Is Fender and Guitar Center's none-more-black HSS Stratocaster the most desirable Player limited-edition yet?

Gear retailer Guitar Center has linked up with Fender for an exclusive electric guitar once again: the stealthy, HSS-configured Player Stratocaster.

The none-more-black model – whose only reprieve from the glossy ebony colorway comes via its chrome hardware – is loaded with a number of eye-popping appointments, including the sleek color-matched headstock.

Elsewhere, it’s also adopted a range of functional upgrades that can’t be found on the flagship Player blueprint, such as the ebony fretboard – drafted in to replace the pau ferro alternative – and chrome-covered bridge humbucker, which replaces the open-coil original.

At its core, though, it’s a standard 25.5”-scale Player Strat, making use of a solid alder body, bolt-on maple neck with a modern C profile and dual-action truss rod, as well as a 9.5” radius and 22 medium jumbo frets.

For the most part, the hardware is also the same. A two-point fulcrum tremolo bridge makes the cut, as do a pair of tone controls and master volume parameter, though the trio of knobs have been topped with industrial-looking chrome knobs as opposed to the conventional counterparts.

As an added touch, the whammy bar has also been treated to a black tip cover, which matches the jet black pickguard.

Other notable appointments include the two Player Series single-coils that feature in the neck and middle positions, a five-way blade pickup selector switch and synthetic bone nut.

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The Guitar Center exclusive Fender Player HSS Stratocaster is available now for $1,049.

To find out more, visit Guitar Center.

It's the latest Guitar Center-exclusive Fender to be released, after the brands collaborated on a trio of Neon, ‘80s hair metal-inspired Strats earlier this year.

The HSS Strat isn't the most important piece of news to leave Guitar Center this week, however. In a groundbreaking move, the brand announced that, for the first time in over 50 years, it was changing its logo to include a real 'G'.