Fender Classic Player '60s Stratocaster Electric Guitar (Used)
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- Product #512767
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- Good feel (3)
- Good tone (3)
Cons
Best Uses
- Reviewer Profile:
- Experienced (3)
Most Liked Positive Review
One of the best strats available at the price!
Overall, I love it! It plays like a dream, and once the holidays are over and I can get it down to my favorite shop to change out the strings from Fender 10's...Read complete review
Overall, I love it! It plays like a dream, and once the holidays are over and I can get it down to my favorite shop to change out the strings from Fender 10's to D'Addario 12's and adjust the set-up accordingly, it will be a killer guitar.
The main reason I ended up with the Classic Player's 60's Stratocaster was all the features included with this model. I have been searching for a production level Stratocaster with a 12 inch radius neck (which I prefer - not for everyone I realize) and none of the American Standards or even the Vintage series have that. The only guitars that seem to have that neck stock are either very high end or signature series guitars, and I already own a SRV signature strat. Along comes this model having a 12 inch radius neck, throw in Custom Shop 69 pickups, the two-point bridge (previously only available from the Custom Shop), aged pickguard and knobs, vintage tuners, and it seemed like a perfect match to the specs I was looking for! These guitars are designed by the Custom Shop (Greg Kessler to be exact) and it shows in their quality. I don't get hung up by MIA versus MIM as Cornona is only miles from the Ensenada factory and these guitars, with the guidance and training from the Custom Shop are top notch. I would stand up this guitar next to any American Standard without hesitation, and in a lot of ways, it beats them when you compare the out-the-door prices and quality.
The fit and finish is excellent ... albeit a poly finish, instead of nitro, and well put together throughout!
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
"Poor setup, but otherwise good guitar".
That's right! Very Poor Setup! First off, I have been a Fender Stratocaster owner/player all my life, and have been playing for over 30 years. The Custom Shop designed Classic Player '...Read complete review
That's right! Very Poor Setup! First off, I have been a Fender Stratocaster owner/player all my life, and have been playing for over 30 years. The Custom Shop designed Classic Player '60s Stratocaster is a great sounding guitar and the Custom Shop 1969 pickups produce a well rounded warm sound that's great for various styles of music including jazz and is particuarly great for playing Jimi Hendrix's music. The medium jumbo frets provide good solid action and contributes to the acoustic sound quality of the guitar. Unfortunately, the Custom Shop Designed badge on the neck plate, makes this guitar fall short of expectation due to the poor setup. The guitar was delivered to me brand new in the box with a truss rod that was totally out of adjustment. Also, for the life of me, I could not figure why I was getting major fret buzz from the first 3 frets on the 5th and 6th string. It turned out that the bridge saddle height screws were the wrong length for the 4th, 5th and 6th strings, therefore the string heights were to low causing the fret buzz. After arranging the bridge saddles to match the appropiate string gauge and adjusting the truss rod, the guitar sounds and feels great and will most likely turn out to be one of the best Stratocasters that I play. I would not recommend this guitar unless you are prepared to have it properly set up or have the patience to exchange it out enough times to get a good one that is setup properly.
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Reviewed by 42 customers
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Pros
- Good Feel
- Good Tone
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Fender Classic Player '60s Stratocaster Electric Guitar:
For the price, this guitar has lots of features that are not standard for others in it's price range. The pickups alone are worth it. I've been playing Fender guitars for over 20 years and I haven't bought one yet that didn't need a setup. This guitar was no different. String buzz? Of course, because the Custom Shop didn't build it for me. They didn't build it at all, they designed it. Get this guitar, invest a little more cash in a setup and you're good to go.
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Good Pick Up
- Good Tone
- Great Pickups
- Solid Electronics
Cons
- Fret Buzz
- Poor Quality Craftsmanship
- Poor Setup From Factory
Best Uses
- Live Performing
- Recording
Comments about Fender Classic Player '60s Stratocaster Electric Guitar:
That's right! Very Poor Setup! First off, I have been a Fender Stratocaster owner/player all my life, and have been playing for over 30 years. The Custom Shop designed Classic Player '60s Stratocaster is a great sounding guitar and the Custom Shop 1969 pickups produce a well rounded warm sound that's great for various styles of music including jazz and is particuarly great for playing Jimi Hendrix's music. The medium jumbo frets provide good solid action and contributes to the acoustic sound quality of the guitar. Unfortunately, the Custom Shop Designed badge on the neck plate, makes this guitar fall short of expectation due to the poor setup. The guitar was delivered to me brand new in the box with a truss rod that was totally out of adjustment. Also, for the life of me, I could not figure why I was getting major fret buzz from the first 3 frets on the 5th and 6th string. It turned out that the bridge saddle height screws were the wrong length for the 4th, 5th and 6th strings, therefore the string heights were to low causing the fret buzz. After arranging the bridge saddles to match the appropiate string gauge and adjusting the truss rod, the guitar sounds and feels great and will most likely turn out to be one of the best Stratocasters that I play. I would not recommend this guitar unless you are prepared to have it properly set up or have the patience to exchange it out enough times to get a good one that is setup properly.
Pros
Cons
- Fret Buzz
- Poor Quality Craftsmanship
Best Uses
Comments about Fender Classic Player '60s Stratocaster Electric Guitar:
Wow. By the other reviews, I ordered this guitar. I think only one or two had anything negative to say. Maybe I got a dud or something. First off the action on this thing was 3mm at the 17th fret as opposed to the 1.5 Fender recommends, yet there was fret buzz all over the neck. I checked the neck and it had more than the recommended bend in it. I adjusted it back to Fender factory settings and the fret buzz was crazy bad. Maybe I got a warped neck. I couldn't see any major tweaks in it. Oh yeah and the truss rod must be hidden underneath the pick guard too, not at the top of the neck or neck joint like other strats. It seems to me any strat under $1500 is not worth it the money you save. Guess I will stay a tele man for a while longer.
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Good Pick Up
- Good Tone
- Solid Electronics
Cons
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Practicing
- Recording
- Rock Concerts
- Small Venues
Comments about Fender Classic Player '60s Stratocaster Electric Guitar:
This is just a great guitar flat out. If your considering it, go for it. It's the best feeling neck I've ever played and the sonic blue color is awesome especially of your into the Beatles and Kurt cobain. Get it! It's a custom shop 60s fender strat! How could you go wrong?
Comments about Fender Classic Player '60s Stratocaster Electric Guitar:
Overall, I love it! It plays like a dream, and once the holidays are over and I can get it down to my favorite shop to change out the strings from Fender 10's to D'Addario 12's and adjust the set-up accordingly, it will be a killer guitar.
The main reason I ended up with the Classic Player's 60's Stratocaster was all the features included with this model. I have been searching for a production level Stratocaster with a 12 inch radius neck (which I prefer - not for everyone I realize) and none of the American Standards or even the Vintage series have that. The only guitars that seem to have that neck stock are either very high end or signature series guitars, and I already own a SRV signature strat. Along comes this model having a 12 inch radius neck, throw in Custom Shop 69 pickups, the two-point bridge (previously only available from the Custom Shop), aged pickguard and knobs, vintage tuners, and it seemed like a perfect match to the specs I was looking for! These guitars are designed by the Custom Shop (Greg Kessler to be exact) and it shows in their quality. I don't get hung up by MIA versus MIM as Cornona is only miles from the Ensenada factory and these guitars, with the guidance and training from the Custom Shop are top notch. I would stand up this guitar next to any American Standard without hesitation, and in a lot of ways, it beats them when you compare the out-the-door prices and quality.
The fit and finish is excellent ... albeit a poly finish, instead of nitro, and well put together throughout!
Comments about Fender Classic Player '60s Stratocaster Electric Guitar:
I would have give it a 10 but since I did those mods, I'll give it a 9.
I have this one, in Sonic Blue. I love this Strat!! I did make some mods though, nothing major. I put in Graphtech saddles and nut. Had the second tone knob wired for the Bridge and Middle P/U's. Also, on the second tone knob I put in a pop up knob so when the P/U switch is in the 1st position with the knob up I get the neck and bridge P/U's on and with the P/U switch in the 2nd position I have all 3 P/U's on.
The quality of this is really good!! I bought mine used and it was perfect!
800 bucks for a Strat that is just as good as a USA Strat, it's worth it!
Comments about Fender Classic Player '60s Stratocaster Electric Guitar:
I don't think you can go wrong with this one. I own an american strat and all but I am so impressed with classic series strat. I play it quite a bit and the tones are very pleasing. Alright so the mexican issue. It seems to me alot of people think that these guitars are bad because they are made in mexico. Really guys? Play this thing and you will look past that. I have owned so many mexican strats and I love them. THEY ARE STRATS!! Thats all that matters. If they play great go for it. The quality of this guitar is freaky. The action was set perfectly. The finish is a little thick but honestly I broke mine in. The color is so spot on. Try it and you will buy it. Trust me
Comments about Fender Classic Player '60s Stratocaster Electric Guitar:
I have had this instrument for a week and I must say it is really nice. I have always been kinda of an "American Made" snob when it came to fender but the reviews that I read were so good I decided to take a chance on this guitar and boy am I glad. It looks, plays, and sounds like a dream. I bought one of the newly designed American Standards about 2 years ago and this guitar is every bit as good as that instrument in my mind especially considering that there is 200 difference in price. The only really negative thing that I can say is the pickups are a bit nosier than some but they are classic 69's and this is a strat after all. Great guitar! I would recommend it for anyone not wanting to spend a fortune and looking for that classic Strat look, feel and sound.
Comments about Fender Classic Player '60s Stratocaster Electric Guitar:
I don't usually write these, but the below review is skewed and plain wrong. The big turn off for anyone would be the price tag on this MIM guitar. I scored mine in GC for a clearance price. I actually prefer the playability of this guitar to my 2000 American Standard. The quality, action, fit and finish is excellent. The 69 CS pickups sound great, but not great for (all) hi gain applications (IMO). I gave it a 4.5 on features because this guitar should have come with the bridge tone pot activated. The bridge gets overly bright after you have dialed your amp into the neck or middle position. The neck is perfect, with a nice tint and high attention to detail. It has a big fat vintage trem block, comes setup with .10's, looks amazing, plays even better. I think Jimmi went thru my hands the other night! The bridge sounds like a half cocked wah to me. Great guitar, price a bit unattractive. Don't worry about any of the Arizoners comments, My 93 MIM standard was subject to the same 'conditions' and still looks new to this very day. These have a thick poly finish, so I'd find it very hard to relic it without the intent to do so. But, I don't put my guitar away sweaty, wet, etc. It gets wiped down if wet...and lives in a case. Bottom line is that this is a very special professional guitar. I'd hope it goes on sale, since I don't' think I'd pay more than 8 or 9 for it on a good day.Rock on.
Comments about Fender Classic Player '60s Stratocaster Electric Guitar:
I own two high priced Stratocasters. One is a custom shop 62 that's been modified to my specs and the other is an excellent 62 AVRI. The workhorse of this trio is my 60's Classic Player which is modeled on the 62 Strat design. Why do I love the 60's Classic Player? As you can imagine, the other two are babied and handled with kid gloves. I bring 'em out on occasion. The 60's CP is a trooper - dependable and unfailing. Top notch pick-ups (69 gray bobbin) and one of the fastest necks 12 inch radius Fender makes. This guitar begs to be played and I do 90 percent of the time.I don't care if it's an MIM - shouldn't matter to a competent musician. Fender's Custom Shop designed series are excellent quality guitars - I suppose its a way to give the player a quality piece without the high price tag.I hope this review helps. This is one of the better value-driven products Fender makes.

