Several comments:

  • I think glossy finish necks are fine if you have naturally dry hands, which I happen to have. If your hands tend to be moist, those glossy finishes will feel sticky, I'm quite certain. I have a bunch of Strats and Teles, with a mixture of maple and rosewood fingerboards. Only three have semi-gloss necks, but I really don't find them easier to play than the glossy ones. Some players (Jeff Beck comes to mind) use talc or baby powder to keep their hands dry when playing glossy necks. And some folks just sand down the back of the neck with fine sandpaper or steel wool.
  • It should be against the law to use the terms "professional set-up" and "Guitar Center" in the same sentence. Maybe even the same paragraph. Despite the fact that I just did.
  • Of the guitars I've owned, past and present, probably at least half were used instruments. Without a doubt, these tend to arrive with better set-ups, since (obviously!) they've already been played. It's amazing how many new instruments arrive with crummy setups, though some degree of adjustment is almost always needed to get an instrument just the way you like it. A small neck radius, like the "vintage" Fender 7.25" size can be a complicating factor since it makes the action height and the differential heights of the string saddles critical for avoiding "fretting out" on string bends". Learning how to do your own setups is a very valuable skill. Dan Erlewine's book "How to Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great" is a great resource for this purpose, though there are certainly others available--books, articles, YouTube vids, etc.
  • I would be remiss if I didn't put in a plug for the Squier Classic Vibe Strats and Teles here. I have five of them (2 Teles & 3 Strats), though two of the Strats are actually "partscasters" built with CV bodies, necks and hardware along with pickups and electronics of my own preference. They all play and sound just great....but all have glossy-backed necks. I have more expensive Strats and Teles, too, both MIM and MIA, but I wouldn't say than any of them play noticeably better than my CV guitars. Just sayin'!!