NEW Fender Player II HSS Strat
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ส.ค. 2024
- HSS Strat - thmn.to/thoprod/595289?offid=... (EU Affiliate)
- sweetwater.sjv.io/vNBzo3 (US Affiliate)
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00:00 - Out of the Box
01:12 - Specs
04:15 - Tones
09:04 - Conclusion - เพลง
![เจ้าผู้เดียว - ดิด คิตตี้ [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/q0NLCYKBOTo/mqdefault.jpg)
Maple or Rosewood boards on Strats?
Maple all the way for me 🙋♂️
Maple.
Ebony🤣
Rosewood.
At least the Pau Ferro crap might be over…that stuff is awful.
The correct answer is yes.
My god, your tone and playing are just unreal. Absolutely astounding Leon, wow.
Too kind mate!
I was pleasantly surprised at how good the second position (middle and bridge) sounded. I’m sold, it can get pretty much every tone I’m looking for.
When you pickup an authentic stratocaster, they all have a very distinct feel. The balance to the weight, the density of the woods etc. and while I have quite a few Stratocaster knock offs, the only one that feels authentic is the high end Squier I bought 20 years ago because it was made to American specs.
I played a Fender from the 50's or 60's back in March and it had not only the distinct Stratocaster feel, *but it had the distinct vintage Stratocaster feel which is of course the same only different.* The wood in strats that are many decades old is like a slab of granite.
*Joe Perry recently said the guitars coming from Fender and Gibson today are equal to what they made when they first opened their doors.*
I'm a shred guy with 8-string guitars, a 10-string and whatever else in the dozens I own, *but nothing can compete with a Strat when it comes to the instrument guiding you through the notes.* I sound like a totally different person started playing if I plug in a strat.
Leon's guitar technique and playing are always awesome. Love it !
It sounds great, and those aged pickup covers really give it a cool look.
I think that strat needs to find a spot in your collection!
I love the look of rosewood but the maple neck felt sooo good.
I think the sound is really good, and the model that Leon is holding, not a different color or fingerboard, suits to you well and is beautiful. congratulation! 🤩🤩
Years back I had a couple of friends at Fender from the days I was an Ibanez product specialist. They told me that Fender intended over time to shut down Fender U.S.A. All but for the Custom Shop and have MIM be the go to for the average player. These new guitars I feel are the real thin edge of the wedge. The original beginning was when the MIM series of simplified offsets were made. It was the plan to offer entry level players a seriously good guitar that could hold its own in a Pro application. The Duo Sonic and the Mustang. They upgraded the fit and finish on those and gave them an entry level price. I got one of the Duo Sonic and had a Tele bridge and Rickenbacker neck PU installed to give me both of Townsends early tones. It is a very convincing instrument. You can indeed cover both a Ric & Tele.
That's a brilliant idea, I'd love to hear a Ric pickup in a Fender
Sounds and looks great! I look forward to your gig footage (if you decide to put it out).
Real slinky!
Sounds incredible
Yup that’s the guitar! The dream is real 🤟🏻
Like the Fool for Your Love by Whitesnake at 7:20.
Fender make the best pickups. Great review Leon
I'm glad to see they have rolled the fingerboard edges as sharp fret ends were an issue with every Player guitar I picked up the last few years. Also nice to see rosewood coming back and those Classic Gear tuners are solid. Good improvements!
Yeah the neck immediately felt right to me. It was super fun gigging it with what I assume are 9-42's, way slinkier than I'm used to
9:32 - you've probably seen my blue Strat. HSS, with Planet Tone Clearvoyant at the bridge, and a couple Fralin Solit Blades, and custom wiring....
Awesome vid, guitar and playing. What backing track is that. Love it 🤘🎸❤
It's the backing track for Pink Floyd - Sorrow
Well done, brother.
Thank you kindly!
My fave strat is my 83 fiesta red Jv , best ive owned. Another great vid Leon.
Anything Leon plays will sound amazing anyway, it doesn’t matter if he plays a squire it will still sound great. Anyway the player 2 Strat sounds pretty good.
Leon "Reviews on the Road" . Great demo, Cheers!
Thanks mate!!!
Cheers for the great vid. Top playing and tone, and a shoutout for chucking in a bit of Gary Moore's End of the World in there.
These look great value for money and you can't go wrong with black as a colour for any guitar. Already having 2 Strats with rosewood boards I'd go with a maple board for my next one, though in SSS configuration.
Looking forward to the follow up review on this. BTW, where is the Fender showroom, as I am in Sydney. Would be worth checking out if it's open to the public.
Corridors is peak Strat tone IMO!
That's a killer guitar for the price but it doesn't even have gig bag
@LeonTodd
I hope you do another video of how your gig went with the Strat!
Nice to see that Fender is upping its game in the face of so much competition and not simply resting on laurels. Gorgeous Gilmour and Trower, btw.
Can't leave them unplayed!
I never warmed up to HSS because SSS just seemed more natural for Strats, and HH is the other layout that I prefer looks-wise. However after trying the PRS Fiore and its switching modes, I am willing to revisit the HSS layout albeit with Mark Lettieri’s switching options
Having played the original Player quite a bit, those pickups were good... these do sound a bit nicer for sure
Middle PU a favorite of Jerry Garcia too! It’s the biggest hidden secret on a strat that middle position!
I'm on their website now, so tempted to get either a Black Strat or a Butterscotch Tele....
Not enough guitarists give strats the ol' "Does it Kings X?" or "Will it Dogman?" and they should
🙌
Nice playing. Yeah, HSS either the Polar White one or the Black one that you got. I would probably put a high gain neck pickup in like a Hotrail or similar since I’m an 80’s metal guy.
Now you're giving me ideas!
ROSEWOOD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm really intrigued by these, the older Player series was not very consistent in quality. I would go for a HSS with rosewood fingerboard, not for the tone but for the looks. :D
How would you compare this new humbucker to the one on the player 1
It seems the Dave Murray's one from 80s 🤔 (apart for the tremolo bridge and not the floyd)
It sounds great!🔥
Definitely gives me DM vibes!
man, that gilmour tone:)
where does it come from?
Thanks for throwing in some King’s X!
Any time!
Just picked up the neon green ebony board Player 1 from GC July sale for $599 USD.
I bought one yesterday, maple fretboard and the aquatone finish. I really considered the classic black though.
Aquatone looks so lush!
How do you like it ? How's the fretwork and nut slots, any issues like fretting out on bends, or strings sticking in the nut slots ? Thanks ! Cheers !
@@joesmith8398 no issues, plays great. I did change to Elixir 9 - 46 strings and reset the action a bit lower after that.
@@LeonTodd it had completely put me in to a New Wave kick for some reason. :D
Just pre ordered the hss maple board in mocha color . After hearing this demo it’s gonna be so hard waiting till October when they start shipping
That looks tasty, congrats!
Nice playing and tone !! How's the fret work, like any scratchy or high frets, any choking out, and how's the action, high, medium or low....are the nut slots wide and deep enough ? Thanks man, Cheers !
Pretty impressed TBH. Fretwork is clean, edges are smooth and there's no choking or dead spots on this one with a low action.
These look awesome, but no black with rosewood? That's my favorite combo and it's nowhere to be seen. Ah well, still realy excited to try one out!
What pedals are you using? Great tone! 4:48
Thanks! Using the Fractal FM3 for all the tones. Vox AC30, JCM800 and 5150 models.
Can you expand on the statement that the bridge on the Player II has been upgraded over the Player I? Basically: "how so"
According to fender the pickups are the same as previous Player series
Hi Leon, awesome videos, do you have any videos for Paul Gilbert's setup in the 80's era of mr.big? form fm3? tanks a lot.
Check out my ADA MP1 tone matches
@@LeonTodd tanks Leo , tank you.
You know when... you just know? ... absolutely!
What exactly was changed on the tremolo?
Oooo some Gary Moore Edge of the World!!🤘🤘🎸🎸
End….🤦♂️
First runs probably good, I wonder if they will keep the quality
If they can keep this quality they'll be in high demand, great guitar
Fender are lifting their game indeed. Recently tried out a Vintera Strat and couldn't go home without it.
Congrats!!
@@MichaelSorensen-bl3ec I played a vintera ii 60s p bass last weekend and very nearly bought that. :)
What about tremolo arm? Is that a pop-in or threaded one? Is it firm or loose in its pocket? The guitar looks and sounds awesome!
Threaded. Little bit of wobble
@@LeonTodd 100% Fender...maybe It worth an upgrade with a Callaham block with virtual pop-in tremolo arm...a little bit of teflon tape in the thread helps a lot, if you don't remove the tremolo arm.
Might get the black Tele with a maple board and put a red tortoiseshell pickguard on it
Tasty!
When it comes to a Strat, I'm very particular about the neck profile. If it isn't comfortable in my hand, I don't want it. Rolled fingerboard edges are a novel touch on a MIM Strat, as I have that on my '07 USA made VG Strat, I just don't like the USA modern "C" neck on that guitar. It doesn't feel like a "C" at all, and I may sell it. If not, then I'll probably replace the USA neck with a MIM neck, since that feels more like the vintage Strat necks. I also have a '16 MIM Strat which I like the feel of, but what I've typically found with MIM Strats, is that the hardware and electronics are lower quality than the USA counterparts. This sounds like a nice base Strat option that I would buy and modify to my taste, which was Leo Fender's original idea when he designed it. (Not the modifications, but that everything on the guitar was replaceable). If I were to buy one of these, I would probably go with a rosewood neck and a different color, since I already have three black Strats with maple necks. I would go with the H-S-S model, and if I want to change to single coils, I could simply swap out the whole pick guard assembly with no routing, just a few minutes of twisting screws and soldering. Besides, this would be a good guitar to gig with and leave most of my vintage ones at home.
I do love that Fender finally decided to make 22 frets a standard. That's the only thing about my vintage ones that are a little bit of a letdown, but I bend the pitch higher on those to compensate.
Great insights! The neck on this is a little narrower than I'm used to but it's pretty effortless to play. Fun with 9-42's as well!
@@LeonTodd Thanks for pointing that out mate! I forgot to mention that in my comment, and it would be the only thing I would consider to be a negative of the MIM Strat, and that is the string spacing is narrower than the USA spacing. I believe it is the same, or very close to the Asian made Fender string spacing. 9-42 si what I use on my humbucker-equipped guitars. I use 10-46 on my single coils guitars, but that's because I don't tune more than a half step below concert pitch.
We need a comparison between the player 2 strat and the older players strat! Would be good if you could do a shoot out because only then will we know if the new player 2 strat is worth the upgrade.
Ps: Absolutely loved your playing Leon Todd
What's upgraded? the specs haven't changed basically.
So what's upgraded? The specs haven't changed basically.
_"It's in tune right out of the box_
Me: That's not *entirely* correct... It's not in drop C!😊
Sweet dark little lady there Leon!
You got me ;P
Mesmerised by your playing, I forgot you were reviewing a guitar.
Thanks mate, too kind!
It DOES Kings-X! Cool guitar, I agree about the lame black truss rod insert - ugly!
Was that the new Tonemaster Bassman as well?
Yes indeed! Hoping to make some clips with one soon
I cut my teeth on a tele and then a strat but then the 90s come and I turned into a super Strat (Ibanez) man.
I've been thinking about going back to my old friend,I wonder if it'll feel like home after 30 years?
Tele's always go hard!
For its MSRP price.....it should feel bloody premium!!
Rosewood .. no brainer .
what song is that you play on 8:27?
Ragdoll - Heaven Above
Great video as usual, noce guitar to. But have anyone bought anything from Muzic Man Australia, they don't answer on mail or something else.
I'm not familiar with them unfortunately
Robin Trower fan *waves back*
🤘
Super cool playing. Not personally a fan of HSS due to the volume difference between the bridge and neck pickups.
Thanks mate! Hope all is well
@@LeonTodd Totally dude. I’ve got a date with my Les Paul, Fender Strat, Jackson RR3, Ibanez Jem and Ibanez RG550 tonight. Re stringing them all and cleaning them up. Gonna be a longggggg night
If you want a Strat sound on there, use a Fender Stratocaster.
Strats gonna Strat
I have one of each.
What was the last song you played?
Ragdoll - Heaven Above
@@LeonTodd great riff :)
I don't know if they do it for an aged plastic type of effect or what, but... this isn't a reliced guitar. Pick a single shade of white and just stick with it. Cream controls/pickups on a white pickguard has always looked klutzy to me.
It would look much better if it had a tort guard
nice advertisement!
I’m glad they brought back Rosewood. The Pau Ferro kept me from buying. It just looks cheap and ugly to me.
Yeah rosewood is classic and it looks great
Urg, those tuners are a definite downgrade compared to the (previous) Player. The Player was relatively modern other than the bent steel saddles, and a better value choice imo than the Professional. The single coils are great, the humbucker was fairly meh. I upgraded mine (black, maple fretboard, lol) with lace sensors, locking tuners, and solid saddles but it didn't really need any of that tbh (and still came under the price of the Professional). Been gigging that guitar pretty consistently for the last couple of years.
Having said all that, Fender can't go speccing these too well or else they'll cut into the Professional (only notable for being somewhat vintage specced and US made) and the Player Plus (the best bang for buck imo) price points.
Lace sensors ftw!
How dynamic is the bridge humbuckee Leon? Does it clean up well when you roll the volume down? Cheers.
The MIM truss rod plastic plug is ugly . Please Fender a small effort .
🐸🐦🐔🐻❄🐹🦆
That's all you mate ... These hss strats remind me of my 80's heavy metal cream squire with the Floyd pups on black.. but these are very Kool and play and sound so well with premium fender pups for sure..a guitar to do it all for you mate .. better keep this one..just justify it with your upcoming European tour profits... 🌏 🦘❤ 😺 Could use a roasted maple neck and a real Floyd with your choice of pups.. but I imagine these are pretty nice after all... Everybody needs a HSS for HIS and HER.. 🥂 mate. Or one like mine for 175 bucks I got 7 yrs ago like new.
HSS is such a vibe! Was just at a friend's playing his Suhr with a roasted neck :p