Fender Player Plus Stratocaster HSS Electric Guitar - Belair Blue with Pau Ferro Fingerboard Reviews

As a follow-up to my earlier review on this item, ended up sending it back and Sweetwater exchanged it for the same model. The finish issue wasn't their fault and totally a factory mishap. I appreciated their speedy response to resolve the issue. Once again, Sweetwater has the best customer service in the business. The Player Plus is a great guitar and I would recommend it.

Where to start, I fell in love with this color back in January and new I had to have it. So I saved up and got it through Ray my sales engineer, He told me all the facts about the Guitar alongside explaining his personal view of the instrument which only boosted my Eager to have the strat in my hands. The day it was supposed to arrive it never arrived, with fear I contacted Ray and he assured me it was only delayed and made sure It arrived safely to my home. I am deeply impressed by Ray and Sweetwater and
Customer service. There is no other place I will buy my Guitars especially with there 55- point inspection it leaves me worry free that the guitar will come with any issues. Thanks to Ray he helped me place my order and Guaranteed me that no matter what he had my back.

I'm relatively new to stringed instruments, and a bit late in life to be starting (at 66), so I can't compare one guitar to another. But what I will say is that the checkout and prep that Sweetwater does was well worth the few extra dollars it cost for the assurance that I was getting a quality "plug & play" instrument.

Also, the guitar arrived in absolutely pristine condition, and the action seems to me to be perfectly adjusted. It is night and day different from the 50-year-old Korean acoustic guitar that I have (which I use primarily for developing calluses).

The only negative I would note is that I could have wished for a pack of candy that had fewer of the "sticky" kind, as those tend to pull off my crowns ;-).

The Player Plus Stratocaster HSS is an excellent guitar. If you play one I suspect that you will find numerous reasons to buy one. It is an incredible package that is fun to play, rewarding to use, and just an all-around pleasant experience.

In my opinion it is worth every penny of the purchase price and, although not the most expensive, it is one the best playing guitars in my modest collection of electrics. While I have read, watched or listened to numerous reviews of this specific guitar I found that my copy is as close to perfect as guitars come. It has great tone, excellent playability, and quality parts that combine to create enormous value for the money.

People who have a long history with guitars, in general, and Fender Stratocasters in particular, might not find anything innovative about this guitar. However, I suspect that the new Player Plus Stratocaster was not conceived with that audience in mind. This is the perfect guitar for someone who want a quality "Strat-plus" experience at a reasonable price. If you pick one up, you will not want to put it down as it is a compelling play. I suggest that you give this guitar a whirl, as it is a clear winner.

Very happy with the guitar. Neck feels great, frets feel good, the paintjob and overall quality control seems top notch. Only complaint is the humbucker pickup. I might end up swapping that out down the road for a higher quality pickup with better output. Other than that Im very happy. I've played more expensive Strats and besides the pickup issue above I really couldn't hear or feel a big difference. I think this guitar is a high quality instrument at a great price-point....

Hey Friends, The Fender Player Plus Series is absolutely wonderful. They produce this guitar in Mexico and give it a top notch manufacturing process that rivals the Corona California production. Be aware that the true value for a Fender instrument will always be from the American manufacturing facility. Make no mistake regarding the product you are buying. But, for the musician on a more restrictive budget the Player Plus Strat will give you everything you need to rock the house. Locking tuners, noiseless pickups, HSS pickup selection and a very groovy paint job. I have several Strats from Calaifornia and Mexico. They are all quite wonderful. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with a Player Plus from Fender. Also, the Inspection process at Sweetwater is second to none. Go ahead and give this axe a personal audition. I am pretty sure that you will like it.

This is my first Fender, so my perception is colored from my experience being limited to more "entry-level" guitars.

This is probably the best neck I've ever played on, and it looks as beautiful as it plays. It has the look of a nice gloss, but the smoothness of a perfect satin and the rolled fret board it amazing. I've had this guitar since November and it has only gotten more comfortable as I play it.

The pickups are also top-notch, but not what you might expect. Don't listen to the marketing about the Noiseless pickups, they do NOT sound "exactly" like regular single-coils. Very very close, but there is a noticeable difference in the tone due to the fact that they are humbuckers. They are just vertical humbuckers - two coils stacked on top of each other, rather than wound together. They still sound amazing and have the classic Fender "spank", but if you buy into the buzzwords and expect single-coils and not single-coil "adjacents" then you might be disappointed. The splitting on the humbucker is also nice, but the way you split is not!

To split the humbucker you need to pull the tone knob up, which is actually quite hard to do! I plan on swapping the pot out for a push-push eventually - Sweetwater might be able to do that when you order. The tone knob as well feels fairly loose - it stays in place, but it feels like there's no friction or resistance when I turn it, like with all other knobs I've used. Not a big deal, but it just feels "off".

Overall 8/10, wonderful guitar that only gets better by the day!

This is a beautiful and solid guitar that plays well. Perhaps a bit overpriced for what you get, but you pay for the brand. One big minus was that somebody in the Ensenada factory got really sloppy with the brown stain and got it on 90% of both long sides of the white synthetic bone nut. I noticed it right away. I have never had a problem with an order from Sweetwater and will not send the guitar back for a minor aesthetic issue like this, but Sweetwater should have caught it in their inspection before sending it out. Disappointing.