Fender Standard Strat HSS LRL BPG BLK

I had a chance to compare the Standard directly with the Player II version. The Standard sounded very muddy in comparison. The difference in brightness was noticeable even when the guitars were unplugged.
I suppose the it might sound good with higher gain (I didn’t have enough time to really test that), but on clean tones it was disappointing and Player II is definitely worth the extra money for me.
Which is a shame, because I actually like the colors and overall look of the Standard much more. I really hate the yellowed/aged plastic on Player II (which look fake and cheap on new guitar in my opinion).