Fender has quietly released a limited edition hardtail Player Plus HSS , and Slipknot’s Jim Root has already taken one for a spin. Posting on Instagram, the Fender signature artist gave his initial reaction to the trem-less , saying it was “pretty much an all-around versatile guitar outta the box”. The model, which has arrived in a rather stealthy fashion without any fanfare from Fender, is most notable for its hardware.
After all, hardtail Strats don't come around too often, and the recent is definitely an exception. It also comes packing with a Fireball neck . Fender says this delivers a “powerful balance of gain and definition”.
For Root, it helps things get “Iron Maiden-y”. Root also singled out the Player Plus Noiseless single-coils, saying they provide “that saucy bluesy stuff” and adding, “It’ll only get better after I spend some time with it.” Elsewhere, the Web Exclusive Fender model – which joins – features an alder body and maple C-profile neck, with a 12" radius pau ferro fretboard.
It offers a 25.5" scale length, 22 medium jumbo frets, and classic white pearloid dot inlays. A push/pull control activates the Fireball humbucker’s coil splitting to maximize the guitar’s versatility – but, again, it’s the appointment of a hardtail bridge that particularly catches the eye.
It’s a six-saddle, string-through-body bridge with block saddles that sees the guitar step away from the Stratocaster's whammy-laden lineage. The contemporary s.
