Fender Classic Player 50's Stratocaster Guitar Review

For Fender, the 1950's is when business really began taking off. Music was undergoing a literal sonic revolution, as artists discovered that there was an additional option to acoustic music; and that was electric. It was a gigantic, completely revolutionary step, and helped to make modern music what it is today. In paying homage to that first and critical era, Fender has the Fender Classic Player '50s Stratocaster. Let's take a closer look to see if it stays vintage and also has modern features musicians have come to expect.

Feature: The body of the '50s Stratocaster is made of alder wood, like most other Fender Strats. There are two finishes available, which include two tone sunburst and gold. Both come with white pickguards, as well. Thus far, it's more or less just a regular Strat. The maple neck is bolted onto the body, and has a fretboard made of maple as well. On the fretboard are twenty one medium jumbo frets with black dot inlays. Overall, the light fretboard and headstock do lend a certain classic look to both of the finish selections. All of the hardware, including the tuning heads, neck bolt plate, and classic Fender string-thru-body bridge, is chrome. The bridge also has a two point tremolo system in a vintage style. Electronically, the Classic Player '50s Stratocaster has three vintage-style Fender brand single coil pickups, a custom five way switching system, and two volume and one tone control knobs. It is also worth mentioning that the guitar is made in Mexico, but according to an almost unanimous user opinion, the build quality is still superior.

Playability: Okay, so the Classic Player '50s Stratocaster is not exactly geared to be completely authentic in the vintage department. That does mean that playability is all you would expect from a modern Fender, though. The neck is finished well, the body is nice and light, and the tuning heads lock to keep the strings in tune under all conditions. (Even with extensive tremolo use.) So, I personally like the trade-off Fender made. How a guitar plays is always more important than how it looks.

Sound: The sound of the Fender Classic Players 50's Stratocaster is in the mold of the classic Strat tone. It has the bell-like sound on the clean end that today is known through artists like John Mayer, and it has a nice dirty sound on the distorted end for everything from blues to hard rock. The custom wiring, though, has some really weird pickup combinations wired in.

Overall: If you're looking for a well built Stratocaster that can literally do anything, the Classic Player 50's Stratocaster is a great choice. Though it's not exactly a completely vintage styled guitar like its name states, the playability and sound do more than make up for it. You can find the Classic Player 50's Stratocaster in music stores for about $800.