Is the Fender Player II Telecaster really better than a Squier?

Priced at $799, the Fender Player II Telecaster is a no-frills, wonderfully built guitar, and I think it's a stellar value. Hear how it sounds relatively clean, with some country tones, and with a little bit of dirt.

--Alder, Chambered Ash or Chambered Mahogany Body
--Modern "C" Neck Profile
--9.5“-Radius Maple or Rosewood Fingerboard with Rolled Edges
--Player Series Alnico V Single-Coil Tele® Pickups
--6-Saddle String-Through-Body Tele® Bridge with Block Steel Saddles
--ClassicGear™ Tuning Machines

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[abandonedtoaster]

Never subscribed to a guitar YouTuber so fast! What a refreshing change of pace in the genre. Excited to binge your channel all day lololol

[peterwilson]

A bit of topic, but I came to this video from a video you did 4 years ago (about putting a Lollar pickup in an offset Squier), and it's dramatic how much your playing has improved. L❤ve the 'Yackety Axe'. 👍

[Shiveringpug]

Redwine Supernova was already stuck in my head, thanks. Lovely green colour, I always felt that green shades are never the right tone - too bright or dark, too blue or aqua

[JammingLikeBushido]

freaking gorgeous, he Baby Puke Green is starting, That green looks better in the video than the pics on Sweetwater.

[georgemoore]

Emily did such a nice job of demonstrating this guitar and comparing the noiseless pickups to the standard tele ones. Fender has a real winner on it’s hands and what’s not to like about this guitar. It has great tone and desirable specs at a decent price point. I really like that new birch green color, which as Emily pointed out, gives the guitar a nice aged look.

[lunamatic]

As much as I like a completely classic Tele, I tend to find 6-saddle bridges much more comfortable. Thanks for the video!

[TheBbtlegit]

Nice playing. I think im going to buy this guitar.

[powbobs]

I ordered that Tele immediately on release because of the color. LOL
Happy to see you kept the Chrissie Hynde.
I absolutely love my CH, especially the neck PU for jazz.

[sagittated]

Great demo, Emily. As always, super helpful in letting me know about new stuff. Your perspective is one I appreciate. ✌️

[jst]

Reminds me of the Jade Green from a few years back. Nice video. Thanks 👍

[nunobarbosa]

love to see a comparison like this, but with the new jazzmaster player ii against the vintera ii!

[daviddenoncourt]

I'm so getting the Mustang in that color!

[jimmyjames]

The Chrissie Hynde bridge pup is sweet to my ears just what a Tele bridge ought to be. Player II bridge sounds too thin, clean. Sounds ok distorted, but then what pup doesn't. Neck pup sounds amazing clean, love it. Love that Birch Green, that would be my choice too.

[DaringDan]

Can't wait to see what Player Series guitars start selling for on Reverb after this. A used player series JM for $500-550? Rad!

[RobfromNorCal]

I use the noise gate. That's how you get rid of the 60 cycle. Hum. I've never even heard it. It seems weird. Fender competing with itself. If there's squires they're getting better, why don't they just call them fenders. Are the machines different in Indonesia? Do the people of Indonesia not know how to make guitars compared to the people of Mexico and the USA because that's a bit ethnocentric. I got a squire telly I bought off of Amazon used. The only thing I could see that was wrong with it is it just wasn't set up as good as a nicer more expensive Fender. Otherwise in the right hands it sounds beautiful. I've heard the guy who set it up play all sorts of really nice jazz chords. Really nice tone. You know, sometimes it's not the guitar. It's the person playing it. I don't mean to be mean. But if I want to upgrade my ceramic pickups which work just fine I can. And the body is already routed out for humbuckers so I don't know. Squires a little bit more punk rock. Fender is establishment.

[scottbecker]

Only halfway through this revealing vid (thanks for actually showing the SOUNDS without noodling getting in the way, as is the case with many reviewers), and I must say I‘m not enthused about that bridge sound. I crave a bit more brightness, especially since I tune all my guitars down to C# standard and use thicker gauge strings. Now I‘m wondering what kind of pickups they chose to use on the new Player II Jazzmaster….. Hopefully not another flavor of P90s.

[scottbecker]

To me, the Player II JM sounds more like a JM should than this Player II Tele does. I have and absolutely love the Player II JM!

[nicks]

That green may be $799 but the rest are $899. I'm currently shopping for a Tele and am wondering would the extra $100 to get into the Vintera line be worth it? Additionally, would an extra $250-$300 be worth it for an American Performer? Thanks!

[billydworrell]

I purchased the Squier 70s Tele with the wide range Humbucker in the neck and a little bit brighter or hotter single coil in the bridge, , , i cant remember what they said about the bridge pickup accurately so bear with me, but needles to say, its absolutely fantastic and dosent detour far from the Telecaster at all but with so much more depth and warmth in the wide range Humbucker in the neck, which if im not mistaken?? Was designed by the ( Seth Lover ). I will eventually get another Telecaster with the lipstick single coil in the neck.

[tonyevans]

Seems like a really solid Tele. Those pickups sound great to me. I usually really prefer bright and snappy bridge pickups and on my main T I changed the stock MIJ pickup to something more trad bright but the guitar just died as a result, went from being my goto studio solution guitar to hardly being played at all and I reckon these are going to be just as versatile.