What is the Player Series?

Starting in 2018 Fender renamed their Mexican line of Standard guitars to the Player series. They essentially retained the same specs, but a number of minor changes overall provided some nice upgrades to bring them closer to their American model siblings

All the Specs

Here’s what to expect with the Player Series Stratocaster:

• Alder body with gloss finish

• Three Player Series single-coil Stratocaster pickups (Alnico 5 magnets)

• “Modern C"-shaped neck profile

• 9.5"-radius fingerboard

• 2-point tremolo bridge with bent-steel saddles

Inside the Guitar

I’ve always been impressed with the Fender Standard models I’ve tried over the years. And taking a look inside the guitar, you can see once again Fender isn't cutting corners with the Player series. Under the hood I found body shielding painting and metal tape on the pickguard which helps reduce single coil hum. You’ll also get full sized pots and a really well made pickup selector switch. Everything feels solid and is clean. There’s no need to upgrade the parts.

Satin Neck

Another highlight on these guitars is the satin finish on the back of the neck. To me it’s the most comfortable feeling neck available. You don’t need to worry about your hands getting stuck if you are sweating a lot. These are beautiful necks and definitely my favourite style.

Gig Ready

The Mexican line of Fender guitars are great. I gigged for 4 years with a Standard Telecaster and never had an issue. There are solid guitars for a fraction of the American model. Check out my video below for a full sound demo and deep dive inside the guitar. I go over all the specs in more detail and open up the guitar to show close ups of the internal hardware.

So to sum up, I highly recommend the Player Series Stratocaster.