The Sire S7 FM, Yamaha Pacifica, and Fender Player II HSS Guitars - Which would we keep?

[@LoftyAssertions]

Thanks so much for such a direct comparison, I wish everyone did it this way

[@PJandtheBeard]

zZounds was super nice to send them all at once so we could. Almost impossible to do this without that kind of help.

[@MrVishnuu]

Great work ! One of the most usefull, complete and well thought comparisons I've seen.. thanks !

[@PJandtheBeard]

Thanks! We really appreciate it.

[@TheGuitarGuy.]

Much needed perfect comparison, can you tell how pickup on sire sounds vs the fender as per you professionals?

[@oshagnificent314]

Great video! I feel good about my choice😁 Got the same s7. I thought they sounded pretty similar before the jam sessions but during the jam sessions i may have actually liked the way the Yamaha and the fender sounded just a pinch more. S7 feels great and looks great to me and they don’t sound different enough for a beginner like me to care. And has the best price. Thanks fellas

[@PJandtheBeard]

The S7 was our favorite out of this group. Love that roasted maple neck! I really liked the pickup sounds on it too. I think you made a great choice. That said, I don't think one could go wrong with any of them.

[@jhonklk]

Thanks for the work. I was just watching a lotnof reviews between these models. Thank you guys 👌🏾

[@PJandtheBeard]

Anytime! Appreciate it the comment. Which way are you leaning?

[@jhonklk]

@@PJandtheBeard so far I am picking the sire s7. It does what an strat does perfectly fine and it is a bit cheaper.

[@uwedasler425]

Having played all three just last week, I have to very much agree. I would place the Fender dead last (highest price, worst pickups, lowest specs), having the nicest finish does not change that. While I personally preferred the pickups of the Yamaha, I did not at all bond with its neck, and it is easier to swap pickups at some point in the future. The Sire was the best overall - a neck that would be fine for a guitar 3-4 times the price, great hardware and pickups that are fully sufficient, nice ergonomics, authentic sounds. I did buy the S7 (as a more economical backup for my primary HSS guitar, a PRS Fiore) and a SKB molded case with TSA locks for less than the price of the Fender. To be fair though... Comparing SSS models the result would have been less clear - the Player II SSS model is at least ten times better sounding than the HSS. That seems to be a Fender thing, as I found the same to be true for the American Pro II and the Ultra - for some reason Fender does not get HSS.

[@PJandtheBeard]

Thanks for adding your input to this. Enjoy the sire. It really is great!

[@wiguitar7633]

My sire is crazy stable as well- lowering the gauge to 9s and the action and it plays amazing.

[@thomaschambers33]

I like the Sire over all great for price, the Yamaha was good accept a lot of mid range. I think over all the Fender had more sonic versatility. The Fender players 2 is the one I chose.

[@PJandtheBeard]

The fender looks great. I would like to try the SSS in this series. Its position 2 would probably be closer to what I like.

[@paulallen9375]

I've got the sire t7 fm in black and i love it been thinking about getting the s7 hss in white thanks for the info.

[@PJandtheBeard]

If it has the same roasted maple neck on it I’m sure it’s killer.

[@themuffinman3135]

I have the same guitar. Hands down the best choice is the Sire. I have strats but this is the one I pick up.

[@PJandtheBeard]

Love that roasted maple neck!

[@mkrj2576]

Can you get a replacement neck inexpensively for Sires? I have Players where I’ve worn out the frets and replacement necks are cheap and easy to find. Or does the Sir have SS frets? Oh and I’d like to see HT Strats more frequently offered. Thanks for the nice video.

[@PJandtheBeard]

Unfortunately I’m not sure about the answers to these questions. I don’t remember it having SS frets.

[@vernebohlen1833]

I own the sire s7 fm it's awesome

[@PJandtheBeard]

Agreed. Love that roasted maple neck!

[@jmeakin4]

It's interesting that you both (and many commenters) opt for Sire, but the Yamaha sounded best on my smartphone speakers during your tonal comparison tests.

[@PJandtheBeard]

No doubt the Yamaha sounds great. There was just something about that Sire. I’m going to hate sending it back.

[@JJ15T]

I want the sire look and Yamaha sound!

[@PJandtheBeard]

The Yamaha look was a bit too modern for my taste. Nice guitar though.

[@siegriedroy6467]

Isnt the wiring in the Fender like that: Bridge Humbucker is splitted when Switch activates Bridge and middle Pickup together? Great Test! Funny that the middle Pickup in funky sounded on every three guitars very similar. Best regards from Sweden/Germany!

[@PJandtheBeard]

Yes, the bridge on the fender splits in position two with the middle pickup. It’s different from the other two because you can’t split it just in the bridge position. Thanks! Sweden and Germany are both places I would like to visit someday!

[@uncus1]

lovely comparison ! if we add a charvel 24 HSS what do you guys think ?

[@PJandtheBeard]

Unfortunately, I don’t think either one of us has ever had the opportunity to play any Charvel.

[@joepal843]

Can you do a review on the Pacifica standard plus?

[@PJandtheBeard]

Actually we have tried to get one in a couple times already. So it is on the list if one becomes available.

[@timruss3192]

I'm Fender all the way. Sire is too much top end. Pacifica is pretty good also though. Nice mids.

[@PJandtheBeard]

At first I thought the fender would be my pick but the Sire won after playing them.

[@retiredguyadventures6211]

The Player strat humbucker is split with the middle pickup in the 2nd position. These guys should at least know that much if they are going to do a review that has any credablility...

[@PJandtheBeard]

Well, we said that in both this video and the individual video we did on this. The difference is that it is not split ever in the first and the other two are. What we are unsure of is how it is split. I don’t think one of the coils is totally cut. At least it doesn’t sound that way when you split them. Not fully splitting a humbucker is common too. Appreciate the comment. What’s “credablility”?

[@retiredguyadventures6211]

@@PJandtheBeard According to the original Player Series HSS strat spec sheet and parts layout Position 1 is just for the humbucker and the 1st tone control controls it only. In position 2 the humbucker outer coil closest to the bridge is on with the middile pickup. The other inner coil in the humbucker is off. The picups in the Player II series and wiring are the same as the original Player Series. I contacted Fender about that as there seemed to be "a lot" of reviewers online stating that the Player II had upgraded pickups. It doesn't! The only Player II guitars that got new pickups were in the offset guitars. If you have an email address I can send you the spec sheet for the original Player series HSS strat if you want?

[@spikeafrican8797]

Fender for me. Yamaha sounds great too but I dont like the Sire.

[@PJandtheBeard]

Can’t really go wrong with either of those. Surprisingly the Sire was it for both of us. I didn’t call that when I unpacked them!

[@spikeafrican8797]

@@PJandtheBeard- yes, well we all know how to tweak things, pickups, height ect. I just found the midrange a little too forward on that setup. I'm sure it is a fine guitar... people do seem to really love them!

[@PJandtheBeard]

@@spikeafrican8797 luckily we live in a time with so many good choices and quality ones at that!

[@FrankyTempels]

Guitarist are a littel strange ,if buying a new guitar and its ,a fender your friend (guitarists)wont to see it ,and the hype guitar sire , Yamaha Pacifica good , the saying its only a Yamaha

[@PJandtheBeard]

Hype or not I would go with the Sire out of three we had. :)

[@artwise1415]

Yamaha! Dont need to watch the rest.

[@PJandtheBeard]

The Yamaha is great. We were really surprised by how much we liked the sire.

[@aaronsinger]

That Fender is so sterile and plain sounding. It would go well with a Helix for the ultimate hell of blandness. Thank you for performing this service.

[@JeanLeite-d1e]

Sire S7 hands down, their pickups sound better too! The Yamaha is very muddy in the mid-range (almost unusable). Fender I gave up on a long time ago, their frets may as well be razor blades, for such a high priced guitar it's not acceptable! So much so I sold ALL my Fenders and kept only a 1993 MIJ Fender Tele that was done right.

[@PJandtheBeard]

We were really surprised by the Sire. What a nice guitar.