Starcasters

guitarcookie1

Saw a few of these on my wanderings tonight, £649 seems to be the going rate here but that headstock..? Puts you right off with that thick black stripe, were they like that originally?

ICBM

Yes. Actually the black stripe makes it look smaller than it is - they're even worse from the back. And I could be wrong, but in the pics the new one looks even bigger than the original as well!

I can't live with it either, it's like a size 19 carpet slipper attached to the end of the neck .

I was really hoping they'd put a normal CBS Strat headstock on it, given they've used the wrong bridge, the wrong pickups and the wrong control layout...

stickyfiddle

I really like the headstock. It's the superbland "modern C" neck that I know I won't like

limpymcginty

Played one yesterday...impressive....love the styling too

John

Tell me more of what you think of these new Starcasters Limpy! How did you find the overall impression of the guitar? Fit, finish, sound, playability? Don't really care too much about the pups since you can always switch those out

And Sticky, are you sure it's the "modern C" neck? Is that like the CP '60s Strat? 'Cause I'm okay with that styling. I do like a Little bit of a thicker "C" profile though but I'm certainly ok with it. What's your favourite neck profile sticky?

dogload

I haven't tried one of the Starcasters yet, but fwiw, I tried one of the new Coronados and was well impressed by the construction and finish. It also felt good and played well. Though I was not so impressed by the centre block.

chrisj1602

I guess they can get away with the changes as they have added them to the 'Modern Player' range.

stickyfiddle

John said:

And Sticky, are you sure it's the "modern C" neck? Is that like the CP '60s Strat? 'Cause I'm okay with that styling. I do like a Little bit of a thicker "C" profile though but I'm certainly ok with it. What's your favourite neck profile sticky?

I'm not certain- I haven't seen never mind played one yet. Just the literature calls it a "C shaped neck", which usually means it's like their MIM Standards rather than the CP series (which have lovely necks). I find that profile's lack of shoulder gets uncomfortable after 30+ mins. I generally prefer something bigger- the Baja Tele has a great profile, and I have a CP60's neck on my Strat. It's not perfect but has bags more character than the modern C.

I'll be very happy if it turns out I'm wrong but it's more of a pain with these because you can't get replacement necks with the right headstock.

John

You have a really good point Sticky and I'm with you 100 % on the neck issue. Really hoping the neck is good

raulduke

I would love to try either.

They are incredibly cool looking guitars.

I agree about the neck though; it has to be a good un' or its a no go.

mart

I quite like the headstock. The black stripe is on a carved edge, isn't it, a bit like a Firebird? I think it's a nice change from the ubiquitous Strat 'stocks. And isn't a big headstock supposed to be good for sustain or something?

limpymcginty

I played one though a clean fender amp..and was surprised how good it was...tone was decent too..it as straight out of the box and very playable, finish etc was good and they look very cool..

stickyfiddle

limpymcginty;42887" said:

I played one though a clean fender amp..and was surprised how good it was...tone was decent too..it as straight out of the box and very playable, finish etc was good and they look very cool..

How was the neck?

limpymcginty

Neck was fine..I didn't actually take notice of the shape...it just felt comfortable.which I reckon is a good thing.I'm not terribly fussy about necks unless they stupidly thin or fat so I may not be the best judge ...

Jaded

I'm pretty happy about the use of a TOM over the original Strat styled one. Makes it nice and simple to stick a Bigsby/Vibramate on it! 

...not so happy about the use of Filtertrons on the Coronado though. Those DeArmond pickups used on the originals were fantastic!