Fender Player Stratocaster HSS
Overview
The Fender Player Stratocaster HSS is a versatile workhorse built for gigging musicians who need a reliable guitar across multiple genres. It features an alder body, a Modern C-shaped maple neck, and a 22-fret pau ferro or maple fingerboard with a 9.5-inch radius. The HSS pickup configuration " a Player Series Alnico 2 humbucker in the bridge paired with two Player Series Alnico 5 single-coils in the middle and neck positions " gives it noticeably more tonal range than a traditional SSS setup, handling everything from clean jazz voicings to driven rock crunch without breaking a sweat. The five-way pickup selector provides access to classic Strat quack positions alongside the thicker, hum-free bridge humbucker sound, and the two-point synchronized tremolo bridge offers smooth vibrato with reasonable tuning stability. Playability is excellent, with the comfortable neck profile accommodating most hand sizes and the medium-jumbo frets enabling effortless bending. Build quality is consistently solid across the Mexican-made Player Series, with clean fret edges, a well-cut nut, and reliable sealed tuning machines. This guitar is an ideal choice for intermediate to advanced players who want a single instrument capable of covering blues, rock, pop, funk, and even heavier styles. Tone purists may find the bridge humbucker lacks the spank and bite of the traditional SSS configuration in positions one and two.
Electric Guitars
An HSS Stratocaster with a bridge humbucker for added tonal range alongside classic single-coil positions, handling everything from clean jazz voicings to driven rock crunch without breaking a sweat.
Instrument Details
$879
Intermediate
Brand
Fender
Type
Solid Body Electric
Made In
Mexico
Year
2018
