I really love these home demos done by normal, average ppl. This way, you have a better chance of getting the truth as there are no sponsors to skew the presenters' bias. You gotta find the sweet spot: someone good enough to know what they are talking about, but not so popular that they draw attention from sponsors. This "Goldilocks utuber" is becoming more & more rare these days. You Goldilocks it out of the park, thanks brother! Right on!! Cheers from Aus 😃 !
All great upgrades! I had a squir tele that wouldnt stay in tune good and I couldnt get the intenation within a good solid sound that I liked. I bought a cheap reverse big head neck from japan and some finder locking tuners and now it holds tune perfect and the intenation is dead on. It out prefroms my Jackson neck through and sounds amazing.
I'm in the middle of doing very very heavy mods on my MiM. It started out with new locking tuners and a fret dress (Did it myself) but now I'm going ALL in with some push pull pots and a couple of extra features (It's going to be AWESOME). I'm trying not to drill holes or route any of the body but I may change my mind later.
@@TheGospelGuitarist thanks. Yeah if I was willing to put holes in my new pickgaurd I'd put simple switches since I'm a bit worried about pulling the knobs off. But I may find some push push pots later on if they don't work out. I tried to find the pots with the little button on top of the knob but I couldn't
My sisters birthday is April 5th too. LOL yeah glad you needed the video, I take it there is a strat in your future? MIM are very nice guitars. I just stuck a set of Wilkenson M series sigle coil sized humbuckers in it. Great sounding pickups for $60 and I'm a Seymour Duncan guy.
thanks for that video. i have a MIM Tele and love it and i've done a few of those upgrades already. one question: have you tried a graphite nut? some people recommend them but i don't have any experience with them; wondered if you had. thanks again!
I like the MIM guitars, but the stock ceramics are a bit to harsh and lack details for clean sounds. Then wen driven they're to powerful and generic. I swapped out a set of ceramics with Fender Vintage and the guitar was clearer but weaker when driven and a little fuzzy. I prefer Alnico over ceramics and my USA Strat with stock Alnicos sounds perfect. The MIM standard Strat is a great guitar but the new Player is even better,again because of the bell-like clarity of the Alnicos, although I don't like the Wilkinson 2 point bridge as I lock all my bridges down. MIM are amazing value second-hand and I have kept one 2006 model and a 2007 Tele, even though I'm only buying USA Fenders now as they just have that extra something. Forget the Chinese Squiers, stick with MIM or USA, if you want the best.
Totally agree on all said. I love albino pickups. Just haven’t settled on what’s going into the strat. My les Paul is my go to but my single tone will be the strat. Coil splitting humbuckers isn’t the tone.
It depends on what you do with them. The ceramics work really well for rythym work behind a Les Paul or drippy 80's Cure type songs. For SRV type playing they are too bright unless there's wah involved.
im watching your video and i noticed, the body had no back plate screwholes, i bought a strat like that but it was a replacement body, luckily it was fender oem
You could try to do your own fret job. But you can buy a new neck for the cost of a tech doing a fret job. If you love it but don't feel confident in doing it yourself, look at some necks online. Various price ranges available.
The stock pickups sound pretty good but have a more warm modern tone. Its worth the upgrade if thats not what you want. The action on these is pretty good. Never played an American. More of a Les Paul guy but do like some Strat tones too but that is not where i want to put a lot of money.
I looked around and finally found the LSR roller nut on MIM Strats. I have not located any LSR Rollers for MIM, only USA, but I guess they fit. Sweetwater would know for sure. According to my research it can make for a tough installation. Tools need to be the exact type. #0 Philips screwdriver, #51 drill bit, digital calipers ect. I want to do it even if I have to buy a few tools. I cut the nut that's on there now so how hard can this be right? Should be able to just widen the nut slot carefully and pop it in there. You also want to take the unit apart, polish it to a shine including inside the ball baring sockets and add light oil into the sockets before putting the balls back into place. If you're not confident you can do it just take it to a good luthier. (read-Not Guitar Center lol)
Better yet, find your own sound. Too many new players fixate on trying to sound like Clapton, or Jimmy or SRV (strat examples). The thing is:- - because so much of our tone comes from the fingers, you'll never emulate your idol properly; - Even if you could nail your idols' sound, why would you? They already did. It's done, and you'll never outdo a great at their own game. Play your own sound, and enrich the world with *your* voice, and *your* message 😃
Let me know if you ever get divorced... I want your wife!! (buys you *that* for your birthday!? Mine bought me a gym membership - for Xmas I got a Weight Watchers membership, 😂)
I really love these home demos done by normal, average ppl. This way, you have a better chance of getting the truth as there are no sponsors to skew the presenters' bias.
You gotta find the sweet spot: someone good enough to know what they are talking about, but not so popular that they draw attention from sponsors.
This "Goldilocks utuber" is becoming more & more rare these days. You Goldilocks it out of the park, thanks brother! Right on!!
Cheers from Aus 😃 !
Thanks bro!
Thank you for the info man, looking to upgrade my MIM Strat, this was really helpful!
Great information. Great video. Thank you so much for creating and sharing. Looking to do something very similar.
Great job explaining everything great video found your channel on my quest for string tree upgrade info and now I'm stuck watching all your videos.
Thank you, very appreciated! Hope you find them helpful.
All great upgrades! I had a squir tele that wouldnt stay in tune good and I couldnt get the intenation within a good solid sound that I liked. I bought a cheap reverse big head neck from japan and some finder locking tuners and now it holds tune perfect and the intenation is dead on. It out prefroms my Jackson neck through and sounds amazing.
That's awesome!
Thanks Mike for sharing. Great info...
Your welcome!
This was really helpful. Keep it up man :)
Glad it helped!
I'm in the middle of doing very very heavy mods on my MiM. It started out with new locking tuners and a fret dress (Did it myself) but now I'm going ALL in with some push pull pots and a couple of extra features (It's going to be AWESOME). I'm trying not to drill holes or route any of the body but I may change my mind later.
I really am not a fan of push-pull pots. Need to find a source for push-push pots. Happy modding!
@@TheGospelGuitarist thanks. Yeah if I was willing to put holes in my new pickgaurd I'd put simple switches since I'm a bit worried about pulling the knobs off. But I may find some push push pots later on if they don't work out. I tried to find the pots with the little button on top of the knob but I couldn't
I needed this exact video. Thanks.
And my birthday is April 5: we’re nearly birthday buddies.
This second phrase goes in “Things dads say” book
My sisters birthday is April 5th too. LOL yeah glad you needed the video, I take it there is a strat in your future? MIM are very nice guitars. I just stuck a set of Wilkenson M series sigle coil sized humbuckers in it. Great sounding pickups for $60 and I'm a Seymour Duncan guy.
Any questions let me know and don't forget to subscribe!
Thank for sharing like your videos
Thank you!
thanks for that video. i have a MIM Tele and love it and i've done a few of those upgrades already. one question: have you tried a graphite nut? some people recommend them but i don't have any experience with them; wondered if you had. thanks again!
Highly recommend those from Graghtech. You can order from their website. Never owned a Tele but lately been wanting one. Glad you liked the video!
I like the MIM guitars, but the stock ceramics are a bit to harsh and lack details for clean sounds. Then wen driven they're to powerful and generic. I swapped out a set of ceramics with Fender Vintage and the guitar was clearer but weaker when driven and a little fuzzy. I prefer Alnico over ceramics and my USA Strat with stock Alnicos sounds perfect. The MIM standard Strat is a great guitar but the new Player is even better,again because of the bell-like clarity of the Alnicos, although I don't like the Wilkinson 2 point bridge as I lock all my bridges down. MIM are amazing value second-hand and I have kept one 2006 model and a 2007 Tele, even though I'm only buying USA Fenders now as they just have that extra something. Forget the Chinese Squiers, stick with MIM or USA, if you want the best.
Totally agree on all said. I love albino pickups. Just haven’t settled on what’s going into the strat. My les Paul is my go to but my single tone will be the strat. Coil splitting humbuckers isn’t the tone.
It depends on what you do with them. The ceramics work really well for rythym work behind a Les Paul or drippy 80's Cure type songs. For SRV type playing they are too bright unless there's wah involved.
im watching your video and i noticed, the body had no back plate screwholes, i bought a strat like that but it was a replacement body, luckily it was fender oem
just the lighting it has a backplate.
I've had a 96 MiM Strat since...well, 96. The frets are toast. Trying to decide if I should have it re-fretted or just buy a new guitar.
You could try to do your own fret job. But you can buy a new neck for the cost of a tech doing a fret job. If you love it but don't feel confident in doing it yourself, look at some necks online. Various price ranges available.
Is it worth it upgrading to traditional strat pickups? What about the action on mim vs American?
The stock pickups sound pretty good but have a more warm modern tone. Its worth the upgrade if thats not what you want. The action on these is pretty good. Never played an American. More of a Les Paul guy but do like some Strat tones too but that is not where i want to put a lot of money.
TheGospelGuitarist No versatility in Gibson. Too heavy. Action and neck is horrific. Fender strat is the greatest electric guitar! :)
If we all played the same guitar life you be boring.
Will the fender LSR roller nut fit on a mim width and string spacing?
Ya know, I don't know for sure. I was thinking the same thing. Mine stays in tune very well but a roller nut can't hurt for sure.
I looked around and finally found the LSR roller nut on MIM Strats. I have not located any LSR Rollers for MIM, only USA, but I guess they fit. Sweetwater would know for sure. According to my research it can make for a tough installation. Tools need to be the exact type. #0 Philips screwdriver, #51 drill bit, digital calipers ect. I want to do it even if I have to buy a few tools. I cut the nut that's on there now so how hard can this be right? Should be able to just widen the nut slot carefully and pop it in there. You also want to take the unit apart, polish it to a shine including inside the ball baring sockets and add light oil into the sockets before putting the balls back into place. If you're not confident you can do it just take it to a good luthier. (read-Not Guitar Center lol)
Question: after the upgrades wouldn't you just be better off buying an American Strat? Just a thought.
These upgrades don't cost as much as a $1500 dollar increase in the price to buy a nice American Fender.
@@TheGospelGuitarist true, true.
@@TheGospelGuitarist The American Performer series are about $1,200
@@TheGospelGuitarist Plus it's more personalized. You might end up upgrading the American as well ...
Hello, i need some help on my mim strat, i'm looking for certain sound and i dont know where to start.... plz help :c
Do some research on that sound and find out how others are getting it.
Better yet, find your own sound. Too many new players fixate on trying to sound like Clapton, or Jimmy or SRV (strat examples). The thing is:-
- because so much of our tone comes from the fingers, you'll never emulate your idol properly;
- Even if you could nail your idols' sound, why would you? They already did. It's done, and you'll never outdo a great at their own game.
Play your own sound, and enrich the world with *your* voice, and *your* message 😃
Deluxe Player MIM Strat - 5 position switch died after three months. Pay for play!
Let me know if you ever get divorced... I want your wife!! (buys you *that* for your birthday!? Mine bought me a gym membership - for Xmas I got a Weight Watchers membership, 😂)
This one is a keeper for life. 😍