For their new Player Series guitars, Fender went back to the drawing board with updated radii for more historically accurate body shapes, new vintage-inspired finishes, and a classic logo that harkens back to the Fenders of yesteryear. But these smooth-playing instruments also look to the future with modern enhancements that include 22 fret necks, upgraded bridges for better sustain, and new Alnico 5 pickups that crank out legendary Fender tone by the boatload.
Though the original Stratocaster was first introduced more than 60 years ago, it's unquestionably more popular now than ever. The Player Series Stratocaster combines the guitar's sleek, elegant lines with the perfect blend of vintage and modern features. You start with the classic comfort-contoured alder body with a gloss polyester finish, then add a 3-ply parchment pickguard and a trio of Player Series Alnico 5 Strat single-coil pickups. The Strat's original master volume plus two tone pot configuration left the bridge pickup without a tone control; but in the Player Series Strat, Tone 1 operates on both the neck and middle pickups, while Tone 2 is dedicated to the bridge pickup.
