, but the ones out of Mexico since '98 have a hefty 'U' shaped 'nocaster-esque' feel at a fraction of the CS prices!

The p-ups hadda go.. But then, I don't think I ever left the stock pickups in any of my MIJs, either.

Congrats! Cain't never have too many teles!!

 

[5E3]

i seem to have the idea that MIM fendrs, cost savings was in the cost of labor not in the materials.

i could be wrong though. i find nothing wrong with my mexican tele however.

I have heard of MIM using lower quality wood, hardware and electronics.
But for the most part I haven't seen that on a significant level.

 

[dazco]

I'm telling you, MIM stuff is great ! i only have the RI stuff....the classic 50's and 60's. But i'm sure for the money standards are good to. The RI stuff tho i think is even more likely to be as good or better than the MIA stuff. In fact i had a MIA deluxe and sold it because my MIM 60's became my #1.

 

[gtr player]

I have been playing the 2008 MIM Teles and Strats, and the materials are great on these guitars. Very good instrument for the price. I think the only thing I would change are the pickups. Then again, I changed the pickups on my MIA strat to Duncans, so there you go. I think the MIM got a bad rap over the years, but they're great instruments. I have a 2003 MIM Strat I'm modding, and I also noticed full sized CTS pots were used under the hood. Again, the only thing I would replace are the pups. Congrats on the new Tele, enjoy!

 

[gerryguitar]

I bought this MIM 52 reisssue a few days ago and its a great guitar, I plan to upgrade the bridge and pickups, great neck and lightweight ash body..

 

[Bikedude]

Anyone hear of the MIM Road Worns?

 

[MartinPiana]

I had a good MIM Tele, but it needed the pickups upgraded to get there.

 

[jtm622]

Anyone hear of the MIM Road Worns?

I saw about a half-dozen of 'em at my local GC, and those MIM "Road Worns" looked to be pretty good guitars - but at $949, I'd probably not buy one on a "whim"... I'd have to think about it for a while... but if you're interested in one, I believe there are some fairly recent threads here at TGP reviewing them...

 

[Polynitro]

My first Tele was a MIM I got for $300 new around 1995 or so. It was pretty nice, had some feedback issues but a solid guitar. Im sure the quality is even better now, but my CIJ Tele is a lot nicer than the MIM I had.

 

[jski59]

I played every strat in my local guitar center and walked away with a MIM Classic Player 50's model. It far exceeded all the American standards (and I was prepared to pay the higher price)...

I eventually upgraded the trem block with a Callaham piece and it's one of the best strats I've played.

Jason

 

[Bikedude]

I saw about a half-dozen of 'em at my local GC, and those MIM "Road Worns" looked to be pretty good guitars - but at $949, I'd probably not buy one on a "whim"... I'd have to think about it for a while... but if you're interested in one, I believe there are some fairly recent threads here at TGP reviewing them...

I thought the same thing the first go at these RW's. I played about 6 of em, maybe they were the first runs, I don't know. Seriously turned off my gass. I even bought an AVRI52 thin skin, cause I didn't think $949 was a good price point for a MIM guitar. So I stopped in to my local GC a few weeks ago, completely satisfied with my 52, and grabbed another Ash/Maple RW for a test drive. I took it home. Played great, I've adj. the action a little and it plays better. Very, very, resonante body(nitro), and the Tex/Mex pups sound great. It's very close in sound to the 52 thin skin, not quite, but close. I think its' a great guitar that I'll never have to worry about takin it to some of the gigs I play. I was very skeptical at first of the RW's, but I've been converted. Peace out!

 

[geonew]

Bought a new MIM standard tele a few weeks ago...VERY happy with it, even get along well with the stock PUs...also my MIM CP 60's strat is a winner (bought used on TGP!)...my USA Standard strat is getting very lonely sitting in its case lately.