If you consider all the ways that the Stratocaster represents perfection, “feel” may not be the very first thing you think of. But while the svelte and curvaceous Stratocaster may be the definitive visual representation of “electric guitar” in a dictionary, and ring like a cathedral chime, the thing that distinguishes a great or priceless Strat from a merely good one is often its ergonomic excellence. Slim, light, contoured in all the right places, it’s a marvel of form following function. I’ve played a lot of old guitars over the years, but the one that I can still feel in my bones almost two decades later was a 1964 Stratocaster. The sight of it was beautiful enough to be forever etched in my brain’s visual cortex. But it was the feel of cradling that instrument, above all other things, that remains.
The Mexico-made Fender Player II Modified Stratocaster does much to underscore the tactile pleasures of Strat-ness. The rounded edges of the maple neck are as comfortable as an old baseball glove. The medium-jumbo frets lend a silky glide to finger vibrato and bends. The tremolo’s sensitivity and stability beckon a player to slow down and indulge in its bouncy precision. But the Player II Modified Strat’s delicious feel is also reinforced and enhanced by the sound of the Player II Noiseless pickups and the way the quiet performance invites deeper exploration of tone detail and dynamics. And the switching, which enables blends of the bridge and neck pickup to offer an even more expansive tone palette. The build quality is just about flawless, the locking tuners are a considerable asset, and at $1,049 it represents a solid deal at a time when new guitar prices are headed steadily northward.
Small Steps Forward, Big Returns
I’m a bit of a Fender traditionalist when it comes to necks. I like the vintage style 7.25" fretboard radius and a profile just on the chunky side. But between owning a few 9.5" radius Squiers that I love, and playing and reviewing enough contemporary Fenders with the same spec, I’ve come to appreciate the feel of the slightly flatter fretboard. For players that prefer the 9.5" radius and know Fender’s modern “C” profile well, this neck might not, at first, feel like much of a revelation. Indeed, Fender’s modern “C” is so ubiquitous it can feel almost generic. But the contoured edges do much to make the neck feel a little more vintage and make the Player II Modified a more inviting instrument in general.
Once you’re hooked on the feel of the Player II Modified, you’ll find the pickups even more alluring. If Fender sacrificed any classic tonalities in making the Player II Noiseless Strat pickups quieter, it’s hard to hear. I sense a little extra warmth and roundness in addition to a lack of 60-cycle hum—and the latter perception may color the former. But the output is anything but suffocated, and the relative quiet means a lot less ear fatigue when exploring overdrive and distortion tones, which are a great match for this instrument.
The real treat, though, is the push-pull switching on the treble pickup knob, which enables the addition of the pretty neck pickup to the bridge pickup and combined bridge/center pickup. And though I dutifully explored every single pickup and combination here (and was smitten with the middle position Jerry Garcia tones in particular), I had a hard time leaving behind the creamy/crispy combination of the neck and bridge together. If, like me, you often go hunting for the perfect crossover of sunburnt surfy top end to brighten up your Curtis Mayfield soul ballad tones, the Player II Modified will serve up this most delicious sonic fruit in abundance.
The Verdict
Fender’s marketplace competition for the very guitar it created has never been more intense. But the Player II Modified Stratocaster offers real, if incremental, improvements that enable Fender to stay at the top of the heap in the circa $1K solidbody segment. It allows players to experience everything that’s great about a Stratocaster without settling for an otherwise capable S-style with a weird-looking headstock. There’s room for improvement here and there: The vibrato could be a little more tuning-stable under heavy use and more softly sprung off the factory floor. And, at least to my eyes, an opportunity to make a really stunning looking Stratocaster was missed by slapping a very ’70s black pickguard on a green that evokes the playful custom colors of the ’60s. But there are plenty of more traditional color options elsewhere in the Player II Modified Stratocaster line. And if they all provide as pleasurable and inspiring a playing experience as our review instrument, Fender is well-prepared to take on all comers in this very competitive segment of the solidbody market.
