strat question

[Wcpeezy]

now everyone knows how expensive fender custom shop strats are and how great they sound as well. my question is would there be much of a difference (to the average ear) of a mexican strat with purchased custom shop pickups (200 dollars) compared to a custom shop strat (2,000 dollars) ofcourse i know it wont be the same, but will the improved mex strat make up a lot of ground though?

[Thomas]

the mexican strat will make up a lot of ground with that upgrade.

to the "average ear" the two guitars will be pretty close. the big difference will be the feel of the guitar. definately no one will accuse you of playing a cheap guitar.

[RunsWithBuffalo]

yeah, what jack said...

just find a mex that feels nice and plays well, then upgrade the pups and you will be set.

[ericwormann]

You'll probably have to replace some of the hardware on the mexican strat. The bridge and saddles tend to be kind of junky.

[Brian M.D.]

And keep in mind that there are American strats available for well under $2000, you could always buy a 700-1200 American strat and upgrade that...though that's probably just me, because I love the American necks.

[RunsWithBuffalo]

if you want really cheap check out:

http://www.rondomusic.net/electricguitar.html

hands down the best knock offs on the market and they are a steal at 109.99. Spend 100-150 on new pickups (vintage noiseless, texas specials, p-90s etc) and another 30 on a decent set up and you will have yourself a totally worthy guitar plus the money you saved can be spent on getting a good amp which i think i more important anyway.

I will say though that the mex's sound pretty decent out of the box, just depends how picky you are and what sound you are going for.