Fender Starcaster Silverburst HSS Strat

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toomanycats
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I found this Starcaster at one of my usual haunts and gave up $69 for the thing. It’s true that I need another cheap Strat like I need a hole in the head, though I just couldn’t resist the full sized silverburst body; plus the fretboard was a thick slab of authentic, dark rosewood with a beautiful grain. Rosewood is all but impossible to find on a cheap new Strat, for instance, on the recently released Debut Collection ® line of Squire Strats being sold right now on Amazon, which everyone is currently moistening their panties over. The serial number on this Starcaster indicates that it was made in 2008 in the CSX factory, before rosewood was made verboten on low end import guitars.

Regarding Starcaster Strats generally, I can't make the claim to speak from wide experience. Truthfully, I own one other example besides this silverburst. That other Starcaster has a maple fretboard, a traditional SSS pickup configuration, and a rather fat neck. It revealed itself to be a very respectable Strat after I spent some time setting it up. I have additionally set up another Starcaster for a friend, and have inspected several examples in shops. Given that admittedly small sample size, the Starcaster comes across as very similar in quality and construction to many of the other Squiers I've worked on and played. The point I'm getting at, explicitly stated, is that the Starcaster is not a step down from the Squier in the hierarchy of Startocasters. It's more like a parallel. If pressed, I'd compare it with a Squire SE Strat, many of which were manufactured out of the same CXS factory, except this Starcaster has a 70s headstock, is set up HSS, and has a much more interesting silverburst finish.

What most of these cheap import guitars really needs to make them decent, sometimes even exceptional instruments, regardless of their particular origin, is some love and attention in the hands of somebody who understands what it is that makes a guitar feel and sound good. I've always felt that a significant part of the soul of AGF .... of this cult of guitar hoarders, tweakers, and aficionados who've lived through betrayals, a diaspora, defections ... is this DIY spirit of making cheap guitars play and sound good. I can never repay this community for what it has taught me about guitars. So it is was that in reverence to that spirt, I set about making this used, though not abused, Starcaster HSS Strat into all that it could be.

It took some tinkering to get it where I wanted, which included some truss rod adjusting, lowering the saddles and cutting the adjustment screws shorter, tightening the trem claw, cutting the nut slots deeper, and of course intonation and tuning. What I find really kills the feel of a guitar, the whole set up actually, are the nut slots being way too high. This is an exceptionally common thing on cheap import guitars. You will never get the playability right unless this issue is addressed. The problem is that this can be an intimidating and daunting fix, as it requires more than just those ubiquitous hex wrenches that adjust the truss rod and bridge. You will need nut files, and will have to actually cut into the guitar. The good news is that nut files can be easily found online. What I personally use . . . because I'm not a professional luthier and a cheap bastard to boot . . . is a disassembled set of feeler gauges I purchased at my local Harbor Freight store for just a few bucks. Cut some "teeth" into these marked gauges and you've got a set of nut files. If you f*ck up and cut too deep, just mix up some baking soda and super glue, fill the slot in in, and do it over again. If you don't think that the pro luthier you're paying hundreds of dollars to set up your guitar is doing this, then think again! These are just a couple amongst the countless other shade tree luthier tips I've picked up here on AGF, and to which I don't even remember who to give proper credit.

After a couple days of fiddling around with this guitar in such a manner, letting things settle in, then coming back to it, it now plays very well and stays in tune perfectly. Granted, I'm not using the trem, which I never do with a six screw bridge. I always deck the trem on such guitars, block them off, and thereafter consider them a hardtail. I can always push forward on the back of the headstock a la Jake E Lee if I need to dive a note.

The frets were actually perfect and needed no work other than a polish when I cleaned and oiled that gorgeous fretboard.

The pickups are ceramic all around and sounded surprisingly good once significantly lowered. The bridge humbucker is in the 15k range and has a SD Distortion vibe. The middle and neck single coils are in the 5k range, very Stratty sounding when played individually, and quack pleasingly when paired together in position 4.

Position 2 on this guitar is interesting because it pairs up the unsplit bridge humbucker with the neck single coil. From the extremely clean soldering it appears it was wired this way from the factory. At first I thought to myself, "I'm going to have to heat up the soldering iron and put this selector switch aright." However, after playing the guitar for a while as configured, I realized that I actually liked it, and even understood and appreciated the logic and utility of it. Whether a mistake or intentional, it is a very interesting wiring alternative for an HSS Strat.

Let's be completely honest about this: If one has chosen an HSS Strat as their weapon of choice, then certain concessions have already been made which renounce any pretense to authentic vintage Strat tone. Knowing I’m not going to get authentic quack out of a hot, unsplit bridge humbucker paired with a middle single coil, the more useful option for me is pairing it with the neck pickup, which can at least give me a pseudo-middle-position-Tele-tone.

Position 1: Bridge
Position 2: Bridge + Neck
Position 3: Neck
Position 4: Neck + Middle
Position 5: Middle



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“There are only two means of refuge from the miseries of life: Music and Cats!” Albert Schweitzer
Buddha Pickups
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Can't beat that for 70 bux
Looks good

Sounds like it's wired up right they just put the neck pup in the middle and the middle pup in the neck. I think some people swap those 2 around to get what you got there
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andrewsrea
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You sure hit the deals!

With the economy the way it is, do you feel good deal at pawn shops will begin to make a resurgence?
Live life to the fullest! - Rob
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toomanycats
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andrewsrea wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 11:34 am You sure hit the deals!

With the economy the way it is, do you feel good deal at pawn shops will begin to make a resurgence?
That's a tough call. There's a lot of variables to factor in, including:

*Large segments of the population are desperate and willing to pawn non essentials in exchange for the cash to buy food, pay rent, cover utilities, buy gas, etc.

*In the last several years there has been a flood of relatively good quality, cheap, asian made import guitars come into the US. I personally don't see too many of these at the pawn shops at this very moment, though when these Fireflys, Wolfs, IYVs, et al do finally begin cycling through the system it will definitely upset the present order.

*I hate to say this, but in the next ten years a lot of the boomers will be dead, and their kids (my generation), who represent the dying gasp of rock & roll, will be the old farts. What affect this tremendous demographic shift will have on the market is bound to be consequential, though whether it will be good or bad for pawn shops buyers I can't say.
“There are only two means of refuge from the miseries of life: Music and Cats!” Albert Schweitzer
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tlarson58
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Tough but accurate.
Tommy Larson
Steamboat Springs, CO
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andrewsrea
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toomanycats wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 11:48 am
andrewsrea wrote: Sun May 26, 2024 11:34 am You sure hit the deals!

With the economy the way it is, do you feel good deal at pawn shops will begin to make a resurgence?
That's a tough call. There's a lot of variables to factor in, including:

*Large segments of the population are desperate and willing to pawn non essentials in exchange for the cash to buy food, pay rent, cover utilities, buy gas, etc.

*In the last several years there has been a flood of relatively good quality, cheap, asian made import guitars come into the US. I personally don't see too many of these at the pawn shops at this very moment, though when these Fireflys, Wolfs, IYVs, et al do finally begin cycling through the system it will definitely upset the present order.

*I hate to say this, but in the next ten years a lot of the boomers will be dead, and their kids (my generation), who represent the dying gasp of rock & roll, will be the old farts. What affect this tremendous demographic shift will have on the market is bound to be consequential, though whether it will be good or bad for pawn shops buyers I can't say.
Pretty logical and I hear you on the boomer passings (although we are living longer). An acquaintance died last year of lung cancer and like us, had a collection of a little of everything guitar and musician related. Our common friends helped his widow sell and get rid of the gear. I noticed the 'tech' stuff (audio interfaces, drum machines, guitar preamps, etc.) which were the rage ten years ago, were almost worthless. Pedals and name brands sold well, as well as a custom Martin and Taylor (>$10K, but I think he paid more than that). Again, the Firefly type guitars and Harley Benton type amps went for next to nothing.

I have one of the first 1964 Fender Vibroverb amplifiers with the original JBL D-130 speaker (#3 made in January 1964 - AA763 schematic). It is all original, except for some tubes, the filter caps (I have the originals) and the reverb tank (the on in it is a period correct 1963). Because of collectors who know what this is and personalities like Joe Bonamassa, John Mayer and Stevie Ray Vaughn, it is worth $8K to $12K. I personally feel I have 20 to 30 years left (dad is a very spry 87 years old and I take after him, healthwise) and wonder when the guitars and amps will become unwanted, like other nostalgic collectables have.
Live life to the fullest! - Rob
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