A Fender Stratocaster is a Fender Stratocaster!

Our guitar reviewer, Clive 'Fingers' Warner, has been a semi-professional guitar player and Strat lover for years and currently plays with his band, Restless Natives, around the Surrey/Hampshire area. Here he poses the question, 'Has guitar snobbery, in terms of country of origin, gone too far?' (Above a Fern Green Mexican Strat).

A guitar playing friend of mine (lets call him 'Sam') recently decided that he wanted to buy a Fender Stratocaster. An excellent choice in my opinion, after all, hundreds of thousands of players over the last 60 years can't all be wrong!

Indeed its difficult to think of a musical genre that this most versatile workhorse doesn't suit from Hank Marvin 'twang' to sublime Stevie Ray Vaughn blues - taking in masters like Hendrix and Jeff Beck en route (I could go on, the list is seemingly endless). The only issue with Sam's decision was that he specified - to my dismay - that he was only interested in a Fender Stratocaster made wholely in the USA!

Over it's long and distinguished history the Fender company has manufactured guitars outside the USA for a host of logistical and cost reasons and I fail to see how manufacturing a guitar outside the USA should in any way impair the quality of that instrument! Indeed it is a well documented fact that some highly respected players consider some of the early 'budget' Japanese models to be superior to some USA models manufactured at the same time!

I have been playing Stratocasters for 35 years and the number of Strats that have passed through my grasping hands would embarrass even the most promiscuous guitar owners! But in all that time the country of origin rarely influenced my decision to purchase. I understand that this may affect the resale value of an instrument, but I've always been more swayed by the feel of a guitar, its price and most important of all - it's sound.

Consequently, I have owned a variety of Japanese and Mexican as well as USA made Strats to suit my budget. Indeed two of my best loved Stratocasters were a black 'Califormian series' Stratocaster (made partly in the USA and partly in Mexico) and a Fern green 'Standard Stratocaster' (made in Mexico).

Today the Fender company, recognising that there is a bias toward USA made guitars, promote these instruments as a 'premium brand' and this is reflected in the price. But I can't help feeling that punters like my friend Sam are being exploited for what I consider to be an irrational belief that the country of manufacture somehow imbues a guitar with mystical powers!

Let's face it, you can buy a brand new Mexican Fender Strat for £300; an almost identical item manufactured in the USA will set you back £650 - yet few players will be able to detect any differences in the quality or the sound (even fewer players will be able to determine the country of origin without checking the headstock)!

So my advice to Sam, and anyone else looking to buy a new Fender Stratocaster, would be to try and overcome whatever prejudices or preferences you may have about where the instrument was made and buy a guitar for its sound and feel according to your budget, you may be pleasantly surprised! I for one whoeheartedly recommend the Mexican manufactured Stratocasters, both because of value for money and their autentic Stratocaster sound. Why pay more?