Should You Buy a Fender Player Series Strat??? 

It looks kind of reminiscent to the David Gilmour's Black Strat

Hi Doc, I bought one of these in the Tidepool colour. Even though I have owned CS Strat for 10 years now, I really have no complaints with the PIayer Strat, I think Fender have put together a really good unit. The standout features for me are the satin neck finish on the back, the pickups offer spot on Strat sounds, I did raise the heights which seemed to bring them to life, everything else is solid and as you say this thing will last a long time. Mine doesn’t drift out of tune on any particular string, stable as. This is easily a road worthy guitar, well finished, sounds spot on, solid, and the expensive Strat can stay safe at home. Cheers for a good vid.

I bought one about 4 months ago and I’m loving it. It stays in tune and the neck feels amazing. I love the gloss on the frets and the satin finish on the back. Amazing guitar no regrets

Loved your review... as an acoustic player looking to get my first electric I've landed on the Fender Player Strat... appreciated your insight! Thank you.

Have this guitar and love it! Have really loved most of Fenders new MIM products. I went into shops looking at the new USA stuff but on both occasions came away buying MIM- my Player Strat and my 50s Vintera Strat

I've had a player strat for almost a year. I think I'm never gonna get rid of it. It's fcken amazing, and that neck pickup is up with the best.

That one is beautiful! Contender for best player series colorway for sure

You’re video is coming late. I was in the market for a Tele player series and after trying several I saw a Strat just like yours and that was the winner. Love everything on it that has become my go to favorite one. Mine holds the tune nicely and Gig with it already. Thanks Dr. and keep up the good work!

i love my Player Strat after i set it up the way i like its my number one now. im thinking about buying a seconds one because i like it that much. i modded it some i added a Wilkonson Roller nut graphite String saver saddles a TremoloNO system to be able to lock or unlock my tremolo . i put in Texas special but they had a bit to much out put and i put the stock pups back in. has a really nice 2 and 4 position sound . if you adjust the bridge pickup higher than the others it acts as a little bit of a boost on the bridge if thats something you like. do not over look these guitars because they are made in Mexico, the custom shop builders in California went down to Mexico to show them how to put them together . it shows they did a really good job.

I bought a 2000 model squier strat from a pawn shop and changed the bridge to the same ones on the player strat. The saddle screws were really high and annoying so I put a .5 degree shim in the neck pocket and set the relief properly. Now it plays beautifully

Thanks for the video! I asked a local store to order a player strat in colour I like, nice to hear some reassurance from someond more experienced that it's worth the money. I did play one myself and liked the feel and tone.

The player series Stratocaster and Telecaster are awesome!!

I have a lefty Fender Player Strat, Maple fretboard, Sunburst. Added Fender left-hand locking tuners and a Graphtec stringtree and re-strung with D’Addario .009 - .042 Gauge. I have a Graphtec left hand nut, but I haven’t fitted that yet as the stock nut seems to be doing a good job now that the locking tuners and new string tree have been fitted.

Great review, very in depth yet concise and to the point! I'll probably pick one of these up soon, I'm kinda blown away by how good it seems to be for that low a price.

I just bought a polar white one, it's my first strat and i absolutely love it.

Thanks for not overdriving the heck out of it. Just bought one Monday. Love it.

Strummed one of those today at a Guitar Center. Felt great. Neck and action were very comfortable. The cream colored pick ups and knobs blend nicely with the maple neck, as compared to stark white. Have to consider one. Have three Tele's, need to replace the Squire CV 50 I sold years ago. Darn good guitar too.

I had a Deluxe Players Strat up until a couple of years ago. I’ve regretted selling it ever since. I’m getting ready to buy a new Players Strat, I’m really liking the Tidepool color.

Thanks for the informal Review, I just bought Fender Stratocaster Player Series sunburst guitar :)

Two years ago i bought a HSS 3TS PF, i absolutely love it. A great versatile guitar without any flaws. My No 1 guitar.

Nice review man! I got my Player Strat back in October and I love it so far. I've bonded so much with it and I can't imagine my life without it, + it has a dark beautiful Pau Ferro fretboard. The only complains I've found are factory ones, the nut was really poorly cut so it went out of tune all the freaking time. Even fixing it at a luthier still has it not completely stable yet. That's something you would expect Fender to fix before they ship them out.

I have a 2018 player that I put in fat 50's pickups and shim the neck with a little piece of thick paper to tilt it just a little, by doing that I raised the sadles on the bridge so it feels good on my right hand, adjusted the trust rod, and it came out great. I played every day, sounds very good and love it. The neck is perfect straight, good action with the right tilt, the only thing is that I can see already little wear on the frets. Also the pots are not very good but those can be change easy. By doing all of this, it will be just like my old American standard.

I just got one of these in HSS. I love it! Can’t put the thing down. About the sharp saddles, I got some short saddle screws and went for slotted heads instead of hex screw. This got them out of the way completely and took away any sharpness

I have a player series strat in inca silver with a Pao ferro fret board. It is just amazing. The tuning stability is a bit suspect since I've had to tune it at least 4 times in the last 10 months. But otherwise amazing! 😜 The other difference between this and the previous mexican strats is that it now has a 2-point tremelo instead of 6, the pickups are ALNICO 5 instead of the previous ceramic pups and the bridge pup has it's own tone knob. The one thing that really elevated it to a whole other level is when i installed a 10-way freeway switch!!! OMG!!! without modifying anything in the guitar or changing the pickguard or anything, you replace the stock 5 way switch with this thing and all of a sudden you have 5 new tones! You have one where the neck & bridge are combined like in a tele, another one where all three pickups are together which is amazing, then you have middle and neck in series, bridge and neck in series and also one last one which you can choose (either bridge and middle in series or all three pups in series). I can't even believe how amazing this transformation was! And the thing cost me $40 to buy (had to pay another $40 for my tech to install it). Anyway highly recommended and it's made my Mexican player series in to some incredible custom shop signature strat!

I have the hss player Strat. The addition of the humbucker bridge pickup allows that that extra bite and overdrive when switching to bridge...

I just bought a player from zzounds and my frets are like the one you have and the same thing on the bridge saddle screws very sharp....but other than that the guitar sounds amazing and even stays in tune with the 2 point tremolo system....plus the last tone control works the bridge pickup witch I like.

Indeed Guitar Center has 4 colors on sale today for $599 +tx... (the blue flame top is sold out for online orders so really only 3 models available...)

Nice review! You got the groove man! I like the way you play. Have you demoed the one with a Stratocaster in the Bridge, HSS? I play a lot of Classic Hard Rock.

Had mine just under a year and couldn’t be happier with it. Probably Fender’s best selling guitar imo

I have the 2018 ''Gilmour'' limited edition but it's the previous model with 21 frets and 6 screw bridge. I guess in 2018 they offered both MIM models. First year 2 bolt 22 fret and last year 21 fret 6 screw? Anyway the one i have is excellent in every way. She's a real keeper for sure. I really can't imagine how an American model could be much if any better.

informative as well as calming to listen to. great playling, doc!

I bought the 2018 player hss strat in sunburst... The big difference is the back of the neck is also gloss finish. I may need some sand paper to fix it. I have replaced the nut and installed locking tuners... Great guitar nice video

I have the Player Plus Top Strat. I love it!! And this is coming from a long time Ibanez player. I've already done a couple of mods. DiMarzio Injector pickups, and Fender locking tuners.

Hey! DoC, glad to see you with this particular guitar, I've been eye ballin one to get for a while now, ill consider it more now you went though its pacers thks, I own Michael Kelly CC 60 burl top strat n love it, just want a 2nd strat to got to when i wish

I really rare these new player strats. I have bought one in sunburst and plan to upgrade into my own custom blues machine. 👍

I’ve had this guitar for an hour and I love it. This guitar blows my Squier Affinity away. Neck is great. Clarity is phenomenal.

thanks your nice review

The Player Series is seriously awesome. I have three other MiM Strats, 2013 Standard SSS, 2016 Standard HSH and the special edition 2017 Hendrix Monterey Strat. The Monterey blows them all away but the Player Series model is a really good geetar. I would definitely recommend it to someone looking to add a Strat to their guitarsenal.

The Player series is the best guitar for the money. They play amazing and sound excellent. It is better than most guitars that cost twice as much.

Thanks Doc, that was a great review, really appreciate it. I’ve always fancied a strat but never wanted to pay a fortune but think this ticks the boxes. Great point about the saddle, though for the money think i could forgive them that, cheers Ant from Birmingham UK 🇬🇧👍

I bought a Player Strat recently. Solid guitar. Sounds great. Saddles kinda suck, but I'm replacing those. The wood is pretty resonant, and the neck fit to the body is tight. Pickups sound great.

I really love the looks of this particular model (agreeing with hirakjyoti deka's comment just below mine). I've been looking around for a backup for my Fender American Pro II, since it's a bit expensive and I'd like a nice Strat for when I'm traveling. The Player Strat may be just what I'm needing without going down to a Squire. Thanks for the review! It's really helped!

you never mentioned the dedicated tone knob for the bridge pickup another upgrade just bought mine in butter cream and absolutey love it

I just got this guitar in great shape a couple weeks ago for $585 off of eBay 2019 MIM black on black. Since you made this video the new price at GC is $799.00, but I am glad I bought it because it plays and feels better than my Squier Bullet Strat, yet still affordable. It is slightly heavier, but It’s tolerable. I like the smooth, glossy neck, and let’s face it, It’s a great player that will last a lifetime. I have a Gibson Les Paul Special and I feel happier playing this guitar.

I own 3 Player Plus Top Stratocaster HSS’s and I couldn’t be happier! They are gorgeous! The quality of MIM Fenders has greatly improved over the years almost rivaling American made guitars. I also own 3 other MIM Strats and they are great too! I am no longer a MIM snob!

Heard of tuning issues with that plastic nut. They call it "synthetic bone" but it's plastic. Hence why you tried to bend the neck at the opening lick to add vibrato instead of using the bar as it wouldn't return to pitch.

Like your studio bro, what I can see of it anyhow. Looks like you got an older set of Roland e-drums? I have the new Roland td17kv kit, awesome. And my keyboard is a Roland Juno Ds76, also love it (Roland is some great equipment). Gonna get a Katana 50 mkii to round it all out eventually. At the moment I play through my headphones into a Boss me80 and when I’m wanting to be minimal I have the little VOX amplug headphone amp that’s pretty killer. New subscriber, I’ll check out your other vids.

I love this guitar. I put in the Everything Axe Mod pickup harness in it and it's so badass

I just got my “Black” Fender Player Series Strat with maple neck yesterday! Mine was used (mint) from Reverb for $500 and l love that Fender tone in a beautiful guitar!🎸🔥🤘🏻

Bought the polar white hss and so far so good.

Bought one yesterday, I went in looking at the more expensive professional models but after playing 10 or so of them I really didnt bond with any of em. after picking up a player strat i fell in love immediately and played it for over an hour in the store. walked out with a new guitar and at half the price i was planning on paying.

i just had this for a week, sherwood green CME version. i’m loving it, we basically have the same yays and nays. i do follow your headrush series a lot, did you use HR in this demo? coz i really liked the sound.

I bought mine back in November 2019 and absolutely love it. My first Strat I bought in '90 and it was good, but I like the Players' Series model much better and the price is hard to beat for what you get. The pickups are quiet and there is definitely a tone difference between the five positions. I run mine through a BOSS GT-1 and each patch will sound different with the five positions. The finish on the neck is just as you said, very comfortable and your hand can easily slide anywhere without 'catching' on the finish. Very smooth. If anyone is on the fence on buying one, I would say do it.

I owned the original Player Series Stratocaster, the MIM, or Made In Mexico Stratocaster, and it was a Lefty BTW, too. All the different wooden pieces of the body are even made in The United States, they're just shipped to Mexico for assembly. Even if it's NOT your first guitar(!), they make excellent touring guitars for bands playing bars & clubs, considering the astounding quality for a damned reasonable price! Same goes for the Epiphone Les Paul, Epiphone Hummingbird, etc. All well worth the money, easily.

Just bought the same guitar too love it.

I have the new player series strat hss. Got in 2 weeks ago and I love it. Great neck, amazing switching to split the humbucker on position 2 which is my favorite. No complaints

Not seen this combo in UK black with black PG and white covers . ?

Hi, I'm not an impulsive buyer, or it's rare. Guitars, I normally think, return a few times and then maybe buy it. I was trying out a guitar and saw the fiesta red player Strat. It was so beautiul and sounded great, loved the feel of the neck, the tremelo - everything. I bought it.

Think it came down to this vs Eli Les Paul when I got a guitar 4 years ago lol . Different Mexican Strat Then but this new one is ....

The David Gilmore!!! ☺️ I got the surf/mint green one on layaway now! I played 2 chords on it and knew it was coming home with me! 😁

Great to know.

I just got the same one a couple weeks ago for $550. It's been great so far.

i wish they had some around my area :( i havent pulled the trigger on one because I have a CV60s, and I aint so sure is a noticeable improvement besides the 22nd fret. i truly wish it was a 12"radius

No shit, the video we have all been waiting for...get right down to it Squires kick ass

Great Vid! How would these pickups compare to the Tex Mex 3s?

I picked one up a few weeks ago...a HSH configuration. Great tones and a comfortable neck. It has it's pluses and minuses. The bridge is an American bridge or an exact copy right down to the imperial screws..they aren't metric like MIM Strats tend to be. The switches and pots are the same as the American Standard and even the pickups are Alnico 5 magnets, again, the same as the old American Standard. My issue though lies in tuning. It won't hold tune. I just installed a new set of Fender locking tuners and that's helped a great deal so now I can gig with it but it still needs some nut work because I have a ringing E string. In all it's a great guitar, one that I'll keep and it's true Fender all the way.

It's perfect for your Pink Floyd tribute!

I have the fender elite and the Dave Murray strat, but I think I'd like to get a strat and upgrade to hss setup like fast eddies from Motorhead, would the player be a good guitar to do that or should I just save for a higher end fender to do it?

Just ordered one

Hey man, I have Stratocasters all the way from the Player series to American Performer, American Professional and so on and all I can say is that the Player is an incredible guitar for the money.

Ordered mine yesterday

One real nice thing on those guitars is the beaty of the neck wood, I own one, used to own the player telecaster, and seen some other on the shops around, this serie bring some spectacular looking neck wood. Your demo one have some flaming on the headstock, mine is birdseye, not so much as it is a feature, but enough to be noticed, beautifull.

What do you think about this guitar vs Prs guitars in the same price range

Thanks for the information 🤝 I already subscribed to your channel. One question, I have this guitar and I was thinking of changing the pickups for a Texas special, do you recommend changing them for the Texas special? greetings 🤝

Very well done video …. You covered everything that’s important on the guitar….. Excellent sound and playing as well…… You didn’t use over the top gain and 100 pedals while demoing…….😅 Thank you for your good work……👍 Cheers .

Wow, it's gorgeous! Did it come off-the-shelf with the black-on-black body/pickguard combo, or did you change out the PG?

i hate the positioning of the volume knob, hit it when im palm muting. gonna tape it down

I got one a few days ago and am completely enamored. Mine is green

“... a really nice instrument that’s going to last you the rest of your life.” That exactly answers my question. I was wondering if the Player was going to be another upgrade but interim instrument, or if both ‘as is’ and the upgradability would be good enough for years to come. I’m originally a sax player, but been a trained musician all my life, who started playing guitar ten months ago. I currently play a Squier Bullet Strat, very happy with it, but it’s in need of component upgrades, and because the dimensions are different it’s not really upgradable. The Player seems all standard, so it’s infinitely upgradable and of course it’s a very good guitar as is.

Really considering this exact strat or the buttercream player stratocaster

I can get a new one for $525 but it has a rosewood fret board. I wanted maple, if only for the aesthetics. I am not an expert at guitar features but is there any downside to the rosewood neck board.

Should I get this or step up to the professional II? I play casually but want a nice guitar that won't leave me wanting more. Money is not an issue but I also don't want to pay more if I don't need to. Is the Pro II worth the price hike in terms of guitar sound?

6 months since my initial comment, got the Player. It's my only guitar apart from a off-brand Tele. :)

You look like Ben Roethisberger. Nice video.

Nice Demo , how does it stack up against an American special. Thanks !

Can anyone tell me how long this guitar is? Trying to work out if i need to buy a new case or not. Thanks

Is it me, or are the pickups really bright sounding compared to other strats? Just got this exact model used and wow! It’s great, but I’m not sure if I like the pups it came with, might see about changing em out.

Would the fret issues mentioned be potentially solved with a Plek'ing and proper setup?

How does this guitar compare to the old mexican standard guitars? Is it the same just renamed or are there some changes?

Hi from Phoenix, Arizona. Great video. I'm thinking about getting one to replace my Squier Strats. I'm hoping the ' playability ' will be better than my Squiers and that the pickups will be better which I'm sure they will. Just antsy about paying over 3x for a Fender v's Squier and will it be worth it.... ummm.....anyway, thanks for listing the pros and cons.

Where i can shop it??🤩

im 34 years old i just have the urge to learn to play one, im a huge fan of dave gilmours sound i really want to make my guitar sing just like he does. he uses the jet black strat, i bought a black one with a white "faceplate" hope i can get the hang of it. im going in blind wish me luck!

doctor doctor give me the news!!!

I just bought one 2 weeks ago. This has quickly become my favorite guitar in my collection. The quality for the price is astounding!

I Wonder what material/size of tremolo block came with ?this part is very important and no one in comments speaks

The main difference between The American Pro and the Player is 50 miles and $1,000! I have a Players series, AKA MIM Strat and it's just perfect. I PLAY it not analyze it. I know you are the same way and you're just doing a review. This thing is just a real solid instrument with no discernible flaws at all. Mine is a tobacco sunburst. The finish is perfect. To hot rod it a little, I picked up some upgraded tuners from StewMac, but besides those, I'm just going to leave it alone. Thought about putting Texas Special coils on it, but honestly, this instrument gives me plenty of sonic range right off the shelf. Remember, we used to buy Strats back in the 70s for $399!

Can I get the link?

I recently got my Player Series Strat in tidepool. Love the looks. Love the sound. But all my fret ends are standing out half a milimeter :( - sliding up and down the edge of the neck feels like cheese grate. I'm wondering if I just got unlucky with my model, or if its a problem of this series...?

Great review...What do you think about getting this with the intention of swapping out pickups/mods?

Do these guitars comes out of the factory shielded? Hows the electronics?