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FDP Forum / All Other Fender Guitars and Instruments / NGD! - Starcaster MP

swampyankee
Contributing Member
********

olde New England

If you can't play good, play loud
Dec 18th, 2015 01:21 PM Edit Profile
After 6 months of looking at them online, reading the specs and the reviews and watching every Youtube review I could find, I finally pulled the trigger on a Starcaster. I did some homework and learned that the weight could vary by as much as a pound from one to the other. And since I wanted one in natural maple, grain pattern mattered. Sweetwater had one in stock, but it weighed in on the heavy side at over 9 lbs.
Russo Music in NJ sent me pics of one they had listed on Reverb and they said it weighed in at 8.05 lbs. I made an offer and they ended up giving it to me for about $130 below street price, plus free shipping! It was a deal I couldn't refuse!

After it arrived and I let it acclimate for 24 hours, I unwrapped it for a quick inspection and test-riff (I am still at work after all). Even though the body size is somewhat comparable to my Dot, it feels much smaller and better balanced under my arm because of the offset shape, and it's nice and light for its size. The neck is a familiar feeling long Fender scale and C shape, which is what I was looking for.
Without even plugging it in I can tell I'm going to have fun playing this thing! Even though the pickups are, as they say, not "real WRHB's", I understand they're not as dark as Gibson-type HB's, which is good for a Fender guy like me, and again, what I was looking for.

Pickups, pots, etc. can be changed out and mods are part of the fun with a guitar in this price range. Maybe a master volume, split-coils, pull-pots - I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with this thing to make it my Tele Thinline/335-esque guitar!
Starcaster!
(This message was last edited by swampyankee at 03:31 PM, Dec 18th, 2015)

Peegoo
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Chain Smokin'

Gas Station Attendant
Dec 18th, 2015 01:59 PM Edit Profile
Do a careful setup on it and it will be a real playa!

Note that the pickup cutouts fit only a modern WRHB pickup; they are larger than a standard humbucker.

The current WRHBs are actually great-sounding pickups. Big fat lows and chimy, Filtertron-like highs. I like 'em.

swampyankee
Contributing Member
********

olde New England

If you can't play good, play loud
Dec 20th, 2015 08:03 AM Edit Profile
I've never been a fan of humbuckers so I'm hoping these have enough of that range you speak of to give me that Fender brightness, yet the extra power of a bucker.
I bookmarked an article someone wrote about upgrading pots. I might look into that.
It all has to wait til after Christmas though.
(This message was last edited by swampyankee at 07:20 AM, Dec 21st, 2015)

DragonFire

Jersey Shore

Dec 20th, 2015 06:15 PM Edit Profile
Congrats SY on your Starcaster and welcome to the club. Don't be so quick to change out anything until you give it some play time. Russo's is not far from me. They are good people.

swampyankee
Contributing Member
********

olde New England

If you can't play good, play loud
Dec 24th, 2015 06:31 AM Edit Profile
Yeah, Dragonfire, I'm digging the Starcaster as is so far. Most of the YouTubes I saw featured jangly, indie type tones. But I'm getting some nice compressed jazz tones out of it. The pickups aren't as hard edged as my Epi Dot but they can get nice and bluesy when driven.

Most of my gear is stored due to construction so Ive only been able to play it thru my SCXD -12. can't wait to hear it through the CVR or the Bandmaster!

FDP Forum / All Other Fender Guitars and Instruments / NGD! - Starcaster MP

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