Thinking as a bassist? If the P plus is on the table I wouldn't hesitate for a second. IMO the active P/J setup and Quan style hi mass bridge is a superior rig. But if you want a P bass that's just a regular old P bass? One pickup volume & tone... passive? Standard player is probably a fine choice.
Bought my strat mailorder. First time in 30+ years I've ever done that so its not like I had a huge sampling size. Got it from sweetwater which overall was a good experience. Local dealer didn't really have anything that caught my interest and yeah, they can order something but that guitar gallery? I bit.
Pickups & stuff? Too soon to tell I still need to get real strings & full setup done but I'll tell ya what I told my pal Mike... he asked if I'm gonna rip the pots & pickups out... put in Fralin's or whatever?
The old MIM strats, 90s era were cheap guitars with some kinda junky parts. Like the pot metal import/non USA vintage spaced bridges... 4 & 5 piece poplar bodies... shitty ceramic pickups and yeah, the necks may or may not have been cut on the same CNC machines but no question, the USA stuff was finished nicer.
Initial impression the player at geez... almost $1000 by the time 'ya get with taxes & adding a case? They don't even give us the crappy dust cover gig bag anymore? Its not that old instrument. And it kinda meets my quality expectations.
The neck & body fit & finish is basically flawless. Can't find much of anything to complain about. The new MIM player strats I think (?) have the same bridge as the previous generation Am Std so yeah, it'll probably be good over the long haul. Setup out of the box was rough but everything adjusted fine, neck & fretwork is solid enough... no hot/dead spots.
Pickups? Haven't spent much time yet but it sounds like a strat. Now, when I did the A/B with my other strat? Mid 70s hardtail w/80s Chandler neck & DiMarzio Velvets? Yeah... that's hipper. More stout. Muscle. But its a 'real vintage' guitar with heavier strings... and I've had it forever so the setup & pickup heights are totally dialed in. Not really fair. Get back to me in a couple months. But I'm not about to rip 'em out just for the sake of it even though I have at least two sets of strat pickups in my parts box...
Basically I opted for the player over a USA or P plus because end of the day I wanted a regular old strat like my old '95 Am Std that I went though college with & had forever until the body cracked. No fancy switching etc and honestly? IMO most of the current USA colors are ugly. I was after basic black or candy apple red. Pickups & whatnot are easy to change so as long the instrument itself was solid I'm happy, and that's what I got.
I've owned & played numerous vintage guitars & custom shop stuff... the player obviously ain't on that level. And I don't think changing parts will get 'ya there... but if you want a brand new "modern style" instrument? Not bad.
