Opinions please on Squier Starcaster

Rocker

I came across an Affinity Squier Starcaster in a Dublin guitar store recently.  I am on the lookout for a low cost knockabout electric guitar and the Starcaster looked sufficiently different to my other guitars to be worth investigating.  I did not play it due to limited time at my disposal but I will be in the area late next week and hope to give it a try out.

Has anyone here played one and how does it differ from Telecaster [especially thinline Teles]?  Anything specific that I should look out for?  Put another way, should I forget about it and buy something more mainstream or a guitar from Thomann?  Thanks.

Snags

I have a vague recollection that @Modellista had one, and did some videos on it in his YouTube channel. 

BillDL

I have one in the candy apple red finish, and I really like the guitar.  I bought it through the classifieds here for a good price and it was really just a whim to fill the gap of a semi-acoustic with a "Fender" neck and scale.  I would suggest playing it before buying though.  The neck has a fairly thin profile and fairly sharp shoulders at the fretboard's edge.  I like the feel, but I know that not everybody would.  I can play on most neck profiles, but I'm not keen on the ultra-shallow Ibanez style necks.  The Affinity Startcaster's neck profile feels like it is somewhere between an Ibanez speed machine and a more normal profile modern Strat neck, but I've never actually measured it.

The ONLY thing I am not keen on is the fact that it can't be stood up against something because of the shape of the base of the body.  It's always going to topple sideways.  On the strap it hangs quite well despite the body being almost the size of a Gibson style semi like a 335, and it's not neck heavy.  It's an awful lot more ergonomic than a 335 style but not as naturally comfortable as a Strat until you get used to it.

The Affinity Starcaster has master volume and tone and black open coil humbuckers, whereas I believe the Classic Vibe Starcaster has/had Gibson style separate vol/tone for each pickup and "Wide Range" covered pickups.  The stock pickups in mine are fine and I've seen no need to change them.  13.4K Bridge and 8.3K Neck DC Resistance.  They work well with the jangly clean sound of the guitar, but can also overdrive an amp really well if needed.  The guitar is reasonably loud unamplified for an electric guitar and is loud enough for quiet practice.  Amplified you certainly know it's a semi-acoustic rather than a solidbody though.

I don't have a thinline Tele for comparison.  The nearest I have is a Vintage brand V72 with single coil in the bridge and mini-humbucker in the neck.  That guitar definitely sounds like a hollow telecaster, whereas I think the Starcaster sounds more like what a a hollow Strat with dual humbuckers would probably sound like.  It's a very versatile guitar for sounds.  It has a "shimmer" when played clean and can "twang" a bit, but is not as inherently twangy as a Tele. I don't know if the stock humbuckers on the Affinity Starcaster are of 4-wire construction that would allow for coil splitting, but the guitar could probably be made even more versatile with a coil split option if desired.

One issue I had with my used guitar was that the neck pocket was quite ragged on the bottom as though somebody had been using a blunt chisel.  It is probable that one of the previous owners did this.  I ended up shimming the neck to get a better action without the ABR style bridge having to be jacked up high, and this is something that you should bear in mind if looking at one in a shop. If the bridge is raised pretty high to get a decent action it is possible that the neck may need a thin shim.

The large headstock shape is most definitely something that puts a lot of people off.  I like it, and I think it suits the body shape.  The Classic Vibe versions have a colour matched finish on the lower part of the headstock that is carved away, and this can make it look a bit less bulky than the Affinity one that is all natural maple.

I would suggest that you go and try it in the shop.  You may like it as much as I like mine, but there are enough idiosyncrasies with the guitar that may not suit you, especially the fairly thinline neck.

Winny_Pooh

Heavy

elstoof

 Rocker said:

Has anyone here played one and how does it differ from Telecaster [especially thinline Teles]? 

They feel quite different, a thinline tele is more a chambered solid body while a starcaster is a semi hollow with much thinner wood

Rocker

Thank you guys for your replies, your detailed response @BillDL was far more comprehensive and helpful than I had hoped for and is very much appreciated. Your point about the ‘standing’ problems due to the offset shape is noted and it means that I need a stand for it.  Having cleaned out a number of my guitars, the Rockstand I needed for them is going to a friend for his collection of instruments so I will look at suitable stands for the guitar if I like it and buy it.  Thanks again guys, this forum works and rocks.

BigPaulie

I've always fancied these guitars as an alternative to the classic 335 recipe, but can't live with maple boards.

BillDL

@Rocker Just curious, did you eventually buy the Affinity Starcaster?  If so how do you like it?

Rocker

@BillDL, unfortunately illness has prevented me from doing most normal activities. It will likely be after Christmas before I get an opportunity to play the Starcaster.  When that event happens, I will post my thoughts on the guitar here.  In the meantime all I can do is try to remain positive and patient……

BillDL

I'm sorry to hear that @Rocker, I hope things improve for you soon.

Rocker

@BillDL, the medical issues that plagued me were finally resolved just over a month ago.  Everything had suffered, my golf game [which at its best is nothing to write home about] suffered.  I missed the comradery of my usual group of hackers and any skills I had acquired seem to have disappeared into the sunset.

I did my best to try to play some guitar and bass each week.  When the issues were sorted, I decided that a visit to Waltons in Blanchardstown to try out the Squier Starcaster could finally come to pass.  I took with me a tuner, a 'seatbelt' type guitar strap and a few different plectrums.  Firstly, the Starcaster balances very well on a strap.  Not even the merest hint of neck dive.  The strings that were fitted in the factory are shockingly bad.  Probably 9s of questionable quality, I had to struggle to get them in tune.  But after a few stretches, they remained more or less in tune for the next hour that I played the guitar.  The shop set me up with a Katana combo amp, one with more knobs than I have ever had to contend with.  The guy set the amp on a clean channel as I wanted to hear the guitar tones and not the amplifier distortion sounds.  I did not want the guitar to sound like any of the guitars I have, and it doesn't, and as I liked the feel of the neck, I bought it.  An extra €20 bought a flimsy gig bag to get the instrument home.  No truss rod adjustment allen key or anything else was included with the guitar. 

A few days after getting the guitar home, I fitted a set of Elixirs 10s which gave a much fuller sound.  The intonation needed some adjustment after fitting the new strings.  I did the old luthiers trick of tuning the guitar to standard pitch and loosening the four neck screws by one turn.  This appeared to seat the neck better than it was as the acoustic sound became much stronger.  Tightened up, the guitar needed additional tweaks to the intonation.  Something happened as a result of that procedure.  As the strings settled I played it more and got to know the sounds and the quirks of the guitar.  Now I am pondering on what to change to make it 'my'  guitar.  The nut is or looks like plastic so in a month or two I will replace it with an Earvana nut.  For me, Earvana nuts make any guitar sound more in tune and I think it is worth fitting.  I am not 100% convinced about the quality of the bridge either.  It looks a lot flimsier than a similar type of bridge on my Les Paul, if I can get one that is a direct replacement, that will likely happen.  So far the tuning machines look and work fine, if they become sloppy over time it is a simple matter to change them for something better.  For the time being they are working fine.  The fret ends are smooth and well finished, the fretboard edges will get a slight rounding when the Earvana nut is being fitted.  Other than that, it is a fine guitar.  The controls work perfectly and the guitar sounds differently to my other guitars.

BillDL

That's really good to hear your feedback about the guitar.  My experience is as you said, it doesn't sound like any other guitar I've played.  It has a really unique sound that makes a pleasant change when I feel the notion to pick it up.

Gassage

I had one that I sold to @HarrySeven ; (obviously...)

It was OK. Bit plasticy in feel, very bright sounding.

Rocker

One of my reasons for checking out this guitar @Gassage was to see if there exists a semi solid guitar that has no neck dive and hangs on the strap much the way my Tele does. It does feel a bit plasticky but there again it is a fairly inexpensive guitar. And a guitar that does not sound like a Tele,  Strat, Les Paul, Hofner or Anderson. The changes I will make through time will alter the sound slightly but I think it will still sound differently to the guitars listed above. An Earvana nut improved my Les Paul by a significant degree, I expect a similar change when it is fitted to the Starcaster. 

prowla

It all depends on the price; Affinity models are 2nd lowest in the Squier product line, so don't pay vintage JV model prices for an Affinity.

OilCityPickups

Rocker said:

One of my reasons for checking out this guitar @Gassage was to see if there exists a semi solid guitar that has no neck dive and hangs on the strap much the way my Tele does. It does feel a bit plasticky but there again it is a fairly inexpensive guitar. And a guitar that does not sound like a Tele,  Strat, Les Paul, Hofner or Anderson. The changes I will make through time will alter the sound slightly but I think it will still sound differently to the guitars listed above. An Earvana nut improved my Les Paul by a significant degree, I expect a similar change when it is fitted to the Starcaster. 

Over the years I've had lots of semi solid and hollow body guitars starting with Hofners, then on to Aria 335 style, then multiple Ibanez Artcore AF75 and currently we have a nice Epiphone Sheraton that gets played in the workshop, and my own Gretsch Electromatic is doing sterling service with me in the new band ... and not one of these had neck dive. I've had multiple SGs, flying Vs and other guitars possessing headstocks that shot to a 45 degree down at the slightest provocation (two of those being Teles). I've never yet found semi hollow or even hollow body guitars neck heavy.   

suspiciousminds

Does anyone know how the squier version compares to the Modern player version that fender did a few years back?
I think they were made in China?

Rocker

Resurrecting this thread which I started last November.  Time to update you guys on what has happened since with this guitar.

I got an Earvana nut for it and took the guitar to a Dublin tech [one I had used before many times] to get the shelf nut fitted and to setup the guitar.  A few days later he phoned me to say that it was not necessary to change the nut as the nut fitted in the factory was 'pretty good'.  He lowered the action a bit, adjusted the intonation and pronounced the guitar ready for collection.  He told me that the guitar now plays in tune way better than it did but if I found otherwise during the next few weeks/months, the Earvana nut can be fitted easily.

The type of music I play is a mix of traditional country, folk, ballads and popular sing along songs.  A friend calls to our house every two weeks or so.  He mainly plays his Takamine 12 string guitar and we play for a couple of hours.  Keeps us both interested and opens up new songs to work on etc.  I play mainly clean guitar at little above acoustic guitar volume and the Starcaster slots in beautifully in this environment.  My Strat and Tele on the other hand, tend to sound lifeless and dull at that volume level.  Our golfing society has a number of guitar players/singers, we often arrange a sing song after the presentation of prizes in the clubhouse.  This session involves up to 5 acoustic guitars and I playing the Starcaster through my little combo amp.  The Starcaster blends well with the acoustic guitars and the single volume control is useful to boost the volume for intros, lead breaks and outros.

To conclude, the Starcaster is a fine instrument that costs small money, sounds great and it is now my go to guitar and has usurped the Epi LP in that department.

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.

BillDL

Rocker said:

........ I play mainly clean guitar at little above acoustic guitar volume and the Starcaster slots in beautifully in this environment.  My Strat and Tele on the other hand, tend to sound lifeless and dull at that volume level.

That observation is really interesting to me and is something I hadn't really thought much about before.  So much so that I felt compelled to get out an acoustic, Tele, Strat and the Starcaster and create an "acoustic" type loop to play them against.  You are absolutely right, and I think this may well be the reason why I like the sound of mine so much every time I dig it out to play again.  It's more "lively" at lower volumes than the others and sits nicely in a mix.