Help me choose: MIM or MIK Koa

[Chance]

Hi Folks,

First post, and I want to start with a big thank you for all the valuable information that everyone has contributed to this site. I have found it really helpful in my search for my first guitar purchase since 1977. :) I would like to get back into playing after a long lay off. After reading through all the posts I had decided to get a MIM telecaster and a small Fender amp. But I wanted to play one before I actually ordered one.

Well, low and behold, I found a small guitar store here in Northern New Mexico that has prices the same as any of the Online retailers. And they had the MIM telecaster I wanted. The MIM Standard in Electron Blue. I would rather give my business to a local store anyway so the it was a pleasant surprise to see the prices were low too!

Anyway, while I was looking at guitars he brought out a MIJ Koa that someone had scratched up while playing it. They aren't sure how it happened but there are scratches all along the back edge of the guitar. They have it on clearance for $500.00 - so only $100.00 more than the MIM I was planning to buy.

I played them both and liked them. The store owner was nice enough to play them both for me and the MIM sounded a little brighter but they both sounded good. The finish on the Koa seemed nicer.

Honestly, I am so green to this that I am having a hard time knowing which to buy. So any thoughts, suggestions, or recommendations would be really appreciated.

Here is a link to the Koa version at Sweetwater

Oh, and he was playing a 55 telecaster - which was really cool.

Last thought. The scratches don't really bother me. I want a relatively inexpensive guitar so I can play around with learning about set up, replacing pick-ups and things like that. So a little wear and tear doesn't seem like a bad thing.

My music tastes are all over the place from country to blues to punk.

Thanks!

Chance

[Ethical]

If I remember correctly then the MIJ Koa is actually a Basswood body with a Koa veneered top. The only drawback to Basswood is that is a little softer than Alder or Ash so it's likely to suffer more from bumps & bruises.

MIM vs MIJ - I don't think there's much difference these days both plants turn out good instruments, often as good as their American cousins.

I'd say go for whichever felt best in your hands - go back and try them both again - if you can then get a friend with more experience to go along too (but the final decision must be yours alone).


Ted

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Ethical

If I remember correctly then the MIJ Koa is actually a Basswood body with a Koa veneered top. The only drawback to Basswood is that is a little softer than Alder or Ash so it's likely to suffer more from bumps & bruises.

MIM vs MIJ - I don't think there's much difference these days both plants turn out good instruments, often as good as their American cousins.

I'd say go for whichever felt best in your hands - go back and try them both again - if you can then get a friend with more experience to go along too (but the final decision must be yours alone).

Ted

Hi Ted.

Thanks for the feedback. Sweetwater says the body is Alder with a Koa veneer so I don't think that is a problem. And, sadly, I am a transplant and the few friends I have out here are all horse folks - with not a single guitar player among them. :)

I played them both but, at this point in my evolution, I didn't find much difference in how they felt in my hands. So I am hoping folks with greater experience can help guide me. I don't really think I can go wrong either way but anything to help me to decide would really help.

Thanks,

Chance

[lostpick]

decent Duncan pickups and a
vintage bridge and saddles...
you can leave that stock..
nice grain in the neck...
the front body
grain looks OK??
KOA can look crappy if the
grain is irregular and course...
your getting more bang for buck with the KOA

[pengipete]

As you're not worried about the finish and assuming that they both hang comfortably when you strap them on (try them standing up with your prefered strap type), I'd go by the way the neck feels first then the default pickup sounds and try them through the amp that you are going to use them with.

Post a piccy of whichever you get :-)

[RomanS]

The KOA has much better pickups and a vintage bridge - those two reasons alone should sway you in the direction of that one...

[webb3201]

Originally Posted by RomanS

The KOA has much better pickups and a vintage bridge - those two reasons alone should sway you in the direction of that one...

yep....go KOA no question. Then you can buy a used MIM in the future when you realize you cant have just one!

[Ethical]

Just a final thought... what about an amp? Make sure that you try the guitars with the amp you use - or are you buying an amp at the same time?

Hope this helps.


Ted

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Ethical

Just a final thought... what about an amp? Make sure that you try the guitars with the amp you use - or are you buying an amp at the same time?

Hope this helps.


Ted

Buying an amp at the same time. Probably the G-dec junior. But, if I can get a deal, maybe the Fender Super Champ XD which the store owner was showing me.

Chance

[Chance]

Thanks everyone for you helpful commments. It really has helped.

That being said, keep them coming!!! :)

Chance

[Chance]

Just for posterities sake, I checked the Fender site and the Koa is made of Basswood.

Chance

[Dep]

I have a Koa. I think you'll be pleased with it if you get one.

Dep

[superlightweigh]

Personally I prefer my MIM std to the Koa. I got a fantastic deal on a Koa at GC at the Black Friday sale (Ummm- $399, but that was a deep discount on top of a closeout price) and after bringing it home for about a week I ended up taking it back and getting something completely different.

That particular Koa Tele, or one just like it, is still for sale there for $459 as of last week....

Also I just got a whopping tax refund and have been buying stuff like crazy, but even seeing that guitar again I had no desire to repurchase it. In other words, no regrets.

Here's how it went down for me:
The Koa really wowed me at the store, with its deep gorgeous finish and better hardware. But once I got it home and started to really calm down and look at things, I started to get cold feet. Some here would disagree with me, but I actually liked the stock pups in my MIM Std better than the Duncans in the Koa. They sound brighter to me, too. The Koa neck pup is screwed directly into the body as a "more traditional" kind of look, but I think it's more because it is hoped to give a little more positive contact to the soft basswood body than the more common pickguard attachment would give.
Also, I find the traditional ashtray bridges can be kind of tricky to play around and sometimes annoying- I prefer the flat bridge on the MIM, at least for now. The third thing was when I opened it up and looked around inside, I found that the pup selector switch is a cheapy, but the big disappointment was that the Koa veneer is only like 1/16th of an inch thick! That really deflated me. The body is primarily made of basswood, which to me sounds mushy. I think that's the real reason for the way the neck pup was mounted, to try to compensate for that fact. So there you have it.

I see myself as being a "what you see is what you get" kind of a guy, or put it another way- the real deal is more important than what the appearance or perception may be. I felt that the Koa tele just wasn't my style, I guess. But, it is still better than many other guitars out there and $500 for one is still a good price. Just my two cents. Have fun deciding.

[Ethical]

Originally Posted by superlightweigh

... The Koa neck pup is screwed directly into the body as a "more traditional" kind of look, but I think it's more because it is hoped to give a little more positive contact to the soft basswood body than the more common pickguard attachment would give...

FYI physical contact between a pickup and the body is irrelevant. Pickups are only affected by EMF (Electro-Magnetic Force) changes. Nothing is transmitted to the pickup by the body itself.


Ted

[boris bubbanov]

I find myself increasingly unimpressed with the contract guitars labeled as Fenders coming out of this Korean plant.

The CIKs are very showy from 20 feet, but they don't play like they were built by guitar players. As a oft posted video tour of the Ensenada plant shows, only workers with guitar playing ability are involved in the assembly and finishing of the MIM guitars. The CIks look fine on hooks, but taken down and played they are definitely missing something.

I inspected a blonde finish birdseye cap Lite Ash Strat at a local dealer, asking price far above the MIM Tele or Strat Standard. The thing easily weighed ten pounds. I didn't bother to plug it in. But it was inspected by Mr. Lee.

Thanks, Mr. Lee, great job.

[superlightweigh]

Chance,
Which one did you end up with?

[Chance]

Originally Posted by superlightweigh

Chance,
Which one did you end up with?

Well, I haven't chosen yet - and folks are making it hard for me!

But it is a good thing. I'm going back today to play both of them again. I wish I was more experienced and could make a decision based on my own knowledge - but the folks here have been kind and helpful in providing their perspective.

I don't really think I can go wrong - so I'm trying to get get too anal about it. But I also want it to be a decision that ends up with my having a guitar that I enjoy playing - and won't just end up sitting in the corner because I'm not really happy with it.

Chance

[Bangbang]

I have the MIM and love it. I was goi to change the pups in it till I ran it through my Bandit. Woweeeeeeeeeeeeee! I can dial tones in it that kill.

[teleman1991]

the korean in my opinion sounds crap. They really look the part and i was goign to buy one to upgrade from my mex and get somehting different, but it just didnt do it for me. i proudly stand by the mex std. If you can find a reli good mex then ur in luck because they are such good guitars. The build quality just isnt as consistent as more expensive models. Korean Tele's - bad times.

[kingofdogs1950]

I own two MIM teles and am very pleased with both. If you go for the MIM you would have more money for a better amp or possibly pickup upgrade. I would check out the necks on both guitars carefully to see if one feels better. Replacing a neck is expensive: other modifications are generally fairly cheap.
My .02 worth.

Mark

[blackshoe1]

Chance, I can only speak to the MIM. I purchased one about 4 months ago. I have to say across the board that it is a great guitar. You can't go wrong. I also own the GDEC you mention and it's a great amp for practicing solo's against all of their presets. Since I play for fun and mostly alone, this was money well spent. It's not a "great sounding" amp...and that's not its purpose. But it is great for the house and allows endless hours of searching for your sound. MIM & GDEC....great choice for the money and you won't feel like you paid too much for what you get.

[Joe Chaney]

personally i think a tele is a working man's guitar, designed to be played, while the koa guitar is beautiful, its to showy for a tele, also you'd be terrified of dinging it, and, for the environmentally conscious, koa is very rare, can you support cutting it down?, a koa strat yes, a les paul yes, not tele
but thats just my opinion

[Chance]

Hi Folks,

Thanks to everyone for their input. I went back and played both guitars again. I definitely like the neck on the Koa better. I also liked the sound better on the Koa. I had the owner play both guitars through the same amp - and I polled people in the store. The five "lucky" people that happned to be in the store all liked the sound on the Koa better, so it wasn't just me. So I think for these particular MIK and MIMs it just turns out the the MIK Koa was the better specific guitar.

So I am going with the Koa. I'll post pictures once I pick it up next week. He is going to put new strings on it over the weekend.

I have to say the owner is a really nice guy. He has been very willing to answer all my questions. He has played all the guitars I have asked him too and he has demonstrated the various amps etc.

He is also really willing to deal. All of the prices have been less than the big online retailers like Sweetwater and Musician's Friend. I think I am very lucky to have a good shop so close.

I am also getting a G-Dec junior, and a hard shell case.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

Chance

[RomanS]

Congrats - you made a good decision!