Case Study - Made in China Fender - 18-19 months later.

[CEB]

Around late March early April 2012 I picked up a Modern Player Tele to use as a Slide/general purpose guitar. I got it for around $300. I think with a Fender hardcase after tax it was $459.

 

I didn't like the tuners and had trouble with the 4th string tuner so I replace them. Other than that I kept it stock. EXCEPT the jack and wiring was ****. I had to replace the jack and rewire the guitar in the first month. After the 3rd gig the jack fell off and there were no locking nut or washer or anything in the stock hardware to have prevented this from happening.

 

I took a picture while changing strings.

 

The hardware does not look good. If you are working guitar player that does heavy outdoor schedules the hardware is crap. I don't know what they plate the hardware with in China but it doesn't hold up like Mexican or US hardware. Even these Chinese knobs have rust on them and they feel like plastic. LOL. I still like the guitar. It does what I wanted. But it is cheaper for a reason. Though it seems the price has gone up this year or I got a really good deal on this last March.

 

If you are a hobbiest who plays at home and does not spend Memorial Day thru Labor Day playing out in the elements sweating like crazy this is a fun guitar.

 

Frets and Neck hardware still look fine. I changed the tuners It is just the body hardware that is deteriorating at a rapid rate. My main Tele is over 20 years old and the hardware still looks great except the saddles which I change when they corrode.

 

You get what you pay for. If the guitar doesn't leave home then it is a fun guitar.

 

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/CEB2/MPTele2_zps487ba3e5.jpg

[Guitarzan]

there is still some variance in overseas guitars. i can see amazing workmanship in some Indonesian guitars. I have seen good and bad from China. i suspect some companies have more demanding specs for the contractors to achieve. other companies seem to want the look and basic layout for max profit. and everything in between.

[Dannyalcatraz]

Thanks for the report!

[desertbluesman]

I like cheapo guitars, play them a while and discard them when they need replacing. Right now I have two cheapo's one of them a Ibanez RG 321 is 7 or 8 years old and an Agile Strat Clone is about 6 years old both look as good as the day I bought them. However neither of them has ever left the house. And neither has ever stayed out of the hard shell case after being played.

 

Both cheapo's can be damaged or stolen and no great monetary loss, just get another one or two to replace them.

[Larryz]

Reminds me of the NOS-acid washed-Fender-relic-custom shop tricks...only the Chinese could speed up the process naturally LOL!

[CEB]

Funny thing is I don't like relics. I like nice looking guitars. Mostly because I grew up poor and could not afford new guitars for a longtime.

[hurricane hugo]

well, if you ever get the urge to pull a Pete Townshend, you won't miss this one.

 

/brightside

[skipclone 1]

I like cheapo guitars, play them a while and discard them when they need replacing. Right now I have two cheapo's one of them a Ibanez RG 321 is 7 or 8 years old and an Agile Strat Clone is about 6 years old both look as good as the day I bought them. However neither of them has ever left the house. And neither has ever stayed out of the hard shell case after being played.

 

Both cheapo's can be damaged or stolen and no great monetary loss, just get another one or two to replace them.

 

I think anyone who plays in places they would avoid going for a drink, should have one of those.

[Caevan O’Shite]

I like cheapo guitars, play them a while and discard them when they need replacing. Right now I have two cheapo's one of them a Ibanez RG 321 is 7 or 8 years old and an Agile Strat Clone is about 6 years old both look as good as the day I bought them. However neither of them has ever left the house. And neither has ever stayed out of the hard shell case after being played.

 

Both cheapo's can be damaged or stolen and no great monetary loss, just get another one or two to replace them.

 

I think anyone who plays in places they would avoid going for a drink, should have one of those.

 

Haahh!

[Winston Psmith]

Man, that does not look good, even for a $300 guitar. If you're lucky, you'll be able to swap out some of that hardware, without putting too much more money into that guitar.

 

Just curious, though - have you taken a look under the P/G, to see if there's any corrosion in there? Ah right, you'd already re-wired it. I'm used to seeing that with the cheap Squiers, where people gut them as soon as they get them, but that's not what people expect when they see "Fender" on the headstock.

[Fusker]

Very cool road report!

[CEB]

I haven't looked under the pickguard after the first month. That is a scary thought. But frankly since adding the Morpheus to handle Eb drop tunings and adding a new Blonde Tele this year that I like for slide I don't use this guitar much.

 

There are things about modern player I like. I like the pickup layout and the guitar weighs nothing. I would probably buy it again. I will replace things here and there.

 

I can see this guitar in about five years sporting a Tone Zone in the Bridge a new Strat replacement pickup in the middle and a Fender Twisted Tele in the Neck and new hardware bits. Especially as I get too old to play the 70's Hag and these heavy Teles I own. The neck feels great on this thing.

[desertbluesman]

I like cheapo guitars, play them a while and discard them when they need replacing. Right now I have two cheapo's one of them a Ibanez RG 321 is 7 or 8 years old and an Agile Strat Clone is about 6 years old both look as good as the day I bought them. However neither of them has ever left the house. And neither has ever stayed out of the hard shell case after being played.

 

Both cheapo's can be damaged or stolen and no great monetary loss, just get another one or two to replace them.

 

I think anyone who plays in places they would avoid going for a drink, should have one of those.

 

I got 3, all of them play well, I would take any one of them out to play in any venue, and I would not have to worry about banging/dinging them on anything, or be feeling bad if they got stolen. They all stay in tune for the complete session. They look decent, there is no negatives about it.

[haywired2]

Funny thing is I don't like relics. I like nice looking guitars. Mostly because I grew up poor and could not afford new guitars for a longtime.

 

[Larryz]

Funny thing is I don't like relics. I like nice looking guitars. Mostly because I grew up poor and could not afford new guitars for a longtime.

 

 

Me too!

[Winston Psmith]

Funny thing is I don't like relics. I like nice looking guitars. Mostly because I grew up poor and could not afford new guitars for a longtime.

 

 

Me too!

 

Add me to that list, brothers. I still can't afford new guitars, most of the time, at least if we're talking the big U.S.-made brands like Gibson, Fender, PRS. I'm very grateful when I find a nice, clean, used guitar at a decent price. Spending Custom Shop money for a brand-new guitar that looks like it barely survived a tour with the Blues Brothers, that's for people with more dollars than sense. If I want to look that 'authentic', I'll buy a $50 Squier from a pawn shop, and play it in the pouring rain, then leave it sitting in the sun to dry out. I figure a good weekend of that treatment should do it, no belt sander required.

 

Back on topic, I really wondered about the MIC Fenders when they came out. Seeing this, I'm thinking Fender should probably have released these under the Squier logo. They may not have sold quite as many, but I have to wonder how many future sales they'll lose, by pushing gear like this, with a Fender decal? I can hear it now - "Oh, yeah, I had a Fender. It rusted out in, like, a year."

[Dannyalcatraz]

Bingo!

[Scott Fraser]

Funny thing is I don't like relics. I like nice looking guitars. Mostly because I grew up poor and could not afford new guitars for a longtime.

Me too!

 

Yup, I also find the 'relic' concept utterly ridiculous. I take good care of my instruments, & in turn they take good care of me. They are objects of beauty, so I show them proper respect. Sometimes you simply screw up & drop the guitar, or turn around & slam the headstock into a door frame. That's unavoidable & legit, but to do that intentionally? Worst kind of 'wannabe' posing imaginable.

[5 string Mike]

I agree- it's one thing when David Gilmour or Eric Clapton pulls out a guitar that they bought new in the '70s or '60s and put every ding, scratch, buckle rash, and divot in the thing over 30+ years of recording and touring.

 

It's even ok to a degree if someone bought one or inherited one form a relative or old friend that owned it for 30+ years as a gigging musician and had legit wear.

 

To me, it would be like going out and buying a new sports car with dents in the door, cracked windshield, missing radio knobs and rusted out rear quarter panels.

[Scott Fraser]

To me, it would be like going out and buying a new sports car with dents in the door, cracked windshield, missing radio knobs and rusted out rear quarter panels.

 

Even worse is to pay extra to have somebody put the faux wear & tear on the sports car for you.

[Larryz]

I hate it when one of my guitars gets dinged. If it does get dinged, I want to be the guy that did it! I can't imagine why guys will pay big bucks for a relic guitar that looks like sh*t. If it was a real classic guitar played by: Clapton, SRV, Jimi, Chet, LP, or somebody famous, then it would be worth the big bucks! I guess sanding the finish off of a maple fret board will make it look like it was well worn and played for 20 years, even though the frets and the guitar are still new... :idk

[skipclone 1]

I think someone was looking at a pair of preworn denim jeans at a store, and a light bulb lit up-under their ass.

[Guitarzan]

as crazy as it seems to by a worn guitar i see paying huge amounts for a guitar some famous artist owned even more crazy. as is buying a name only for the name when there are models by makers that play better, are better built and sound better.

 

i would never buy a custom shop relic but i will say i think the road worn series are nice comfy playing axes. the look isn't a deal maker or breaker for me.

[Larryz]

Not me, if you have an Elvis guitar for less than a grand, I'm interested! I'm not saying every guitar on the Antiques Roadshow is worth what they claim, but many of them are (i.e. see the Dylan guitar auction thread)...

[Guitarzan]

I save my kids achievements and pics for keepsakes. i have no interest in an object owned by person who is famous.

To me it is what it is, an object and i find it ridiculous to pay big bucks for hero worship items. as far as i am concerned the item isn't worth more just because someone famous touched it. they are musicians and artists not Gods to worship. Just people like us.

i can appreciate the significance of an item historically speaking that is. like Ed's Frankenstein or Brian Mays homemade red special. and yes i would like to see them and check them out but no matter how rich i was i wouldn't buy either.

i am not into celebrity hero worship. i have my own life to live.

my Mom was out today and we found an envelope with my brothers first haircut. now that IS special because it is my Mothers memories that are in that envelope.

not some famous strangers hair.

 

[Larryz]

+1 I could care less who the famous person was and have no desire to keep the artifact. There are a lot of people out there that will bid some big bucks to own what is of little interest to most of us. If I could buy it for a grand and sell it for 50 grand, I would want to be there for the transactions...

[skipclone 1]

Well to put another spin on the issue-suppose you do a favor for someone famous-loan them a guitar at the last minute, or save their band member`s gear from being stolen, like our second guitarist did for Allan Holdsworth` drummer

when we saw him with the I.O.U. band. Suppose that person gives you a guitar as a thank you. Now to you maybe that is another guitar. But some collector may be willing to pay thousands for it. Do you keep it or sell it-and double or triple that amount if, heaven forbid but, something happens to the person who gave it to you?

[Dannyalcatraz]

Depends on how I feel about the person...AND my personal economic situation.

 

If I'm doing alright, and the instrument came from a favorite artist, I'd hold onto it for as long as I lived.

 

If, OTOH, I found myself needing a buttload of cash for some reason- say...my maternal aunt needed a surgery not covered by her insurance- then I'd have to at least consider selling it.