Fender Player Plus Stratocaster - Olympic Pearl with Maple Fingerboard Review

The Strat I've Always Wanted

This is my third one in recent years, but this is now THE ONE. Love the Modern "C" Player Plus neck...smooth and feels great. The noiseless pickups sound like classic strat to me (without the hum). The upgraded bridge on this Player Plus just feels better, especially on the palm. Locking tuners are a fantastic addition. An added treat is the Push-pull Tone knob to get a couple extra… read more very distinct sounds. I had seen three different colors of the Player Plus in person and that creamy sparkling pearl is just amazing, especially against the tortoise pickguard. I'm thrilled with this one! Much thanks to Sales Engineer Will Newbill for the great assistance!

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Like eating freshly made buttered toast.

This guitar...it's not so much a "thing" you write a review about as it is an "experience". I have played guitar for 31 years this year and I would say I have spent the majority of it playing cheaper guitars. This is definitely the most expensive guitar I have ever bought by a long shot. I'll do my best to make an analogy of my experience. If you spent 31 years of your life driving… read more an average car around but you perfected it and tweaked it and made that average thing work wonders, that's where I am at with those $300-600 guitars. Now imagine you are handed the keys to an F-1 Racecar. You know what to do with it, you know how to drive it, but it's so much more "car" than you have ever been used to. You don't have to hit the gas so hard, you don't have to take turns like you used to. Everything is maxed out and performs at peak precision so well that all of your skills get turned on their head because you aren't doing the majority of the work you are used to any longer. This guitar is playing me as much as I am playing it. I am able to relax now and allow my skills to let themselves breathe instead of having to overcompensate for lesser hardware. The sounds it allows to come forth, the feel of the neck, the color (a little bit more of the vintage yellowing feel to it than even the pictures really show which is extremely lovely) the body, they are all a 5/5 with a chef's kiss behind it. The people of Sweetwater did a wonderful job packaging everything very well and safely, there was absolutely nothing wrong with it, the product came 1000% as advertised. Looking forward to a long and healthy relationship with them.

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Sweeeeeeeeet!!!!

Just got this beautiful guitar and can't put it down it feels great in my hands, and sounds like a chorus of angels. I am sooo happy with my new purchase! There is nothing I need to do to it to make it better! Thank you Nick Nevins for helping out you are the best! Get this guitar you won't regret doing it.

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I can't stop staring at it—and it sounds fantastic.

The photos don't do this guitar justice. The Olympic Pearl finish is absolutely stunning in person. Every time I walk into the room I have to pause and admire it. The noiseless pickups are indeed noiseless and have that classic Strat sparkle. I feel they add a touch of twang on certain notes, similar to a Tele, but that may just be the strings that came with the guitar (I haven't… read more put on new ones yet). I deducted a half-star because while it does play buttery-smooth, I'm not as much of a fan of the 12" radius fretboard compared to the 9.5" found in the Player and American Strats (I tried a Player in Tidepool blue before switching to this model). I'm not sure why Fender chose to put the 12" on this model alone. Not a dealbreaker though, like I said, it still plays wonderfully!

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