I happened on a Mexican Tele a couple years ago that had an almost perfectly quarter cut neck
AFAICT Ensenada doesn't cut or shape necks, all of them come from Corona and are only finished in sunny Mexico - yes, the same necks are used on US and Mex models.
Too bad the pickups suck. One of these days I'll wind myself some real ones, when I have time.........
The basic Mex Tele is fitted with sub par ceramics, other models use uninspired/uninspiring Alnico models, a few are mounted with high quality pups - check the Classic Player Baja for instance.
Fender has run it'self thin trying to recreate the golden years of Pre CBS fenders the back taste they left in the mouths of players has haunted them. the 80's were incredibly bad, some of the best fenders being built were not american made and only sold as import models to japan, dozen's have resurfaced in the last decade in the states. Most of the USA made guitars still have mexican made parts fender now located in scottsdale AZ owns town in mexico just south of the border where most of the construction is actually done. Little old ladies, build the gear.
Best advice when it comes to any guitar play it before you buy it and see if you connect. if it's comfortable in your hands and doesn't tire you out to sling it it's a winner! the electronics can always be swapped out and the hardware can be adapted to personal taste.
I have several fender strats and tele's maple, rosewood, and ebony?, the neck adds to the tone each in there own way. though if the lights hit the maple just right it can blind out the fret markers.
selloutrr wrote:Little old ladies, build the gear.
That's absolutely a step in the right direction. Mexican Americans built the best Fenders either amps or guitars back in "The Golden Years". If industrial processes used as much hand labor as in the late '50s and early '60s we'd be right there. Same process, same product. Speed up the line, cut corners, save some bucks and you end up with crap same as always.
The still build Fenders like the good ol' days... in the Custom Shop.
Let your ear and hands be your guide forget the label, if it sounds good the bandmates will be ok, if not, hey maybe you need new bandmates? I had a 90 am strat plus for a good number of years, pretty blond but hated the stupid roller nut (really limited your string choices and changing it would have been expensive. Its gone now so no worrying about it). Since then I've had a korean (I think?) Ibanez H-s-H that has a neck better than any of the 80's strats I had before. Of course early early strats in the early 60's are great, but so is the price generally and even on them they vary all over the place on size and overall tone. I had put in a set of Texas Specials (custom shop which I find funny, the covers didn't even fit on them very well) and truthfully I hated them, I know for a 130.00 I shouldn't feel ripped off, but I surely wasn't impressed and they sounded about as much like Stevie as I do (not much) but then again you get into that 'Its in the hands' vs 'Its in the equip' debate that I won't go into although I believe the former is probably closer to the truth. Good look finding your new love, keep looking she'll pop up for you.
I've had bad luck with the fender reissue amps crackling and even finding wires that never got soldered to tube sockets, working just from friction or being looped. the crackling can be fixed the fasted by removing the board and resolding all the contacts.
The custom shop is not that custom all the parts are CNC machined and just picked out of bins and bolted together. at best you get a custom color. Personally why pay top dollar for pickups and wiring that you can find a diagram online and wire yourself. Most pickup companys give you wiring diagrams
unless you buy an art / collector guitar, where an artist adds detail to a body and parts no one is building guitars from scratch.
the exception to this might be an artist endorsement i.e. jagstang
the golden years of fender are far gone it's now just finding which guitar hangin on the wall feels right to you and how much you are willing to invest.
I agree with the statement that some $200 guitars play better than $1K guitars.
My 2 main Fender's are a Tex Mex Strat I bought in a blind taste test around 1995. I played about 15 different strats and picked the one that played and sounded best, got it for $279 brand new. The other is a Hwy 1 Tele.
If it feels right and plays right you can always fix the pickups.
I've built a lot of classic pickups, Strats, Teles, P-90s, HBs, it ain't difficult to do (except HBs) and you would be amazed at what a hand wound unpotted pickup sounds like if you build them the same way they used to. Hard to get wire like in the '50s though, it's too perfect now, in some ways, but even so it's well worth it.
OTOH if it sounds good too, all the more reason to buy it.
A lot of new Fenders are hit and miss. Sometimes you pick up one and it'll play well and won't sound bad. Other times, you'll pick one up and it'll sound like crap and won't play worth a darn. The problem I have is that a lot of times, their high dollar guitars are the ones that I'm not impressed with and the "budget" models are the ones that I'm typically drawn to. Their quality control isn't as bad as Gibson, but I don't understand how they can slap such a hefty price tag on some of their higher end models. Gibson is even worse about this, but that's besides the point.
I bought my 2004 RI '52 Tele in 2005 brand new for $1400. Annoyingly (err, lucky for me), the 2005+ models went up $200 and they didn't change a thing. The guitar had the sound and feel I was after and I don't ever regret the purchase, but every once in a while I'll pick up a Mexican or (especially) a Japanese Tele and they're just as good quality and sound-wise. The only thing that is hard to find on Tele style guitars is the huge '52 style neck which I'm a huge fan of, so I went with the RI.
I also really like the American Strats that came out of the 80's. With a new bridge pickup and a good setup they're great guitars and very versatile. I especially like the non-vintage style trems, they stay in tune well and hold up to abuse. Not exactly a big secret (just look at the Ebay prices) but they really are good guitars.
The Super Champs have also been going up in price recently it seems. They were the last point to point wired amp that Fender made (in the 80's) and are only really like a normal champ in size. Those little guys are LOUD and they really cook on the distortion channel.
Mr wicker man, I own an 79 American made Strat plays great but have heard better later models. Also bought new a hard tail 79, hated it but after pulling it out of closest a few years ago it sounded different, actually sounded very nice. One thing that happened was the paint had started to peel off, as if the wood had dried away from paint. Another regrettable sales Also had a friend, few bucks burning a hole in his pocket, so off to nearest GC tried every strat in the place, talk about pissed saleman, anyhow bought a MIM Strat over the American and other special Fenders. Go figure!! After seeing some guitars being built by some members I may give it a go. Also you should maybe consider doing some upgrades to your EPI, don't give up on it. Remember there's other variables that come into play. I have also been at jam sessions where a few players have the high end gear and still sound like crap Well you can see where I'm going with this..... Good luck
I think for the most part you get what you pay for, having said that I think the increase in price grows more rapidly than the increased quality. It comes back to there are people who will spend big money for that last little bit of improved tone, others are happier with more guitars that are say 90% and to them they don't notice that little bit extra.
For me I find most of the cheaper Squire and Mexi stuff pretty cheap and nasty, the higher end Mexi stuff is getting to be pretty nice and is pretty comparable to the US standard stuff. I been fairly spoilt with my guitar, as I managed to buy a really nice Cunetto Custom shop Relic several years ago that is a much better guitar than I am an actual player, so it sets a pretty high standard for me to compare other fenders to but if I had to replace it I would look for a nice US reissue Strat, I couldn't justify the extra cost these days.
[quote="mad_dog"]I think for the most part you get what you pay for, having said that I think the increase in price grows more rapidly than the increased quality. quote]
i think the problem with quality is we have become so accustom to throw away products. the world quality is the new vintage = big $$$
My 2 cents is always try to find a lighter in weight body,I was always told they were louder unplugged and warmer.So plugged in they sound even better.Good Luck Bro,Mikey
Also had a friend, few bucks burning a hole in his pocket, so off to nearest GC tried every strat in the place, talk about pissed saleman, anyhow bought a MIM Strat over the American and other special Fenders. Go figure!! After seeing some guitars being built by some members I may give it a go. Also you should maybe consider doing some upgrades to your EPI, don't give up on it. Remember there's other variables that come into play. I have also been at jam sessions where a few players have the high end gear and still sound like crap 
Well you can see where I'm going with this..... Good luck