How Bad Is The Starcaster by Fender? 

I can actually sing just like Johnny Cash

@@dextermorgan1757 nobody cares man

Nice. I love Johnny cash!

@@dextermorgan1757 cool Bro

I also wanna buy a guitar but I never touched an guitar before like idk much about guitars so is it worth buying for e beginner?

at that point just buy a fender strat

If you're someone really into guitars, it wasn't a waste of money. The whole process is a learning experience. I have a $120 pawn shop Ibanez Gio that I'm going to mod up. New tuners, pick ups, pots, knobs and maybe even a cool paint job. I'll never be able to sell it for what i paid, so might as well make it the best guitar I can, right?

Triggers broom

I wouldn’t call it a waste if it’s brought you enjoyment and pride.

The Guitar of Theseus

I'd rather spend $200 on a Squier. Matter of fact, I'm currently using a $119 Squier Bullet Strat with a Fender neck on it. It rocks!! 😄

I got a starcaster from eBay, 75 bucks. Upgraded pickups and neck and it's a badass guitar..

@@williamharrison6154 Cool! Did you replace the neck? Or just the nut or tuners?

Dude, I fucked up. I have a Squire strat, and I saw what I thought was a Fender strat online, so I bought it because it was only 60 dollars. But then I realised that is was a Starcaster

@@tastefulsubstance get the action and intonation right and you'll get your money back

@@jawknee4088 hell yeah man rock on 😎

@@jawknee4088 hopefully lol

Did u play any nirvana songs? 🙌

@@soul2squeezy439 absolutely, I just got a signature kurt cobain jaguar, plays great

@@projectzomboidfan517 damn, thats nice :D

It’s actually not bad at all.

My tuners on my starcaster are remarkably good. The instrument stays in tune very well.

@@calebproductions5970 that's strange the ones on my $300 squire strat were terrible like having 6 little whammy bars for tuners

@@kosycat1 hit and miss at these prices but $30-60 will get good replacements; I always go with Grovers

@@camilo1455 yeah I guess they go through several different designs. I ended up getting the fender ones they are a lot better. I had to route my neck for the indexing pins though. I think I would like an American strat better in general anyway just for the string spacing

I always thought that too. I think it is.

It’s not. They’re just differently named. Made in the same factory as low end and SE squiers.

I’ve had 3-4 now as well as a ton of different squier bullets and SE’s. Usually the Starcasters have full size bodies and very decent necks.

@@chrisfit Interesting. I've never played one nor have had the urge to be honest.

@@chrisfit What does SE mean? I've heard of Classic Vibe, Vintage Modified, and Affinity series Squiers. And Bullets. BTW, a Squier body is a little thinner (and lighter) than a Fender. Same dimensions, though. I've never seen a Starcaster up close.

Awesome.

Funny I was just doing research on it because I just found one in the dumpster a few minutes ago 😂

@@KingpinRoyaltyMusic yeah it's an alright guitar.

Oh yeah! Dumpster guitar is the absolute best! Kinda like a stray dog abandoned by some idiot who blamed it for their own shortcomings

Hahaha I bet someone thought it sucked and got mad

I got a glarry bass. Its amazing tbh

Yea I have first act strat that is actually awesome

😁

A set of $15 locking tuners off Amazon fixes the problem! Doesn’t even go out of tune after whammying!!!

I purchased mine new back in 2008 as my first guitar, still have it to this day and I heavily modified it just like you. It’s an awesome guitar!!!

s a u c e w a l k e r nice dude. I am planning on getting another budget build going soon, gonna spend a little more on the electronics this time around. Totally unrelated but I just got an Epiphone Sheraton II a couple days ago and I am stunned by the range on this guitar. It’s absolutely a great guitar. Absolutely loving it.

@@saucewalker1724 It's not an awesome guitar. You made it an awesome guitar lol.

@@saucewalker1724 does fender pickguards fit it easy? Im looking at one to project mod

@@TheSupart91 Amazon has a lot of parts for a relatively inexpensive price. Depending on your pickups (SSS, HSS, etc.) you can find the right shape pickguard to buy

@@ShaneSemler I agree, It should go up in price. But it's like you take a 1980 Impala and chrome it up, mag wheels, etc. Kelly Blue book says it's still a 1980 Impala. A potential buy has to see the value.

I think you are right. Squier bullets now.

There's no equivalent presently being sold by Squier. At the time these were sold they were the same as an SE; above both Bullets, and Affinities, below Squier Standards. That said, it seems that since these and the SE's were phased out Squier has improved the specs and quality control of both Bullets and Affinities.

Mango you should set up a tripod & record what you do, it'd make a cool video!

I have one I think it is its a sunburst the only thing I changed was strings and that was 6 years after I bought ut

Yes. I am making a series where I go through the mods of this guitar.

@@kennisrussell lol I knew that already but I was saying making videos modding other cheap guitars would be cool

@@kennisrussell Advice? I am rebuilding a Starcaster from the neck and body up. Fender Super 250 strings[10s], Fender locking tuners, Highway 1 bridge, Seymore Duncan California 50s SSL pickups. The middle pickup is reverse wound so the 2nd and 4th switch positions give it neck and bridge humbuckers. The pots and switch seem fine now so I don't intend to change them out unless something is wrong later. I'll do that at the next string change. Do you see any things wrong with this plan? I would really appreciate any suggestion/comment.

I'll give you 20 bucks for it!

@@robertsapin5074 I'll give him 30 buck

Ill give you $40

True.

Thanks man.

I bought the guitar and the electronics for like 160€.Can you help me and tell me ur settings???

Do these have the same size holes for tuning pegs as an American strat?

Lol. You are right.

Some Starcasters were hollow-bodied with wide range humbuckers. Some of those had a whammy.

Why new necks? Is it the buzzing?

Agreed. Great neck.

I will have to look. I cant remember.

A couple different places. Mostly China and Indonesia. Some will say ‘Assembled in’ which throws a wrench into it. Mostly a fast identifier is the Skunk Stripe. Most of those I’ve seen are Indonesian make. Doesn’t matter the Headstock design. edit: Whoa, gentlemen I stand corrected here. I just watched the video and at 10:29 says Made in China w/Skunk Stripe. If I'm buying them off of evilbay I'll look at the headstock shape, look for a stripe, and then see if or ask for the location of manufacture. I have one Chinese made that has pocket crack on both sides, and an Indonesian that is good. I had read after my first purchase of 'green wood' being used from the continent that caused the pockets to split in wide ranging humidity. Don't know for sure but makes some sense I suppose.

True

Especially a nice used MIM. Either way, good video though. I've obviously known about these guitars but have NEVER watched a review or even thought about playing.

I have a mom and love it. Bought it for $200. It’s great.

Kennis Russell I bought a mim in February and I loved it so much I bought an American Stratocaster to replace it. The difference is really striking. Also 5x the price.

It’s funny how I’ve never had tuning issues with my Les Paul but my American Strat goes out of tune just by looking at it

Thanks. Nobody seems to mention or maybe even NOTICE fretboard radius, even on more expensive guitar reviews.

Do these have the same size holes for tuning pegs as an American strat?

I agree. I should have dialed it in better.

Genuinely curious. How was the squire more challenging for you than others? My 97 affinity strat was my first guitar. Now i have many and feel foolish because i still go back to that squire. I updated the pickups but it's the neck that i like most.

@@Mike28625 no shame in loving your first guitar my man, I still have my Squire aswell and she gets picked up from time to time, but I own Two Starcaster Strats & they're my personal gold standard on budget guitars (mind you I haven't purchased a new one recently so there's a good chance modern squires are likely even better from what I hear). The fit and finish of my Squire always left alot to be desired, not the aesthetics, but the "under the hood" stuff - it has a huge Pool Route under the pickguard that's neat for being able to put anything in, but the HSH cutout on my Starcasters give more wood under the hood and I prefer that. The neck tho, without a doubt is something I'll always love - my squire has a smaller neck profile and a finish so sticky you'll feel like your palm is stuck on fly paper - not good if you're trying to take advantage of a large range of the neck -- idk if my Starcaster Strats have a properly Oiled neck, or if it's an entirely different finish with the same effect, but it's dry and smooth whenever my hand meets the wood of the neck & it's like I'm ice skating when I'm going up and down the fretboard. It's a little chunkier too on my starcasters, again no clue what profile the cuts were made to, but I feel my hands wrapping around it let my fingertips hit the fretboard firmly with the thicker neck -- but again the finish on that neck was worth the price of the guitars right there. Lastly, the Starcaster Strats just feel like they weren't as rushed. My squire is ok, but the fret finishing is superior on my Starcasters, I love all the options with headstock shapes, body paint, and hardware that come on board. The Starcasters came with tuners that have the one screw at an angle off the side - I have Gotohs right now, I've had Grover Tuners on there, they're compatible with the big brands if you want to class it up on the Starcasters, even tho that was purely for my own pleasure -- my Squire had several tuners fail & - not wanting to drill more holes in the neck - I found it hard to get nice parallelogram style tuners - I eventually got a set and just decided to take the metal covers off leaving the gears exposed. My original tuners in the Squire wern't sealed & neither are the new ones, so might aswell have them exposed to show off the brass, lube if needed, and prevent junk from slipping under the cover, getting wedged into the gears and breaking them. Yeah, taking good, functioning tuners and swapping them for upgrades is fun, taking broken ones and only being able to replace them with crummy ones isn't fun. Sorry if this is rambly but yeah, I love both of my Starcasters - my 90's Affinity Squire will always hold a special place in my heart and on my couch, but I wouldn't buy another one if given the chance - even at a good price. Thanks for letting me share, those Starcasters are gems and I love sharing my thoughts on them with anyone interested in listening

I hope so too

@@kennisrussell did you ever post a mod video

no. Starcaster by Fender was a line made by Fender. Entry level aimed at beginners.

Yeah. I have a B.K. Butler Tube Driver running through a Hot Rod DeVille and I never imagined it could sound so bad. Its not the Starcaster...

That pedal actually sounds better with a hum bucket, but yes. Distortion sounds bad.

Original setup was a 5 out of 10. I set it up a year ago and it’s a 8 out of 10. With the new nut and saddles and a recrown. It will be a 10

I'd rather hear the preamp tube gain, especially with a Stray copy.

Oops, Strat copy.. You're right, the bridge pup is passable and the neck has that screech sound