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Fender Starcaster
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Fender Starcaster
The Fender Starcaster is a series of semi-hollowbody electric guitars made by the Fender company. The Starcaster was part of Fender's attempt to enter the semi-hollowbody market, which was dominated by Gibson's ES-335 and similar designs.
The Starcaster was designed by Gene Fields to be a high quality instrument, although it was manufactured at a time when Fender's standards had lowered considerably. Unlike most semi-hollow guitars which had their necks set in the bodies in the traditional style, the Starcaster retained Fender's bolt-on neck design, which at the time, used a three-bolt joint.
The Starcaster was in production from 1976 to 1982. However, an advertisement from 1977 states that the Starcaster's first creation was in 1975.
The Starcaster name was revived for a range of "value-priced" Starcaster by Fender guitars, basses, and drums unrelated to the Starcaster of the 1970s. The guitars were usually the same shape as Fender's Stratocaster and the bass the same shape as the Fender Jazz Bass. This line was discontinued by 2014.
In September 2013 Fender reissued the Starcaster in continuation of its 2011 "Modern Player" series. The new version, offered in black, natural or aged cherryburst, closely resembles the original guitar but lacks some key features including the master volume control, string-through-body bridge, string tree for four strings, bullet truss rod adjuster and three-bolt neck attachment. Unlike the original from the 1970s, the new guitar features a tune-o-matic bridge with a stop tailpiece and bound f-holes.
Fender has also released a bass version of the Starcaster, an instrument that was never released, although at least three prototypes were created in the mid 1970s. The name "Starcaster Bass" is purely speculative as the existing prototypes have only the name Fender on the headstock, a feature which the new version retains.
Currently, Fender offers Classic Vibe, Affinity & Contemporary versions of the model under their Squier brand. Fender has also released a Tom DeLonge signature model in 2024 featuring a single Seymour Duncan humbucker.
The Starcaster has a unique headstock design, with a black bottom curve. No other production Fender guitar before or since had the same headstock, but some prototypes of the Fender Marauder, also designed by Fields, had a similar headstock design. It is also unusual for a semi-hollow guitar in having an asymmetrical ("offset") body, a maple fretboard, a bolt-on neck, a novel control configuration consisting of a volume and tone control for each pickup as well as a master volume control, and Fender's traditional six-on-a-side tuning pegs.
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Fender Starcaster
The Fender Starcaster is a series of semi-hollowbody electric guitars made by the Fender company. The Starcaster was part of Fender's attempt to enter the semi-hollowbody market, which was dominated by Gibson's ES-335 and similar designs.
The Starcaster was designed by Gene Fields to be a high quality instrument, although it was manufactured at a time when Fender's standards had lowered considerably. Unlike most semi-hollow guitars which had their necks set in the bodies in the traditional style, the Starcaster retained Fender's bolt-on neck design, which at the time, used a three-bolt joint.
The Starcaster was in production from 1976 to 1982. However, an advertisement from 1977 states that the Starcaster's first creation was in 1975.
The Starcaster name was revived for a range of "value-priced" Starcaster by Fender guitars, basses, and drums unrelated to the Starcaster of the 1970s. The guitars were usually the same shape as Fender's Stratocaster and the bass the same shape as the Fender Jazz Bass. This line was discontinued by 2014.
In September 2013 Fender reissued the Starcaster in continuation of its 2011 "Modern Player" series. The new version, offered in black, natural or aged cherryburst, closely resembles the original guitar but lacks some key features including the master volume control, string-through-body bridge, string tree for four strings, bullet truss rod adjuster and three-bolt neck attachment. Unlike the original from the 1970s, the new guitar features a tune-o-matic bridge with a stop tailpiece and bound f-holes.
Fender has also released a bass version of the Starcaster, an instrument that was never released, although at least three prototypes were created in the mid 1970s. The name "Starcaster Bass" is purely speculative as the existing prototypes have only the name Fender on the headstock, a feature which the new version retains.
Currently, Fender offers Classic Vibe, Affinity & Contemporary versions of the model under their Squier brand. Fender has also released a Tom DeLonge signature model in 2024 featuring a single Seymour Duncan humbucker.
The Starcaster has a unique headstock design, with a black bottom curve. No other production Fender guitar before or since had the same headstock, but some prototypes of the Fender Marauder, also designed by Fields, had a similar headstock design. It is also unusual for a semi-hollow guitar in having an asymmetrical ("offset") body, a maple fretboard, a bolt-on neck, a novel control configuration consisting of a volume and tone control for each pickup as well as a master volume control, and Fender's traditional six-on-a-side tuning pegs.