D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS vs Fender Player Stratocaster HSS
Reasons to Get
D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS over Fender Player Stratocaster HSS
Reasons to Get
Fender Player Stratocaster HSS over D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS
Other Key Differences
D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS vs Fender Player Stratocaster HSS
Shared Features
D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS vs Fender Player Stratocaster HSS
Common Weaknesses
- Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
- Locking Tuners
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- High-Quality Frets
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- From a High-Quality-Standards Country
- Luminescent Sidedots
- Strap Lock
- 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- Active/Passive Preamp
Table of Contents
Price History Comparison
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Which One is Better Overall?
After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Fender Player Stratocaster HSS is probably the better product overall with its final score of 67 compared to the D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS's 64 score, although not by a lot.
The Fender Player Stratocaster HSS wins when it comes to sound, value for the money. On the other hand, the D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS has the upper hand when it comes to playability.
If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.
Which One is Better for Beginners?
If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Fender Player Stratocaster HSS is the better choice.
The Fender Player Stratocaster HSS meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS meets only 4. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.
New Player Friendliness
D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable fretboard
- Narrow nut
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
New Player Friendliness
Fender Player Stratocaster HSS- Comfortable shape
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Comfortable fretboard
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Short scale
- Locking tuners
Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.
D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS Overview
- From D'Angelico's 2021 Premier series
- Fabrizio Sotti Signature
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 25"'' scale
- 16" Fretboard Radius
- Laminated Flame Maple body
- Maple neck
- Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Duncan Designed HB-101 Zebra (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Duncan Designed HB-102 Zebra (Humbucker/Passive)
- 2 volume and 2 tone Speed knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Black Tune-O-Matic bridge
- C-Shape Set neck
- 22 Medium frets
- Grover 109 Super Rotomatic tuners
- Compare Specs >
Fender Player Stratocaster HSS Overview
- From Fender's 2018 Player series
- Made in Mexico
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 9.5" Fretboard Radius
- Alder body
- Maple neck
- Maple fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Fender Player Series Alnico 2 Humbucking (Humbucker/Passive)
- Middle pickup: Fender Player Series Alnico 5 Strat Single-Coil (Single Coil/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Fender Player Series Alnico 5 Strat Single-Coil (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 2 tone Bell knobs
- 5-way Switch
- 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with Bent Steel Saddles bridge
- Modern C Bolt-On neck
- 22 Medium Jumbo frets
- Standard Cast/Sealed tuners
- Weight between 7.5lbs (3.4kgs) and 8.5lbs (3.9kgs)
- Compare Specs >
Sound Quality Comparison
The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.
Woods Used in Both
Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.
Woods Used in the D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS
Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.
This wood has beautiful patterns only found in specific types of maple.
Woods Used in the Fender Player Stratocaster HSS
Alder is the most popular wood that Fender uses in most of their guitars nowadays. Even though they say it's because of its balanced tone with an emphasis in the upper midrange, it probably is because it isn't too expensive, and it's also pretty lightweight—more than Mahogany. Find out more about Alder.
Winner: D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS.
Pickup Configuration
The D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS has an HH configuration while the Fender Player Stratocaster HSS has HSS pickups.
Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.
On the other hand, HSS provides a great balance if you like to play with a lot of distortion, but also love to use clean tones. You'll get a lot of output at the bridge position, but you'll be able to play bright clean tones at the other positions.
Pickups Quality
The Fender Player Stratocaster HSS pickups from a more specialized brand than the D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS. Its pickups should give you a fuller, richer sound, although it all depends on what type of music you're going to play. We recommend these pickups for Hard Rock and similar genres.
Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.
Winner: Fender Player Stratocaster HSS.
Versatility Comparison
Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.
Switch Options
The Fender Player Stratocaster HSS gives you 5 switch options while the D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS gives you 3. This means that the Fender Player Stratocaster HSS gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.
When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.
Winner: Fender Player Stratocaster HSS.
Final Sound Quality Scores
Build Quality Comparison
When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS compares to the Fender Player Stratocaster HSS.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS is built in Indonesia while the Fender Player Stratocaster HSS is made in Mexico.
Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.
Mexico has been for a long time where Fender has built their semi-premium series. If you don't want to overpay for a wellp-built instrument, a guitar built in this country by a good brand always offers good value for the money.
Winner: Tie
Nut Material
If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.
The D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS has a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.
On the other hand, the Fender Player Stratocaster HSS comes with a Synthetic Bone nut. Bone is the best natural material for guitar nuts. However, its tonal properties can be inconsistent. That's the problem that synthetic bone fixes. This is much better than using a plastic nut because the nut is more slippery—which helps with tuning stability—, and it gives your open strings rich harmonics.
Winner: Fender Player Stratocaster HSS.
Fret Material
Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.
Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.
Winner: Tie.
Bridge
The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.
The D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS's brige is a Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.
On the other hand, the Fender Player Stratocaster HSS's is a Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.
Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.
Winner: Tie.
Tuners
Both come with regular tuners. The D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS's are Grover 109 Super Rotomatic while the Fender Player Stratocaster HSS's are Standard Cast/Sealed
Winner: Tie.
Neck Joint
Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.
The D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS has a Set neck joint. This neck is tightly glued to the body. They give you the least versatility because you can't swap them for a neck that fits your hand better if you want to, unlike bolt-on necks. Some people think this gives more resonance and sustain, but there's no real difference if the bolt-on joint is well built.
On the other hand, the Fender Player Stratocaster HSS comes with Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.
Winner: Fender Player Stratocaster HSS.
Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:
D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS
- Expensive Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Indonesia
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Tremolo
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Fender Player Stratocaster HSS
- Synthetic Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Mexico
- No Expensive Woods
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Final Build Quality Scores
Playability Comparison
Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.
Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.
Nut Width
The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, the D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS has the wider nut with 42.9mm (1.688'') vs 42mm (1.654''). This is a 0.9mm (0.034'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS, especially closer to the nut. However, it's also easier to play without muting strings accidently. This favors people with big hands.
Scale Length
The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.
The Fender Player Stratocaster HSS has the longest scale: 25.5". The D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS is only 25" long. This is a 0.5'' (12.7mm) scale length difference.
This longer scale means that the strings need more tension to get in tune. This is good if you want to avoid fret buzz, which can happen when the strings are too loose and touch the frets while vibrating. This is especially important when playing in lower tunings. This will also let you reduce the gap between fretboard and strings (low action) to make them easier to press down. However, this higher tension will also make it harder to perform bends and vibratos as the strings will feel stiffer.
This also means that the frets have a longer separation between each other, so this will make it harder for people with smaller hands when playing some chord positions.
Another characteristic of a longer scale is that it makes the guitar sound 'snappier' or brighter. This is due to the extra separation between harmonics and overtones produced by the tension. This influences tone more than any other factor (except the pickups).
Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.
Neck Profile
No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.
Both the D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS and the Fender Player Stratocaster HSS have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.
Fretboard Radius
Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.
In this case, the Fender Player Stratocaster HSS's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS.
Hand Size Comfortability
Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.
After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison favor small hands .
D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS:
Fender Player Stratocaster HSS:
Fret Size
The Fender Player Stratocaster HSS has Medium Jumbo frets, which should be taller than the D'Angelico Premier Fabrizio Sotti SS's Medium frets.
Some people prefer taller frets because they result in more sustain since the strings get pressed cleanly without interference from the fretboard. However, if they're too tall—like Jumbo frets—, you might change the pitch of the strings accidentally if you press too hard because you won't be touching the fretboard with your fingers. This is also why some guitarists with a heavy grip prefer smaller frets. They like to feel the fingerboard to avoid pressing down too hard and getting out of pitch.
