Fender Made in Mexico #3
Fender Player Series
AND THE PLAYER PLUS AND PLAYER II SERIES
In mid-2017, CITES restrictions forced Fender to replace rosewood with pau ferro on its Standard line and other Mexican guitars. This change set the stage for the 2018 launch of the Player Series, the direct successor to the Standard Series and a significant turning point in Fender’s lineup.
To introduce the new line, Fender stated in the catalog: “The inspiring sound of a Stratocaster is one of the foundations of Fender. Featuring this classic sound—bell-like high end, punchy mids, and robust low end, combined with crystal-clear articulation—the Player Stratocaster is packed with authentic Fender feel and style. It’s ready to serve your musical vision, it’s versatile enough to handle any style of music, and it’s the perfect platform for creating your own sound.”
Player vs. Standard Stratocaster
Fender’s Director of Product, Allen Abbassi, explained that feedback from players, dealers, professionals, and artists shaped the Player Series. Fender aimed to combine modern features with traditional cues based on this input.
Reflecting these goals, key updates included new AlNiCo pickups, a 22-fret fingerboard, and a 2-pivot bridge with bent steel saddles. These changes gave the Player Series a more contemporary feel. At the same time, the body contours were subtly refined to echo the classic vintage shape, and the CBS-style logo was replaced with the traditional Spaghetti logo.
For the Player Series, Fender introduced new colors, including Tidepool, Buttercream, Capri Orange, and Silver.
“The Player Series is a new guitarist’s first step into the Fender brand. With Player, you’re getting premium hardware. The same tuners that we use on American Pro are on the Player guitars. So, as an entry into the Fender brand, you’re getting traditional woods, the upgraded hardware, and then the beautifully voiced premium pickups with Alnico V magnets.”
Allen Abbassi
Player Single Coil Strat Pickups
The Player Single Coil Strat Pickups featured AlNiCo 5 beveled staggered pole pieces, a well-balanced tone, and a reverse-wound, reverse-polarity middle pickup to cancel hum in switch positions 2 and 4.
They were relatively hot pickups. The bridge pickup measured 8.5 kΩ DC resistance with an inductance of 2.8 Henries; the middle pickup measured 8.1 kΩ and 2.55 Henries; and the neck pickup measured 7.5 kΩ and 2.25 Henries.
These pickups featured black plastic top and bottom plates. The first units had red marks on the bottom side of all the pole pieces. The bottom plate carried the molded bobbin part number “016730”—also used on other Fender pickups—along with white markings: “131” for the neck, “132” for the middle, and “133” for the bridge. However, some sets bore different markings—“145,” “144,” and “143” (neck to bridge)—and were slightly smoother, with lower DC resistance.
They featured plastic-coated leads—white (neck), yellow (middle), and red (bridge)—along with a black ground wire.
The Player II Series
In July 2024, Fender launched its Player II Series, an updated version of one of the company’s long-standing, top-selling electric guitar lines—the mid-priced Player Series. Since its debut in 2018, this series has experienced nearly 30% year-over-year growth worldwide.
“The Player II series is not just an upgrade, it’s a detailed re-imagining of our core silhouettes,” said Justin Norvell.
What’s new
The Player II Series retained the best features of its predecessor, such as the modern “C”-shaped necks, 9.5”-radius fingerboards, and medium jumbo frets, while enhancing them with the reintroduction of rosewood fretboards, replacing the pau ferro used in earlier Player models.
Additional improvements included rolled fingerboard edges, aged white plastic components, and the introduction of never-before-released vintage colorways—Coral Red, Aquatone Blue, Hialeah Yellow, and Birch Green—inspired by ‘50s and ‘60s vintage car colors pulled from the archives.
The Player II line also featured upgraded hardware, including Classic Gear tuners and improved bridges. New chambered ash and mahogany body options allowed the use of heavier woods while providing a lighter overall weight.
Player II instruments were equipped with newly revoiced Player II pickups, designed to “capture the quintessential tone (and look) of each of these iconic Fender models.”
Player II pickups
These pickups featured staggered AlNiCo 5 pole pieces, with the middle pickup reverse-wound and reverse-polarity. They are very similar to the Player I pickups; even the white markings on the bottom plate match those sometimes found on Player I Stratocasters: “145,” “144,” and “143” (neck to bridge).
Player II pickups used black plastic top and bottom plates and plastic-coated leads—white (neck), yellow (middle), and white (bridge). The black lead served as the ground wire.
All Day and All of the Night Campaign
The main film for the 2024 Player II Series campaign, titled All Day and All of the Night: The All New Player II Series, showcased four unique versions of The Kinks’ classic All Day & All of the Night. Each version was performed in a distinct environment by a different artist or group: Julien Baker (a Memphis-based singer-songwriter and member of Boygenius), DIIV (an indie rock band), April Kae (a content creator and bassist for Fever 333), and the alternative rock trio Wallows. Each performance highlighted both the new series and the musicians’ individual styles within immersive settings.
Alongside the main film, the campaign included four separate product marketing vignettes. Each vignette featured one of the four artists in their respective settings, with segments that demonstrated and explained the core features of the Player II Series guitars.
The Player Plus Series
Although rumors about its release circulated as early as July 2021, the Player Plus Series was officially unveiled in mid-September.
Evolving from the best-selling Player Series—which sold over 400,000 instruments since its 2018 debut—the Player Plus Series replaced Fender’s Deluxe Series. It came with premium specs and new finishes, and represented a substantial yet accessible upgrade to the Player Series.
“When we first launched the Player Series in 2018, we set a new standard for what an entry-point Fender could be,” said Executive Vice President of Fender Products, Justin Norvell. “The Player Plus series offers a next-level playing experience to help a new generation share their passion and distinct perspective.”
Conceived to improve playability and comfort for both seasoned players and aspiring guitarists, the Player Plus Stratocaster featured newly voiced Player Plus Noiseless pickups, locking tuners, and a 2-point tremolo system. It also offered 22 medium jumbo frets, a 12” radius fretboard, and rolled fingerboard edges for a broken-in feel.
New eye-catching finishes were introduced. Gradient bursts, such as Tequila Sunrise, Belair Blue, and Silver Smoke, were reminiscent of the Dan Smith-era Stratoburst colors from the 1982 Strat.
Metallic sparkle finishes, including Cosmic Jade and Opal Spark, were designed to stand out on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, where a new generation of guitarists emerged. Indeed, the launch of Player Plus also coincided with Fender’s debut on TikTok, where the company partnered with emerging artists popular on social media.
For the debut of its TikTok channel teamed up with boundary-pushing artists such as The Destroy Boys, Gabriel Garzón-Montano and Blu DeTiger
Player Plus Noiseless Pickups
The Player Plus Noiseless pickups were AlNiCo 5 stacked-coil units with slightly higher DC resistance than the Vintage Noiseless models. They were paired with 1MΩ potentiometers for both volume and tone controls to preserve high-end clarity.
They were identified by the word “Noiseless” in gold cursive on the aged white pickup covers, similar to the Vintage Noiseless. The D and G pole pieces were taller than the others. The units featured black molded plastic top and bottom plates, the latter stamped with the part number “016730,” a bobbin used in various Fender models. They also carried handwritten white-pen markings on the bottom plate: “714” for the neck pickup, “715” for the middle pickup, and “716” for the bridge pickup.
These pickups used plastic-coated leads—white (neck), yellow (middle), and red (bridge)—along with a black ground wire.
DC resistance:
Neck: 10.2–10.4 kΩ
Middle: 10.2–10.4 kΩ
Bridge 10.7–10.9 kΩ
