Fender Player Series

Owain

darthed1981 said:

In stores now, well Andertons and PMT at least.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liSQAy2HZhg 

What do we think?  Did the VFM Fender range get even more VFM?  Will we see a fire sale of old Mexi Standards still in stock?  Are these the new cool thing to scoff at because only CS masterbuilt will do...?

When I watched this video, the day it came out I was thinking what most people here are saying. I thought that this line would be of lower quality and would replace the good standard MIM's. Thus, making it more expensive to buy a good Fender guitar. 

I would guess if anyone's after a Fender, now's the time to get one. Get the standards because they will run out of stock, and since they're not in production anymore... 

I hope the Mexican ones will be available cheap 2nd hand after they stop producing them I'd have liked to get a mexican standard strat one day too expensive for me right now

xchrisv

The Tele we’ve got is great for the money, likewise the Jazzmaster. https://youtu.be/-XmM5NL8Jss

skunkwerx

Babones said:

I want to like the Jag, but coil splits always sound bad to me. I'd rather it be a coil tap, so that top switch is useless to me. I'm not convinced by the Fender HB on its own. The clunky blade switch should be a Gibson style 3-way toggle.

I wonder where the E string would be on the fretboard, if it was in its saddle.

Man thats funny they didnt notice that when taking pics!! C’mon Fender! 

I had a gander at a different colour which has the e string properly seated. It doesnt look too bad, and nearer the headstock past the 12th  it looks far enough inboard to be fine.. 

But what the hell is up with the bridge humbucker?! Check it out, the high e string completely bypasses its pole pieces.. so out of line, that would really annoy me regardless of whether it makes an audible difference! 

I’m guessing an F spaced humbucker would be more suited, unless its a jag thing?

thegummy

dindude said:

stonevibe said:

They are getting poor reviews from owners, bad fret ends and poorly cut nuts, plus cheap Chinese pots, instead of half decent ones!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Guitar/comments/8s4eme/discussion_do_not_order_the_new_fender_player/

Eh, how so. One guy posts on the internet, all the other comments are commenting on this comment without knowing, bar one who actually owns one and loves his new Player. The power of the internet..

It's such a dangerous trap and easy to fall in to. Even if we search online and find 3 or 4 parts where someone is complaining - that's still a tiny portion of the masses of units being sold.

Also take into account that if someone is upset with something they have purchased they are so much more likely to post about it online than someone who buys something and it's as good as they expected it to be.

Even though I know that and other biases that make the whole "forum research" thing not so useful, I still can't seem to help myself doing it any time I'm interested in a product.

One way I've kind of found it useful is if there is a generally agreed upon "best buy" that seems almost universally agreed. An example off the top of my head might be the Baja Tele. Then again, a lot of the posts might be by others who have read all the recommendations and are just repeating those second-hand.

thegummy

My main thought on the new range is that the butter cream colour is lovely!

In the previous mim range, I didn't like any of the colours (and wondered if that might be deliberate, to make the nice ones worth the extra money) but that's so nice.

peachguitarsdotcom

I think these guitars are superb! It's the first time in a long time that i've been excited by a new range from Fender. Ok, it's not reinventing the wheel but we all know what happens when the big guns try and do anything really different.

I would happily gig with one of the 3 Single Coils Strats.

Here's a video of the range that we put together 

crunchman

johnl said:

What's the advantages / disadvantages of the 2-point trem versus the older style? Does it make a noticeable difference or is it just a stylistic thing?

In my experience, the 2 point one doesn't sound as good.

I'm not the only one who thinks that way.  The PRS trem is essentially a tweaked version of the vintage style trem with 6 screws.  Paul Reed Smith thinks it sound better.

It's probably something to do with how vibrations are transferred to/from the body.

I'm not saying that you can't find a good sounding guitar with the 2 point trem, but the best sounding Strats I've played have  had a vintage style trem.  I've said several times on here that if I had to buy unseen, I'd go for a Mexican Classic Series with the vintage trem over an American Standard/Professional.

The disadvantage of the vintage style trem is that the tuning isn't as stable if you go in for heavy duty whammy abuse.  If your playing style involves extensive divebombing then the 2 point trem would make sense - especially as that style would normally have lots of gain, that would mask the tonal deficiencies.

darthed1981

peachguitarsdotcom said:

I think these guitars are superb! It's the first time in a long time that i've been excited by a new range from Fender. Ok, it's not reinventing the wheel but we all know what happens when the big guns try and do anything really different.

I would happily gig with one of the 3 Single Coils Strats.

Here's a video of the range that we put together 

I do like those new HSH Strats!

Edit @peachguitarsdotcom also liked the video, will subscribe

impmann

crunchman said:

johnl said:

What's the advantages / disadvantages of the 2-point trem versus the older style? Does it make a noticeable difference or is it just a stylistic thing?

In my experience, the 2 point one doesn't sound as good.

I'm not the only one who thinks that way.  The PRS trem is essentially a tweaked version of the vintage style trem with 6 screws.  Paul Reed Smith thinks it sound better.

It's probably something to do with how vibrations are transferred to/from the body.

I'm not saying that you can't find a good sounding guitar with the 2 point trem, but the best sounding Strats I've played have  had a vintage style trem.  I've said several times on here that if I had to buy unseen, I'd go for a Mexican Classic Series with the vintage trem over an American Standard/Professional.

The disadvantage of the vintage style trem is that the tuning isn't as stable if you go in for heavy duty whammy abuse.  If your playing style involves extensive divebombing then the 2 point trem would make sense - especially as that style would normally have lots of gain, that would mask the tonal deficiencies.

There's another issue, for those of us who dig in with a hefty right hand technique, 2 post trems 'chirp'.

Effectively when you dig in, the string fractionally detunes and then comes back up to pitch, causing a strange beginning to the attack envelope.

I have this on every 2 post trem I've ever played - unless you stack up the springs, which make them unpleasant for gentle shimmers. I don't get this with six screw trems - either Fender or PRS.

Frankly two post trems mean "I'm out".

stickyfiddle

I don't think the 2-point vs vintage trem thing is a big deal. Given this is supposed to be the "modern" MIM Strat it makes complete sense to have the 2-point trem on this guitar and the 6-screw on the vintage ones, which I assume are now next in line for a refresh. 

I do prefer 6-screws by a small margin, but I also prefer nitro finishes and generally more expensive guitars, so who cares what I would prefer. 

irelandguitar

HsH looks really cool and seems good value, really want to try one !

Bellycaster

A lot of questions answered here. It does seem that they are offering a lot of quality for the money and not down grading too much. I'm seriously thinking around Christmas time I may be treating myself



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