Music Man St. Vincent vs Fender Player Plus Meteora HH
Reasons to Get
Music Man St. Vincent over Fender Player Plus Meteora HH
Reasons to Get
Fender Player Plus Meteora HH over Music Man St. Vincent
Other Key Differences
Music Man St. Vincent vs Fender Player Plus Meteora HH
Shared Features
Music Man St. Vincent vs Fender Player Plus Meteora HH
Common Strengths
- 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
- 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 both instruments scored 72 out of 100, which makes them similar in terms of quality.
The Fender Player Plus Meteora HH wins when it comes to sound, playability, value for the money. On the other hand, the Music Man St. Vincent has the upper hand when it comes to build quality.
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 5 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
Music Man St. Vincent- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Comfortable fretboard
- Short scale
New Player Friendliness
Fender Player Plus Meteora HH- Easy-to-use bridge
- Locking tuners
- Tall frets
- Narrow nut
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- 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.
Music Man St. Vincent Overview
- From Music Man's 2016 St. Vincent series
- St. Vincent Signature
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 10" Fretboard Radius
- Okoume body
- Roasted Figured Maple neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Music Man Custom Mini-Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
- Middle pickup: Music Man Custom Mini-Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Music Man Custom Mini-Humbucker (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Bell knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Music Man Modern Tremolo bridge
- St. Vincent Bolt-On neck
- 22 Medium Jumbo frets
- Schaller M6-IND locking with pearl buttons (Black buttons for Stealth Black) tuners
- Compare Specs >
Fender Player Plus Meteora HH Overview
- From Fender's 2022 Player Plus series
- Made in Mexico
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Alder body
- Maple neck
- Maple fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Fender Fireball Humbucking (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Fender Fireball Humbucking (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 2 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo with Brushed Steel Block Saddles bridge
- Modern C Bolt-On neck
- 22 Medium Jumbo frets
- Deluxe Cast/Sealed Locking (all short posts) tuners
- Weight between 8.25lbs (3.7kgs) and 8.7lbs (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 the Music Man St. Vincent
This wood has beautiful patterns only found in specific types of maple.
Rosewood is an almost purple-looking wood that is used mainly for fretboards since it's heavy, rare, and expensive. It's sometimes used on acoustic guitar bodies to create stronger warm tones. Find out more about Rosewood.
Okoume is an affordable wood and one of the first to replace Mahogany when the prohibitions started. It's generally softer than Mahogany and the tone has warmer lows.
Woods Used in the Fender Player Plus Meteora HH
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: Music Man St. Vincent.
Pickup Configuration
The Music Man St. Vincent has an HHH configuration while the Fender Player Plus Meteora HH has HH pickups.
A triple Humbucker (HHH) can be intimidating at first, but it's one of the combinations that offer the most tone versatility. You'll be able to have from a lot of output for Hard Rock genres, to warm and clean sounds that are more common in Jazz.
On the other hand, 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.
Pickups Quality
Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.
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 Music Man St. Vincent gives you 5 switch options while the Fender Player Plus Meteora HH gives you 3. This means that the Music Man St. Vincent gives you more options to find the right pickup combination for the type of sound you want to achieve
Only the Fender Player Plus Meteora HH comes with some kind of pickup modification: Coil Split.
Coil Split lets you disconnect one of the pickup coils. When used with humbuckers, it turns them into single-coil with lower output and cleaner tone.
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 Meteora HH.
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 Music Man St. Vincent compares to the Fender Player Plus Meteora HH.
Country of Origin
The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Music Man St. Vincent is built in United States while the Fender Player Plus Meteora HH is made in Mexico.
The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.
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: Music Man St. Vincent
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 Music Man St. Vincent has a Compensated nut. Each hole where the string sits at the nut is cut at a different distance from the bridge, which compensates for the different amount of tension that each string is subject to. This fixes most intonation issues across the fretboard, so it gives great tuning stability.
On the other hand, the Fender Player Plus Meteora HH 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: Tie.
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: 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
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:
Music Man St. Vincent
- Locking Tuners
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Compensated Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- 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
Fender Player Plus Meteora HH
- Locking Tuners
- Synthetic Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Tremolo
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- Made in Mexico
- No Expensive Woods
- No Neck-Through Build
- 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 Fender Player Plus Meteora HH has the wider nut with 42.8mm (1.685'') vs 41.3mm (1.625''). This is a 1.5mm (0.06'') difference
This means that it will be more difficult to do bar chords on the Fender Player Plus Meteora HH, 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.
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
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 Music Man St. Vincent and the Fender Player Plus Meteora HH 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 Music Man St. Vincent's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Fender Player Plus Meteora HH'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 Fender Player Plus Meteora HH.
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 .
Music Man St. Vincent:
Fender Player Plus Meteora HH:
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.
