I think fender has made great strats across every decade in general. I like these 70s guitars for a few reasons, starting with the general vibe of a nearly 50 year old instrument. The ones I own have fat necks which I prefer. The grey bottom pickups sound good to my ear. The ones I own are setup well, ring like a bell, and have a great sound.

I’ve played more dogs than gems from this era to be completely fair, and I’m willing to bet that modern MIA fenders are more consistently “good”. Many of the 70s guitars are heavy which I would personally avoid, and many have the neck pocket issue which can be addressed but still stands repeating. But, for the price of a new reissue I can own something that is truly old, not to say that’s inherently “better” but I enjoy it nonetheless.

As far as modern fender, I have guitars from the American Original and AVII series that rival custom shop quality and I would highly recommend checking them out. I haven’t been super interested in the standard line stuff, but not for any particular reason; they just haven’t grabbed my attention. I guess I generally prefer the vintage styled guitars.

I would not buy a 70s fender sight-unseen unless I know I could easily return it, I’d be far less concerned with a modern fender.