Fender ‘72 Telecaster Thinline, MIM VS MIJ, Your opinions?

[LEMONed_Z]

Hi,

I've been thinking of getting a '72 Telecaster Thinline for some time, I'll likely be heading down to G77 to try the MIJ one soon (if it's still there). as for the MIM one, guess i won't be able to try it any sooner to compare with the MIJ to decide which i'll prefer since swee lee doesn't seem to have it in stock...

Anyway, i would like to hear opinions from those that had experience with either the MIM/MIJ 72 thinline, hope you guys can share. For those who managed to tryout both, which do you prefer?

At a glance from photos, the only difference i noticed is the bridge. The MIJ ones had 6 Saddles and the MIM had a hardtail bridge as seen on some non-tremolo strats. I had no experience with guitars with this 2 type of bridges b4. what's your take on them? and other than the bridge, is there other difference?

Whew.... that's lotsa qns huh? Hope to hear from you guys soon!

MIM

MIJ

 

[subversion]

Re: Fender ‘72 Telecaster Thinline, MIM VS MIJ, Your opinion

Anyway, i would like to hear opinions from those that had experience with either the MIM/MIJ 72 thinline, hope you guys can share. For those who managed to tryout both, which do you prefer?

i've certainly played both but i don't see stark differences between the respective bridge units. they are fundamentally the same.

both these guitars are great, however, the Japanese counterpart is lighter in weight hence having a more pronounced midrange which is very proper for a guitar of this nature. some are of the opnion that the lighter body deprives the guitars of good bass responses but i'd say that both guitar's bass offerings are sufficient, neither is lacking.

 

[LEMONed_Z]

Re: Fender ‘72 Telecaster Thinline, MIM VS MIJ, Your opinion

i've certainly played both but i don't see stark differences between the respective bridge units. they are fundamentally the same.

opps. my bad. i had not really paid attention to the details when i first saw the actual MIJ one at G77. at a glance from the photo i thought the bridge is something like the G&L ASATs type.

anyway, since you managed to try both, in terms of craftmanship, is there any difference?

 

[subversion]

no- the Jap unit is on par/ better than the mex. the mex, having suffered in the shadow of its US siblings, is catching up with the times. currently, swee lee has the latest mex models- they are definitely better than their previous batch of predecessors.

 

[jon__]

sub is right, mex fenders have definitely been coming up. i still think mij is better though, the build quality is more consistent on mijs imo. you could also try looking at a g&l tribute. i've played a couple and i think they sound way better than their mim/mij equivalents. american g&l is a little bit more ex (around 2k new i think, mine is second hand), but the quality of workmanship is amazing.

 

[LEMONed_Z]

oh... I already had a G&L Tribute ASAT, love it. Tributes sounding better than MIMs/MIJs?? hmm... I had to try out the MIMs/MIJs 1st.

 

[subversion]

the current batch of 'new' mex fenders are renewing my belief in them. in addition to production consistency, there's an effort to improve feel, which ultimately enhances playability.