fender player series strat

Hootsmon

....the Mexican strat for 2018

I saw a couple of nice strats with skinny necks today in gtr gtr and they look quite good, never got a chance to try one though.......what's the word with these guitars then folks?

Hootsmon

anybuddy?

HAL9000

The word is that there were quality issues, particularly with badly cut nuts. There's a thread somewhere about this. I've seen a couple in shops that were both ok so it's possible it's been sorted now.

thegummy

Yeah, everything I'd read previously was that Mexican Fenders were totally fine guitars after about 2012 but this is the first year I see a lot of talk about quality issues - would make me weary of buying one.

The buttercream colour they introduced is a big plus though. I had previously never liked any of the Mexican Standard colours and had even wondered if they deliberately saved the better colours for the higher priced models but that new buttercream one is lovely.

On the downside for me personally, I play a 50s Precision - honey blonde with a white scratchplate that I swapped in myself. But now the Player series has that very similar looking buttercream colour so loads of people will have a similar looking bass to me instead of very few to none!

I'm sure I've moaned about that before on here and people said I shouldn't be concerned with that lol

57Deluxe

The Mex made Classic Series '50s & '60s Lacquer circa 2013 were highly rated... is this model still in the catalogue? Would have been my first look if was out for another Strat.

thegummy

57Deluxe said:

The Mex made Classic Series '50s & '60s Lacquer circa 2013 were highly rated... is this model still in the catalogue? Would have been my first look if was out for another Strat.

Always really loved the look of the Daphne Blue 50s Strat but the 7.5 radius always put me completely off them

thermionic

57Deluxe said:

The Mex made Classic Series '50s & '60s Lacquer circa 2013 were highly rated... is this model still in the catalogue? Would have been my first look if was out for another Strat.

I agree, the Classic Series guitars are great, lacquer or not. But was there something special about 2013? I have a 2015, and a 2014 Jaguar.

Bellycaster

Some of these have come down to £469 (£555 RRP) so a good set up is always an option with the reduced price, even a new nut if needed. I had my American Teles and L.P Classic set up after purchasing anyway as it's always beneficial.

Philip McKnight's Video is good (see below), he studies all the components. Only weird thing is the Trem Cavity at 8:00 in. Looks like Guitar's been painted then routed.

He is basically saying that the quality and components are the the same as the older American Standards from the 00's.



I wanted one, but, I'm unsure whether to go for one yet as it seems just too good to be true. Best play a few first I guess.

Neil

The Player series has had pretty unanimous praise on a Strat forum I participate in.

BoopDeWoop

I have one. It’s very good. 

skunkwerx

Just check the nut is done correctly and that the strings actually align with the edges of the fretboard. 

The 2 teles I had, 1 had various paint defects but that could have been a one off. 
 

Dinosaur_Sr

Do all of the player series have 12” radius? I liked the look of a couple of the strats but they were 12” and I dunno man, that’s a no for me

MattFGBI

Dinosaur_Sr said:

Do all of the player series have 12” radius? I liked the look of a couple of the strats but they were 12” and I dunno man, that’s a no for me

Player series is 9.5. 

Classic Player are 12. 

Hootsmon

any more folks? 

Skinnyhead45

I have one, and it's not great. The frets are a mess, the bridge saddles feel like they have been made out of Chinese pot metal and I've struggled to intonate it since day one. My MIM standard strat runs circles around it. I've had to put a lot of money in mine to get it right. 

Mark1960

I have a MIM Tele - Superb guitar for the money - Neck is great!