Fender Player Stratocaster Plus

DECEMBER 2021 TOTAL GUITAR
THE TG TEST
87
FENDER PLAYER
TELECASTER AND
STRATOCASTER
PLUS
Fender’s Mexican series steps up
with a premium line featuring
expanded tones and bold finishes
Are they worth the upgrade?
F
ender’s refreshes and new lines
come thick and fast; you need to
give serious thought about buying
a new Strat or Tele because the
choice is now expansive; over 50
Strat and 40 Tele models – the
dierences between them often
signicant. Now there’s more; the
Player Plus represents an upgrade to the hugely
popular Player Series (the contemporary
Mexican ‘standard’). These are not
a replacement but an additional range
with higher spec to help justify the price.
With hum-cancelling pickups, expanded
control circuits, locking tuners, block steel
saddles for improved sustain and 12-inch
ngerboard radius, these specs are signicant.
A Mexican-made take on the Ultra or even more
recent American Professional II? What is clear is
just how far the Tele and Strat continue to evolve
- beyond body shape, there’s nothing vintage
about these models.
Words Rob Laing Photography Phil Barker
TGR352.gear_test.indd 87TGR352.gear_test.indd 87 04/11/2021 11:1004/11/2021 11:10