Over the last four days, the Prime Day guitar deals have been pretty great, but if you ask me, the best deals are available elsewhere. If you’re looking for a new guitar, then you should head over to the official Fender shop where you can bag yourself up to 20% off an excellent range of Fender and Squier guitars - but be quick as the sale is due to end soon.
Included in the sale is my regular gigging guitar, the Fender Player Plus Tele, which has got a cool $240 reduction at the moment. I’ve been using mine for the last three years or so, whether that’s in the studio, writing at home, or playing with my band. I’ve used it on alt rock, punk, metal, and even reggae tracks to great effect - it never lets me down.
I always considered myself a Strat player before I bought my Tele, but as soon as I’d played a Tele for a couple of weeks, I was immediately converted. I’d always heard about the Tele versatility, but it’s hard to understand until you actually use one day in, day out. The combination of bright bridge tone and dark neck sound makes for a really versatile instrument, especially once you start adding pedals into the mix.
My Player Plus Tele has a secret weapon though. Pull the tone knob up and you engage a series circuit, which feeds the output of the bridge pickup into the neck, creating an almost humbucker-esque tone. Once engaged, you can get a really fat tone that’s great for smooth leads and chugging palm-muted riffs. It also adds a little boost, so I like to use it to accentuate chorus or lead guitar sections when I’m playing on stage.
It’s not just the great variety of tones I love about the guitar. I’m a big fan of the Fender modern ‘C’ profile, and the Player Plus Tele has rounded fingerboard edges, which make it feel super comfortable in my fretting hand. It doesn’t have the rosewood ‘board of the Player II Telecaster, but having reviewed that model, I don’t really feel that much of a difference between the two.
The Player Plus Tele also has locking tuners, which aren’t on the Player II model. It definitely makes the guitar’s tuning more stable, I find I rarely have to adjust the tuning, even when I’m playing the guitar every day, and it also makes string changes an absolute breeze. I can do a full set of electric guitar strings in about five minutes now!
If you’re considering a Player II Telecaster, I’d definitely recommend you check out a Player Plus model too. You get a lot of cool features for your money, and although it won’t please those looking for a traditional Telecaster, it’s a properly great gigging workhorse.
