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Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster
Fender Player Plus Telecaster
VS
Playability
72
Sound
79
Build
65
Value
72
Score
72
FIND IT ON:
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Playability
72
Sound
77
Build
64
Value
76
Score
71
FIND IT ON:
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Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster vs Player Plus Telecaster

Reasons to Get
Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster over Player Plus Telecaster

Switch Positions
5 vs 3
More tone options
Pickups
SSS vs SS
Beautiful cleans and good tone versatility

Reasons to Get
Fender Player Plus Telecaster over Player Plus Nashville Telecaster

Pickups
SS vs SSS
Beautiful cleans
Value Score
76 vs 72
Better price/quality relationship

Other Key Differences
Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster vs Player Plus Telecaster

No Key Differences Found

Shared Features
Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster vs Player Plus Telecaster

Bridge Pickup
Player Plus Noiseless Tele
Same Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
Player Plus Noiseless Tele
Same Neck Pickup
Body Wood
Alder
Same Body Wood
Neck Wood
Maple
Same Neck Wood
Fretboard Wood
Maple
Same Fretboard Wood
Headstock
6
Same Headstock
Nut Material
Synthetic Bone
Same Nut Material
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Volume Knobs
1
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
1
Same tone control
Number of Frets
22
Same maximum octave
Neck Thickness at 1st Fret
0.82'' (20.8mm)
Same neck comfortability
Neck Thickness at 12th Fret
0.87'' (22.1mm)
Same neck comfortability
Nut Width
1.685'' (42.8mm)
Same string separation at the nut
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Bridge
Fixed
Good sustain and needs no set-up
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
Fretboard Radius
12'' (304.8mm)
Same fretboard comfortability
Avg. Weight
8.175lbs (3.7kgs)
Similar weight
Pickups Power
Passive
Cleaner sound and no battery needed
Neck Profile Type
C
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Neck Joint
Bolt-On
Allows you to detach and swap the neck
Type of Frets
Medium Jumbo
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Locking Tuners
  • High-Quality Nut
  • Top Pickup Brand

Common Weaknesses

  • Neck-Through Build
  • Weight Relief
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • Expensive Wood
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Table of Contents

Price History Comparison

SET PRICE ALERT
SET PRICE ALERT

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster is probably the better product overall with its final score of 72 compared to the Fender Player Plus Telecaster's 71 score, although not by a lot.

The Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster wins when it comes to sound, build quality. On the other hand, the Fender Player Plus Telecaster has the upper hand when it comes to value for the money.

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?

Both meet 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. 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. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.

New Player Friendliness

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale

New Player Friendliness

Fender Player Plus Telecaster
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Short scale

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.

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster Overview

  • From Fender's 2021 Player Plus series
  • Made in Mexico
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Alder body
  • Maple neck
  • Maple fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Player Plus Noiseless Tele (Single Coil/Passive)
  • Middle pickup: Player Plus Noiseless Tele (Single Coil/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Player Plus Noiseless Tele (Single Coil/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 5-way Switch
  • 6-Saddle String-Through-Body Tele with Block Steel Saddles bridge
  • Modern C Bolt-On neck
  • 22 Medium Jumbo frets
  • Deluxe Cast/Sealed Locking (all short posts) tuners
  • Weight between 7.75lbs (3.5kgs) and 8.6lbs (3.9kgs)
  • Compare Specs >

Fender Player Plus Telecaster Overview

  • From Fender's 2021 Player Plus series
  • Made in Mexico
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Alder body
  • Maple neck
  • Maple fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Player Plus Noiseless Tele (Single Coil/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: Player Plus Noiseless Tele (Single Coil/Passive)
  • 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • 6-Saddle Strings-Through-Body Tele bridge
  • Modern C Bolt-On neck
  • 22 Medium Jumbo frets
  • Deluxe Cast/Sealed Locking (all short posts) tuners
  • Weight between 7.9lbs (3.6kgs) and 8.45lbs (3.8kgs)
  • 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 wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple
Alder wood pattern used for guitar building
Alder

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.

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: Tie.

Pickup Configuration

The Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster has an SSS configuration while the Fender Player Plus Telecaster has SS pickups.

SSS is perfect for players who like to play clean. The definition you get between notes and the crispiness is unmatched by most other configurations. You can still use it for distortion, but you won't get the same kind of output and power compared to a humbucker, and the hum they produce also makes them less adequate for high gain.

On the other hand, SS is the classic Telecaster configuration. It's used mainly for playing clean or with low-gain distortion, and it's very popular for the country genre because of their brightness. It doesn't give you as much versatility as a Strat SSS configuration, but you might like the cleaner look of a guitar body with fewer pickups.

Pickups Quality

Both come with some of the top pickups on the market. You can't go wrong with either of them. You'll probably never need a pickup upgrade.

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: Tie.

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 Plus Nashville Telecaster gives you 5 switch options while the Fender Player Plus Telecaster gives you 3. This means that the Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve

Both offer you the same type of pickup mod: Series Split.

The Series Split feature allows it to split and connect some of the pickups in series. When wired in series, the resulting tone is similar to a Humbucker's. The pickups will work together and produce a fuller tone with more output than single-coils, but less than Humbuckers.

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster's switch options
Fender Player Plus Telecaster pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Fender Player Plus Telecaster's switch options

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 Plus Nashville Telecaster.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster
Pickups 100
Sustain 65
Versatility 70
Tuning Stability 80
Sound 79
Fender Player Plus Telecaster
Pickups 100
Sustain 65
Versatility 64
Tuning Stability 80
Sound 77

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 Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster compares to the Fender Player Plus Telecaster.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in Mexico.

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.

In this case, both have Synthetic Bone nuts. 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.

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.

Both come with a similar bridge: 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.

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

They both have locking tuners. They'll help to keep your guitar in tune because they allow you to tune it without wrapping the strings around the posts. This avoids variations in the tuning due to the strings changing position at the post after a bend. They come at the disadvantage of being slightly heavier than regular tuners. Also, it makes it a lot easier to restring.

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.

Both have a 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: Tie.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster
  • Locking Tuners
  • Synthetic Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Series Split Pickups
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • Made in Mexico
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Tremolo
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender Player Plus Telecaster
  • Locking Tuners
  • Synthetic Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Series Split Pickups
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • Made in Mexico
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Tremolo
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster
Quality of materials 56
Features 65
Quality Control 75
Build Quality 65
Fender Player Plus Telecaster
Quality of materials 56
Features 65
Quality Control 70
Build Quality 64

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

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster Nut Width
Both Guitars Have The Same Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, both have a nut width of 42.8mm (1.685'').

This is considered a narrow width for a 6-string guitar. This means that this guitar will have a narrower string separation at the nut, which will affect your fretting hand.

If you are a player with big hands, you might find it difficult to play chords without muting strings. However, this is good for players who have smaller hands, as it will allow them to reach each string more easily at the nut.

Scale Length

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster and Fender Player Plus Telecaster's Scale Length
Both have the same 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.

In this case, both have a scale length of 25.5".

This is the scale used in most Stratocasters. It's slightly longer than the typical 24.75'' size found in Les Pauls, and it's one of the main reasons why Stratocasters have such a bright sound in general. A longer scale also means that the strings will have higher tension. This will help you get lower action without suffering fret buzz, which will also be helpful when playing in lower tunings without having to increase your string gauge.

However, this also means that there will be more separation between frets, which can make it more difficult to play. Also, bending the strings will require more strengths due to the increased tension, but remember that a tremolo guitar will offset this difficulty.

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

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster Neck Profile
Both guitars have the same 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 Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster and the Fender Player Plus Telecaster 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

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster Fingerboard Radius
Both Guitars Have The Same 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.

Both the Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster and the Fender Player Plus Telecaster have the same fretboard radius of 12". This is the radius used in most Gibson guitars. It gives you a good balance for playing chords without muting, but also good comfortability for playing single notes and bending.

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 .

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Fender Player Plus Telecaster:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster and Fender Player Plus Telecaster Frets Size
Both have a similar Medium Jumbo fret size

Both have a Medium Jumbo fret size. These are slightly shorter than full Jumbo frets, so you'll still feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. However, they interfere less with your fretting hand than medium-size frets. This is a good size if you like easy-to-press frets, but would still like to feel a bit of the fretboard when playing.

Final Playability Scores

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster
Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 70
Playability 72
Fender Player Plus Telecaster
Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 70
Solo Playability 70
Playability 72

Specs Side-by-Side

Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster vs Player Plus Telecaster
General Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster Player Plus Telecaster
Brand: Fender Fender
Year: 2021 2021
Configuration: SSS SS
Strings: 6 6
Made in: Mexico Mexico
Series: Player Plus Player Plus
Colors: Sunburst, Blue, Red, Yellow Sunburst, Green, Red, Gray
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Alder Alder
Bridge: 6-Saddle String-Through-Body Tele with Block Steel Saddles 6-Saddle Strings-Through-Body Tele
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On Bolt-On
Tuners: Deluxe Cast/Sealed Locking (all short posts) Deluxe Cast/Sealed Locking (all short posts)
Fretboard: Maple Maple
Neck Material: Maple Maple
Decoration: Black Pearloid Dot Black Pearloid Dot
Scale Size: 25.5" 25.5"
Shape: Modern C Modern C
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.82'' (20.8mm) - 12th Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm) 1st Fret: 0.82'' (20.8mm) - 12th Fret: 0.87'' (22.1mm)
Frets: 22 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver 22 Medium Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 12" 12"
Nut: Synthetic Bone Synthetic Bone
Nut Width: 42.8mm (1.685'') 42.8mm (1.685'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: Player Plus Noiseless Tele (Single Coil / Passive) Player Plus Noiseless Tele (Single Coil / Passive)
Middle Pickup: Player Plus Noiseless Tele (Single Coil / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Player Plus Noiseless Tele (Single Coil / Passive) Player Plus Noiseless Tele (Single Coil / Passive)
Switch: 5 Way 3 Way
Knobs: Dome Dome
Pickup Mods: Series Split Series Split
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 1 1