In the market for a new Strat and wanted to know what you guy's think about these 2 models, pro's and con's.

Personally I'd go with the Classic Player 60s. I traded my American Standard for one, and to me it was a much better guitar than the MIA standard.

Basically you are looking at

9.5 radius(Special) vs 12inch radius ( CP60s)
Jumbo vs. Medium Jumbo frets
6point vs 2point trem
satin neck vs gloss neck
Texas Specials vs. the MIM equivalent of CS 69s the 2206 CPs had Abby signed PUs

I absolutely cannot stand a narrow-spaced bridge nor the 2-point trem.

YMMV

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I own an American Special Strat and a Classic Player Telecaster. I know it's not a Strat, but I can say that even though the MIM's are often considered lower quality, the CP's are tremendous. My CP Telecaster feels higher quality than the American Standards that I have played. I have played the 60's CP Strat and I wanted to love it due to the pickups but I just couldn't get into it. I like the smaller Maple necks so the 12" Rosewood didn't help, but I just felt like the American Special fit better for me.

If you are torn between the 2 guitars and are weighing the pros and cons, please don't cosider the CP being MIM a con, they are putting out some fantastic guitars right now.

american special gets my vote...if i were the one buying it

I think I may end up going for the Classic Player, 'cause I like the sound better, but I really like maple fretboards and would love to try out the Classic Player 50's Strat, but my local shop doesn't have one available. The radius on this is the same as the American Special, but it has a soft v profile, which I know some guy's love, but I have never tried one.

Classic Player. The Am Spcl is nothing special at all, it is just a highway 1 with poly finish and texas special pups in it, which truly dont warrant the extra $100 on the price. So many people use texas specials I would think you'd want to try something different to find a tone of your own. Just not impressed with the Am Special at all.

_________________
Blues with a feeling.

GUILD GUITARS: MADE TO BE PLAYED!

Go A/B the American Special and Highway One and you will see, the Amer Special is quite a bit more than just an H1 with TS's

I own a am. std. and want a 60's

I originally loved the trem but now i dont use it and want the traditional 6 point for more stability...

You also get the 69's which i prefer now... i like the lower output

I do like the neck on the am. std though... the 9.5" radius is perfect for me

I have a CP50's and absolutely love it. Like you said it does have the 9.5" radius neck like the Amer Spec. The pups are awesome 57/62's. They have the 2 point bridge like the CP60's. It would be great if you could actually try one out to see if you like it.

_________________
Squier Classic Vibe thinline telecaster
Squier JM Black1 partscaster
Line 6 Pod XT Live
Peavey VT Classic 212
Vox AC30 Amplug

the Classic Player 60s has a 2point not a 6point trem

Not really. Same neck profile, same tuning machines, same block, same wiring/control circuit. The only differences are the pickups and finish. Really similar guitars and they play almost exactly the same, I have A/Bd them. Yes they sound different, but the playability IMO is roughly the same.

I respect your opinion but the bottom line is it is the EXACT same guitar as the highway one with TSpcls and Poly finish. Like Yogi said, same neck, jumbo frets, tuners, block, wiring...everything is the same except for the pups and finish. I think what happened is Fender realized the Hwy 1 was too much of a bargain and quietly did away with it at the same time introducing the "New" Am Spcl with the poly finish and TS pups as a way to get an extra $100 out of virtually the same guitar.

_________________
Blues with a feeling.

GUILD GUITARS: MADE TO BE PLAYED!

Thanks for the responses! I like the sound of the cs 69 pickups in the 60's Classic Player, and was wondering if the 57/62 pickups the 50's Classic Player has are close to these in output, or are they hotter?

I don`t have first-hand experience of this, but logically 57/62 pickups should be in 50s vintage style, less hot, with bell-like cleans, suitable for surf music and similar.
CS69s are more bluesy & hot.