Fender Starcaster

This is one good looking guitar. Reminds me of a Martin D-35.

I play blues and this guitar has a deep sound to it which is good for that style, but I kind of wish it would ring more.

The guitar came right from the factory, so I didn't really have to worry about the setup. It was really nice from the day I took it home.

This is my main guitar and it probably will be for many more years.

I've never dealt with the Fender company, but the pawn and jewelry shop I did buy the guitar from were very helpful in the purchase.

I had been looking for a guitar for a couple of months, and I went to the shop confident I would find a good guitar. I was kind of scared to try this one out because I had heard many bad things about this guitar and I had once played a brand name Fender that was absolutely terrible. When I played this guitar for the first time, I was suprisngly amazed. I played many other really good ones that day including an Epiphone acoustic for $200, but I kept going back to this one. This is an excellent guitar.

It was made in 2009, I guess. There is no serial number. It was marked 'used' on the back of the head. It feels like a good weight, a little heavier than strats I tried out in my local music store. S/S/S/ pickups. They are not staggered, and have a strange circle pattern on each pole piece. 5 pickup setting switch, 2 and 4 are hum cancelling (for the most part). This sounds like a Fender ! Bright, with some meat to them. Passive electronics, generic chrome tuning heads, gloss metallic black finish, with perloid pickguard, and black face with white lettering. Standard type of Fender Strat setup.

It suits any kind of music to play, everything from Stevie Ray Vaughn to metal is possible. I have an older Peavy Transtube amp and a Boss GT-6 pedal board. Good sounds !

I shouldn't have bought a guitar stamped used. I found out later it had a bad neck with a tension rod that was hard to adjust. The local repairman chastised me over the phone and said to return it! But instead I had him set it up for me so it didn't buzz. He put 12 gauge strings on it, and adjusted the neck as best he could. The nut needed some filing to take the thicker strings.

It's solid definately. Stays in tune as good as any Fender. Frets, rosewood fretboard, bridge with flat saddles are all good. I like how the input jack is deeper on an angle than regular strats. It's easier to put in and take out the cord.I would gig without a backup. Chrome hardware, nice!

I bought it stamped used on Ebay, from a music shop in the states called Market Music. It was in good shape and packed well when it came here. Good communication with the merchant. He had other similar products for sale too. It was discounted in price.

I love the finish on this guitar. I've always wanted a Fender finished this was but they didn't make them until now, or were so rare to come by. When I first saw it, I wanted it. I was prepared to change the p'ups to noiseless ones, but the local repairman questioned it might not be worth sinking money into it. So I had him set it up instead, and left the stock p'ups. I'm glad I did now. After the set up and heavier strings, it sounds good!

I have a "Starcaster by Fender", the one with the arrow head. and of course it is as much a genuine stratocaster as any of the other Fender strat models. Its only of a lower grade (but still much better than for example the Fender duo sonic that also was sold as student guitar), due to cheaper components and lower labour costs in asia. The quality of asian made guiars is way better these days than they used to be.

Anyway, Its a 21 fretter (Rosewood) with skunk stripe, beautiful finish on the neck. SSH configuration on a single ply scratch plate (dont like single ply). The body is solid wood (of some kind) with a pretty nice black metallic finish. The tuners seem to be standard for the price range. The bridge saddles looks a little cheap but it works fine.
Bought it used without any accesories.

It has a very clear sound which I like. The humbucker maybe a little to bright and screamy when you switch on the overdrive, but not really bad sounding. The coils sound really dynamic and it has that twangy strat sound. I just played it for a while and then switched to my Highway1 (also SSH config.) and it sounded all dull and allmost dead in comparison. I have to check if there is something wrong with it, it would be strange to have my precious USA Fender outplayed by my cheap asian Fender. :o)
When I first got the guitar it sounded like crap, so I changed strings and let my local guitar dealer do his magic stuff with trussrod and so on, and then it really came to life.

After the adjustments the action is set nice and low. I also had some sharp fret edges but carefully used a small file to even them out.
Otherwise Its really well assembled, like a Fender should be.
The finish as I said is good. Especially the neck is really nice.

The only thing that probably may need attention in the future is the switch (feels a little "jingly") and maybe the pots will give up sooner than on a more expensive guitars.

Been playing on and off for 25 years and had a number of guitars.
For the money (I mean 89 bucks!) this one cant lose. Im allready thinking about getting another of these arrow heads.

:o)

for this guitar i gave it a seven for features because it has a five way selector switch and two tone knobs along with three (if not the highest quality) pickups it does also come with a suprisingly good bag, an ok amp, a somewhat cheap cable, some nice picks a dvd and allen wrenches.

this guitar earned a four for me after about two months of use because two out of the three pickups sound quiet nice if you can get the neck to stop buzzing and you dont have any overdrive on but the bridge pickup is down right terrible, it buzzes even on clean with a low volume and distorts when you strum more than three notes at a time. the other two pickups are better as long as the tone is kept all the way down otherwise the buzz like crazy too. and i know this is not just mine becuase ive played several of this very same guitar with no signs of a simple dudd its the whole batch

this is where it gets very bad, first and for most the frets are sharp. like pointy sharp so bad that if you play for more than an hour and a half your hand may start to bleed (trust me i know). following in at a close second is the input. which just a couple of weeks ago fell into the body of the guitar. i had to take the plate of and screw the imput back into place not to mention that the pickguard is scratched and bumpy and once again its not just mine ive played five or six with no changes. thier is simpy no hope for this guitar.

the body on this guitar is fairly solid. the finish is decent if not a little messy the strap buttons are good with a new strap instead of the one they give you. the guitar is not good enough for a live show it may cut out from time to time and if you are playing a gig with it bring two or three just incase of a malfunction like your imput falling out.

haha funny fender has by far the worst costumer service ever they wont even talk to you unless your buying something i know ive tried to ask about my guitar i got put on hold twice for over an hour both times just to have them say to go buy another one.

if your looking for a begining guitar and dont plan on playing to much then this is a great deal. but if you plan on playing alot then get something else i would recomend an ibanez or and esp starter pack if you have the money just go get all of the things you will need separatly a $100 amp and a $200 guitar will be a thousand times better than any starter pack and you get to pick and choose whatever make and model you want. i took a chance on this and i regret it

This is a Fender Starcaster strat pack just bought at Target. It has "crafted in china" on the back of the headstock with a serial #. 21 frets, solid body finished in a very slick finish. 1 volume and 2 tone controls, S/S/S pickup configuration with a five position selector switch. Not sure about the body wood, but it is quite heavy. The neck is maple with rosewood fret board. This looks to be an accurate strat body, neck and hardware configuration. The bridge is looks like a vintage synchronous temelo bridge with the 6 screws holding the bass plate in position. back tremelo bridge cavity has the standard spring setup as a strat. The pack comes with a decent soft case with fender logo, a cheap strap, cable, 10w amp, two allen wrenches(1 for neck truss adjustment and the other for bridge saddle string height adjustment, fender chromatic tuner, dvd, no manual). Everything you need except for a manual. would give it a 9 if there was a manual.

After getting the strings broke in, and doing nothing else other than tune, the starcaster sounded good. Very good playability. I was really surprised how well the guitar played, with seemed to indicate that it was fairly well set up. The guitar did not come with a manual, so I downloaded a american strat manual off the Fender website, then proceeded to make the adjustments. Play is very good especially after string height and pickup adjustment. Sound is very good considering the small 10w practice amp. For a home practice amp, with the distortion button in the clean position, absolutely no complaints. I'll probably never use the distortion position as it sounds pretty crappy.

The guitar did not come with a manual, so I downloaded a american strat manual off the Fender website, then proceeded to make the adjustments. The neck was a little bit flat, so the truss was adjusted. String height was too high across the board (>1mm on the treble side). The pickups were way off. All of this is easy to correct. Out of the box, intonation was not bad indicating the factory must make an attempt to set the guitar up before packaging, but had to re-adjust due to all of my prior adjustments. I bottomed out the E string bridge saddle while setting intonation leaving it a bit off. That will be fixed with the next stringing. Considering this guitar was made in china and was shipped in a box to multiple warehouses and climate conditions, the guitar was surprisingly close to playable out of the box.
The fit and finish of this guitar is very good. There are no visible flaws other than a small burl in the rosewood fretboard at the 11 fret. No affect on tone or playability. I kindof like it as it gives some character to an otherwise very clean and flaw-free guitar. The hardware all looks good. The bridge is heavily chromed and there are no signs that this is a $150 guitar. The Strat manual says the bridge saddles for the vintage bridge are stamped steel. The starcaster saddles are machined from a solid block and chromed(very nice). My main complaint is with the tuning gears. I'd say 2 out of the 6 feel pretty decent. The others are either too loose or too stiff. One has excessive gear lash. You can tune the guitar with these, but it is annoying. My 1st upgrade will be locking tuning gears. Another minor flay is with the pickup mounts. The pickups are slightly cocked (front to rear) so the heads are not parralel to the strings. I'll fix that once I take it apart and have a look. But I don't think it would affect the sound that much. But over all, very well constructed guitar.

Definitely get a good strap as the ends probably won't last long. Not much confidence in the tuner nuts. Otherwise, a solid guitar that should last a long time.

I've only recently gotten back into playing guitar after about a 20 year haitus. Prior to that, I played mostly acoustics over a period of about 15-20 years. My playing style has mostly been heavy rythmn classic and country rock. I bought the starcaster pack to mostly see if I wanted to get seriously back into guitar without spending a lot of money. So far, I've been so happy with it, that I'm already planning to upgrade the tuners and pickups. For me, at the age of 52, this is a project guitar. In about a year, you probably won't recognise it. So if stolen, I'd probably get another or go to a MIM strat. For beginning guitar players, this is an outstanding value. Just recommend getting someone knowledgable about electric guitars to show you how to make all of the adjustments and get it properly set up(this is critical). If you like to tinker with stuff, get the fender stratocaster manual and everything you need to make the Starcaster adjustments is there. The electronic tuner works great. Not sure how I survived without one before. For $200, this is a great buy.

starcaster starting kit comes with amp, gig bag, extra strings, strap, whammy bar, picks,fender tuner, and some other suff
it has 21 frets (kinda big)
fat neck
3 pickups

nice rich sound
i have to tune after every five times i pick it up

not a guitar you are gonna go on tour with
but good to practice on

pretty good first guitar

07 Fender Starcaser Strat 70s style head with rosewood fret board. I picked it up on ebay very cheap $49.95 U.S. plus shipping, at the time I was looking for some parts for a guitar project. The guitar was like new when I got it and it never looked played. I did a set up on it by filing the fret ends and seating the trem bridge. I also lowered the action by ajusting bridge parts were the strings go though. Once a set up was done it plays just as well as my $1700 Fender Statocaster I bought two years ago. "All new guitars are and should be set up by a pro." It sounds almost the same as the American made Strat but the American Strat is hotter sounding because of better pick ups. I also have a few squires and offshore made strat copies and I think that the Starcaster was the best deal yet.

I have played strats for over 20yrs so the style of the guitar I know very well. I play Blues, Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, Country, Classical, Punk, Goth "what ever". The Strat can do it all and the Starcaster Strat can do a great job at it too. If someone has one and loves the body and design they could always up grade the pick ups if they thinks it would sound better compaired to another guitar. I have a large amp with pedals ect, so its just not that much of a problem. For a guitar that did'nt cost very much it sounds way better then most. My starcaster has no noisy problems and sound clear and bright. Remember there is a lot of up grade parts for these type of guitars at guitar shops and ebay.

I think that if you just got you Starcaster out of a box that you should get it set up by a pro. I filed the fretwire ends with a "small file" that you can buy for $1.00 at a Dollar store. Seated the brige by ajusting more to the body the trem springs (you would need a star screw driver) and don't over tighten cover screws or you will snap cover corners. I also ajusted the saddles to lower the action to make it easyer to play (with a small allen key). This is the sort of things that most guitars need done when there new. The guitar store may have there tech do this job before they sell it and add the techs time to the guitar cost. (Hope this helps some one.) The Starcaster is still a very good guitar very good fit a finish, nice neck and hardware better then most budget strats.

I have played this guitar at a number of gigs without any problems. Its just as good as to depend on as any Fender. I always bring more then one guitar to a show as if you break a string you can switch guitars. Then you can change the string later. I would go to a gig and play a Starcaster and have another one on a stand. "No Problems." Its just in case I break a string, it's not easy restring when playing at the same time. lol Most of the parts on it are much like a Fender Strat so they should last just as long and if something breaks it will be easy to replace part.

Never needed any help and the guitar was a ebay buy so there was no warranty with it.

I've played for over 20yrs. I play Acoustic, Strats and Les pauls. 37 guitars at this time and 18 of them are Strats. I've have owned many more but I've out grown there style or they were junk. If I were to have the Starcaster stolen I would buy another. I may buy another anyways you know a different color or to hot rod. I compare it to Frender Stratocaster and also to the Fender Squire Stratocaster. I like the Starcaster over the Squre bullet Strat as it has a better neck. Every guitar has it's own sound, so it's nice to have many you like. At the time I was just going to use it for a custom project but after a set up I just kept it the wat it is as it has a nice sound and feel to it.

Not so much a review as a clarification for people who are confused by these conflicting reviews.

The original semi-acoustic 70's Starcasters were good but now have ridiculous resale values.
Fender recycled the name for cheap solid bodied sub-Squier guitars recently. They are, well, less than good.

This is a Fender Starcaster. it is a strat copy. the pickup configuration is SSS, it has i volume knob and two tone knobs. it also has a five way selector. i wanna say it is made out of basswood but not completely sure. it has a tremolo bar, but i dont use it. it came with a 10w amp, cable, tuner, extra strings, gig bag, strap, dvd, and guitar stand.

This is my second guitar so i am not really qualified to compare this to any other guitar but i think it sounds good. the big problem with sound is not the guitar it is the amp. but it is just a 10 watt so no complaints.

the frets werent put in that good. i had to file the sides of the frets because they kept cutting my hands, but five minutes later problem was solved.

i think this would survive a gig but if you are playing in a band, dont use a 100 dollar guitar.

N/A

I have been playing for about 3 months now and this is my second guitar as stated earlier. i got this for 90 dollars brand new because the box was beat up. nothing was wrong with any thing else. if it were stolen i would probably save up and buy an ibanez or a true fender strat, but i like this guitar a lot.

This is a very basic guitar. Nothing fancy or special. Chrome tuners, Pearl Dot inlays, etc.. The guitar feels very solid and will hold up to a lot of abuse, but it is made of mostly cheap laminate. It has 21 very cheaply made frets that have rough edges and cause the "e" string to hang up when strummed. The action is extremely high which makes playing very difficult and frustrating.

The sound is not bad, but doesn't compare the the other $99 guitar that I bought (a Jasmine, Takamine, S34c). It is difficult to get a nice quiet sound out of this guitar. When you play it loudly with authority, it isn't bad. Due to the cheap construction of the frets and the high action, it is nearly impossible to play without some buzzing.

Way too high! I took the bridge off and ground it down about an eighth of on inch...that helped some. The finish looks great, which is very misleading about the quality of this guitar. The tuners stay in tune fairly well, but they are very difficult to get set.

No one in their right mind would play this guitar in public. This guitar is clearly a beater guitar. The finish will likely outlast everything else on this guitar.

Never tried it, its not worth my time.

OK, I realize this is a $100 guitar and I shouldn't expect much. The problem is this is what beginners buy to make sure they want to play before they make a big investment. This guitar is so difficult to play that it will actually discourage you from wanting to play. Once you actually play a decent guitar, you will realize how much of a piece of trash this is.
You can get a decent guitar for $100, just not this one. If you want to try an inexpensive guitar buy the Jasmine, Takamine, S34c and you will get a good guitar for a low price. Don't buy this!

made in china
gig bag strap cable amp and tuner included
19 frets
not super quality anything

Strat Standard S/S/S vintage trem, large Fender headstock, fat, hefty neck. 3 ply white black white pickguard, rosewood fretboard, full size and thickness Agathis sunburst gloss body. Ceramic PUPS 6 ohms each.
Wt. 7 lbs 15 oz.

It has a bright growling twang, the sound is not as full (translated; thinner and lower volume)as let's say Texas Specials, but I get a real gnarly dirty bite that when played through my Super Champ XD hit a SRV LIKE sound easier than my all American Strat with Texas Specials. I have to use a couple of pedals with the Texas Specials to get to SRV heaven. (I won't tell you which cuz I spent a fortune on pedals and effects to find out). However this guitar has a nice dirty gritty sound that I really like, it's as though the pickups put out more than they read. I am planning to put some Fender Noiselesss in this guitar that's why I bought it. But the pickups it came with sound very good even though there is more hum than the big guy strat. I haven't pulled the pickguard to look for shielding.

Solid Strat all the way, even has the sharp edge frets like my USA Strat!
The frets are smooth on top and very level, strings are small gauge and set low and no buzz anywhere. The finish is polished and shiny. Except for the sharp edge on the frets, which I can fix in a few minutes, the guitar is set up well. Intonation is spot on.

As solid as any big Fender Strat.

This is a real Fender Stratocaster guitar, as real as any other. It doesn't say Squire anywhere. It's a full size, full body fat neck Strat
and should be recognized as such. It has a sound of it's own due to the wood/PU combination and is very usable for a real player. This model came
with a 10 watt 6" spkr amp, Fender gig bag, Fender tuner, extra strings,
strap, cord, picks, and training disc. This is the best deal for a Strat
I have seen in years. All told the guitar cost me 50 bucks! This package is not sold everywhere and so is sort of a secret Fender special. The price of this guitar just doesn't tell the whole story. Get one.

I love my "I don't know how old" Starcaster. bought in a pawn shop 12 years ago...500$ Canadian. I own a 60's goldtop Les paul since 1971...I now pick this thing up more than the Gibson.It has been played alot..maple neck is very used. I don't know who owned before, but by the wear, he was a blues player...and I am also a blues player..this thing just went into my hands and it was like a dream, I couldn't believe how sloppy you could be and still sound good. The longer neck has become a whole new style for me after the shorter Gibson. Probably not worth as much as the Gibson, but I would probably save this from a fire before the Les Paul.

The guitar has a Tobacco sunburst finish and is in excellent shape for an almost 30 year old guitar. I have the store tags that were hanging on it when my father bought it along with the facory inspection sticker. Serial #S708832

Excellent sound, especially when played through a Feder Twin Reverb Amp, with the fender humbucker style pickups you can get quite a wide range of sound with it. My father bought it new in 1976.

Very good, this guitar has been in its case for the last 2 years and not played since my father passed on. When I pulled it out and played it I could not believe it, just like new. All the pots are noiseless when adjusting them.

My Father played it as much as he could some times daily practicing and played alot of weekend gigs plus did some recording with it.

Never been to the shop as far as I know.

Curently it is for sale, I hate to part with it but i am just not a player like my father was. If your looking for a semi hollow body guitar with great sound then this is it plus it has the clasic Fender head stock look to it like no other semi hollow body guitar.

finish cheap black paint
body style strat
bridge, string thru
neck: thin, jumbo frets
tuners lock
accessories anything else with a crappy set... a crap amp a strap and a bag
what year... stone age... where? this hunk of junk screams sweatshop
24 frets
solid top
vol, tone, 5 way selector
pickups? i dunno singlecoils(the only good feature on here)
passive elecs
wood... i dunno plywood i guess

well, lets start. my girlfriend got one for christmas. it has sort of a dry, sound but alright. im not much of a fan of singles, but this isnt really a bad one. it can(could) get through crazy train alright.

dont know its been awhile since i first saw it. still smells factory fresh--- GLUE!!!

ok, now we can get a little bit nitty-gritty. or a lot. the bridge broke off and before that the springs in the back would constantly fall out. the nut has a chip in it, and it gets out of tune easily. lets not forget to mention the lovely "reverse" trem caused by weak springs. lovely sound and the neck is so bowed that robinhood would be proud to have it. im tempted to say no opinion considering that i dont think its even worthy of a hobo. i wanted to give it to the garbage man but i doubt the rotten cauliflower onboard should have to get rid of its spot for this garbage. by my rating i mean .00000000000000000001

dunno about it usually you dont call customer support for someone elses guitar, even your girlfriend.

ive been playing 2 years, i have a peavy amp and a les paul, aswell as a l-6s.(both gibson). this is the biggest piece of crap ive ever seen. well generally with a guitar that is seperated from its bridge you hate the bridge broken. (dont think im wierd just reading the questions above) and i hate the lovely black paint. i wish it had... no. i wish my girlfriend had a better guitar.

Mine is a 1977 with gorgeous flamey sunburst...USA-made.
these guitars are WAY underrated.
they're set up with two of Fender's split humbuckers, with a volume and tone for each and a master volume (which is actually pretty useful when it comes to recording), and a maple neck and fretboard.
mine actually I think was re-fretted at some point with jumbo frets which are fine but not as fast as the original fender ones...
it does have the infamous 3-bolt neck, but i've never had any problems with it...

God, I cannot say enough about this guitar's sound.
You know, I have read so many books and articles that mention the starcaster with distain, poke fun at its design and quirks, but obviously these guys spend too much time writing and not enough time playing the guitars they write about...
I have 19 guitars at the moment, mostly vintage fenders (jag, tele custom, coronados, etc) and gibsons (les paul, SG, LP recording, etc), and a few reverends which I love, but when I'm recording and can't quite get the sound I want, I always pull out the starcaster and it ALWAYS sounds perfect. It's crystal clear, bright and rich when clean, and has a great crisp growl when distorted...much like a tele custom..and without that howling feedback that plagues so many other semi hollowbodies.
the action is awesome and the neck is smooth
and it is one of the most noise-free guitars that I own. not bad for a nearly 30 year-old instrument..
goddam this is a truly great guitar.

perfect.
one of Fender's most under-rated guitar designs ever.

this is a tough guitar.
it takes a beating, and keeps on playing perfectly. it is solid, it stays in tune, and the three-bolt neck treats me just fine.
it looks as good today as it did new.
Like I said before I can count on this guitar for the perfect tone and sound in any situation and in any song.
the only thing it lacks is a vibrato, but who cares really...

i haven't needed them.
most of them probably don't even remember what the original starcaster was...

I first came across a starcaster about 12 years ago at a vintage guitar shop in St. Louis. I had no idea what it was, but I loved how it sounded. When I came back to buy it, it was gone. I spent the next 8 years searching for another in nashville, new orleans, new york, chicago...but the prices had shot so high I couldn't afford one. Finally I found one in wisconsin, and it was worth every penny I paid. I really can't say enough about this guitar's crisp rich sound.
If you're thinking about picking one up, I would highly recommend it over most other reasonably-priced vintage guitars. it is so choice...

A Starcaster, serial nr. 712078, so probably 76 USA, features original as known, this one is of natural color (sort of darkening yellow).

I had a Fender Dual Showman with a cabinet of two 10 inch speakers and then added this guitar. Best of the sound is to slowly remove volume from the neck pick-up, which makes the sound of the bridge one just shine. If you have an assistant, it's a rather unique phasing effect. To me it fits any style I want, maybe I take it from there. When a greek giutar crack played it once though, it sounded like a bouzuki

As I bought it 2nd hand, I can' tell much, but after 12 years everything was in shape. The small parts of the bridge I had entirerely renewed two years ago, a number of winters in a gas-heated rehearsel-room had made them corode heavily, but those are standard parts and it was no problem for the workshop.

I don't use it to often today , but I never felt I should have a backup when performing. The finish may fade a little, the yellow darkening, some samall parts renewed as mentioned above but you also renew parts of vintage cars. Smoothe tuning.

A local workshop.

It's been 17 years now and I never thought of buying another electric guitar because this one covers the range for me. So I only keep a 12-string acoustic guitar for exercise. If it was stolen, I would have to start up new. Both appearance and performance are remarkable, maybe costumers didn't trust the looks. To me it looks like the first computer aided design on guitars, a Gibson body stretched to an ankle.

I just love Fender Starcasters. From what I am told I have a pretty rare collection of them. The first one, a 1976 which had a natural finish, I bought 20 years ago and it was stolen. It always really broke my heart. About ten years ago I found another after looking for years without any luck. I thank the internet for that. It was a black Starcaster with white (aged yellow) binding. Serial # on neck mounting plate 710990 indicating 1976. The second one I bought was a blonde Starcaster unique for its factory pearlized tuning pegs that really go well with the guitar. A very nice touch. Serial # on neck mounting plate 275786. This erial number is just odd because it should indicate 1969? The third Starcaster I bought was a sunburst Starcaster (like Radiohead). Serial # on neck mounting plate 577579 indicating 1974. My fourth Starcaster was a tabacco or carmel color. Serial # on headstock S708737 indicates year 1977. My 5th starcaster was at last a natural one like I had stolen, but more flamey. It is my favorite. Serial # on neck mounting plate 715965 indicating it was a 1976. As if that wasn't enough, I bought a sixth starcaster to complete my collection. I had been refinished as far as I could tell in brown burst (yellow to brown) with an exagerated binding. The last one was not in the greatest shape and I am currently refinishing it in magenta gold finish. What makes it most unique is that it has a rosewood neck. That's right, a Starcaster rosewood neck! The neck is stamped 22FEB73R. I can only asume it was made for a Fender employee as none have ever been recorded by Fender. So I have 6 Starcasters. That's right. I have over 15 guitars including PRS and I will never give up my starcasters as long as I live. My best research indicates years of manufacture from 1973 to 1982.

The most versatile guitars I have ever played.

Each of the starcasters I have is set up a little different bu achieve the same overall playability I desire. This is possible because of the tilt-o-matic neck joint. I see some people have problems with this but my experience has been very positive. Properly setting the neck will ensure a tight fit.

Very durable and flexible guitar. Parts are over 30 years old and still work flawlessly.

Not really applicable though I would love to talk to someone at Fender about these guitars.

I have been playing for 20 years. These guitars speak for themselves.

I have been playing for a few years now. I own an acoustic along with my starcaster. This guitar satisfied me, but i am not in any bands, or playing for anyone. This is a good guitar for personal use. I would buy it again if it were stolen. My favorite feature is the fact that it stays in tune really well. I once left it for a week, playing it once or twice and when i went to tune it, it was only barely off on a few strings. I had compared this to a stratocaster and i wouldv'e bought a stratocaster but it is too much for my price range. I would highly recommend this for anyone who's looking for personal use and has a small price range.

My Starcaster is a 1975 model, serial number 661321, and is in a suburst finish.

Beautiful guitars and very rare, the Starcasters were made from as early as 1974 to about 1977, the last year I have seen them sold. A nice compliment with the humbuckers to a tele or a thinline tele as in my case. There are five knobs: 2 volume and 2 tone for each humbucker and a master volume. Guitar plays like a dream.

The Starcaster has a wide range of sounds, especially with the versatility the humbucker brings. It has a rich, full, dynamic sound that can only be compared to an ES-335, but better. It is great for playing all styles of music because the possible settings you can have are numerous. Great sounding guitar.

The guitar I'm guessing was set up well but since I am the fourth owner I can only assume. The neck has been aged and the guitar shows wear, but who cares its a 30 year old guitar. It should show some wear and tear. The guitar has some minor checking, but the total beauty and sound outweigh the small conceptual flaws.

The guitar is 30 years old and appears to have withstood constant playing for that long. Since I have only had the guitar a few weeks, I am not positive how it was used all those years. It seems like a dependable guitar and the finish and neck are durbale. One minor flaw was the plug for the wire to the amp was corroded, but still plays.

Bought from a private seller on Ebay.

I have been playing for very long and love the guitar. Visually, there is not a better and cooler looking guitar. But it also is an exceptional player and has a wide range of sounds. I can only compare it to the ES-335, but its sort of unfare since they are two totally different guitars. Amazing guitar and a real diamond in the rough.

This isn't a review so much as a point of clarity I noticed in some earlier posts. The Starcaster is not rare in the sense that there were so few made (like original V's, the mythical original Moderne etc..) However, they are rare in the sense that they were only produced for 4 years (1976 to 1980) I don't have the production numbers sitting right here in front of me, but it seems like a pretty fair number of them were made in that time span. The reason that you don't see them very often is simply that they are really good guitars. It really just boils down to the fact that not that many people want to part with them. Interestingly, I have read in a couple of different books that many people thought the Starcaster was ugly. I certainly don't see that. I think the headstock is kind of wack, but otherwise, its probably second only to the Strat as far as pure looks go for me....

I sold my 1976 Starcaster in natural finish last week To Hillguitar and $$teana$$ through Ebay.com. They bid it for $1525. Today 7/26/2004 they are reselling it and the bid is up to $1858 so far last time I looked. I'll miss this Starcaster but the outsourcing of jobs and age discrimination have made it very difficult to find work.

I saw a black Fender Starcaster on the internet at some vintage guitar site but they did not post the price so I assume it must be very expensive. This guitar was really nice looking.I would buy it if the job market had improved for me.

Yeh the sounds that I will not here anymore after giving it up!

This guitar was a used vintage with some lacquer problems other wise it was preetyy great.

This guitar is ready to rock and who ever winds up with the winning bib on Ebay will think it is Christmas morning.

I hadn't had to deal with 5them so far so I don't know.

I already posted my collection now minus one Starcaster and who knows what else.

I will say that my 1986 Fender Stratocaster 62 Vintage Reissue is rarer then I first thought as it was built for the 1987 Namm show at the Fender Custom Shop before 1987 when they made the shop official!I bought a three tone Sunburst also a few months after I had bought the fiesta red. I had ordered the first Stratocaster in Fiesta Red in June of 1986 but for 7 months there was no delivery. So I went to complian as it was a Christmas present for 1986 to myself! Finally after the saleman argued with Fender over the phone they offered the spare Feista Red 62 Vintage Reissue from the NAMM Show in January 1987. They told the salemen it had some paint flaws and that it was not going to get the low numbers for the first custom models as they were reserved for some other people like Bill Shultz who got the more perfect Feista Red Stratocaster 62 Vintage Reissue and the serial# V000001. They gave me V022789. Probably mine was the first made but it had paint flaws so they gave MR Shultz the first # and the distinction of having the first made. All I know is mine was made for the NAMM Show and it was not supposed to be sold to the general public but Fender had no more paint mixed in Fiesta Red. Beside this paint looks more orange tham red if you ask me more like Tangerine Red ect. I am pretty sure the neck was stamped 1985 so I ll' have to go look for signatures or initials under the pick guard. I bet this Stratocaster still new as the both of these I own from the Custom Shop in Corona are some of the first ever made after Fender executives bought the company back from CBS in March 1985. If anybody can estimate this still new rare Stratocasters worth please email me at Iselin007@aol.com Who knows I sell a few more Guitars I might be able to get another Starcaster!

My Starcaster is from 1976, serial 563562, and is finished in Vintage White (cream). The neck is stamped with "Herb G" which apparently means it was crafted by Herb Gastelum - with Fender since 1961.

Produced from 1976 to 1980 (1982 according to some), the Starcaster has a mythical quality to some players. I have never seen any production numbers, but apparently they are rare. Certainly there are few for sale at any given time. It took me ages to find mine for a decent price. Features are well documented; this is an all maple semi-hollow guitar with a center block. It has 22 frets on a neck with 1 5/8" nut and relatively chunky for a Fender, but less so than a Gibson. Unique headstock with a bar string retainer for the first 4 strings. Pickups are Seth Lover designed split pole humbuckers, same as found on the Telecaster Custom and the newer '72 RI Tele with ash body and two HB's. Finish appears to be polyurethane and is quite tough. Bridge is unique for Fender but nonetheless fairly traditional, with individually adjustable saddles and string-through design. Controls are standard 2x Volume, 2x Tone, with an extra knob for master volume.

This is a great instrument, with a flexible tonal palette. Yet it is very traditional while still retaining a unique voice. It is a jazzy Fender that can have a Tele bite or a funky spank. It is absolutely capable of jazz tones yet it can scream with overdrive applied or do the Motown soul thing in spades. The master volume is great; I love Gibsons but dislike the control arrangement for adjusting volume in a performance setting. The Starcaster fixes that. The treble gets a bit attenuated in standard Fender fashion, but this is a good thing and can be used to your advantage as an add'l toneshaping tool.

The Starcaster is like a '335 with the midrange band tuned slightly higher, and a top end that is sharper yet still rounded off. It sounds like Fender's version of a semi-hollowbody. Duh, that's exactly what it is! Imagine that.

I purchased the guitar used via Ebay, and the setup was dreadful. I actually used the micro-tilt adjuster to get the neck angle correct, and tweaked everything else. Now the guitar plays very nicely. The finish from the factory is great, and has held up since 1976. The guitar is deluxe, but still somewhat plain - it has no Gibsonian inlays or gold hardware. Still it exudes a very unique and groovy vibe, and you will be noticed for this guitar by all people who notice such things.

Finish is very durable. The 3 bolt neck is not so great, and to my hands the slightly reduced stability is perceptible in the degree of play it has when gently moved for vibrato effects (I do this a lot). I think one of the screws may be closed to stripped, as I can't seem to tighten it perfectly. Also, the screw adjustments on the saddles were a tad corroded, but I mostly cleaned them out. The rest of the hardware, including the chrome on the bridge, is perfect with no blemishes. Using without a backup is not really a question, since you will have a tough time finding and sucking up the cash for more than one of these babies!

Not relevant. However I would love to see Fender's production numbers for the Starcaster...

Terrific guitar that could be the only guitar I owned if I ever considered owning just one, which isn't likely to happen. However the versatility and unique vibe of the Starcaster make it a candidate for this if the need ever arose. I own 16 guitars at this writing, so I enjoy my variety. The Starcaster gets pulled off the wall very often!

A '76, first year Starcaster. Has the old solid state Fender amp knobs with the chrome - later ones had typical strat knobs. Natrual finish with some flame in there! Love the string through. All original. I like the master vol - don't like the look of the extra knob, but I like the idea.

Kills. After having a Telecaster Deluxe with the 2 similar humbuckers I was skeptical about the sound of this. Just wonderful. The bridge p/u on the Tele Deluxe was all but useless (very, very bright), relegating the Tele to a both-on, or neck only p/u selection. The Starcaster, however, is a jewel in all. Those still finding the bridge p/u too bright, try rolling off the vol or tone, or adjusting the p/u height down a pinch. Warm and round is this guitar. Not a Les Paul or 335 per se in sound, I would say it's has it's own thing going. Almost Jazzmaster plunkiness, but rounder and warmer - with gobs more sustain.

Neck pocket is good for the era. Love the neck, which I can't say too often about 70's Fenders. Love the flame in the maple body.

My frets are wearing down, lots of wear which is good for originals, the switch finally gave up the ghost, pots are getting scritchy a bit. - I give all that over to natural 28 year wear and tear. The tuners are hanging in there as is everything else. The case handle was just replaced.

Love this guitar and I gig it often. Nice to have a quality Fender that differentiates itself from the herd of Teles and Strats out there. (Which is probably why I have a '66 Jazzmaster and '65 Jaguar now that I think about it.) This amp loves 10" speakers for some reason, a good Bassman RI or Vibrolux Reverb is magic with this guitar. Not to say that 12's are problematic at all - just smoother and tighter w/ 10's (could just be me). Feedback has never been a problem either which many would suspect with an f-hole guitar. What else? Great sustain. I like the shape, and I even like the headstock which some complain about. ha. A bandmate of mine fell in love with this guitar and borrowed it for about 2 years forsaking all others and playing it exlusively. He looked in vain for his own. Surprisingly comfortable being a bigger guitar, and not neck heavy which is the case of many f-hole guitars.

hallo ik kocht mijn gitaar in 1976 bij Musicstore Servaas in den Haag
aan de riviervismarkt.
hij is gemaakt bij musical instruments 1300 E Valencia Fullerton
California 92631 USA serial number 768879 manual no 012218(J/GE
ik heb betaald hfl.2550 color is sunburst en zit nog steeds in het originele Fender koffer met rood pluche bekleed. ik maak al sinds
1962 muziek en mijn Starcaster gaat nog elke week mee.

de sound is afhankelijk van de versterker op een vox ac 30 vind ik de sound niet goed maar op een fender versterker is hij met geen ander
te vergelijken, momenteel speel ik op een line 6, fantastische sounds

alle dingen aan deze gitaar zijn klasse

no comment

ik heb vorig mijn Starcaster een beetje laten tunen
alleen de fretten latten vlakken dat is perfect gebeurt
door ene Peter jan Eleveld te Tegelen Limburg