Glad I bought a MIA Tele and not a MIM

[brudford]

Purchased a MIA American Special Tele about ten years as I wanted made in America / California and several years prior to that
bought a new MIM Telecaster and none of the screws in the guitar body would hold , the wood was so soft it was like saw dust .
Here is a pic from the Ensenada Mexico plant of bodies , I am counting 7 pieces of wood and also see laminates . I would hope the MIA
are no more than 3-4 pieces with no laminate , the MIM have to save money somewhere .

 

[Lonn]

Ok then lol.

 

[Pops_Caster]

Seven times the tone!

 

[AquariumRock]

I have an MIA, too. But the MIMs, Player series, for example, are still solid. Just a lot more dogs out there that you have to sift through.

I don’t know if I necessarily agree that the MiMs “have to save money somewhere.” They’re up to what, $800? That’s probably a very handsome margin for Fender. It’s not like they’re butting up against the edge of profitability and are barely keeping the lights on. Squier CVs go for 450 or so and they make money on those. There’s no way a Fender costs twice as much to make, you’re paying for the decal, too.

Extrapolating from that, I wager there’s an even bigger markup on the MIAs. You’re paying for the decal and the “Made in Corona, California” on the back.

So it’s less that the Mexican guitars have to find places to save money, and more that the American guitars can name their price and us acolytes will still line up to buy, and that principle trickles down through the line. I wouldn’t be surprised if pricing is more psychological than logistical. They can’t have the Mexican guitars too close to the American prices or the American sales will cannibalize the Mexican ones. If you only had to pay an extra 150 to jump from a Player to an AmPro, nobody would buy Players. That kind of thing.

 

[VintageSG]

Any provenance for the picture?

 

[Texicaster]

Any provenance for the picture?

Yeah I've seen a few MIM Tele's and while heavier none more than 3 piece bodies.

All just as good as many MIA stds...side from weight!

 

[DanteNHK]

They aren't laminated. So, whats the real problem here?

 

[Musekatcher]

I don't know, a lot of mim's are loved, and retained. I imagine a few would do well in a blind fold test, even with multiple piece bodies.

 

[KATT]

Any provenance for the picture?

Somebody went on a tour of the Fender Mexico factory 19 years ago apparently, so many years before the Player Series was introduced.

does it matter how many pieces of wood a guitar body is made from?

Fender Mexican factory tour pics (not mine). MIM Standard Strat and Tele bodies being built. Looks like 7 pieces with laminate to me. Here are more pics: 2006 Fender Mexico Factory Tour

markweinguitarlessons.com

 

[Alaska Mike]

I have an MIA, too. But the MIMs, Player series, for example, are still solid. Just a lot more dogs out there that you have to sift through.

Fewer dogs than there used to be, for sure. The Player II, Vintera II, and various artist guitars are definitely a step up from the products of just a few years ago. Still, the Custom Shop gets the best raw materials, then Corona production, and then Ensenada. There are differences in average wood weight, hardware quality, and time allowed for hand work on each instrument. CNC can get you 95% there, but guitar sanding/finishing, setup, fine-tuning, and QC are often the difference. The pandemic guitars are prime examples of what happens when you let those slip.

I don’t know if I necessarily agree that the MiMs “have to save money somewhere.” They’re up to what, $800? That’s probably a very handsome margin for Fender. It’s not like they’re butting up against the edge of profitability and are barely keeping the lights on. Squier CVs go for 450 or so and they make money on those. There’s no way a Fender costs twice as much to make, you’re paying for the decal, too.
Extrapolating from that, I wager there’s an even bigger markup on the MIAs. You’re paying for the decal and the “Made in Corona, California” on the back.

Margins on North American production-line instruments are pretty low. The real difference (other than raw materials and features) is cost of labor. Mexican labor is much cheaper than US labor, and Indonesian/Chinese contracted labor is exponentially cheaper than Mexican. Fender owns the Ensenada plant, which increases overhead. They contract Cortek (and others) for overseas imports. FMIC and every brand with an import line makes most of their money from contract-built, mass-produced imports. There's a reason they are pushing so hard for the Indonesian-made Standard Series Fenders. High margins.

So it’s less that the Mexican guitars have to find places to save money, and more that the American guitars can name their price and us acolytes will still line up to buy, and that principle trickles down through the line. I wouldn’t be surprised if pricing is more psychological than logistical. They can’t have the Mexican guitars too close to the American prices or the American sales will cannibalize the Mexican ones. If you only had to pay an extra 150 to jump from a Player to an AmPro, nobody would buy Players. That kind of thing.

Roughly speaking, the Squier line occupies the $100-$500 range. MII Standards are sitting at $600. MIM/MIJ are in the $800-$1500 range. MIA production models are currently in the $1400-$2500 range, but I expect the lower end will bump up with new product lines in the next year or so. This tiered system has existed and evolved since the early '80s.

 

[Holy smokes]

That’s a cool pic. Thanks . Them guys got some skills. Guy I know wanted to do a utuber on the wood , us. Phoenix said no way Jose.

 

[Whatizitman]

I paid less for my MIM tele in 1999 than what Squier CVs go for now.

Well, duh. That was over a quarter century ago.

And the CVs are better than the MIMs were from yesteryear.

 

[dsutton24]

I have Mexican Telecasters from just about every era they were made, and I've never seen what the OP is describing. My everyday guitar is a 40+ year old Mexican Telecaster.

 

[Dismalhead]

Just bought a brand new Player II. After several minutes of scrutiny I have determined it's made of three pieces of wood.

Not that I think it matters.

 

[archetype]

Purchased a MIA American Special Tele about ten years as I wanted made in America / California and several years prior to that
bought a new MIM Telecaster and none of the screws in the guitar body would hold , the wood was so soft it was like saw dust .
Here is a pic from the Ensenada Mexico plant of bodies , I am counting 7 pieces of wood and also see laminates . I would hope the MIA
are no more than 3-4 pieces with no laminate , the MIM have to save money somewhere .

Welcome to TDPRI!

You might want to read the room, though, before offering opinions that are at the far end of the bell curve.

The lower half of the MIM models have multi-piece bodies. There are no laminates, per se. That a wood veneer on the front and back of the body blanks. The veneer makes grain filling and finishing easier, as anything that would create witness lines is under the veneer. In the past there have been US Fenders that were veneered.

I have and have had fine Fenders that are constructed like this.

 

[guitarbuilder]

Looks like they use less here. All those glue lines channel tone along the strings.

#41 MMM Fender guitars, Ensenada, BC

Long ago, I tagged along on a university management class trip to some maquiladoras in Baja California. This was shortly before the terms of NAFTA were to take effect. Among the places we toured …

seraarte.wordpress.com

 

[notroHnhoJ]

They aren't laminated. So, whats the

 

[notroHnhoJ]

In comparison, why would “laminated” make a lick of difference?

 

[RiverDog]

Umm... yes

 

[DanteNHK]

In comparison, why would “laminated” make a lick of difference?

They won't.