Fender has just dropped the biggest sequel since The Dark Knight with the Player II Series refreshing its box-office range of mid-priced electric guitars and basses with a suite of new features, and ushering in the return of something that we haven’t seen for a while on Fender instruments at this price point. Yes, rosewood fingerboards are back.
Quite honestly, the unveiling of the Player Plus II Series comes as something of a shock. Here we were thinking that Fender went big last week, launching its Timber Series Telecasters, tempting many of is to ditch the guitar cable for good and roam free range with the Telepath Wireless System – not to mention the comprehensive refresh of the Squier Affinity Series, and ergo some of the best cheap electric guitars you’ll find.
But no, this is the big one, the motherlode, and it brings the Player Series closer to the upscale Player Plus models.
Where do you begin? Well, if we are making the case for the Player II models taking inspiration from the Player Plus collection it is worth noting straight off the bat that all models in the series have rolled fingerboard edges. This, allied to the crowd-pleasing 9.5” radius and Modern C neck profiles that we see across the series, all makes for a player-friendly instrument.
Also, the news that rosewood is back on the menu is huge. No shade on pau ferro but it is very welcome to have it back alongside maple as a fingerboard option. Ash makes its return too, so we are two for two with the classic Fender tonewoods. And there are some really intriguing instruments in the lineup, including chambered Telecasters and Stratocasters, dual-humbucker Teles, HSS Strats.
The finish options range from familiar favourites to colours from the Fender archive that have never been seen before. Coral Red, Aquatone Blue and Hialeah Yellow, Birch Green... Fender has always known how to throw a party in the paintroom.
There are hardware upgrades aplenty, with all models installed with the ClassicGear tuners we would typically see on models from the American Performer lineup. The Jazzmaster and Jaguar bridges are now fitted with genuine Mustang saddles.
• Fender Player II Telecaster and Stratocaster review
“The enhancements to the original Player formula here are subtle in places but significant: the Player II Series feels like the centre of what Fender is and needs to be right now.”
This launch is an especially good time for those into Fender offsets, because the Player II Jazzmaster and Jaguar offer more traditional platforms, with the Jazzmaster swapping out those splittable Alnico II humbuckers for Alnico V single-coil electric guitar pickups. The Player II Jaguar swaps its bridge ‘bucker for an Alnico V single-coil. Let's not forget the Mustang. Compact, cool, and at £619 it is mighty affordable.
Player II Stratocaster
This is the 70th Anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster, and if the Player Series II model follows blockbuster logic we would predict that this might end up as being the biggest selling Strat of all time.
Time will tell. What we do know know is there is something for everyone. The traditionalists can grab one with a solid alder body and cut loose. Those looking for something lightweight would do well to audition one of these chambered models.
You can get chambered ash or chambered mahogany. Whichever you choose, you have the same triple-pickup configuration of Alnico V Strat single-coils at bridge, middle and neck positions, each selectable via the five-way blade pickup switch, with volume and dual tone controls for dialing in your tone.
All come fitted with a two-point synchronised tremolo and we can confirm that having given these Strats a test drive those ClassicGear tuners and the vibrato are very stable.
They are priced from £739/$799 to £809/$899, and there are left-handed options available, too. Fingerboards are either maple or rosewood, depending on the finish – and that goes for all the models to follow.
Player II HSS Stratocaster
Always in the conversation whenever the subject is versatility, the Stratocaster HSS is one of those do-it-all electrics, and there was no way Fender was leaving it out of the Player II Series.
Again, you can get this with a chambered ash or chambered mahogany body, alder if you’re looking to knock on some solid wood, and all come fitted with the 2-point synchronised vibrato with bent-steel saddles.
Just look at that Hialeah Yellow model on the far left of the picture above. That is typical Fender, applying a long lost vintage automobile finish to an electric guitar.
The neck is as per the rest of the Player II Series, a bolt-on Modern C maple neck, topped with a 9.5" radius fretboard, and finished in satin urethane for a speedy, gum-free finish.
The main – the only? – point of difference between its SSS siblings above is the high-output Alnico II humbucker at the bridge position inviting you to dial up the gain, and the price. These retail from £759/$829 to £829/$929.
Player II Telecaster
We are only in July but we can’t help but think that a Player Birch Green Telecaster with the slab rosewood fingerboard might already be the electric guitar of the year, or at least it it is certainly in the running.
The Player II Series house style is in evidence once again with regards to neck profiles, rolled fingerboards and colour finishes, and of course you can get solid alder, chambered ash or chambered mahogany.
Specific to the Telecaster are its Player Series Alnico V single-coil pickups, with a three-way pickup selector switch and volume and tone controls – all mounted as ever on a metal control plate – and a six-saddle string-through-body bridge, which is a little easier to intonate than a traditional three-saddle Tele bridge.
Solid-bodied models are offered in 3-Color Sunburst, Polar White (rosewood fingerboard only), Hialeah Yellow, Birch Green, Aquatone Blue, Black, and Coral Red.
The left-handed solid-bodies come in Polar White (rosewood fingerboard only), 3-Color Sunburst, and Hialeah Yellow, while the chambered models are offered in Aged Cherry Burst, Transparent Cherry Burst, Mocha, White Blonde, and Butterscotch Blonde.
These are priced from £759/$829 to £829/$929.
Player II HH Telecaster
When is a Telecaster Deluxe not a Telecaster Deluxe? That’s the question here, because the Player II Series Telecaster HH is certainly designed to perform similar tasks.
Just as the Deluxe – and the Telecaster Custom before it – the humbucker gives the Fender workhorse a bigger hammer to hit things with, and a chance to properly participate in high-gain rock styles, maybe even metal too. This, however, has the traditional pickguard, and unlike the Deluxe, which mounts its pickup selector on the shoulder, the controls here are as per its single-coiled siblings.
The tasting notes for these pickups read, “articulate highs, muscular mids and chunky lows” and that should handle most styles. We could see this as a very credible blues-rock machine, with the Alnico II humbucker capable of breathing fire at the bridge, creamy warmth at the neck. Elsewhere, the drive is as above, with 22 medium-jumbo frets, Modern C profile neck, 9.5" radius and so forth.
Your tone wood options here are a little more straight forward. The body is solid alder. The necks are maple with the choice of maple or rosewood fingerboards. And that is that. Finish options include 3-Color Sunburst, Hialeah Yellow, Aquatone Blue, Black, and Coral Red. It is priced £769/$829.
Player II Jazzmaster
The Player II Jazzmaster of course conforms to the over-arching ethos of the series styles, and so has the ClassicGear tuners, the same neck profile and fingerboard options, and can justifiably be called a modern update on the classic offset.
But to a degree, Fender has gone back to the drawing board here and returned with something that splits the difference between vintage and modern, a guitar that might just please purist and non-purist alike.
It will have a slinky, go-faster feel. It will also have a more old-school Jazzmaster voicing as we return to the Alnico V single-coils, and a sound that will invariably pare well with fuzz pedals, loud tube amps, and the kinds of end-user art forms that Leo Fender did not see coming when his design first arrived in music stores in ’58. It didn’t make it as a jazz guitar but has remained a cult classic nonetheless.
That said, it does not have the traditional Jazzmaster control circuit, with its simplified three-way selector, volume and tone knobs making for a more user-friendly proposition.
This fresh 2024 model is a serious guitar for the price, with the new Mustang saddles as standard on the floating tremolo. This is alder-bodied, with a slab rosewood fingerboard, and it is being offered in 3-Color Sunburst, Birch Green, Aquatone Blue, Coral Red and Black finishes. It is priced £759/$829.
Player II Jaguar
As with the Jazzmaster, Fender’s beloved short-scale big cat reverts to a more familiar dual single-coil format. There is an Alnico V at the bridge, Alnico II at the neck, all of which is to say that it is built for “crystalline highs, musical mids and tight lows” – not to mention a playability that is a lot of fun and quite different from your standard 25.5” scale Fender instruments.
Again, the big news items are the Mustang saddles on the floating tremolo. The body is solid alder. Our finish options here comprise 3-Color Sunburst, Hialeah Yellow, Aquatone Blue, Coral Red, and Polar White (rosewood fingerboard only). The Player II Series Jaguar is priced £759/$829.
Player II Mustang
There are few guitars with more plug-in-and-play appeal than the Fender Mustang, and these new Player Series II models are case in point. Available in 3-Color Sunburst, Birch Green, Aquatone Blue, Hialeah Yellow, Black, these are throw-and-go electrics with solid alder bodies and string-through six-saddle hardtail bridges.
The Mustang's compact 24” scale and playability is the kind of thing that players of all sizes, ages and abilities can benefit from.
The quintessential student guitar lives up to its reputation when it comes to price, too, with these coming in at just £631/$799. But can you call a guitar with rolled edges on its rosewood fingerboard a “student guitar”? All that says luxury to us. Blue collar luxury.
Player II Precision Bass
And now for some low-end action. You didn’t think Fender was going to forget the bass guitars, did you? These Precision Basses are as you might expect, albeit refreshed in a bunch of new finishes, with quality hardware in the shape of a four-saddle bridge with single-groove steel “barrel” saddles, open-gear tuners as standard.
Simplicity is the watchword. Fitted with a single Player Series Alnico V Split-Coil P-Bass pickup, solid alder body, 34” scale. If it ain’t broke…
The Player II Series Precision Bass is offered in 3-Color Sunburst, Birch Green, Aquatone Blue, Hialeah Yellow, Black, Polar White (rosewood Fingerboard), and Coral Red. It is priced £839/$799.
Player II Jazz Bass
Next up we’ve got one of the most-copied bass guitar designs of all time in the iconic slightly offset doublecut shape of the Player II Jazz Bass. It shares the same hardware as the Precision Bass above, and a similar build, with Fender, again, using alder for the body, plus the bolt-on maple neck, with choice of maple or rosewood fingerboards.
Simple, classic. The Player II is offered in 3-Color Sunburst, Birch Green, Aquatone Blue, Hialeah Yellow, Black, Polar White (Maple Fingerboard), and Coral Red, and it is similarly priced £839/$799.
Player II Mustang Bass
Rounding out the collection we have a short-scale hybrid bass that might just be pick of the litter. Well, it’s hard to call but there is something about a 30” scale bass with a P+J dual pickup configuration that just screams fun and functionality.
Like its six-string Mustang counterpart, this will be one user-friendly bass guitar. You won’t need to fight the tones out of this, and with these Player II upgrades it is a “student bass” that will stand you in good stead post graduation.
This one is alder-bodied. You’ve got 19 medium-jumbo frets. Like all the Player II Series instruments, you’ve got a synthetic bone nut – it measures a very compact 38.1mm wide – and a gloss finish on the body, satin on the neck.
Fender is offering the Mustang Bass PJ in Hialeah Yellow, Polar White (maple fingerboard only), Aquatone Blue, 3-Color Sunburst, and Coral Red, and £679/$799 is the asking price.
The Player II Series is available now. For more details, head over to Fender.
