FENDER: Player II Stratocaster® HSS - Aquatone Blue + Tone Master Pro

www.fender.com
Fender's Player II Stratocaster® HSS is here for 2024 with revised appointments including Modern "C" Neck Profile; 9.5" radius Maple or Rosewood Fingerboard with Rolled Edges; Player Series Alnico V Single-Coil Strat® Pickups; 2-Point Synchronised Tremolo with Bent Steel Saddles, Aged White Plastic hardware and ClassicGear™ Tuning Machines. New colours include Birch Green, Aquatone Blue, Hialeah Yellow, Polar White, Coral Red - all with Alder bodies. Later in the year we'll see White Blonde, Aged Cherry Burst (Chambered Ash) and Mocha Burst and Transparent Cherry (Chambered Mahogany). Also available in 3SB and Black. The Player II Series offers no-frills, classic Fender tones and playability without breaking the bank. These guitars are built to be played. A lot!
Today's tools:
Guitar: 2024 Fender Player II Stratocaster® HSS - Aquatone Blue. Stock
Amp: Fender Tone Master Pro running Firmware v1.3.74 via USB C to PreSonus Quantum
Cables: BOSS
Strings: Factory. 9 - 42
Pick: Signature Honey Pick www.honey-picks.com/collectio...
Mic: Audix USA A231 - audixusa.com/products/a231/
Camera: GoPro HERO10 + Sony ZV-1M2 x 2
Soundcard: PreSonus Quantum 26x32
Desktop Monitors: PreSonus R80 R-Series Active AMT Studio Monitors - www.presonus.com
Monitor Control: SPL 2Control - spl.audio/en/spl-produkt/2con...
Headphones: Audix A150 - audixusa.com/products/a150/
All Stands: Gravity Stands - www.gravitystands.com/en/
Computer: 2017 Apple iMac Pro, 2.5 GHz 14-Core Intel Xeon W, 64 GB 2666 MHz DDR4, Radeon Pro Vega 64X 16 GB
All of my Fractal Audio Presets (free): axechange.fractalaudio.com/se...

[@retiredguyadventures6211]

Since watching this video and posting my original comment I've both email and called Fender customer service to find out if the pickups are the same, or different, in the Player II series. Both responses from Fender were that they "are the same pickups" in the strat as in the original Player series!

[@danstringer7610]

I always enjoy your demos Brett! Thanks

[@markthespark6240]

That studio is looking epic Brett!!!

[@garygalinos1176]

Great review and playing Brett! The aquatone blue and maple fretboard are a perfect match. 👍

[@jefft5854]

As usual most enjoyable and to-the-point demo! Thanks

[@victorformosa228]

Rolled fingerboard, nice addition, great demo by the way.

[@DougMen1]

This and your other video with the coral red rosewood Strat are the best videos on YT of the new Player II Strats, and the Tone Master Pro sounds fabulous too.

[@kevinjohnbetts]

Nice colour. Sits well with the maple neck. Having listened to your demos of these 'Player II' Fenders what impresses me most is the Tone Master Pro. Not that I'm in the market for a modelling device but if I was this would definitely be on my radar. Tasteful playing as ever Brett. 👍🙂

[@danstringer7610]

Thanks!

[@retiredguyadventures6211]

The bridge humbucker is an alinco 2 and it along with the single coil pickups are the same ones as in the original Player series which I'm ok with. A lot of reviewers are claiming the Player II pickups are new "revoiced" pickups and this is not true at least on the strat. I watched an interview with a Fender representative and he flat out stated the strat pickups were the same as the original Player series. The humbucker is 7.6k ohm which makes for some nice clean tones.

[@salsplace]

Can you split the coils on the humbucker pickup?

[@amguit]

What do you guys prefer in terms of sound for the third pickup. Single or humbucker? More versatility with the HSS package?

[@rawnajaaris]

How different does position 2 sound on the hss vs the sss? Are they quacking the same? 😅

[@BrettKingman]

Good question and I have to say that they're pretty darned close. I think it would be a tough call in a blind test. The HSS P2 is good enough, for sure.

[@rawnajaaris]

@@BrettKingman thanks for the reply! I'm excited to try this myself at the shop.

[@fijnevent3565]

Aquatone blue is that miamiblue with less yellow?

[@robertclarkguitar]

Brilliant review of a an incredible guitar. Nice work fender ! I wonder if the nut will ever get an upgrade from MIM. I suppose their synthetic bone is their staple for nut. Mine works fine actually but I often wonder why not throw in a Graphite or bone? I know every detail counts for price but dang. This is impressive for upgrades albeit minor they make huge feel diff.

[@surfinjim]

Thanks for this new great video! Are the tuners "Fender vintage" ones, with a 8.7mm hole diameter or some "modernized" version with 10mm holes? I know many like these, but I don't...

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

I wonder if they are going to keep the Player Plus the same.

[@kieattisaklaw]

Is it much different from Player I series?

[@tbone2451]

Nice playing and demo. Are these the same pickups in the players l ??

[@surfinjim]

Yes they are

[@PaoloC.]

looks very nice! kudos that you have mentioned the string spacing, mostly an overlooked factor but quite important. with such such nice features I could easily swap it for my am pro 2 and get half money back 😂 BTW what's your chair with raised arms? is that from amazon or something?

[@BrettKingman]

Amazon, yep. About $250 if I recall.

[@wilfredoolivenciaolivencia4724]

That color looks like Miami Blue....

[@BrettKingman]

Thanks Mark!

[@drlt9241]

I want this color so bad bad no rosewood option! So lame Fender!

[@joesmith8398]

I'm sorry, but those pickups sound thin, tinny and unpleasantly bright and brittle. You'd think after 70 years Fender would figure out how to make a pickup. Perhaps they need some guidance from Seymour Duncan.

[@martinq1920]

Is there any way to get that awesome jam track ? Even if I have to pay for it, that's fine.

[@gitarbangsatchanel8036]

This is mexican made ?

[@marcusmauldin731]

Yes

[@1loStu]

HOW MANY times to ask you SWITCH ON subtitles in your videos?.

[@BrettKingman]

I do switch it on. If KZbin's algorithms don't generate the subtitles, it's not my fault. AND STOP YELLING.

[@1loStu]

@@BrettKingman I appreciate that you are a good musician, but you don't understand the YT system at all. Your channel is the only one I subscribe to (was subscribed to) without the ability to turn on subtitles. And I subscribe to several dozen channels. Just THINK about it. Perhaps you need to fix something, aren’t you?