Rating it a 9 only because I intend to modify it with a Seymour Duncan of some type humbucker and 2 Fender Texas Special Singles with a wiring modification as well but I'm in no hurry because it still sounds great as is.

Sound
The sound is great on this. It's plenty versatile and I can achieve the sound I want with any music type i want to play. Metal, country, funk, anything really. That's what it's all about isn't it?

Features
5 way selector switch, volume and 2 tone. Decent tuning machines, hardware is very comparable to USA quality IMO.

Ease of Use
The pickup selector switch easily enables you to dial in any sort of sound you wish. I adjusted the height of my pickups and that beefed up my neck position single coil and I can get a great bluesy sound with plenty of balls which is great for an SRV lead tone.

Quality
Had a USA Standard Strat that got stolen. Couldn't afford the $950+ price tag to replace it so I went with the MIM Fat Strat. I can say that I was NOT disappointed at all. This is NOT the same MIM strat from 5-6 years ago. There are FAR less complaints on these than the latter. The neck is smooth and feels just as good at my old USA strat. Sound wise, the MIM single coil pickups sound just as good as the USA ones. The Humbucker is no Dimarzio or Seymour Duncan but delivers as well. The trem isn't as smooth as the USA one but I only… read more use it for some fine vibrato. If you're wailing away on it and dive bombing, even the USA standard two point tremolo will go out of tune. If you want to dive bomb and make siren sounds, spend the extra money and get the Floyd Rose version. But all said, you cannot go wrong with this purchase.

Value
I paid $379us for it. Free shipping too. I've never bought a guitar via mail order or the internet before and I was a bit nervous but it came set up and relatively in tune. I've heard complaints of bad action ,etc. That wasn't my experience at all but I realize that it's pretty much a crap shoot as anything can happen during transit. If it comes and the action stinks, take it to your local guitar shop and have a pro set up.

Manufacturer Support
Giving it a 10 simply because I ASSUME that Fender stands behind this product. Haven't had to use support.

The Wow Factor
Looks great, sounds great, feels great. What more can you ask for? This is my main guitar.

Musical Background:
Active Musician

Musical Style:
Rock, Folk, Country, Metal read less