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Fender Player Plus Stratocaster Electric Guitar - Opal Spark with Pau Ferro Fingerboard

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Alder Body, Maple Neck, Pau Ferro Fingerboard, 3 Single-coil Pickups, and Synchronized Tremolo - Opal Spark
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Fender Player Plus Stratocaster Electric Guitar - Opal Spark with Pau Ferro Fingerboard
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Fender's Player Series Gets a Serious Upgrade!

When Fender's Player Series first hit the scene, its combination of rock-solid tonewoods and stellar electronics made for an infinitely giggable axe priced for the working musician. The Fender Player Plus Stratocaster builds on this blueprint with upgraded electronics and optimizations throughout to deliver even more incredible bang for your buck. A trio of noiseless Player Plus single-coil pickups pumps out hard-hitting tone with crystal clarity, made better with a push-pull Tone 2 knob to jack in the neck pickup when in positions 1 and 2. Rolled fingerboard edges give the Player Plus Strat a distinctly professional feel, a feature commonly found on instruments in higher price ranges. Throw in locking tuners and a highly expressive synchronized tremolo, and this top-notch 6-string truly puts the "Plus" in Player Plus Stratocaster.

Outfitted with powerful Player Plus pickups

The trademark tone of a Strat is heard across countless recordings and number-one hits, and for good reason — the spank, the twang, and the chime of its pickups lend crystal clarity and enhanced articulation to anything you play. Fender made sure to equip the Player Plus Strat with high-powered pickups to perfectly fit the bill, with three Player Plus single-coils delivering an expansive tonal range. These noiseless pickups thoroughly impressed Sweetwater guitarists, pumping out that classic quack and richness of a vintage Strat without the pesky 60 cycle hum.

Elite enhancements throughout

Whether it's your first or 50th Fender, the Player Plus Strat is familiar in the hands. You get the standard tonewood combo of alder with maple for the neck and pau ferro fingerboard, laying a solid tonal foundation with plenty of snap and smooth playability. Where the Player Plus Strat truly shines is its impressive feature set. Its Modern "C" Player Plus neck profile boasts a rolled-edge fingerboard for a comfortable worn-in feel right out of the box. Locking tuners up top make for split-second string changes while keeping everything in tune, the perfect companion for this Strat's silky-smooth 2-point synchronized tremolo. The Player Plus Strat epitomizes love at first strum — make sure to clear your schedule for the next few days!

Fender Player Plus Stratocaster Electric Guitar Features:

  • The epitome of Fender's Player Series with professional enhancements throughout
  • Beefy alder body lays a solid tonal foundation with good sustain
  • Maple neck shaped to a perfect Modern "C" Player Plus profile fills your hand comfortably from head to heel
  • Smooth-as-glass pau ferro fingerboard with rolled edges gives the feel of an elite-quality instrument
  • 3 noiseless single-coils deliver a full spectrum of tonal possibilities with zero hum
  • Push-pull Tone 2 knob adds the neck pickup while in positions 1 and 2
  • Locking tuners make string changes a breeze while keeping your tuning in check
  • 2-point synchronized tremolo perfect for subtle warbles and textures

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Tech Specs

  • General
  • Number of Strings 6
  • Left-/Right-handed Right-handed
  • Body
  • Body Type Solidbody
  • Body Shape Player Plus Stratocaster
  • Body Material Alder
  • Body Finish Gloss Polyester
  • Color Opal Spark
  • Neck
  • Neck Material Maple
  • Neck Shape Modern C
  • Neck Joint Bolt-on
  • Radius 12"
  • Fingerboard Material Pau Ferro
  • Fingerboard Inlay Pearloid Dots
  • Number of Frets 22, Medium Jumbo
  • Scale Length 25.5"
  • Nut Width 1.685"
  • Nut Material Synthetic Bone
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo
  • Tuners Deluxe Die-cast Sealed Locking
  • Electronics
  • Neck Pickup Player Plus Noiseless Strat Single-coil
  • Middle Pickup Player Plus Noiseless Strat Single-coil
  • Bridge Pickup Player Plus Noiseless Strat Single-coil
  • Controls 1 x master volume, 2 x tone
  • Switching 5-way blade pickup switch
  • Miscellaneous
  • Strings Fender, .009-.046
  • Case/Gig Bag Gig Bag
  • Manufacturer Part Number: 0147313395

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

Beautiful Strat!

I loved the Opal Spark color on the website's screenshots but I would have to say it's even better in person. The flake allows it to change brilliantly in various lighting. Love it. I also had Sweetwater change the bridge to a Seymour Duncan JB Jr. and now it's a versatile axe that can do Strat things and cover some heavier needs as well. Thanks again to my Sales Engineer, Daniel Neville for all the help.
Music background: Learning
Rated 5/5

Like an Old Friend

I have had this guitar for a bit more than 4 months now and have clocked a lot of hours on it (between 50-100 hours total) and gone through multiple string changes. In short: I love it and it felt from the first moment that I played it like an old friend.

Fit and finish on mine is perfect and the set-up from the factory was spot on. I fiddled with the truss rod for about 30 seconds and polished the fingerboard during a string change; but that has been all that I have had to do.

The rolled edges of the fingerboard and its flatter-than-typical Fender radius is perfect for me and how I play (up and down the neck with a lot of bending and sliding between notes). I love the Pau Ferro. I know that some players prefer rosewood because it is much darker and feels a little softer than Pau Ferro; but I have come to prefer the aesthetics of the lighter tone and the feel of the slightly harder fingerboard (it's like a cross between maple and rosewood, in my opinion). The locking tuners work perfectly and the nut is cut well; combined with the 2 point trem I have had no tuning issues at all.

Similarly, I love the noiseless pickups and the ability to bring in the neck pickup in positions 1 & 2. I agree with lots of reviewers that the push-pull feature is clunky and difficult to use on the fly. I typically just leave in engaged because I prefer the tones with the neck brought in; but I could see it being difficult if you are trying to engage it in real time.

All in all, I am thrilled with this guitar and look forward to playing it for a very long time.
Rated 4/5

My 1st Fender and Stratocaster

All my Guitar playing life I've seen this Fender Stratocaster everywhere. I've never had one but it keeps coming up in most songs or groups I've played with. The sound is what I'm looking for. So I bought the player plus model. It's really nice I like the feel and where the Volume knob is in particular. On my PRS CE 24 I keep hitting the volume knob and turning off the sound. The single coil pickups coupled with the shorter fretboard gives the right sound (for Blues and full bends). Once you stretch the strings it stays in tune, the feel and balance is just right for me. The shape of the fretboard "C", 12" radius allows one to move up and down the fretboard easily. The overall build and finish is fine with me it looks and feels very smooth and nice to handle. I Use the VOX modeling amp or my big tube Traynor amp with a blues pedal and a little over drive. It's great.
Rated 2/5

I really want to like this one...

I have been itching to get a new strat ever since I sold my American. This particular one seemed perfect with lots of neat amenities that I love and a color that brings back nostalgia from the first strat I ever owned. Honestly, if I ever built a custom strat it would be, on paper, this one just with taller frets and a contoured neck joint. Full disclaimer, I did pay for a setup (because I hate setting up floating trems) and a graph tech nut because they were already setting it up. So, mine is not fully stock. Also, I'm running 9-42's instead of stock 9-46's right now.



TL;DR -- Beautiful, feels great, unplayable without lots of work.



Straight out the box this guitar is beautiful. The paint is immaculate. The roasted satin neck and the rolled board just feels right. I had never played a pau ferro board before, so I was a bit hesitant, but visually and feel wise this guy is just perfect. Only thing that seems a little off is the high gloss head stock front on an otherwise satin neck. Plus, mine came with a drop of gloss over spray by the nut (see picture), but it's very minor at most. Even the cavities looked amazing with only a few spots not sanded out (see pic). 5/5



Electronic wise, I really like the noiseless pickups. I know they are a bit polarizing with players but for me they work great. This is subjective but they seem more dynamic than earlier model noiseless but less than traditional singles. The push/pull is fun too. I really like the bridge/neck combo, just a great tone. The only problem is the fender dials are not very push/pull friendly. I have a decent grip and I still would never trust being able to use the push/pull on stage. I think it might work ok with some horizontal groves cut in the knob but, as is, it's just a novelty. All the pots and switches are top notch. 4/5



Now... The problems I have with this guy, playability. Straight out the box I had fret buzz across the entire board and the thing wouldn't hold tune at all. It took me much longer than I'll ever admit to trace down some of the problems, partially because I kept getting frustrated and putting it in the guitar timeout corner for days at a time. However, the locking tuners are great and fret work looks amazing. 1/5



First thing was the trem studs were off (see pics). They were both just tightened down all the way, but one was set about 1mm deeper than the other. This caused the trem to pop and shift with big bends, palm mutes, and any subconscious thoughts about touching the trem bar. It wasn't enough for me to really feel but definitely enough to hear. With the studs level, and other problems fixed, it was rock solid with tuning. Side note, I do feel like the trem springs were set on the softer side out the box; the trem reacted notable to bends. I haven't had a floating trem in a while, so it caught me off guard hearing a pedal note go so out of tune when I bent another string, but this is just a personal thing.



Next was the string tree catching the B string (see pics). This was hard to see because the tree was mounted only slightly off but it was enough for my B string to try and ride up the tree post with any trem stuff. Plus, the part where the string is positioned on the tree is not polished and it sort of pops with movement from bends or the trem. Right now, I just have the strings out of the tree until I can gather more patience to deal with it.



During all this I did try to deck the trem too because I was getting frustrated with all the small adjustments (and I hate setting up floating trems). In my limited experience I would always just add springs and flatted out the trem. This was problematic for this model though because I couldn't get the studs low enough to go fully flat against the body, so it leaned backwards and the back of the trem isn't flat (so it tries to shift a drop) and the saddles had to be at max height and still had string buzz and etc etc etc.



Speaking of string height, max I could get at 12th fret low E was just shy of 3mm if I remember right. So, if you like really high action you might have to get creative. Usually, I set up by feel but I was curious because I almost have this strat maxed out... Right now, I'm ~2.25mm off the 12th fret on low E, only a few threads left on the saddle height adjustment (I have the trem floating close to the body), string buzz is almost gone... maybe tolerable?... I guess...



Other side notes. While the trem arm is very playable, it feels a bit sloppy and loose to me. Nothing tape and a spring can't fix but I worry that it will wear and loosen up more over time. Plus, it gets old dealing with springs and tape if you are taking the arm off every day to put in a case.



Overall, I have had this guitar for just over a month now and I really really want to love it. It is truly beautiful (see pic) and so very comfortable in my hands. All added together, I think I may have played it for almost an hour. I just really wasn't expecting to spend time working on a guitar in this price range. Plus, I still have fix the string tree, deck the trem (because I hate setting up floating trems, and I forgot how annoying playing pedal notes can be with floating trems, all personal problems), set it up because I knocked out the intonation while working on it, do something to make the push/pull pot easier to use, and work out the string buzz and action. I imagine I'll dump a few dollars into this thing before I get over two hours of play time in it. It is extra frustrating since I spent a whole 15 minutes setting up a different guitar (squire mini) for a friend's daughter recently that cost less than 1/4 what this one does and still has better playability than this one right now. If I did it over again, I would probably just get something else, like a sire s7 or something. But it is pretty.

It’s impossible to imagine a world without Fender guitars, and if you’re like many of the guitarists at Sweetwater, then Fender not only made the first guitar you ever bought " they made the last one too! From building the first mass-produced solidbody electric guitars and basses in the 1950s to creating some of the most influential amplifier designs in history, it’s no wonder why Fender is one of the biggest names in the business. As one of the world’s largest Fender dealers, we have countless guitars, basses, amps, effects pedals, and accessories in stock and ready to ship, whenever you need them. We’re always getting our hands on their latest creations, and there’s nothing we love more than to tell our customers all about them! So, whether you’re looking for your first axe or a Custom Shop creation, make sure to give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700.

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