Fender Mike McCready Stratocaster Review - AGN Inside & Out
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- A look at the MIM Fender Mike McCready (of Pearl Jam fame) signature Stratocaster. We take a look inside & out, and give it a listen--is it worth the price tag??
My apologies for the slight sync issues during the guitar audio portion, an annoying glitch with the software for some reason-it might be best to close your eyes!!
Thank you for your honesty
Of course-I try to do my best! Thank you for watching!
I can’t afford a reliced custom shop. So I picked one up. So far no complaints other than it needs to be setup. String height was crazy high. Overall I love that it’s scratched so no fear of wearing it out. It’s a great strat. And the pickups are only for this model. It’s slightly different. You can never own enough guitars. 🎸
Yeah, this one has some crazy high action when I got it too…but after a truss rod adjustment it’s quite comfortable. Guess they haven’t been spending much time on setup! Agreed-all the more tools in the toolbox! Thanks!
I don't know why ppl are worried about wearing their guitars out. Hardly anyone is really actually playing their guitar. They're on CZcams and forums doing homework that'll hopefully be useful some year when they actually do pick their guitar up to play it
WHOA WHOA WHOA to my genius tester of the stratocaster.. that lick at time stamp 12:21 , sounds exactly like "A different world" theme song... ?? Was that intentional? One of my favorite bluesy licks too btw lol
Great to see a video that explores the relicing in more detail. I havent been able to find one of these in stores to check out but did see another Mexican tele that had the road worn treatment and was a little disappointed up close. The thing that really broke the illusion close up is how smooth and curvy edged all the wear is, everything looks flat. There wasn't any flaking off, unevenness or sharp edges where a piece has broken away that you'd expect from a real relic.
Very nice demo of both guitars and the amp sounds great. As for the cheaper MIM Strats, eyes, they use those same CTS pots and 5-way selector.
Thank you for your kind words! And thank you for the info-I haven’t been inside any recent MIM Strats so I was unsure. Thanks for watching!
Good demo. I bought one when they first got released. The small shop I got it from, included a set up. Out of the case it played beautifully. I absolutely love it. Anyone who would criticize these because they are made in Mexico are the same people who would criticize Fender USA prices. These are worth the price tag considering the US ones are priced as much as a car. The case is real nice, the neck feels amazing, the pickups are fantastic and unique to this guitar and the relicing of the NITRO finish is pretty damn good. It’s gonna look more and more naturally relict the more you play it. Mine has.
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoy it-that’s the most important part anyway, right? I do agree, a lot of people criticize pricing, which may be fair enough…but in the end, for the overall guitar it’s probably priced appropriately considering the other price points in their lines…
So they don't give you the spring cover plate? The aging of the neck, in my opinion, should resemble the sanded neck from the gloss, so it is good have on this guitar the straight line at the bottom and at the end of the neck, with the grey area that looks like the grease of the hand, just my opinion/idea of that... about the wiring it could be nice if they used the fabric cable just to match the "age" of the guitar, and the hardware is too shiny... with just a little mod it could be worth it... nice review man, thanks!
Mine was damn near perfectly set up when it arrived. It's a freaking GREAT guitar.
Nice!! That’s great to hear! Glad you’re enjoying it!
Mine was perfect too
I've tried this guitar on a Fender Twin, a Deluxe and also on an Orange and it's really very surprising. The pickups are excellent and the finition is super and comparable with the American ones. I wasn't able to compare it with my Strat American Original 60's, but I have the impression that the McCready is slightly better sounding, and I also prefer its neck, which is less bulky.
Really enjoyed this review and your playing. I think the relic work is pretty good and the pickups etc are above the standard MIM stuff. Sure a genuine 60’s Strat would be more authentic but who has the money to spend on one of those which may have a bunch of other issues anyway. I’m also 66 so I don’t have 60 years life left to naturally wear a new guitar! I have a 79 Strat that a bought new in 81 which has a fair few scrapes which I have helped on its way in recent years with T-Cut which looks pretty cool and the knobs and covers have aged naturally over the 23 years and are the real deal (I changed all the plastics to white when I bought it). It is heavy though like most late 70’s Strats are. Recently I put together a project which started with a Custom Shop 61 Journeyman body which I got for a good price in the UK as it was a refinish in Fiesta Red. I initially had a USA original 60’s series neck on it which played fine but then a saw a 66 Closet Classic Custom Shop neck which I paid silly money for but is very nice and I’m a big headstock guy. Kind of defeated the object of a bargain build but I’m happy with it and it worked out less than a Custom Shop Strat over here in the UK even if I don’t have a certificate and case candy. I do like the look of the McCready though! Sorry for rambling on, definitely going to like and subscribe.
Thanks so much for watching, and your kind words! I’m a big headstock guy too, I’m right there with ya! I think if you see one over there it’s definitely worth a play, though it sounds like you have some nice Strats to play as well… Thanks and take care!
love those clay dots
I agree the dots and fingerboard look pretty sweet-and it is cool to have the treble bleed cap stock, simple but effective. Thanks for watching and your kind words!
Thank you for your review - it was great! I picked this guitar up once it came out a few months ago and I am not a fan of Mike McCready's (although I do like Pearl Jm). I was able to get it with a good discount, for £1350 (GBP), and I could choose the top and mine came set up perfectly. This is a GREAT guitar! I actually seen custom shop guitars with far worse relic jobs - mine is really great, and the pickups, like you mentioned, sound really great! The burst is a kind of chocolate burst like a 1959 Strat burst, and it is really cool imo! Now, to put things into perspective, in the UK (where I live) a heavy relic Strat costs more than 5 grand, and a used one would go for around 3.5 k. Perhaps for people in the US the price difference with heavy relic custom shop Strats is not that big, but in England it is. Obviously, this is not a custom shop, but to me it was definitely worth every penny, and I would buy it all over again!
That’s a good deal. Can you tell me what shop in the UK you got it from? Thanks
Thanks for watching, and for your kind words! Very glad you found one at a good price and love it-in the end, that’s all that matters, right??
Also Fender makes a road worn strap that’s a perfect match.
Nice! I’ll have to check that out
have a 2008 road worn MiM 60 in 3tsb strat (first road worn I think) and the aging is way better and more authentic than this one. Metal and plastic parts are well aged too and looks incredible. ...nearly cs level in my opinion ...cool video by the way ;)
Very interesting! I have to say the aging on the body is definitely the weak link for this guitar, the neck is somewhat better. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment, and for your kind words!
@@aquadogband yes, I like the neck too ...looks good to me 😉 greetings from switzerland 😊
I also have a 2008 roadworn and all the metal parts are aged and there is checking on the body, and the lacquer almost sink into the wood . Look more like there is a step between the lacquer and the wood on the mike Cready
I like how you have to ask if it's worth it because otherwise people might suspect your sincerity.
i love your playing style. really dig those lick. i like those guitar but im waiting Fender to released for Frusciante's guitar should they released it. RN happy with my MIJ Strat.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I totally get that, the Frusciante would be a cool one for sure…. There are definitely some great MIJ Strats out there, without a doubt. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment!
If the the guitar sounds great, worth it. But each guitar is diferent, there are dogs in the premium segment too.
Genuine question... When someone buys a new guitar that has a relic job, do they/you still try to not bang or bump into things with the guitar? Or do you not care about any future scratches or damage since it is already scuffed up? hehe. I have always wondered about that. Thanks. Cool guitar, dude! I am not a strat guy.....but I do like the feel of them.
That’s a reasonable question! I think it depends…for me, I think it does make it more difficult to see any additional blemishes, so I find I’m not as careful as I am with, say, the Virginia Strat, or my other EJ Strat…the lacquer on those is so thin that if you even LOOK at it wrong it will dent! This one appears to have a light coat of sealer over the ‘worn’ finish as well, which adds to the cheesiness of the relic job, in my opinion…but I suppose the intent is to ‘protect’ it?? Thanks for watching and your kind words!
It's an interesting question. I do have relic cs strats as well as a brand new eric johnson strat. I noticed i'm more careful with the ej strat than i am with the relic cs strats. Because they look banged up already it's like i don't care as much if they get banged up a little more. The positive is i get to focus on just playing.
Great...now i'm shopping for a new strat:)
Ha!! My apologies!! 😝
ROADWORN YVH = Heavy? My guess.
As good a guess as anything I had, very well could be! Thanks!
Mike mc-ready. Thats what i call him
Wish they would’ve done a lefty version…5k for a Custom Shop is not doable
Heard another demo of this instrument, and it sounded awful...thin, tinny, feeble. This demo has far more resemblance to the desired tones, but other than the "furniture" of it, what equipment is necessary for mere mortals to recreate that woody SRV/Hendrixian chirp? ProTools makes it all up? Could you play this same way on another Strat?
Inquiring minds want to know...
😮😮😮
Wow $1,200 for a flat grain neck !
This guitar is over $3000 in Australia so you get it cheap really
Yikes! No doubt!
Its just AUS vs USD. Don't forget the pay parity isn't equal either...
That has to be the worst relic job I’ve ever seen 😂
It isn’t probably the WORST I’ve seen…but it’s far from the best, that’s for sure! 😉 Thanks for watching!
@@aquadogband haha yeah, maybe not the worst. But, on the video it looks like they just painted over a stencil 😂. At least darken the exposed wood or something.
@@Thisisrance agreed!! It definitely looks like a stencil…and one of my nitpicks is always when they leave exposed wood areas clean and bright-and then put a sealer over that? Non-aged gloss nitro would’ve been better than mediocre aging in my opinion, but they definitely didn’t ask me 😂
It looks great in person
Seen one in a shop. Looks really aweful in person…
No modern electric guitar is worth more than 1k unless it has historic provenance. Imo. Especially when it looks like it was dragged down the road. Signature series is just a bs term to sell guitars. It's just wood and electronics and if you have basic understanding of electrical stuff, you can make any guitar play just like it. Every production electric guitar is cut out with a Chinese made CNC.
You’re hilarious.
I do think its a nice guitar, but i think its grossly overpriced.