Fender Player Stratocaster - Tidepool with Maple Fingerboard Reviews

First strat had a Sizzling/buzzy open Low E string, had to return it. Second one came lickety-split.and was perfect. Love my new Fender and Sweetwater.

Beautiful color (Tidepool), very well made with quality materials and fine tuned by Sweetwater Quality Control techs. Added lockers, a Sweetwater Professional "Set-Up" and a Fender premium soft side fitted case along with a Fender Champion 40 Amp. My Sales Engineer, Logan Neher was on top of everything throughout my buying experience. His professional counseling, guidance and communication was priceless.

I'm a returning guitar enthusiast after a 60 year hiatus. Played bass in a 60's rock band and always enjoyed Fender's top drawer equipment. (Still wish I hadn't sold my 1962 Candy Apple Stratocaster and Sunburst Jazz Master Bass). Well, I'm back with a vengeance, buying this new Stratocaster along with a new Yamaha AC1 Acoustic from Sweetwater and just ordered a new Custom MOD American Stratocaster directly from Fender. Rock On….

I used to have a '97 Fender American Standard, and that is what I'm mostly comparing this review to. I have also had many other guitars through the years and have primarily been a Gibson player. I wonder how long Fender is going to keep this line of Player Series guitars. Because, they simply are, head to head with the American line. It must be a bitter sweet thing for Fender, because the Player Series has been a home run but it only makes sense it will eventually lead to a decline in the sale of their American made guitars. At least as long as the Ensenada factory keeps pumping out quality products at affordable prices. This is just an incredible guitar. It only required minor adjustments out of the box and once done it plays just as good as any American guitar I've had. The pickups are surprisingly good. The neck is great. The fit and finish are perfect. The upgrades these have from previous Mexican Fenders are awesome. I couldn't be happier with this purchase. Not to mention, Sweetwater is the bomb to deal with. #noregrets

I've had this baby since mid summer 2022 and been in love with it ever since. Huge out to Mark Bruhn and Tamie Collins and their amazing customer service. Always a pleasure doing business with y'all!

I absolutely love this guitar. The color is great and the sounds are amazing.

I do like this guitar!

Many thanks to my Sales Engineer, Ryan Clapper, for his help on getting me this Strat. Ryan has fixed me up with some great guitars over the years and I appreciate his expertise and sales service. Ryan said he'd expedite delivery on this one and I got the guitar the very next day after I purchased it - thanks, Ryan! Also the Strat arrived double-boxed in perfect condition - no damage, dings, etc. Thank you!

This Strat is a nice guitar for a decent price. The alder body makes for great tone and the Alnico V pickups give me the Strat sounds I want. This is my first all-maple neck and fingerboard - I got the Tidepool color with maple fingerboard. The maple fingerboard plays nice and smooth. To me it has a slightly sharper attack compared to a rosewood fingerboard, but I adjust everything on the tone knobs and amp to smooth out the sound. I like the satin feel on the back of the neck and the modern C shape, all very comfortable for me all up and down the fretboard. The only thing I would say about the frets is that bending feels a little "rough" at this point but probably with more playing everything will begin to smooth out. The frets are decent, with no sharp frets, but could be a little bit larger for me. Not sure how well they will hold up over time.

I think this guitar will give me a lot of years of use. I'm getting locking tuners now, but the only reason is because Sweetwater offered $85 in Bonus Bucks for this color/neck combination and I figured locking tuners would be a free upgrade. Will see how the nut holds up, as it is basically plastic. But the notes sound clear and full, so I feel like I'm getting good tone with this midrange model.

I'm happy with this Strat. It's great for someone who wants a Fender that's a step above Fender's lower-priced models and also for someone who may not be able to afford a high-end Strat at this point.

Fender and Sweetwater did great. I've played it every day since it came. Thanks Stuart!

They must have knocked QA and quality of Mexican Fenders up over a notch, amazing guitar. Flawless build, no need for setup. Frets and intonation were perfect and love the Tidepool finish.I had a Fender performer strat and this one plays much better ! And kudos to Sweetwater for sending me an excellent guitar ! 4th guitar purchase in the past 6 months all have been out of the park !

Very happy with my purchase thanks to the folks at Sweetwater for making it happen

I've had many guitars in my career. And still have a Gibson Les Paul Custom, Gibson ES 335, a Fender American Telecaster, among others. so I do appreciate quality guitars, and wouldn't have anything else. I've had four other American Stratocaster's, but this MIM Stratocaster has the quality feel and sound of any of my other Stratocaster's, for way less money. Great neck, great look, great sound. That's all that matters!

I recently purchased this guitar, and I love it! First, the pictures on Sweetwater's sight, and even on Fender's sight do not do it justice. The color is beautiful! I am learning guitar, so I didn't want to go with an American made and break the bank, but I still wanted something that was substantial enough to incentivize playing and that would encourage me to keep going. I shopped around at different stores and online sights, but Sweetwater seemed to be the right place for me. I also purchased a subscription to Fender Play, and have been putting in time everyday. I've learned some good exercises for stretching out my fingers, which is good because I don't have the largest hands. I've learned some chords, and even a couple riffs. I'm feeling good about it. I have no aspirations of being a rock star, or even performing live at all, but I've always loved music. I've always wanted to learn guitar, and I figured now is as good of a time as any! The uploaded photo is actually one that was sent to me by the sales engineer, Michael, and is better than anything I had as far as lighting goes.

First Strat for me and I am a newer player. Unboxing the guitar was awesome, watching that gorgeous Tidepool color hit the light for the first time, contrasted by the light fret wood with all the classic contours was like Christmas. Nothing rough about it. Molded right to my body. Plugged it in and it wasn't even that off tune. Checked the serial number and the last four digits are my birthday. Well played, Sweetwater and Fender.

This guitar plays great and holds its tune great too, even with the whammy bar. The pickups give a great variety of sounds for whatever you play. Expecting this one to last me quite a few years before I need an upgrade of any kind.

Out of the box, this Strat is ready to for the gig. Tune it up, plug it in and enjoy the evening. Detailed, finished & adjusted. I had to do some personal preferences like strings, and string height. I've owned many guitars over the decades, including many Strats. From low end Squiers to high end collectors. This is definitely a working man's guitar. Girls too. A guitar you'll love to keep.

Love my new strat. Fast shipping w/ tracking, and the guitar was set up very well out of the box. Excellent customer service too. Sweetwater does great business!

Had this guitar less than a week and absolutely love it. Love the Tidepool blue color more every time I look at it. Neck is very comfortable and fast. Came with 9’s but will eventually switch to 10 gage strings. Great guitar for the money.

I decided that I wanted to have a Stratocaster in my lineup of guitars, and decided to pick up a Player Series Strat. It arrived set up and ready to go and was even in relatively good tune out of the box.

It sounds exactly like you would expect a Stratocaster to sound (clean and sparkly), and even with serious whammy bar abuse it returns to tune every single time. Everything about the guitar feels solid as a rock. I did install locking tuners on mine, though this was more to make string changes easier than it was to help with tuning.

The Tidepool color is beautiful, looking somewhat greenish in darker settings but being a vivid blue in brighter light.

Love The Way It Plays and Sounds and Looks

It"s a great guitar. Everything about works exactly the way it should. It is a must have for beginners that like strats.

I am floored. This guitar sounds and feels amazing. The tremolo bar is angled much higher off the strings than I am used to. Its more like a jazzmaster in how high it sits. I LOVE the tidepool finish. It is weird and hard to describe.
Depending on how the light hits it...the color seems to change from light blue to a teal like blue to dark blue.
Pickups are hot and the bridge is different. Stays in tune after I wailed on mine for 2 hours w heavy trem use.
I cant complain about anything here...so I won't.

Purchased this player series strat and absolutely love it!! Great feel and playability. The satin maple neck feels and plays great. This MIM strat would be hard to beat for the money! Kudos to Fender on this one. If you are thinking about buying one of these, my advice would be DO IT!!

LOVE this guitar! Plays and sounds really great.. Very happy with the purchase.. I got the 'Blackie'.. Action is really smooth and easy.. I'll be looking at the Tele next.

This guitar is my first actual fender! I was playing a squier before this for about 2 years and when the player series was first announced I fell in love with this color before i even played the guitar. I found the same style in black and played it and lived the pickups and the feel of it. The pickups are quiet and sparkly like a classic strat so if you're looking for an overwound srv style sound you may not get it here but this guitar is amazing if you're looking for a blank canvas to create on.

I've bought several guitars from Sweetwater reviews are mixed. But this Fender player series is the best yet. What a guitar! I'm glad I went with the single coil pickups great classic stratocaster sound. Matt my salesman is top shelf and knows his stuff. He has been a huge help in introducing me to new products. " I'm a dinosaur " This fender player series is just the slickest guitar in my collection. Thanks to Matt and Sweetwater.

I received my Fender Player Strat about a month ago and this guitar rocks! This Fender Player has a nice warm, rich sound and has a very distinct sound that I've only heard on Fender guitars. This guitar felt perfect in my hands, it's very comfortable, nice and light. I can play this guitar much easier than any other guitar I've ever bought or tried. There's just something 'magical' about Fender guitars. I just can't say enough good things about this guitar. Shipping was super fast, customer service was great as usual. For anyone thinking about getting this guitar, all I can say is- get it, you can't go wrong! Thank you Sweetwater!

I purchased the Tidepool strat as an early 60th birthday present from my wife. I have owned several strats over the years and currently have the SRV tribute, three other American strats and a MIM. After reading dozens of early reviews of this series and being interested in the new colors, I chose the Tidepool as it is very close to the color of my wife"s
T-Bird. It was preordered as they were already out of stock with the hope that it would be available by my birthday. Sweetwater told me when they were expected and they were accurate rather than telling me a made up date just to make a sale. As usual, Sweetwater"s service was second to none with a great setup, well packaged and prompt shipping. The quality of the manufacturing is excellent and every bit as good as my American strats and the pickups are fantastic with all of the classic strat tone. This series is such an upgrade to the previous MIM standard model that I am planning on another one in the future. Buy one, you won"t be disappointed.

major step up for me very happy

I just received the guitar from Sweetwater this afternoon, so this is only an initial review after setting it all up. Sweetwater"s customer service is excellent! Nick was extremely helpful, and it only took the guitar two days to get to me in Toronto, with no issues coming to Canada.

The neck was ever so slightly up-bowed, and the intonation was a little off, but after a little time adjusting the saddles and tightening the truss rod everything was in perfect order. There is still the slightest fret buzz - but the guitar is excellent.

The pickups are amazing, the blue is brilliant and bright, but such a cool contrast with the maple neck. The neck is fast, I love the gloss fretboard and the satin neck, the new logo is beautiful.

I"ve wanted a Fender Strat with a maple fretboard for years, and I couldn"t be happier with this choice!

Great service and an awesome guitar!

This is a well made, excellent guitar. The pickups sound good. My only complaint is the cheap string tree on the headstock. For 5 cents more Fender could have installed a quality string tree.

I’ve been musically active in Milwaukee for 10 years now, and as a regular gigging player that can’t afford to drop $... on a custom shop instrument, these player series guitars are a great option. The body and the neck both feel well constructed, and the colors offered in this generation of guitars are really nice. I’ll be upgrading the pickups, as well as installing some staggered locking tuners, but that isn’t to say that this instrument is poor quality out of the box. Eventually, I think most guitarists become tinkerers, and for me it makes more sense to buy one of these well made affordable player series guitars and upgrade to my liking, rather than spending tons of money on an American one that I will still take to my luthier and mod anyways. All around, as a teacher and a player I would whole heartedly recommend a player series Stratocaster to any level of guitarist whether they are amateur or professional. Also, I become very excited to see how instruments like these can transform into something so personalized and unique with relative ease. Feels great, looks great, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for myself and this guitar.