@@danishpete Awesome, I never really bonded with the Ultra's but these seem like I may somehow like them better despite half the price. The right amount of modern for me.
@@danishpete comparing equivalent series at different price points would be interesting. Thus: 1. BATTLE OF THE MODERNS: $475 Squier Contemporary SSS vs $1000 Fender Player Plus SSS vs $2000 Fender American Ultra SSS 2. BATTLE OF THE VINTAGES: $475 Squier CV SSS vs $1000 Fender Vintera SSS vs $2000 Fender American Original SSS BATTLE OF THE STANDARDS $250 Squier 2021 Affinity SSS vs $800 Fender Player SSS vs $1500 Fender American Original SSS
Made in the USA just means you will spend another 900.00 OR MORE the quality is no better than the Mexico version. I have both and the extra money for the USA VERSION WAS A WASTE OF MONEY IN MY OPINION.
I agree with what You said (at 15:50) on the pickups regarding "fuller sound" vs noiseless and none-noiseless. Because I have never liked the noiseless ones just because they have sounded a little dead, but the noiseless on the Telecaster Player Plus was the first ones I have really liked.
Well the CNC Machines Fender uses in the USA are The same as the ones in Mexico, I know I've been to both locations...and refinement sanding is done using American hands and Mexican hands on both sides of the border. Do you get what I'm saying? Cheers from NEWPORT BEACH, CA.
I ordered a Player strat in the aged cherry with maple HSS the day before the Player Plus came out and glad I did. Happy with the tone I get. Not crazy about those plus colors. Saved couple of hundred dollars too. I'm not a fan of pau ferro. Always looks dry.
Holy crap the Noiseles Plus Strat neck pickup sounds absolutely horrible. They are missing the mids and character of normal Alnico 5 pickups in the Player.
This might be an unpopular opinion but I feel like guitar companies and older guitarists always chasing “that vintage tone” has really held back the guitar community in recent years. It really feels like unless you play metal guitar and pickup companies aren’t willing to put any more effort into what they’ve been doing since at least the 60’s
Categorizing anything that doesn't sound vintage as metal is playing into the idea you are lamenting. There's lot of innovation if you look, especially if you go upmarket. Suhr will sell you a more modern strat style guitar, fishman makes great cross-genre active pickups, Ibanez sells modern feeling and sounding guitars in all price ranges, etc. If you want a great modern style guitar, hunt down a Parker Fly (the high end ones, not the cheaper asian ones). Composite fretboard, SS frets before they were cool, ultra-light body. Fender is just doing what they do best - making guitars in the styles they created in a variety of vintage and modern specs.
Agreed I turned 50 recently and i played guitar since I was 12 and I hate all this vintage is better cork sniffing bollocks just look at uk guitaris magazine it's full of it (yawn) . Colours like this were generally never available from fender years ago only custom shop but now you can have all sorts of contemporary stuff. Wicked !!! I'm all for it.
The tele looks and sounds nice rich and fuller with nice overall balance, but less gritty and snappy than a standard tele mind and I quite liked it, the Strat plus sounds not great no quack , but like a digital model of a Strat to hi fi ! I think I could enjoy the tele but would stick with a standard more hummy but Strat sounding Strat!
Just picked up the Player Plus Nashville Tele in Opal Spark and played my first gig with it yesterday. VERY impressive, comfy, tonal range is excellent, lots of very cool choices for tone - and quiet. Hugely impressed.
From a regular player's point of view here's mine. I've owned one of the later "Player" series Strats (the HSH, a real sleeper). The difference in the neck, frankly is not really much different - except for the radius and overall width. My Player Strat is satin finished on the back and at first glance it's hard to tell the difference in the two - we're talking minor differences particularly when it comes to the edge shapes. The bridge on the Strat Player Plus is much easier on my hands and therefore better. I can say that the pick ups are not really comparable (at least on mine). I genuinely, really like the pick ups on the HSH. The humbuckers are a design of Tim Shaw and although they look like Gibson type humbuckers they sound nothing like them, they sound like a Fender but bigger.(!) There is also something else that is interesting - apart from the 5 way switch there are no other switches on the guitar yet in positions 2 and 4 it sounds almost the same as a regular Strat that we all love. I like this auto switching. And another thing the centre single coil is the loudest pick up on the guitar - I'm not sure why but it is and is great for the Clapton /Otis Rush sounds. Love the locking tuners on the Player Plus series. The bodies are identical (from the outside) and have lovely radii at the edges - I seem to recall some Mexican and even US Strats not being so. That's enough! Pete.
To me the neck rolled edges is a huge difference, advantage , really feels super comfy worn in feeling like a high end instrument compared to the player and usual MIM necks.
Fender are coming the shit they are pricing their mexcan stuff too high.Its essentially a common alder body and maple necks found on cheaper offerings that are just as good.A used American stratt is cheaper not that they are any good but that's where its at.Better offerings from other manufacturer's and half the price.
Buy a player series and have your pick of a american loaded pickguard with a choice of what pups you want. I have a white player series strat, maple neck, locking tuners and a loaded american vintage noisless pickguard all for less than the price of a player plus and it plays and sounds epic!
Player/plus strats didn’t sound much different but IMO regular player would be my choice … the tele I was surprised at the increase in overall tone on the plus … and
i never cared for U2 or the guitarplaying members of that troupe......(and yes kant is very much a german word too....Kante...being a mostly sharp edge,,,:-) )
I totally agree with Lee that the Player Plus tele with those noiseless pickups sounds much fuller and in my estimation somewhat more dynamic than the Player tele. Also the Player Stratocaster definitely sounded better than the Player Plus with the noiseless pick ups. Like Pete indicated it was almost like the Stratocaster Player Plus pick ups are lower output.
I would not be so sure, it is a bit of a gimmick here. I watched Fender noiseless vs normal pickups demo playing, where noiseless pickups sounded really bad and muffled in comparison.
I hear that these guitars have rolled edges are they as rounded as the Sire necks are? I think the player Tele is more snappy the Tele plus sounds more like a humbucker. Looks like a belly cut on the plus Tele too.
Omg finally! Been waiting for this one for a while to see the new player plus against the regular player series great video guys love you & Andertons you’re the best also keep rocking captain and danish pete you guys continue to inspire new players everyday including myself cheers!
@@danishpete Pete, I admire you very much, You play with technique and the soul. Please, give me your opinion about the Fender Signature H.E.R., the last of the three models, the one with Blue Marlin colour?
You can buy Fender locking tuners for roughly 75 bucks and changing tuning machines is the easiest mod you can do on your guitar and only takes about 15 minutes. The total cost of the tuners and the player is still about 150 bucks cheaper than the player plus. If you struggle to figure out how to replace them, Darrel Braun has a great video about that; along with many other great videos on RU-vid.
I've got the player plus strat in Olympic pearl with the tortoiseshell pickguard and a maple neck. It's amazing. I love the ability to turn the neck pickup on with the bridge like a tele. The neck feels amazing. Perfect rolled edges. Way more bang for your buck, unless you want something more "classic". Then you can go with player or vintera I think it's called. Something like that. I didn't realize the player plus tele had a comfort carve on the body. That's a game changer for me, because I find teles to be uncomfortable to play for long periods of time while sitting down. It digs into my ribs, while my strat is super cozy lol.
For me an important difference is the 43mm nut on the Player Plus. Might not matter to everyone, but to me that extra mm makes a difference when doing complex chords with my bear claws. Typically this has only been available on MIA models (one notable exception is the Squier Contemporary FR HH, which coincidentally I also own and love), so it's a welcome addition on the Player Plus. The neck profile and finish is also MILES ahead of the old MIM Deluxe (which also suffered from very low output pickups). As a foundation to put the electronics you want, the Player Plus is a solid choice. Kinda odd that they wouldn't put the contoured heel on it though (which the MIM Deluxe did have). Oh... Fender please stop with the Pau Ferro, it looks like dried rosewood. If you can't do rosewood, do Laurel instead.
They couldn’t do the heel contour cause then there would literally be no reason to buy a US model. And stop dissing the Pao Ferro, it looks friggan awesome!
I wasn't happy with the reddish brown color of the pau ferro fretboard. I used dark brown rifle shaft oil by the brand "Ballistol" instead of lemon oil on every string change, so the wood changed to a nice dark brown color. 😉
I've followed this channel for awhile and the Capt's playing has improved so immensely it's really good to see his hard work paying off and his passion to continue learning
I think the "noise-less" pick-ups are getting closer to what the original single coils sound and respond like.... but I can still tell and I definitely prefer the standard single coil pick-ups. I would have preferred that Fender would have kept with the regular pick-ups and added the contours (on the Tele) and rolled fretboards. Adding the locking tuners is an upgrade for most players (I'm not one of them...except for a trem equipped guitar that I plan on abusing a bit)....along with 2 point trem and maybe a slightly more modernized bridge for the Tele over a 3 brass saddle version. Maybe slightly different pick-ups...but stay away from the noiseless variety for most players IMHO.
I recently broke up with my girlfriend. Sundays used to be my day to spend all day on the Swedish edge. Instead, I watch Danish Pete and Captain videos. Thanks guys your videos are good, but I like that old Swedish edge more.
I would take a Player series Fender over the Player Plus. I prefer 9.5 fretboards and don't like noiseless pickups. The new series are really nice guitars, so don't get me wrong, they're good, but I just like the Player series as they are more affordable and traditional.
My job I love strats I love fender but how many times can you reinvent the wheel. Just because you put a extra knob here or an upgraded this doesn't mean it's worth a grand more..... You seem like your guitar but I'll just stick to Frankenstein guitars
Glossy fingerboards are really nasty. I’ve had a Player Tele since 2018 and the frets are certainly worn in and after a recent level, if you have habit of touching the fret board during bends, it’s sticky as hell. I’ve swapped the neck for a Pau Ferro now. I’ve got a Player Strat as well and I love it, stuck locking tuners on both but I’ve always wondered what rolled edges feel like and if it would help thumb over playing. Noiseless though, I mean John Frusciante plays at seriously high volume with stock and SSL-1 pickups, he gets some great feedback but never any rancid buzz.
Anything to do a youtube video on a new product for Sales. It seems that ALL RU-vidr's are chopping at the bit to do a video of the Player Plus. It must be the perfect guitar, I have not seen too many negativities about this guitar.
I feel like the main difference that no one is talking about is the neck, 12 inch vs 9.5 radius. A more modern feeling neck for those who are into that.
The Player sounds just the way I would like a telecaster to sound, the Plus sounds good but in a different way. Marginally I prefer the original Player...............
That Player Plus Tele is also 43% more expensive than the Player. Looking at ebay right now, the £250 difference would buy you a second-hand Squier Classic Vibe as a back up.
I think these colors on the strats are very underwhelming and corny, although I prefer vintage specs anyways and wouldn’t be in the market for a modern spec strat anyways - vintera series is more for me
My Roadhouse Strat came with all the bells and whistles I ever wanted. Noiseless pickups, locking tuneyboiis, thicc headstock, and the s1 switch for schitzengeigles.
I have a 2017 Classic Payer 60's Strat. Absolutely gorgeous guitar, especially for the price. Had some awesome specs too, a bit better than the Vintera Series, i think. Regardless, i think the Mexican made Fenders are beautiful guitars, particularly for broke dogs like me.
The pickups on the Mexican Player strat do seem to have a warmer sound than the Player Plus version. Warmer than the American made strat as well, based on other videos. I often think if I ever « upgrade» to a pricier strat I might have to « downgrade » the pickups.
I got a player Strat with a maple fretboard. I rolled the frets myself. Threw on some Fender locking tuners. I personally love it. There is no stickiness on the fretboard. I don’t think it’s worth the extra money. Especially since I bought mine before they raised the prices. So I grabbed it on sale for under $600
Think with most of fenders stuff now they all sound pretty good, even the cheaper ranges. The differences been how they feel. To me either buy a player and spend some money/time sorting out the fret board etc or just buy a 50’s or 60’s reissue.
What is that supposed to mean? Fender has been the world's largest guitar manufacturer for a long time. It'd be more accurate to call Toyota the new Fender.
Got a Fender Player (not Plus) love it, do not mind the slight buzz from pickups at all, it brings life to sound....what is cool about the PLUS is probably broader and straighter fretboard for low action playing, these 42mm are really too small, sometimes my fingers do not find place on frets. All in all , a great sounding and made guitar.
I went to a local music store with the intention of buying a strat but what really annoys me about strats are the cheap plastic volume/tone knobs. So I grabbed a player plus tele, played it for literally 30 seconds, walked over to the counter, asked the guy if he had a different colour. Bought it. My only problem with it so far is the plastic switch cover keeps falling off.
This guys think that the strings touch the laquer and the fingerboard. Never. The strings only touch the frets. It is a huge distance between freatbord and string. They are guitarded like all in the industry.
Just ordered a mint Player Plus neck with locking tuners for my beloved buttercream Player... Eager to get it, the current Player neck has really sharp edges
Damn, the neck arrived in extremely poor condition, in a single package. Dent on the headstock, unpolished frets, fret sprout etc. A very very bad one. Can't send it back. I'll never ourchase again from this seller. But the very bad fret job is not his fault. I have a doubt about QA if these MIM. Maybe ine more C...d side-effect?
buy locking tuners. they don't even have to be fender. Jin-ho tuners are also Korean (Fender locking tuners are made in Korea) as are Wilkinsons and a whole lot less expensive. with color options ta boot.
I’ve got 3 Player Plus Top Strat HSS’s that I’ve totally modded. They now have: DiMarzio Noiseless pickups DiMarzio Humbuckers Brass Bridge Blocks Graph Tech saddles Fender Locking tuners Dunlop Strap Lock system. So my regular Players are now better than the Fender Player Plus guitars. I’ll now put mine up against the stock Player Plus any day!
When Pete was selling the player series to us, he made them sound like a custom shop strat. Not that he’s selling us these, they sound like a custom shop. Maybe Lee just got the ultimate demo man.
@@TheApolloOrder do you have both? I did at one point and I can say without bias that my particular custom shop strat was one that had Abby Ybarra pickups and was a super thin light relic finish and that played and sounded leagues better than my player strat which had a choked sound. But I will agree, some folks got really lucky with those player guitars. I’ve sold both of those strays since and have bought CS tele and a vintera modified 50’s tele and honestly they sound damn near identical. It’s absurd how good the Mexican fender stuff is at the moment. I also picked up a road worn tele and it’s shooting wayyyy above its price range.
I spent a couple of hours playing the new plus tequilla sunrise strat tonight and I've found that the player series is much more pronounced and picks up more of all the subtleties where the plus tends to smooth everything down and much fuller. I honestly prefer the player to the plus (other than all the aesthetics and upgrades).
That's the noiseless pickups taking away a bit of sparkle and dynamic range. The trade-off for ditching the hum unfortunately. It would be somewhat useful and funny if you could "tap" a single coil between true SC and noiseless mode.
I replaced my strat fender player humbucker with shawbucker however, I didnt like the sound of the shawbucker because somehow the fender player humbucker sounded better more bite when the distortion was on but not on the shawbucker. Shawbucker sounded big though but not enough bite. So, I took out the shawbucker and put back the original humbucker.
