Fender Starcaster series...?

[addylewis]

I'm curious about these...

I know they're cheap, but does anyone have any general info on them? Where are they made? What model basses do they do? Anyone got experience with them? Whats the sound/feel like?

(I'm thinking of a real cheap backup beater for gigs as I can't afford a CV or VM squier...sorry if these have all been asked already but I can't even find a reference to a starcaster bass on Fender.com - only found it on the Argos website)

EDIT: Also...anyone know anything about the starcaster effects line?

 

[J-Building]

They only make an HSS strat model and an acoustic. No basses. I've heard really bad stories about these, and I think even Squiers beat them out.

 

[SpamBot]

I'm sorry Fender/Squier bastardized that name. The original Starcasters were awesome.

 

[Shadi]

If I had a choice between a new starcaster and an old beat up SX, I'd take the SX.

 

[lunarpollen]

The current Starcaster line is sub-Squier junk. My theory is it's the stuff that the Chinese kids build when they are in Squier-building school in the hopes they will pass the class and be able to work at the Squier factory someday, and Fender figured they might as well make a buck or two off that junk by packaging it with a crappy little practice amp and selling it at Walmart, marketed toward soccer moms who don't know anything about instruments but have kids that want to play guitar.

I have one of the Strats, given to me for free, and I wouldn't wish the thing on anyone. Someone with no playing experience would be much better off getting an actual Squier or SX. If I started out on a Starcaster I would have probably given up wanting to learn to play. The only good use I can think of for this thing is as a quick discreet gig swap-out for a real Strat right before the last song of a set, so that you could smash it at the end a la Pete Townshend.

 

[Richard89]

I dont know anything about it, but a Starcaster Jazz Bass obviously exists:
http://www.amazon.com/Starcaster-284800108-Fender-J-Bass/dp/B00243FOLQ

I guess it's pretty similar to the Squier Affinity..

 

[Turock]

They only make an HSS strat model and an acoustic. No basses.

Perhaps it would be wise to check your information before presenting it as a fact. I've seen three-single-coil strats and a bass.

 

[StarcasterBassa]

Well I myself own one of these basses and I love it! It looks good and actually sounds good too, much to my surprise. I've had a friend of mine, who has been playing for nearly thirty years, look at it and he was quite impressed with it considering the price.

The only "problem" I encountered with it was that the action was set pretty high and there was a touch of rust around some of the screws on the pickguard and on the poles on the pickups.

 

[Shadi]

If someone gave one of these pieces of firewood to me, I'd scrape off the Starcaster logo and put on a fake SX decal....

 

[Batmensch]

They have a newer model, a Strat type with one humbucker by a hardtail bridge. With the right pickup, might be an OK cheapie for a dedicated slide guitar.

 

[JimB52]

Be careful you don't cut your hand on the fret edges.