I had decided my next guitar would likely be a Player Strat, now that the Mexican models have improved significantly, but didn't prefer the Orange one my local store had, and figured I'd shop around the neighborhood until I found the right one. I kinda hoped to find a Cherry Plus Top but appearance really doesn't matter, so I wasn't disappointed that no one locally stocked one. For grins, since the other stores had closed, I checked around for a used Player before going to a store the next day that stocked a Sunburst model, and noticed a Plus Top in "mint" condition at Sam Ash for $125 less than the regular Player. When I inquired, the salesman offered me a new one for $25 more than the used one, but included free shipping. I was hesitant, since I (of course) always try before buying, but went ahead and ordered. 2 days later I fell in love. I Iike the way it plays and sounds better than the one I almost bought for $115 more, and everyone says it's the most beautiful Strat they've ever seen. So nice to actually have a new guitar delivered to the front door, and it's the right one. I've never been to a Sam Ash, since the closest one is 100 miles away, but I've never had a better (or quicker or easier) experience. Don't know that I'll ever buy another one this way, but this time I certainly made the right move. The only issue I had was being inundated with online offers, but my local stores are even worse, and since I unsubscribed I've never received another one.

David

Undisclosed

What a fantastic strat. I am amazed at the quality and sound from the new player series. Would buy 100 times over.

Vincenzo

Undisclosed

Great playing guitar with a very nice tone. The only critiques I can make are that the fret ends were very rough and protruded much farther than they should have, and there was an insane amount of feedback. Some shielding would reduce this and if added, would make this a much more premium instrument.

NICK

Undisclosed

I've always been anti-fender since my price range would be a mexican-made, and to me the MiM models didn't look very well made (just rough all over). With that said, the new Player range seems to be very well appointed, for reasonable cost. My only complaint is that some of the roughness from the older MiM models still exist, which is surprising at this price point. For example, the fret ends are very rough on this guitar, and I had to do a setup before it could be used; compared to my PRS Zach Meyers around the same price, which has smoothed off fret-ends, didn't need any adjustment out the box, etc. I still think this is too high a price to not include locking tuners, for that and the few rough parts I had to deduct a star. Otherwise this would have hit 5 stars even without locking tuners.

Brandon

Undisclosed

This is a great guitar for a reasonable price. I own several American Strats and there is no noticeable drop in quality. The neck is very comfortable and smooth, not sticky, and the guitar has a great tone. It stays in tune very nicely. The Cherry Sunburst finish is beautiful, and I will probably get another one just like it, if I lost this one somehow. I highly recommend this guitar. It's not perfectly set up out of the box, so if you know how or know someone who does, please spend the time to set it up the way you like it. You won't regret it one bit.

Sindre

Undisclosed