The QA guy must have been asleep this day........

[Rabbitz]

Way back in 2017 I bought this brand new MIM guitar via a online vendor. It arrived without going thru the vendors hands, as in the box came to me with the factory seal intact...

One thing for sure is it's not a banjo .... but it does have an identity crisis ....

Which one were you expecting?

Alsos does MIM = hecho en Mexico?

[Marcel]

Which one were you expecting?

Alsos does MIM = hecho en Mexico?

I was expecting a Mexican made and labeled Deluxe Stratocaster.

[Marcel]

Yeah, I see what you mean, I think whoever it was that was responsible for putting the decals on the headstock at the factory must have either a, been slightly asleep on the job, b, hungover, c, a new factory employee, d, not concentrating on their job for whatever reason that we can only guess, e, did it as maybe a joke or prank, f, all of the above, g, none of the above...etc...etc...etc....we can only speculate.

I've watched a few of those vids on youtube that show how guitars are made in the big factories. And knowing my guitar was built late November or early December, and all the checks and balances and QA that goes on, I get the feeling that my guitar was walked through as a special one of, that got lost in the system once it was inside a box.... and ultimately found its way to me instead of its intended recipient. The response I got from Fender Australia when I contacted them about it helps confirm my suspicions. Fender did offer to correct the issue free of charge, however I declined as at the time the guitar was a gift from my (now Ex) wife...

[Fretworn]

OUCH!!!
If you listen, you can hear an audible gasp from banjo players around the world right now!

Also, which part of the guitar are we looking at there?
FWIW, I could never see the dolphin magically appear within those dot paintings from the 90's.

That’s the neck joint. The neck is painted a slightly different colour, and the paint is partially over the binding. There is dirt in the finish at the neck joint as well. Fortunately it only a Korean Electromatic and not a White Falcon, but still.