Moved some gear along and added the proceeds to Christmas gifts and ordered a black Fender Player series Stratocaster with a maple board. I picked up a player Tele back in August and I am really loving it. I have had my eye on picking up the Strat to go with it for some time. The timing finally came together where I had the cash and Sweetwater had one on the lighter side. I already have some ideas I want to try with the electronics. I just hope its the right shade of black... MX20112987-angle-xlarge.jpg.auto by Audiowonderland posted Jan 5, 2021 at 10:49 PM MX20112987-front-xlarge.jpg.auto by Audiowonderland posted Jan 5, 2021 at 10:49 PM
Got one, great guitar! Stock pickups sound good too. As far as mim’s go I think the Player is the top of the heap. Bought mine from Sweetwater too.
My buddy has a player series bass and he loves it. It sounds good too. I haven't played one myself, but they look like great guitars
Its a Its a Claptilmour model... Install electronics to taste... I have always liked the a maple board against a black body
Just picked up an HSS Player recently and I have to say it's a damn fine guitar! It plays well and the alnico pickups sound great. I believe you will be very happy with your purchase! HNGD!
Did some initial setup work last night. Initial notes. 1 - I was able to get the action into a nice spot with issue noted so far. 2 - The tuners on this one do not inspire. The set on the Player Tele I got a few months ago feel good and maintain their tuning well. These feel quite different. I was planning a switch to locking tuners for trem use so that will be a good thing 3 - The springs creak with insane volume. The V arrangement does not inspire. These will likely be replaced and a 4th added potentially 4 - I did not like the feel of the trem set to float. the G pulled up just shy of a minor third. This is probably more about me than the guitar though. I have decked the trem for now. The bar also rides really high for my taste. 5 - There is a lot of sticking in the nut and string tree. Loud pinging and pretty significant tuning issues even with trem decked. Will need to clean this up but will address this when I bump it up to my preferred 10-48 6 - The trem cavity is unpainted. This can only be a time saving / cost cutting move. Not likely to impact anything but still... 7 - I have not pulled the pickguard yet. I want to see what the factory shielding and electronics look like. I have some ideas here but I need to hear it through the amps before I can make any decisions on this
First update / mod complete. I installed the Fender/Schaller locking tuners I bought for the Player tele and installed them on this strat. The need here was greater because of the trem system. Installed 10-46 strings, lubed the nut and did not use the string tree. I also adjusted the trem springs to pull straight instead of the V shape from the factory and made some minor tweaks to the saddle heights. Night and day difference. It tuned up much quicker and was vastly more stable. An important first step with this instrument. Considering options for the bridge next.
It actually takes more time to mask/unmask the trem cavity. The idea is that the bare wood allows to guitar to continue aging instead of being completely sealed in a hard shell, meaning the wood can continue drying. That's the theory anyways, and Eddie Van Halen believed in it. RIP =\//-/=
If that's how they do it, I would agree. I think its more likely they paint the body and then route cavities though. I have not looked under the hood yet. If the pickup cavity is painted, I suspect its the shield process. It's of no consequence to me either way. It was just a surprising find. I have to hand it to Fender. These seem to be very well executed instruments. They feel like the American standards I had back in the day. There is nothing about this that has me wanting to spend for a higher end model. The stuff I am changing is just player preference ultimately.
Unlikely that they route after painting. That could easily damage the finish. Yes, the MIM guitars are of much higher quality these days. Congrats!
