My opinion... everyone's got one...I have played a lot of the Fender's in the high $2000K price range,
down at Guitar Center in Hollywood. I actually bought one for a friend
many years ago (3 years ago). It sounded sort of 'dead'... I don't
know if this would have got better... like wine and people, these
things actually can change over time, and improve... who knows if
those blackguards sounded as good before they aged, along with those
pickups with magnets that got weaker, but sounded better many times!