New Made In Mexico Strat Pushes the $2,000 USD Mark

Nobody but Americans care where the guitar is built, as long as it's built well. It could be made on Saturn for all I care as long as the price matches what you're getting.
With that said, I doubt this one matches that price and I'd NEVER buy it (it's yet another same guitar that they made four thousand times, only with someones name slapped on it).
 
From a surface level take, it's just a Road Worn with more specific wear. I figured I'd see automatic push back at TGP but....nope. :rofl

While I love Strats to bit, they're the one guitar (and Teles) where I just can't rationalize anything over $1500. A set neck with a bunch of binding is a different story, but even Epiphone are keeping LPC's down around the $1000 mark.
 
Wasn’t it only like 4 years ago when the first production Strat crossed the $2000 line? I feel like it was the American Ultra.

Crazy what has happened to guitar prices the past few years
IMO, the better all the tooling and other building processes get with the not-made-in-the-US factories, the higher they will price them. We haven't seen the end yet.
 
I saw Pearl Jam last week and they were awesome. They started the show quiet and acoustic, sitting on chairs for a few songs. Then McCready started soloing during "Black", stood up, and kicked his chair clear off the stage. Crowd went nuts and the rest of the band ditched the chairs and really started rocking. Mike was awesome the whole night and I was really surprised how much energy both he and Eddie still have given they are approaching 60.

All that is to say that while I'm not a super fan of Pearl Jam, I'm a big fan of Mike and love to see him getting his due with some signature gear.

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As for this guitar, honestly it looks really cool and I want to play one before passing judgment.

American made guitars are getting stupid expensive. Fender American Pros are approaching $2000, Gibson Standard LP is $3000, PRS is basically untouchable now at $5000. Just a few years ago, $1000 would get you a real solid American guitar (like a PRS S2 Standard, Gibson Tribute, or Fender American Special). Now you're looking at $1300+ for the cheap USA guitars on up.

Import guitars are still hit and miss for quality though. The Player series Fenders IMO suck. The frets and fretboard are always sharp and poorly finished and the guitars are not fun or inspiring to play. They cost close to $1000 and still need several hundred in setup work. But they have the Player Plus models which have better quality control and the Jason Isbell signature which is over $1500.

So it really depends on whether this guitar is a Player model with a relic job, or if it's basically a Custom Shop guitar that was made in Mexico. Looking at pictures and video, it looks legit. The Road Worn series had a dumb fake looking relic job. But this one looks pretty good. It has a nitro finish, vintage specs (9.5" board), and custom wound pickups. It could be a sweet guitar.
 
Maybe you should. :beer

I am done buying super expensive guitars. Played that game. Didn't make me happier, increase my girth,
garner me more friends, or make me play or sound any better. Besides, my inner Punk relishes making do
with such meager scraps and crumbs. 16 year old me is just happy to have something/anything to play. :banana
 
Maybe you should. :beer

I am done buying super expensive guitars. Played that game. Didn't make me happier, increase my girth,
garner me more friends, or make me play or sound any better. Besides, my inner Punk relishes making do
with such meager scraps and crumbs. 16 year old me is just happy to have something/anything to play. :banana
What's your thoughts on basswood bodied teles? There are a couple of cool not super-duper expensive Fender options :unsure:
 
Not sure, JT. :idk

Apparently, that 40th Anny Tele I just got is Nato. I don't even know what that is. :idk

The only Basswood bodied guitars I have owned in the past have all been Ibanez RGs.
 
Not to beat a dead horse, but for $2,000 there's a couple guitars I'd be looking at first:

Ibanez AZ2203N
- Made in Japan
- Stainless steel frets flawlessly finished
- Roasted maple neck
- Seymour Duncan pickups
- Gotoh bridge and locking tuners
- Hardshell case

p_region_AZ2203N_BK_00_01.png



Another one that might be fun would be a custom build from MJT. You can get a body and neck for about $1,000 and that leaves a lot of money leftover for parts and pickups.
 
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