Fender Player II Modified Series: Classics with Modern Touches
The more financially friendly Fender Player II collection includes a new series of guitars and basses called Modified, which in this case means that the manufacturer combines traditional design with modern electronics, hardware and other elements. There are a total of eight models represented by Fender Player II Stratocaster SSS, Stratocaster HSS, Stratocaster HSS FR, Telecaster SS, Telecaster SH and Active Precision, Active Jazz Bass and Active Jazz Bass V basses, which had their official world premiere recently.
The instruments from the new series feature the proven formula of an alder body, a bolt-on neck made of a single piece of maple with a comfortable Modern-C profile, and rosewood or maple fretboards with a 9.5-inch radius, whose edges have been rounded for greater playing comfort. New features include Player II Noiseless pickups and improved electronics including Treble Bleed mode. The guitars feature 22 medium jumbo frets and a 42mm wide nut made from Graph Tech TUSQ compound to increase sustain and eliminate detuning.
The SSS Stratocasters are equipped with a trio of Player II Noiseless Strat single coils, controlled by two tone pots, a common volume control with Treble Bleed circuit installed to prevent treble loss when the potentiometer is pulled down, a five-position footswitch, and a push/pull switch in one of the pickups that activates the neck in positions 1 and 2 so the player can use a total of seven different configurations.
The two-point Synchronized vibrato fitted with block saddles has a bevelled sustain block, allowing for a longer vibrato range and thus even more expressive tone bending. Tuning is handled by lockable Fender Deluxe drives with shorter shafts to ensure an optimal (sharper) string angle after the zero fret, aided by a pickup for the H and E strings.
On the HSS Strats, the bridge single coil is replaced by a Player II Modified humbucker, expanding the sonic palette to include registers suitable for distortion with punchy and clear mids. A push/pull system in the tone pot unzips the coils of the aforementioned humbucker. The Stratocaster HSS FR is equipped with the same pickups, featuring standard tuning machines, a locking dual-turn Floyd Rose Special tremolo and a larger 12" fretboard radius to match.
The SS Telecasters offer two Player II Noiseless Tele single-coil pickups with the option of connecting them in series for a more powerful output and a more voluminous tone, while the Telecaster SH version swaps the neck single coil for a Player II humbucker with a metal enclosure, the coils of which are again expandable via a push/pull diaphragm. Bridges with a flat, tray-style base have been fitted with brass saddles, which enhance sustain and resonance.
The Active Precision, Active Jazz Bass Player II Modified and its five-string version offer 20 frets, a sturdy HiMass fretboard, graduated shaft length mechanics and an active preamp with a three-band equalizer plus passive/active option. Precision uses a traditional half-coil single coil complemented by a bridge JB single-coil pickup featuring the same technology, while the Jazz Bass offers the classic combination of two Player II Noiseless JB single coils.
Models crafted at the Ensenada, Mexico facility, feature a standard scale length of 25.5 inches or 34 inches for bass guitars, chrome hardware, gloss polyurethane body finish, and satin-finished necks for a smoother playing feel. Depending on the model, available finishes include Olympic Pearl, Dusk, Electric Blue, Harvest Green Metallic, Sunshine Yellow, and 3-Tone Sunburst.
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