Player Series Strat PF PWT : A pretty pretty nice guitar

Got this delightful little strat instead of a Player Series Jaguar that came with a terribly buzzy setup and some tremolo issues and was sent straight back. As flawed as the Jag was, the Strat is a pretty decent player right out of the box. I played it for ten minutes and took it straight to the tech for a decent setup. After tech dressed the sharpish fret ends and polished the fretboard edge, replaced the nut for a tusq one and did a proper setup, I'm a hundred euros lighter but the guitar is a joy to play: perfect neck fit, neck a bit chunkier than my old MIM strat and very comfortable to play, trem holds tune very well despite the fact that I have it set up to float. Pickups are very clear and articulate, but depending on the sound you're looking for they might be lacking a bit in the lows / low mids -- I love them for home use / quiet stuff, but they're missing a bit of hair for my rock band basement rehearsals and I'll probably swap them out for something grittier soon -- which is of course the whole point of buying a basic Mex strat: you tweak 'em till they fit.

Pros:

- quality piece of kit, perfectly finished and very nicely put together;

- neck plays great, pau ferro fretboard looks and feels great;

- trem holds tune well.

Cons:

- needs a decent (personalized) setup;

- pickups sounding clear but rather thin.

For the money, it's a bargain of course, and if you're looking for a basic (but genuine) Fender strat to tweak into perfection (whatever that may be), you can't go wrong with this one.