Review of my UPGRADED Fender Player Series Stratocaster

Hi Everyone,
Christos here, aka, The Frag!
Today, I am reviewing my Fender Player Series Stratocaster SSS with all my upgrades:
Jim Dunlop strap holders
Gotoh made in Japan bridge saddles
Seymour Duncan Hotrails (bridge and neck positions)
Obsidian Wire kit
Fender original locking tuners
Graph Tech Tusq XL nut and string tree
Other work I have done is polish the frets using fret erasers and filed a few frets down that were sitting proud. Overall, pleased with the results.
Please subscribe, hit like, and leave any comments respectfully.
Keep safe and stay positive.

[@jamesgretsch4894]

White guitars look beautiful. Your guitar is nice. Like your upgrades. I have a 2014 Classic Player 60s Strat in faded Sonic Blue. It's nice.

[@jammergreg]

I just got the new players plus in HSS Belair blue finish. I’ve been playing for 55 years and I play on stage at least once a week and that puppy is going out with me every gig. Sir, you can play out with your Strat if you want to. Nice vid!

[@christosfragias592]

Thanks, dude. Congratulations 🎊 on your new acquisition. Keep ROCKING 🤘. I am playing my Player HSH in butter cream now. Love it. ❤

[@gscgold]

picked up a player plus just to check it out and fell in love with the neck on those..12" radius felt so comfortable to play.

[@christosfragias592]

They are well specced those Player Plus series. Congratulations 🎊 and keep ROCKING! 🤘🎸🎸🤘🪨

[@retiredguyadventures6211]

I bought a Fender Player HSS strat earlier this year. It is the plus top aged cherry version. I installed Fender locking tuners and a Graphtec nut and string tree. I'm leaving the rest alone for now. Last year during the covid lockdown I took my old 94 Peavey Predator strat and replaced the controls with the Obsidian Blender and changed the pickups with ones called Rose Pickups from a guy in California, Ken Rose, that winds them. They are the Robusta pickups that are his version of the Fender Fat 50s pickups. I also shielded the pickup cavities and plan on replacing the tuners with Hipshot locking tuners.

[@christosfragias592]

Nice! It's all the more nicer when one does the work to their guitar themselves. It puts more pride into playing it. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. Keep ROCKING 🤘

[@tompelham7035]

You now have your own custom shop Strat without the ridiculous finish ware n Tare:) nice work!

[@christosfragias592]

Thanks, Tom. Really appreciate your kind words and keep ROCKING! 🤘🎸🎸🤘🪨

[@RaymondLandis]

Nice upgrades! I have a couple of these Strats (Player & Player Pluse) and did similar upgrades to mine... Especially the Obsidian Wire Blender is an awesome upgrade!

[@christosfragias592]

Thanks, Raymond. I'm glad you are enjoying your Fenders and their modifications. Keep ROCKING! 🤘🎸🎸🤘

[@hq72hotmale]

It would have been nice to hear it but thanks for the upgrade info

[@sparkyguitar0058]

While I definitely understand doing all the changes cause did this to a L Paul studio that IMHO came with shoddy parts from the factory. When got this used, it came with 496/500 pups which is my favorite set from Gibson. So to get the most out of these, I replaced the crap small pots and cheap plastic wire. With 500k CTS pots and Garrett cloth wiring in a 50's style. To keep everything kinda sane , switched to Kluson locking tuners, Tusc XL nut, Tonespro locking bridge, alum tailpiece, Switchcraft switch and jack. Using my deluxe plus Strat as a template for proper parts. Now I got 2 complete R an R beasts. All you need is love.

[@outsiderdf]

The stock alnicos are just great.

[@frankzappa951]

Good to know. I have a set of Alnico 5s, along with the pots and switch which have come out of Player Strat. They will be going into a cheap but very nice Jet JS300. I got the guitar at £99 so despite some very nice offers on “boutique” pickups, I went for the Alnico 5s. Some of pickups I was offered cost more than the guitar for example a set of Kleins which are supposed to be very nice. I have to be honest. I have been down the rabbit hole of pickups and rarely been convinced, maybe the custom shop 51 Nocaster pickups but the older I get the more I think snake oil!!! Here in the UK we are very lucky as we have some excellent options for aftermarket pickups - Mojo Pickups, Oil City, Alegree, Bareknuckle etc etc. Bare in mind, Jimmy, Eric, Dave Gilmore etc all used standard pickups back in the day :) Thanks for the video mate. Your Strat looks great

[@GaryCost]

Very Interesting info. Thanks for sharing

[@christosfragias592]

Gary, my pleasure, Brother. Keep ROCKING!🤘🎸🎸🤘

[@georgek659]

Nice! Nice colour! I did something similar upgrades to my player strat. I actually kept the pickups (HSS) but changed the tuners, the nut, string tree and the whole tremolo bridge to a gotoh 501 series and it sounds and plays amazing. I also experimented with the wiring, I turned the second tone knob into a blender for some more options

[@christosfragias592]

Sounds awesome, great work. Enjoy, and keep ROCKING! 🎸🤘🎸🤘

[@z00mist87]

hey George could you tell me if you had to pierce the two small holes for the auto blocking tuners beside the principal hole, or do they already exist out of the shop? it's something i'd like to know before deciding if ill upgrade or not, thanks in advance.

[@georgek659]

@@z00mist87 Th fender locking tuners are a direct drop in. I got the staggered version, which for the 3 higher strings are a bit shorter to accent a bit more the angle of the strings.

[@z00mist87]

@@georgek659 so if i want to upgrade my player serie strat tuners with some 70euros fender locking tuner i dont need pierce any holes right?

[@z00mist87]

ok thanks!

[@otaviofenderstrat4220]

I bought an American Ultra and less than a week i returned ...i hated the neck..too thin ...i bought an American Professional II and neck is a little fat for my taste but better than Ultra...The Player has the best neck profile for me, it is in the middle like the old American Standard , i will buy the Player in the future to play with friends just for fun, some gigs...The Pro II will stay in home safe 😁

[@christosfragias592]

I agree. I found the USA Pro II neck a little too thick for me. The Player Series with its Modern C neck is perfect. Same with my Player Precision bass.

[@elenka.svaliva2]

Kind a Ritchie Blackmore set up, I also don't like middle pickup, and you have put it down too. Nice review.

[@christosfragias592]

Thank you so much. Really appreciate your comments.

[@danielguerrero1176]

Just got Player Strat, in Candy Apple Red

[@christosfragias592]

Thanks, Daniel for calling out. That recent colour, Candy 🍬 Apple 🍎 Red ❤️ is beautiful. Enjoy your new axe 🪓 and keep ROCKING! 🤘🎸🎸🤘

[@vincentlussier8264]

I always had a penchant for white on a Strat!

[@GibusGang]

Solder fumes dont contain lead, but they do contain plenty of burning flux compound. So although you won't get any lead, breathing in that stuff is basically just as bad as smoking a cigarette.

[@christosfragias592]

Thanks. Either way, it's not healthy. You see many guitar manufacturers have extractors that suck out the fumes on the factory floor when staff are soldering. Keep ROCKING! 🤘🎸🎸🤘

[@Singersongwriter7]

hi bro ...nice video!!! i had 2 same guitars in white..... the frist after 1,5 years the neck becames concave.....also the nut and the bridge sounds like sitar or the nut was horrible.... then they replace me the Guitar to a new one.... The nut and the bridge sounds horrible.....sitar effect again......i dont know where the problem comes....its seems i must replace the bridge and bring it to a guitar tech for some nut work...... Dame it this makes me feel sad....how this can be happend on this instruments???

[@zachb5803]

Please send me the specs or exact purchase on which bridge saddles please??

[@christosfragias592]

Hi Zach, if I recall correctly, it was these Gotoh bridge saddles. www.ebay.com.au/itm/254729242950?chn=ps&_ul=AU&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-139619-5960-0&mkcid=2&itemid=254729242950&targetid=&device=m&mktype=pla&googleloc=1000286&poi=&campaignid=15791083372&mkgroupid=&rlsatarget=&abcId=9300816&merchantid=9634392&gclid=CjwKCAjw14uVBhBEEiwAaufYxx92sC37LFtjvYEDGVmPmnq9ggrPpmxn4Od0-MaP7dBnNoWTDTrGZxoCFokQAvD_BwE

[@zachb5803]

Thank you!

[@blackstormer95]

I'm having issues with my Player Strat since it's left-handed and all the pre-filed graphtech or bone nuts, are for right-handed guitars... I bought the original bone nut from Fender and guess what, right-handed as well. I will need to buy a whole block and pay a luthier to do it custom for my guitar.

[@christosfragias592]

You can buy left handed nuts on Graph Tech's website. There is usually an 'L' in the model number.

[@christosfragias592]

Try this link, and best of luck. graphtech.com/collections/tusq-black-xl-nuts-guitar/left-handed

[@blackstormer95]

@@christosfragias592 thanks a lot! great channel btw, new sub here !

[@zoiken4]

good video frag! I'm guilty of buying mexican fenders and spending more than they cost on upgrades I love it

[@christosfragias592]

Hi, and thank you for your comments. I know how you feel. 😀 The good thing is, the journey along the way, and the skills gained, are priceless. Keep ROCKING! 🤘 🎸

[@Alfonzo862]

@Cristos, Hi mate I am coming back to check on the update progress of your player strat. You've done a very nice job on that strat and I am really looking forward to when you test drive it🎸🎶🎵. I put American pickups in mine but changed it back to the original sss mim pickups that came with my strat because I liked them better. I found that in my case the pickups that came in the player after a lot of adjustments I settled on a fender speck for texas special pickups which brought out the best in those player pickups and now it sounds great for just about every kind of music including Black Sabbath that I love. Greetings from the North Coast

[@christosfragias592]

Hey User User, hope you are well. I always like to experiment and upgrade with my equipment. In the process, it's a great journey, and you can learn so much...but it can be expensive...😀

[@Alfonzo862]

@@christosfragias592 hi there. Yes you are absolutely right about upgrades can be expensive and sometimes they may not be for the best as in my case 300 bucks on pickups wasted. You've mentioned when you've purchased your white strat that the pau ferro felt a bit corse under your fingers? My pau ferro fretboard feels as smooth as a baby's bum, however it doesn't seem to soak up lemon oil as nicely as rosewood! Did you have the same experience with your pau ferro too? Thank you and what a nice looking strat👍😃

[@SalmanSuhail]

Hey man! Loving these vids. I’m just going down this journey myself - do you mind sharing the link / model number of the bridge you are using? I want to make sure I don’t have to dremel the body and there is very little information out there on the internet. Keep rocking on!

[@christosfragias592]

Hey Salman. Thank you so much for your kind words. I only changed the bridge saddles to Gotoh modern saddles from the stock Fender vintage bent steel saddles, while keeping the stock Fender bridge that came standard with the guitar. I found the grub screws on the Fender vintage saddles protruded too much and were cutting into my palm. Plus, they do not have a slot in the middle of them, like the Gotoh's do, for the string to rest evenly. So instead, I just removed the saddles, screws and springs, and installed the Gotoh modern stainless steel bridge saddles with the accompanying saddle screws and springs. Here is the link to the same bridge saddles from Gotoh's website. Hope this helps, and KEEP ROCKING! 🎸🤘🎸🤘 g-gotoh.com/product/s21/?lang=en

[@SalmanSuhail]

@@christosfragias592 aw man you’re the best. Thank you so much for the super helpful and detailed response!

[@billhaupt1]

Hi, I follow many guitar channels on youtube , your humble at home upgrade was a very nice watch compared to the highly competitive and obviously funded channels out there. I recently got a fender player. I plan to upgrade this as well, the obsidian wireless had been on my radar as I was gonna turn my squire into a fender killer, but now I up the anti. Did you get 7 way or classic and how about a plugged in test?

[@christosfragias592]

Hi There, and thank you for your kind words. I bought the Vintage Plus for Strat unit. Apologies, I have since sold the guitar to fund a new project, and did not actually post a video. Overall, It sounded nice, and I managed to get a dirty, but clean tone, if that makes sense. If I did it all again, I might buy the HSH Obsidian Wire unit, as they come with 500K pots, and will provide the Hotrails with a little more brightness and beef over the Vintage Plus unit which has 250K pots. Hope this helps. I will be posting new videos in the coming weeks. Thank you for subscribing, and KEEP ROCKING! 🤘🎸🤘🎸

[@dylanshadrach2015]

Hi Christos, thank you for the video. Just wanted to ask how much better (if at all) the tuning stability is after changing the nut and string trees to Graphtech XL. I have the same strat and I love it, but the tuning stability could definitely be better.

[@christosfragias592]

Hey Dylan. Tuning was better. However, I definitely noticed an improvement in the overall tone of the guitar. It seemed notes sustained for longer and were more clearer. If you are comfortable in changing the nut, give it a go. Alternatively, you can take it a good guitar shop who will do it for you. Keep ROCKING 🤘

[@goldiluckx]

Quick question, how low was ur action on the twelfth fret with low e and high e assuming u were capo’d on the frst fret

[@christosfragias592]

Hi there, it was about 1.5mm. I did not use a capo, just a string height measure at the 17th fret.

[@goldiluckx]

@@christosfragias592 thank you

[@haus05]

liked and subbed

[@christosfragias592]

Thank you so much. 🤘🎸🤘🎸

[@HiredGoonage]

Interesting. I have the same guitar but with the maple neck. I went with Hotrails in the bridge, left the stock pickup in the middle position, and went with an Alnico II single coil in the neck which has a nice quack to it. Did you keep the bridge tone pot 250 or did you up it to 500?

[@christosfragias592]

Hi there, and thanks for sharing your experiences. I opted for the 250K tone pot. I changed all the internals with the ObsidianWire unit. I did think about buying a 500K pot. I believe it would give a more punchy tone from the Hotrails?

[@HiredGoonage]

@@christosfragias592 yeah it brightens the tone up. I'll probably go ahead with it although I mainly got the bridge hotrail for rock/metal duties and rarely use it for clean sounds. I just find it a bit dull when used clean, but awesome with gain I have the yellow Player series also (same as you!) and in that one I have a tone zone S bridge, Fat 50s middle, and Cruiser neck. I believe I had the tech put 500 pots in that one, although I can't remember the details. These player series make a great modding platform

[@benjaminkiesewetter6690]

Thats great Work! Could you play a little bit?

[@christosfragias592]

Thanks, Benjamin. I've since sold the guitar. Please check out my other videos, if that helps. Keep ROCKING 🤘 🎸 🤘 🎸

[@Headknocks]

Hey mate, why did you put hot rails in if you have a HSH strat as well? GGTSS

[@christosfragias592]

Hi Adam! Yes, GGTSS!!! I used Hot Rails in my white Strat and have the Butter Cream HSH, so they are two separate guitars. And I wanted to get a different tone from the Hot Rails. Hope this clarifies, and KEEP ROCKING!

[@jamesgretsch4894]

Are you Greek? I see the Orthodox cross and icons on your wall? I guess your name gives it away. I am part Greek.

[@christosfragias592]

Yasoo JAMES! Yes, I am an Australian born Greek Orthodox Christian. My folks are from Kefalonia. Thank you for reaching out and for subscribing. Keep ROCKING! 🤘

[@thepatriot4355]

Just paid $800.00 dollars for mine needs no upgrades

[@funkster007]

Same. If it ain't broke, dont fix it.

[@scod3908]

That's ~AUD1200

[@TeleCaster66]

Just what we needed, another guitar channel. Could this be any more dorky lol?