Starcaster basses?

Tommygunn · #1 01-13-2011, 04:41 PM

No doubt, being cheaper than squiers, that they're not the best. But I just saw a pic of one with a maple fretboard. Me thinks a decent setup, good strings, and SUPER hot pups could transform it into a decent bass. But I've never played one.

How are they?

christw · #2 01-13-2011, 04:43 PM

I don't know about those but the Squier Bronco's resell on craigslist for $40-ish around here and have a maple FB. I dropped in a hot pickup and it's pure phat old school tone for days.

C.Linton · #3 01-13-2011, 06:19 PM

I'm not sure, but I think the bodies are plywood.

5string5fingers · #4 01-13-2011, 06:24 PM

A friend of mine had one of the strats. After a set up it played great but hardly ever stayed in tune.. could have been the trem though.

dalkowski · #5 01-13-2011, 07:42 PM

Now, if Fender had made a bass version of the original 70s Starcaster.... Sweet.

lunarpollen · #6 01-14-2011, 02:49 PM

You're better off getting a Squier. The way I like to think of Starcasters: Imagine if the contracted Squier factory in China had a tryout program for guitar building... Wishful poor families from all over China send off their kids in the hopes that their skills are good enough that they might be accepted into the factory as apprentices, and someday send home some income to help provide the family with their basic necessities. After a screening process, only a small portion of the hopefuls are admitted. The screening process consists of the kids trying to build one Squier-type instrument to the best of their abilities in a given amount of time. The few who pass move on to become apprentices, while the rest are sent home in shame, their sub-standard attempts at instrument building bulldozed into a massive pile to be burned as fuel for the factory's furnace. But one day, an ambitious assistant foreman looks at the pile and thinks to himself "I bet we could find a way to market and repackage these miserable logs and sell them for a profit!"

Spinal Tapper · #7 01-14-2011, 02:57 PM

Man, I dunno but these Starcasters get a BAAAAD rep on the net...

FWIW, my mom bought me a Starcaster Strat at a garage sale for like $50 so I could have something to mess around on when I went to visit my parents for a week in FL (she's such a sweet lady).

So I did a little research on Starcasters before I actually got to check it out in person, and boy, they were getting SLAMMED on the forums left and right.

Needless to say I wasn't too excited about the idea of having another piece of junk guitar laying around, but when I got to FL and she took it out of the gig bag, I have to say, I was BLOWN away with the guitar.

I own an 80's Japan Squier Strat to mess around with at home, and this Starcaster KILLS it in tone and playability. Not sure if I just have a real gem, or maybe it was set up right before I got it, but the neck is straight, the frets are level, the electronics don't buzz, and it stays in tune beautifully. Better than my Squier, definitely. And my guitarist friend agreed when he came over to try it out. It's a great little guitar for what it cost...

Note: I also took the wammy bar completely off, that DID send it out of tune when I used it, but I just noodle around and stuff anyways, I'm not opening for Clapton at the Garden or anything.

Also, haven't tried the basses, but I have a feeling, if you get it cheap with a decent setup, anything can sound decent

johnk_10 · #8 01-14-2011, 03:06 PM

the new starcaster bass just appears to be an entry level (spelled 'really cheap') jazz bass, but IMO, a vintage one would be awesome:

GL797 · #9 01-14-2011, 04:31 PM

I never tried the bass but I had a Strat Starcaster which I threw in a loaded MIM Pickguard. The body is actually the correct thickness compared to Squiers which are thinner. I didn't have to do any routing to the control pocket to get the pickup selector switch to fit. The pickguard screwholes lined up perfectly, unlike the 5 squiers I did this to. The guitar played very nicely and I had some videos on an old YT account and many people thought it was a USA Strat. I wish I still had some of those videos.

I prefer these over Squiers anyday of the week and I can get as many of them as I want for around $50.00 on ebay. add another $50.00 for a loaded Fender pickguard and these guitars rock.

The tuning issues mentioned above are related to the tremelo, but even USA strats have tuning problems with this style tremelo. The Starcaster was no worse.
I blocked mine and it stayed in tune very well.

CostaBass · #10 01-14-2011, 06:05 PM

Most people I know get these guitars when they first start out. They hold onto them until they get older and become invested in playing music. Then they put expensive tuners, pick ups, strap locks, bridges, ect.

anyway they end up putting $500 into there axe. And is it worth it? Yes, if the guitar has sentimental value to you. Then they give them to there kids to play.

StarcasterBassa · #11 02-01-2011, 01:20 PM

Well I've got one of the black bodied and rosewood fretboard basses and I love it. It's heavy as sin which leads me to believe that it's not made from plywood. I read on a few sites that the body is alder and the neck is maple (just like a more expensive Fender). The only problem I see with mine is the PUP's. They're not the best, but not terrible either considering the price. Everything else is great about it... it stays in tune most of the time although the E string always needs a bit of fiddling if I haven't been playing it in a while.
I hope to put some EMG JVX's in it just to show up some of those bastards with their €500+ basses.

the art guy · #12 02-01-2011, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnk_10

the new starcaster bass just appears to be an entry level (spelled 'really cheap') jazz bass, but IMO, a vintage one would be awesome:

Wait a minute - I never knew that Fender made a bass version of the old Starcaster guitar......and I thought I knew a lot about old Fenders...

Has anyone here ever actually seen or played one of these?