Fender Player Stratocaster - Sea Foam Green, Sweetwater Exclusive Reviews

Very happy with everything about this purchase. The fit and finish was fantastic. One of the only times I've purchased a guitar in this price range when I didn't have the urge to immediately dress/polish the frets. I'll do that eventually, simply because I like nice and rounded fret ends, and polished so they sparkle, but that's just my OCD. :>). I also feel compelled to do some sort of personalization to my electric guitars. With this Strat I added a purple pearloid pick guard, and purchased an extra white hardware kit from Sweetwater that I dyed in a darker shade of sea foam green. Although the color in the photo doesn't really match the true colors, but you can get an ideal how it turned out. Cosmetics aside, what's really most important is the playability and tone. This Strat knocks it out of the part on both counts. The roasted maple neck is absolutely awesome to be sure. As always, major kudos to my sales engineer, Erik at Sweetwater. Exceptional customer service is always his standard operating procedure. I'm lucky to be able to work with him regarding my music needs.

Buy it for the smoked maple neck alone. Pictures don't do it justice, it's even more gorgeous in person. The grain on it just pops.

Otherwise fantastic guitar. Needed no adjustment out of the box. Fit and finish is perfect all around. Fender is really killing it with these MIM Strats.

Drawn to the vintage style color and the roasted maple neck. I sat at the store got a playing room pulled 4 guitars in with me and walked out with this in hand and bought it took all of 30 minutes. I love the fact you can play through several style amps to see what the guitar can do before you purchase it.

just a great instrument
roasted maple neck is where it's at
i purchased this with the intention of upgrading the pickups, but as soon as i plugged in i knew i wasn't replacing anything
these absolutely dominate the Yosemite pickups that ship with the American Performer series

[FWIW these pickups are punchy enough to make me think that these are the same FSR Strats w/ roasted maple necks (and Fat 50's pickups) that Schmituar Schmenter is selling]



_huge thanks (again) to sales maestro Jake Davis, who always makes sure i'm a happy customer_

I was on the fence about purchasing a player strat. They have mixed reviews. My rep, Damon assured me that those that are shipped from Sweetwater are top notch. Mine arrived in perfect intonation (didn't expect it to be in tune at all, really). No fret dressing necessary, as reported in reviews that had given me some worry. It's a top notch instrument hanging well next to my Les Paul, three Gretsch and two other Fenders. Thanks, Damon!

I am giving this 5 Stars the guitar came in great shape I love the flame maple neck the guitar looks great. I had smooth a few places on the neck but nothing bad. The tremolo was a little high, but I set the guitar up to my liking and it jams well. Daniel at Sweetwater was awesome helping me out. You can't go wrong with this guitar at all.

I'm Inspired by this guitar ! Sweetwater did the awesome Plek job and fender locking tuners installation . It's a floor model so a little cheaper but very minor couple scratches ( Sweetwater sent extra photos of this ) if I didn't show you you wouldn't find them .got the Wrangler / fender denim case for it also .Have a new hot Rod deluxe limited edition tube amp and they were without a doubt made for each other !
Neck feels great , roasted maple neck wood is as smooth as it can be and great back profile .. straight as an arrow low action an zero buzz .
In fact every note sings . I added a "PureTone" Jack as soon as I got it ( much better contact to plug areas in it ) and Dunlap strap locks with with Ernie ball Cobalt ,009" . This is the first real strat I've owned ,I have Gibsons and many others but always had humbuckers on them .
Love the Fender Spank sound ! This is my 2nd guitar I bought online from Sweetwater and I'll do it again gladly .

Side note : be aware it takes up to ten "work " days for the Plek job , and fedex really screwed me for over a week . Sent it back to Sweetwater was re evaluated in case of shipping damage and then reshipped to me UPS 2nd day air on their dime !
Thank you Kurt Martin your a class act !

I've owned so many strats over the years from American to Japanese. I now have 3 player strats and they all are great. This one is a great example of what a roasted neck should be. The fit and finish are great and all that was needed out of the box was to lower the action to my taste and adjust the tremolo to my specifications. The pickups are a real treat and has the tone in all 5 positions and again the neck is so smooth and comfortable and fast enough to shred and soulfully go just about anywhere. I'm not going to buy another American model because there is no need. My daughters bought this one and I'm so grateful and happy to have it and happy that Fender is going strong.

I've had this for about a month and I'm just loving it. I got the plek pro setup from the excellent folks at sweetwater and it plays unbelievably smooth. I recently got a fender ultra tele and this has been getting much more playtime.. maybe because I'm not as scared to give it battle scars lol either way, this guitar is simply great and the color is gorgeous

After putting a couple hundred hours of play time into this guitar I can safely say it has been worth it, it is always my go to because I know when I pick it up it will be in tune and beyond that it feels great. I've played many guitars at many price points and this is probably the best all around in my opinion. You can never go wrong with a good strat

This is my first time ordering from Sweetwater and they did not disappoint. The phone sales rep was knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. I was able to order my guitar with relative ease and it arrived on the anticipated delivery date. I was also very impressed with how the instrument was packed. I was a little worried as this guitar did not come with a gig bag or case; however, when I opened the boxes, it was clear that I had nothing to worry about. Sweetwater was thorough and careful with their packaging.
I also appreciated the pictures Sweetwater took of the instrument. It was nice to see the actual guitar that I had ordered. With that said, despite the high quality pictures, I can say that those pictures did not (and possibly could not) but do this guitar enough justice. This guitar is a serious beauty. It is much more dynamic and colorful in person.
The neck is an absolute dream. This might be a MIM but the craftsmanship is not what I remember a MIM. Fender really has stepped it up with the player series. The action is perfect. The guitar needed a quick tune-up out of the box but I was ok with that. I only wish the guitar came with a heavier string gauge (came with .09 and I usually play .10s) but your mileage might vary.
Overall, I honestly could not be happier. This color Strat was always a dream color guitar and neck. I was so happy to have this combination as a choice. I will absolutely be ordering from Sweetwater again.
Thank You Sweetwater!

I've never bought a guitar online until I got this Strat. I was always worried about the guitar not looking like what I thought it would or maybe something happening during shipping.

But the pictures Sweetwater takes are spot on and the shipping was great, everything was secure and my guitar showed up in perfect condition, and it plays and sounds fantastic. You can buy from Sweetwater with confidence

I cannot wait until I get mine this weekend. Just for the help alone I'm giving Spencer 5 stars for helping me score one after they came and went within a week's time. I see them becoming collectors items down the road due to the exclusivity of the guitar. Being a roasted maple neck and a exclusive color it was a no brainer. Only 2 more days.

This is my first review of a Sweetwater purchase. This is also my first Fender Stratocaster. The color jumped out at me. It looks even better in person! The best part about this guitar is the neck. The burnt maple is killer.Smooth and easy to play. It sounds great too. I don't believe a setup will be needed. The action is great and the neck /frets are smooth. It played great right out of the box! I've never played an American strat, so I can't compare. However, this one is a great price and I love it.The only bummer is it doesn't come with a case. I guess most don't anymore, so that's not a big deal. Keith, my sales engineer was super helpful - as always!

An amazingly well thought out guitar. Color way is awesome and the tone is better than my other players series fenders. It's all in that gorgeous neck.

The guitar was set up perfect and looks and sounds great.. 10/10 would recommend.

Seafoam green, roasted maple neck, MIM Strat, what more can you ask for? It's a fun, groovy guitar, a mix of vintage and modern. Everybody loves a good MIM Strat, and who doesn't love a nice roasted maple neck!? The neck is so smooth, it's angelic! I've already swapped the hardware for gold, as I feel it looks nicer with the color and darker roasted maple neck.

Get one, don't hesitate, just get one already!

Had a Player's Deluxe years ago as my first real guitar, and I shouldn't have sold it. Since then I have yet to find the right color with the right specs. That until Sweetwater brought it to life. I love seafoam green and roasted maple so this was a no brainer. The only minor criticism I have as the set up has a little more fret buzz than I expected, but I can fix it. Besides that, it's THE perfect Strat for me.

The Fender player series overall is a pro level guitar first off. As is, it tics all of the boxes that anyone would want in a basic , good old fashioned, stratocaster that does all the things that we want strats to do. I think this exclusive model however is something a bit special. The roasted maple is super smooth. It's definitively less prone to temperature changes because I've observed that fact. It's sets up well,, nut was cut ( mostly) to spec( I had to lower couple slots but that's par for almost any production guitar brand) fit and finish is outstanding which shown me Fender is aware that Indonesia ( others as well) is making amazing instruments that spec out very impressively , and is making an effort (especially in light of the last couple years) to make sure QC is mostly where it should be. Fret work is quite good. No sharp ends at all. The finish is a sublime surf green and is smooth and without blemish. The bridge amd saddles are solid as is the full size steel block … pots are excellent /switch is solid… pickups( sometimes a weak point in this range ) are very traditional and stratty as you could ask for. Solid tones no complaints. Of course people like to switch out in some instances so season to taste. Set up was not bad, but I wanted 10-46 so basic set up was in order. Only complaint is ( and I've been noticing lately that fender is training better or assigning more oversight) is that the nut is cut quite haphazardly on several models in this range. Mine was ok , little closer to bass side for the low E( which can be preferable) and more room on the treble side at nut. But I've seen quite a few instruments in the player series for a period where it looked like Eddie Scissorhands was cutting the slots at final assembly. within specs understood , but blatant hack job bad spacing is something that Fender should make sure is paid a little more attention too. Anyway mine was fine after I tweaked it for 10's and it does appear that Fender is now paying more QC on the recent photos I'm seeing. Overall though , I cannot think of a better playing , sounding , more reliable , strat, especially considering the price range and I got it for the Fender 10% discount as well. Maybe it's the exclusive model for sweetwater that takes it up a notch,, but these are stellar strats! The roasted maple is done very well and the "modern C" on these seems a tad fuller and very playable! You cannot go wrong with this model! Now if Fender would only put the classic gear tuners on these for that retrofit vintage look and possibly offer this model In sunburst! Other than that I cannot say enough how much these roasted maple strats rule!

Neck is so nice: smooth, easy fret dressing, and it all looks cool. Classic strat sound. Classy looks. The roasted maples elevates this thing so much. Great guitar.

This Guitar is Gorgeous, and it plays well, but the pickups are noisy compared to my other 5 electric guitars. I think this guitar will be perfect with the Fender 57/62 Pickups. I will let you know how it sounds.

Really love this guitar. Only slight negative thing I would say is the fretwork. Seems they skipped the crowning process at Fender. That said, I actually prefer that because I would rather dress the frets myself anyway. I've got experience working professionally setting up guitars and doing fretwork. A couple of the nut slots were cut at a slight angle but not causing any problems. Included pics of before and after the fret crown and polish.

Other than that, I would say that Fender Mexico did an outstanding job on the guitar. I LOVE the roasted maple neck and the neck pocket is snug but not TOO tight, all the screws in the pickguard and backplate are perfect (not angled/sloppy), the pickups sound GREAT and I dig the 2 point vibrato. It sounds fantastic. The bridge was installed perfectly and both E strings are the right distance from the edge of the fingerboard and aligned over the pickup pole pieces. If you know how to work on frets no worries but otherwise it's almost flawless. Stays in tube great. I like it better than the last two American Fender's I have owned. I also have a MIM Mustang bass that is great too. Didn't have to do any fretwork on that one.

As another reviewer noted, their player series strat made it past Fender QC with uncrowned frets. My guitar also was delivered this way. I really don't expect to get perfect frets on a guitar at this price point, but I would at least expect the fret dressing to be completed. I also am not sure how this got past the "55 point" but someone signed of on it.

As always, Sweetwater's customer service was top notch. I discussed some options, but ultimately decided to crown and polish them myself and was fairly compensated with a discount.

Fretwork aside, this really is a fantastic guitar and I really fell head over heels. I absolutely love the satin finish on the neck and the profile is great. It's a little different from the modern c I'm used to, but it's really comfortable. The alnico V pickups sound incredible.

Attached are a before and after. My rating would without a doubt be 5 stars if not for the fretwork.

I Fell in love with this guitar a little over a year ago around christmas, so I bought it for myself as a gift. The most expensive guitar I have ever paid for so I was really excited to play this thing. Unfortunately when I opened the guitar (after the waiting period)it had some kind of harmonic buzzing when played. I called Seetwater and they told me to to take it to a shop and see what they said. The guy from shop gave me a humidifier and said hopefully this will work. Well after leaving the guitar in the humidifier it still doesent play right. I have cheap old guitars that play way better than this thing. Soo disappointing, I bought this to be my best guitar and it turned out to be my worst guitar for the most money. I barely pick this thing up because It just makes me upset.