I hail you my friend, for your country gave Placido Domingo, Carlos Santana... And the one and only Hugo Sanchez to the world!
Cheers,
Wallace
Cheers,
Wallace
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what did you think when fender started making instruments in mexico
- Thread starter tbird99
- Start date
My thought was I'll never buy a Mexican Fender bass when I can get an American one for a little over $1000. I try my hardest to support American workers when I can.
I would think many of the hardware would be sourced from the same companies and if not, it seems very inefficient. Also, why would they use a different lumber supplier? I'm not aware of ash and maple growing in great abundance in Mexico, so the bodies could be made in both places.
How could I possibly be specific? I don't work for Fender.
I worded that badly- I meant that I saw a lot of bad US made Fenders that far back. The imports were all from Asia, Germany, Italy and Korea back then. If they were making these in Mexico at the time, it's news to me.
It's obvious that the hardware, pickups and electronics differ considerably on MIM and MIA Fenders, especially when they first started MIM production.
Thids. I believe that is indeed the way of it, that both the California and Mexican plants, only being a two hour drive apart, use the same suppliers for hardware, electronics and wood. I do know thtat least some parts are made in Corona and sent over to the Mexican plant to be used there. Much cheaper to send them parts with a two hour truck ride than to ship them from across the country. The primary reason for the price differential is the very much higher wages for the workers in the U.S., not because the Mexican plant is using cheaper inferior materials. Or at least not significantly so, as to make a huge qualitative difference.
I wasn't saying anything about who causes the manufacturers to go offshore- the consumer bears a lot of the blame but, OTOH, if wages rise, the cost of goods has to increase, at some point. Most consumers don't give a rat's butt WHY the price is low unless the thing is total garbage or it's their job that's axed.
Environmental costs here are also incredibly high. I was at a guitar store when the Greg Koch models were shown for the first time and I noticed that they looked like lacquer. I asked the rep (one of Greg's past and sometimes current bass players) if they were shot in Mexico and he said no, they had built a new paint shop that conforms to EPA mandate for using solvent-based lacquer. I asked if they were using the water curtain type of booths and he said they are. It costs about $1Million to do this and it's not required in Mexico. Not only do they have to recover the over-spray, but they need to neutralize the VOCs while it's drying, as much as possible.
But the problem is that manufacturing cost/dealer cost/wages/selling price/need to make more money to afford the goods & services are all intertwined and it's a vicious circle, where each affects the others. If wages increase, the cost to manufacture it follows, the manufacturer needs to recover this cost increase and raise dealer cost,....
It's great to be able to buy cool things but if they're made in a place where wages are higher than their cost of living, only a couple of things will happen- they'll spend more, or they'll save more. Buying more doesn't need to cost more, if lower priced alternatives are available to the US-made goods but that means they may save more, even though they bought more items.
Hate me if you like (especially US citizens), but this is the fact of the matter:
MIM=MIA since Mexico is a country that belongs to a continent called... America! which happens to be not one country but several of them, located in North, Central and South America... didn't you ever take geography lessons?
Bottom line is, the discussion is focused on MIM -VS- MIUS Fender instruments.
Thank you for reading
Ps: I don't mean to start an argument with my post, it's a friendly one, and it says nothing but the true, despite your possible disagreement with it.
You're referring to the first maps with 'America' on them, aren't you?
Try reading The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles- if you're familiar with Monty Python, you would have noticed the use of the writing style from the Chronicles in 'Holy Grail'. A good example is when they were going to use the Holy Hand-grenade of Antioch on the rabbit.
If they're different, is was bu choice. I don't have a list of what hardware has been used on MIA or MIM, but I would have thought some would be the same.
Their proximity is why I asked the rep if the guitars were painted in Mexico- I didn't think Fender would spring for the spraying equipment for using lacquer in the US, but I was wrong. I would think they would exchange parts on a regular basis, depending on who had them, but I would imagine import/export issues would come up, even though it's between plants owned by one entity. I'm pretty sure they have some separation, though. Fender USA and Fender Mexico are different companies, IIRC.
But tell the difference between my Standard MIM maple Jazz and my Special MIA maple Jazz (craftsmanship and Greasebucket apart) is really hard!
Cheers,
Wallace
Cheers,
Wallace
i have been really impressed by the mexican telecaster guitars i have played, and if i was a poor college student again i'd pick one up
I really think all the great basses and guitars coming out of countries like China, Korea, and Mexico can be attributed to the amount of time they've been building. If a factory churned out guitars for 20 years, you'd expect them to be pretty damn good at it by now. People get better with more practice right?
Ok... I am Mexican. There is nothing wrong with Mexican ( or any other nationality or race ) workers in terms of quality...
And honestly there are a bunch of "Made in USA" (and any other nationality)products that are cr&p...
Quality has little to do with where things are built and much more with what is being built... that is not a decision employees make...
There are loads of excellent Mexican ( and chinese and british and Malay and of course US ) products.
Also, Mexico has a great tradition in guitar making... it goes back well before the USA or Mexico even existed as we know them now... So no one, and certanly not Fender is teaching poor little ignorant Mexicans how to build a guitar... Read a little, people...!
If Mexican Fenders are of less quality than MIAs its because that is what Fender wants ( and chooses) to build there... companies like to have several product lines...
And for you, red-blooded Americans... read a little History: California was a part of Mexico for a very long time... a lot more time than it's been part of the US... So even if you like it or not California, Texas , Arizona among many others are still more Mexican that you would care to admit. So quit you racist attitude please...
Flame, troll... still true...
And honestly there are a bunch of "Made in USA" (and any other nationality)products that are cr&p...
Quality has little to do with where things are built and much more with what is being built... that is not a decision employees make...
There are loads of excellent Mexican ( and chinese and british and Malay and of course US ) products.
Also, Mexico has a great tradition in guitar making... it goes back well before the USA or Mexico even existed as we know them now... So no one, and certanly not Fender is teaching poor little ignorant Mexicans how to build a guitar... Read a little, people...!
If Mexican Fenders are of less quality than MIAs its because that is what Fender wants ( and chooses) to build there... companies like to have several product lines...
And for you, red-blooded Americans... read a little History: California was a part of Mexico for a very long time... a lot more time than it's been part of the US... So even if you like it or not California, Texas , Arizona among many others are still more Mexican that you would care to admit. So quit you racist attitude please...
Flame, troll... still true...
Regarding your comment about history, remind me, please, why do you speak Spanish? That's not the original language of any country on North, Central OR South America.
I'm not sure it's a racial issue (sure, for some, it could be)- I think it's an issue of people who want to A) complain about the price or quality of goods made in different places and B) nit-pick over these issues. It could be due to nationalism, too. Regardless, as you pointed out, good and bad instruments are made in both places. I have a Baja Player's Club Tele and I knew where it was made before I looked at it. There's no way it could have been made in the US, for that price.
