What's the lowest priced Fender Stratocaster?

Some people are totally stuck on logos, so I figured I'd do up a blog listing the lowest-priced Fender-branded Stratocaster.

In addition to the Stratocaster I'll also include the Telecaster.

Fender Modern Player Stratocaster HSS

Fender Modern Player Telecaster Plus

Both of the above are the same price and are MIC (Made In China). To separate them from traditional models, both guitars have HSS (humbucker-single-single) pickup configurations only and not the traditional SSS of the Stratocaster or the SS of the Telecaster.

These guitars are said to have better-than-average build quality and are deserved of the Fender branding, even though they are MICs.

Rich's opinion

If you absolutely have to have a true Fender-branded guitar, the Modern Player series has their prices set at what American Strats used to sell for in the 1980s, so before you say, "Whoa! Way too much for a MIC!", keep that in mind.

Have I played either of the above? No, but I have seen them in person. Both guitars do carry that classic Fender look to them, and unless someone was really paying attention very closely, they'd probably mistake the Modern Player series as "customized" American models. The "spaghetti" Fender logo on the MP headstocks is the same as models made in the USA. Mexican models have what's known as the "transition" black Fender logo, so you can instantly tell the difference between an MIM and an MIA just by that alone - but not with the MP series.

Again, if the headstock logo matters to you, the Modern Player series totally works - if you don't mind the HSS configuration.

Published 2012 Mar 28