Fender Starcaster Strat Packs deliver a great-sounding, sleek-looking Stratocaster electric guitar paired with a compact but still-mighty guitar amplifier and a host of essential accessories.
Starcaster Electric Guitar Pack
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on november 09, 2012 1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 200.00
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: 2010, made in Indonesia, 21 frets, 25.5 scale. Basswood Body, Maple bolt on neck, Rosewood fretboard, Black finish, white pickguard. Strat body style, Vintage Tremolo bridge, 3 single coil pickups, 1 volume, 2 tone. None locking tuners. The Standard Stratocaster set-up, sadly nowhere near as good or well built as the real thing, but you get what you payed for. Other things that came with it were a sh-tty 10 watt amp, a atrocious strap that always slips off, and a cable that died 2 days after I had it. // 3
Sound: The sound is horrible, I play mainly metal and clearly it isn't built for that but I do also play Blues and Jazz, and it can't do either of those styles well either, it can do them better than metal but that's not saying much. The single coils buzz and fizz even with no distortion and God forbid you add any kind of overdrive cause it's sound sound like some one's taking a Diarrhea shit outta their mouth especially if you play through the amp that comes with it. I play this "guitar" out of a Bugera 1960 with a Boss CH-1, DigiTech Digidelay, Behringer Noise Gate, and a Carls Custom Guitars volume box all in the FX loop. In front of the amp is a Ibanez Weeping Demon and a EH Metal Muff w/top boost, all driving a Randall RT412RC, a adequate set-up to judge the tone of a guitar. No matter how hard I mess with it it cannot and will not sound good, atleast not to me. But keep in mind that this is a starter guitar, I'm giving a honest review so that any one who is considering getting understands that this is not the real thing. // 1
Action, Fit & Finish: I bought this off a friend of mine with the intention of modding the shit out of it (which I did), so I can't comment on the factory set-up but upon purchase it was fine, no buzz, no dead frets. The pickups were adjusted fine but I didn't intend on keeping them any way. The finish had a few dings here and there but overall great for cheap guitar. No loose knobs, no rust, tuning pegs were solid. Nice construction for a starter guitar, too bad is sounds horrible stock. But since I did not purchase it stock, a 6 it gets cause it may have had a terrible set-up from the factory. // 6
Reliability & Durability: This guitar could survive a gig like a school show and such, but don't use the tremolo cause you'll go out of tune. The hard ware has lasted for 2 years and looks fine, but can it last 50 years like a real strat? I doubt it, but for the price 2 years is great, I've seen 500 dollar guitars with the hardware all rusted after just a few months. The strap buttons are okay provided your strap is good, the strap comes with wont stay on for shit, but getting strap locks is still a good idea. I would never gig with this guitar without a backup despite the fact that I modded the shit out of it to where it's actually good, but to be fair I would never gig without a backup with any guitar. The finish is great for a cheap guitar, but it does ding kinda easy, but what to you expect. // 6
Impression: I play metal, rock, blues, and jazz. This guitar can do the last 2 better than the first 2, but not really well. I've been playing for 5 years and also own 4 other guitars a Jackson RR24, Jackson RR3, Jackson JS32KV, and a Ibanez XPT700FX. Clearly it would be unfair to compare this guitar to those, but it doesn't excuse this guitars terrible sound even compared to guitars in it's price range. Incase any one wants to know the mods I made to it are the following.
- Warmoth 24 fret neck w/maple fret board
- Locking nut
- Jackson Licensed Floyd Rose
- Seymour Duncan SH-6 in the bridge
- upgraded all the electronics
- Grover locking tuners
- All black hardware
- Yellow/black bevels paint job Mirror pickguard
With all that work it sounds amazing. This guitar is a great platform to mod on. // 5
Starcaster Electric Guitar Pack
Reviewed by:
NotEnuFrets, on november 09, 2012 1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Features: I bought this in a mexican music store, though i saw the same pack for $150 on amazon.
21 frets. Strat body style. 5 way selector Switch with 2 tone controls and a volume. 3 single coil pickups. Tremolo bridge with a removable tremolo bar.
Don't have any idea about the year or the wood types, made in china.
The tuners are HORRIBLE! I own 4 guitars, and the tuners on this guitar are hands down the worse I've seen on ANY guitar.
My kit came with the guitar, a gig bag, a sp-10 amp, some picks, a 1/4 cable, a strap, tuner, and a dvd.
The cable shorted out, the strap broke, the gig bag digs into your back if you use the back straps, the tuner couldnt tune a bucket, and the DVD has 5 lessons and an advertisement for Fenders "real" dvd. // 7
Sound: I like to play rock to harder rock to worship to blues, and it suits this pretty well. However, I play nearly everything on the neck or neck/middle pickup positions as I can't stand the tones from the bridge. I also leave 2 tone keys in the 10 positions, I get a nasty muted sound from the guitar if I turn the tone below 7. The amp, which has an overdrive button, a bass knob and a treble knob, works pretty well with the guitar. I can't pull exact tones from it, but I can get pretty decent sounds. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: I've played this guitar out of the box since I bought it a year ago, and the guitar has done pretty well. The one obvious flaw was that the last 2 or 3 frets stuck out of the neck a little and the strings would catch on them, also the frets would cut your fingers. This went away with use though after a few months. The 1/4 jack has come loose quite a few times, and I've become accustomed to having it wobbly. I took the guitar apart once to tighten the jack and was surprised at how little saughtering was used on the cables, I could easily see one of them coming unconnected(though it hasn't happened to me). // 8
Reliability & Durability: This guitar is reliable, I've had no problems with it doing what its supposed to do. I've played a few church funtions with this guitar and wasn't worried about a backup. The amp that came with the guitar is nearly as reliable. Strap buttons are solid(though the included strap isnt). I don't see anything happening to the finish, and the chrome hardware has kept its chromyness. I've dropped it a few times, ran into some walls, banged up the head a little bit and haven't noticed any differences.
Note: The guitar comes out of tune quickly, probably because of the horrible tuners. // 8
Impression: The truth about this instrument is that beginners that have no money see a strat-looking guitar for $150 with all the needed accessories, and jump on it. This was my first electric guitar, and I bought it wanting to make those "cool rock sounds". And the fact is, it works pretty good doing that. If it were stolen, I wouldn't get another one. Though I still would recomend this guitar to beginners. // 8
Starcaster Electric Guitar Pack
Reviewed by:
l0rd0ct0d0rk, on november 09, 2012 1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Features: I have been given two of these guitars, I do not know the year either one of these were made. The first one I received a year ago is black w/white pickgaurd, and unmodified. It came with nothing. The second one,I recently received it, is black w/ a blue tortoise pickgaurd, has had several mods given to it. I was given everything that came with the second one, which includes: 1 Starcaster, 1 SP 10 amp, 1 gig bag, 1 strap, 1 cable, and a pack of picks.
The Starcaster has the typical features of a Standard strat:
3 single coil pickups
21 frets
maple neck and fretboard
typical Strat controls 1 volume knob, 2 tone, and 5-way selector switch.
Tremolo bridge
Passive electronics
and somewhat cheap but functional tuners that stay in tune through play and travel.
Not 100% sure of body wood, but probably basswood or paulownia // 9
Sound: My first one sounds okay when plugged in clean or distorted, but it sounds better with clean effects. I play a large variety of music, mostly classic rock and rockabilly, and the Starcaster has the clean and the twang for these categories. Just like your typical single coil strat, the Starcaster has 60-cycle coil hum, unless the selector is in the 2nd and 4th position.
My second one was hot rodded and upgraded to sound like a high-end Fender. It sounds great with its noiseless pickups, regardless of whatever effect it is put through. This one had upgraded hardware as well thru a prewired pickgaurd. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: Both guitars were secondhand, so I don't know the factory setup. Both guitars had their pickups lowered a little for better sound. Both of my starcasters don't seem to have any flaws from poor construction, but from just cosmetic wear and tear from being played. As usual when I purchase/receive a new guitar, I do a test on everything, tighten screws and nuts, check the jack, etc... both guitars were in playable condition. // 8
Reliability & Durability: The Starcaster is very durable for a guitar in its price range. Both of my Starcasters have original tuners which I would recommend replacing. The strap buttons are solid, and do not wobble. Even though the Starcater is an entry-level guitar, I would carry it as a backup, and use my second one as the Primary guitar. The finish on my Starcasters is somewhat durable, but it probably will wear off eventually. // 7
Impression: I love classic rock and rockabilly music. The Starcaster is a great match for playing these genres of music because it has twang to it.
I have played guitar for 4 years as of this year, and I own a large amount of guitars and basses which I would recommend for the seasoned player before I would recommend this. After all, this is an entry level combo pack. From what I've learned, if you know what you are doing when you modify a guitar, you can make it sound amazing. My second one is an example of this statement. Like I said previously, I was given both of these guitars, so I can't really say much about choice between products it was either yes or no. There are a few upgrades I would recommend for the Starcaster.
Upgrade the bridge because the trem will break eventually, upgrade the tuners because these tuners go out of tune easily, upgrade your p-ups and you will have a lean, mean tone machine. // 8
Starcaster Electric Guitar Pack
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on november 09, 2012 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 180
Purchased from: Costco
Features: This entry level guitar was made in 2008 in Indonesia. It has 21 jumbo frets. I'm pretty sure they are rosewood. It has a black solid top Stratocaster body with a black finish. It has a floating tremolo Bridge with a tremolo arm. It comes with picks, tools, an amp, an amp cable (that sucks), a gig bag and a strap (that also sucks). // 7
Sound: It suits my grunge music style well because I can turn the tone knobs down and turn on distortion and it handles that well. For other music styles I do not really suggest this because the sound has either too much bass or too much treble. I can't seem to find a balance that works too well. I use it on the amp it comes with, a Starcaster 15G. // 6
Action, Fit & Finish: The tuning pegs are a bit loose, causing the guitar to untune easily. The hardware seems the rust easily and the saddles need adjusting. Other than that it's not bad. // 6
Reliability & Durability: This guitar wouldn't survive live playing for too long because it would most likely become out of tune after only half an hour of playing. The strap buttons are totally solid, no problems there. I think the finish would last. It has so far and it seems to be fine. // 7
Impression: I've been playing grunge style guitar for about two years. I love this guitar because was my very first and it has sentimental value. If it were stolen, I would be mad about it but I probably wouldn't buy another. I wish it had a nicer tone but it has a nice finish and great playability so that makes up for it. // 6
Starcaster Electric Guitar Pack
Reviewed by:
Solas B, on november 09, 2012 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 139.00
Purchased from: Groupon
Features: I can't answer half the questions in the features section, simply because I do not know the answers. I do know that the guitar is solid, and the neck is Not as weak as the Starcaster has apparently become known for. It has 21 frets, string-thru-body bridge. Volume, tone1, tone2, 5-way selector. Not sure what the pickup configuration would be called, but it has 3 sets, with the one closest to the bridge set at a slight angle compared to the other two, which sit at a 90 degree angle to the strings. Tuners? If it's referring to the pegs, I guess they are non-locking? The kit came with a 10 watt amp, a strap, handful of picks, whammy bar, 10' cord, and set of extra Fender strings. // 10
Sound: Being Brand new to guitar playing, this to me is an ideal starter pack. I've heard lots of stories from people against starter packs, yet I've heard an equal amount from respected local players who actually Suggested this specific kit. The 10 watt amp is perfect for practicing in my apartment. In fact, it could even be smaller, since I'm constantly turning it down hurriedly every time my hand slips and hits the volume knob on the guitar. (Quite a rude awakening..haha). As for what the guitar can do.. I've had amateur and pro players goof around with it, producing quite a multitude of what I consider pretty awesome effects, which only make me want to practice even more. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: Everything came set pretty well. I had to lower the strings closer to the frets, at the advice of a friend who plays. Of course the tuning was way out of whack, but quickly fixed. There Was a slight warp in the pickguard. It rises up slightly between two of the screws that hold it down, almost enough to slip the thinnest of picks under, but not quite. Barely noticeable. // 7
Reliability & Durability: I am by no means ready for live playing. I can however, already see that I would want an upgrade before trying to show off. While the guitar seems reasonably durable, it does have it's quirks. I have to keep the clip on chromatic tuner in place to make minute adjustments every 3 or 4 songs worth of play. Could probably go 6 or 7 without re-tuning before anyone noticed. // 7
Impression: For a new beginner, I would highly recommend this pack. It is very cost efficient and, especially for a child just starting out, is complete with the basics you need to get started. // 9
Starcaster Electric Guitar Pack
Reviewed by:
Brad.milbrn95, on november 09, 2012 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 150
Purchased from: Best Buy
Features: This guitar was made around 2006-07 in China. Yes, China. It has:
21 frets
Solid-top basswood body
Maple neck and rosewood fretboard.
Gloss polyester finish.
Stratocaster body
Tremelo bridge
3 cheap passive single-coil pickups
1 Volume control, 2 Tone Controls, 5-way Selector
Cheap, Non-Locking tuners
This was a kit, so it came with the basic picks, strap, and gigbag. It also came with a Fender SP-10 amp, which lasted me just over a year before completely dying. Not Impressed with the amp. // 8
Sound: This guitar was great for me when I was just starting out, but as I developed a taste for heavy rock and metal, I realized that the single-coil pickups were way too low of output, and too bright. It does, however, do classic clean strat-tone wonderfully, if that's your thing. When plugged into distortion, the 60-cycle hum is quite annoying. To remedy this, I replaced the Bridge pickup with an off-brand rail humbucker. That improved the note-definition, harmonics, and distortion. This guitar is pretty decent tone-wise, now that I've done some work on it. // 7
Action, Fit & Finish: The factory set-up was alright, considering that I was only a beginning guitarist when I got it. i later changed the strings out for my customary skinny top, heavy bottom strings, and at that time re-set it up. It now has a good, low action. I also adjusted the pickups to my liking, but there wasn't anything to really complain about with them, either. I've gone over this guitar's electronics extensively, and found no flaws or sloppy soldering joints. i've also gone over the tremelo, and found nothing wrong with it, either. Overall, the guitar is pretty well put together. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I think that it would withstand live playing fine, because it's withstood me carrying it to school everyday, and stuff like that. I would play it live, but I hope to have a new and better guitar by the time I play live too much. Good solid strap buttons, they haven't come loose or anything. I would obviously rather put some straplocks on it, though. I would play it live without a backup. I haven't had any catastrophic problems with it, and I don't think I ever will.
The finish is pretty thin. I compared the finish around the scratches with those of a friend's Jackson, and his finish is easily twice as thick. I've scratched it off in several places, even though I've never dropped it badly or anything like that. I'm not very impressed with the finish at all. // 6
Impression: I play mostly heavier rock, with some metal, and a lot of lighter rock as well. While this guitar is no metal axe, it holds its own alright when playing metal (with my aftermarket pickup). It really shines on clean tones, though, and I think that a lot of beginning guitarists will find that it's a good match for them.
I've been playing for around 4 years, and all but one of those were with this strat. I play it through a Fender FM 65 DSP 1x12 amp combo, with a DigiTech Grunge Distortion pedal and Dunlop GCB-95 Crybaby Wah.
If I would have known that the amp was going to give up after a year, and I had known what I know about gutiars now, I might not have bought a pack. Other than that, no regrets.
If it were stolen, I might have to track the guy down and injure him (severely) just because this guitar has a lot of sentimental value. After that, I would invest my money in a nice Schecter or Jackson axe.
I've compared sound quality and playability with several Squires, and some Epi LPs. This one gives you the most bang for your buck, because you get about the same quality (if not better) as a Squire while costing a fraction of the price. // 7
Starcaster Electric Guitar Pack
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on november 09, 2012 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Target
Features: Well first off i read the reviews on here and other sites for this guitar and you can tell a bunch of noobs wrote them. The starcaster obviously sucks. "
It is mad of pretty soft wood, but it makes it light for holding up easy. I like that it has a metal bar so the neck won't bend over the years. One bad thing about it is there is a bad humming, but this could be easily resolved. The volume Switch is kind of hard to turn. When you set the harmonics on it though it doesn't go out a tune at all hardly. The best strings for it are Erney Ball Super Slinkys. I think it is very unique for a pretty cheap guitar." hate to tell this kid... ALL GUITARS HAVE A METAL ROD IN THE NECK. ALSO SET THE HARMONICS... OH MY.
anyway. this guitar is a good starter guitar not going to lie. i was fortunate enough to know alot about guitars way before i even started to play and i started off on an Epiphone les paul. this guitar may sound great or be great to new kids but it really isnt. // 2
Sound: noisy buzzing pickups. no sustain at all. // 1
Action, Fit & Finish: it atleast looks ok. Even though you can tell its a huge Strat ripoff.
the action was way to high. // 2
Reliability & Durability: not reliable at all if you want to advance your skills. // 1
Impression: Not worth the $100. Save up the extra $150 and get a pretty nice squier. their top end squiers cost like $350 and are fantastic. Squier is a guitar company made for beginners. // 2
Accessories:
1 Starcaster guitar (strat body,solid top,black finish,passv. elctronics,)
1 suicidal cable,
1 terrible strap,
some picks,
1 instructional CD that teaches you 3 chords,then tells you to buy the full cd,
1 sp-10 amp,
1 gig bag,
some tools,
Sound: I play alot of metal and alternative rock, as well as alot of classical rock and blues.This guitar is awfull for pretty much every genre you would want to learn. So unless you're planning to use it for nothing but blues and extra-slow clapton licks, this is not the guitar for you.I'm a die-hard Megadeth follower, and I can't even use the guitar to play Smells like teen spirit right. The amp? Forget about it. That piece of shit SP-10 amp got me kicked out of a talent show (I was playing cliffs of dover)in 2nd place because the damn thing sounded so dirty.The clean side is extremely sharp and vague, while the overdrive channel is pure mud under the influence of treble and bass.I could never squeeze a decent sound out of that box unless I turn the bass off completely. Sure, you have a 5-way selector switch, but you only get 2 good nice sounds on it.This is a guitar with quantity, not quality, and for the price you pay, you can get a much better starter pack. I guarantee you, you will sound awfull on this equipment unless you have alot of prior knowledge. // 1
Action, Fit & Finish: The action was unbeliavebly high when I first got the packadge. There was also something wrong with the bridge, but my guitar teacher was able to fix it (after a good 30 minutes).Other than that, the only things I had to change were the strings.My Starcaster had a black and white finish, and you could fool others into believeing that its a Strat.However, STRATS ARE GOOD INSTRMENTS. Stars are chep knockoffs. // 4
Reliability & Durability: The one good thing I can say about this thing is that the body is durable. I abused the shit out of it every day for 2 years(still do), and the tone hasn't changed much. Despite of it's poor sound quality, it will definately last you. I wouldn't use it for live gigs unless:
a)you have no other guitars left
b)youre playing backup or rythm guitar.
c)youre only playing for a few friends
d)youre Eddie van halen,who can make any guitar sound amazing.
So to recap...
Reliability: Ok
Durability: Good
Emergency backup: Maybe
Live gigs w. backup: NEVER // 2
Impression: Overall, the pack is a piece of shit.It made my first 2 years learning guitar a living hell. I struggled to make it work for me, and I was about to quit after 2 years because I could never get my songs to sound right. The amp is terrible, the gig bag tears into your shoulder and rips all the time. The strap won't last you a month, and the odds of you getting a guitar in the pack that you won't have to work on is very low. Amazingly, the cable lasted me a good year and a half before it committed suicide on me. So, In my opinion as a guitar player with 4 and a half years of playing experience, this guitar pack is not worth getting. I now have a VOX-vt 15, a Marshall half stack, 3 other guitars, and I am NEVER going back. So to all you guitarists out there, save yourselves eternal struggle, and don't buy this set. // 2
Starcaster Electric Guitar Pack
Reviewed by:
emoxpestilence, on november 09, 2012 1 of 14 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 150
Purchased from: BJ's
Features: It didn't specify the year it was made in, but I can assume that it was recently made. It was made in china. It has 21 frets. It's a solid body, in a Strat style, with a faded cherry sunburst finish. The bridge is a thru body style, but I think it might need a few adjustments. I'm not sure about the electronics, they seem to be active, but the packaging and mauals didn't specify. There is one volume control, 2 tone knobs, and a 5-way selector. There are a neck and mid Standard pickups along with a bridge distortion pickup, I'm not sure about the make of them, but I'm sure that they are fenders, and they are single-cioled. It came with a gig bag, an amp, a strap, cable, picks, and a tuner. // 8
Sound: I play a more metal, punk rock style and it suits it fine, though I do need to move my pickups. I use the amp that was included with it, a Squier sp-10, I believe although I may be wrong about that, and the amp comes with an overdrive setting, I use that most of the time. It is very noisy around electronics that are either on or plugged in, and this is on almost all settings except the neck and mid pickups(probably because neither of those are a distortioned pickup). The sound can be rich and full but it can also sound like my friend's firstact that was a very hollow sound, and depending on the pickup selection it can sound very bright, or it can sound very dark and depressing(I prefer dark and depressing for my style of music). Also you can make it sound a little like a bass, you Switch it to the mid and neck pickups and turn the tone knobs to 0 and Switch the equalization to 0 for treble, 5 for mids( I don't have a mids knobe on the amp that came with it but my friend did) and the bass up to 10. // 7
Action, Fit & Finish: It was set up pretty nicely, I hevnt changed anythign yet because I'm not sure how and what to do. The pickups were adjusted fairly well, I'm thinking of moving the bridge to a slanted postion, and moving the neck one up a little bit, other than the adjustments I'm making for my music style I wouldn't change much except the tuners and maybe the bridge. The bridge seems routed right, but this is my first guitar so I can't be sure. There were flaws right out of the package, not with the finish, I have whacked this thing many many times and the finish hasn't even scratched, the tuners are the only thing thta I saw as a flaw, they were very loose and it took a while to tighten them, plus they don't stay tuned for very long, every other day or so I have to retune it. I'm pretty sure the wood is basswood, but I'm not sure, it does have a rich sound like basswood guitars. Other than that it was fine about 20-30 dollars can fix the tuners so I'm not worried right now. // 9
Reliability & Durability: I haven't played this live ay at a gig yet, but I have played it through one of my friends' other amps and I think it would do a good job at a live show. The hardware does seem like it will last, except of course the tuners, if you want to replace anything, replace the tunres first. The strap buttons are pretty solid, my strap hasn't fallen off yet, and I punish my strap a lot. I would depend on it, but I wouldn't do a gig without a back up(if I have one). The finish is pretty good, I'd say it'll last me a while, but that's because I don't plan on whacking it against the stage after the last song of a gig. The finish doesn't seem too thin, it migh wear off with 5-6 hours of playing a day for the rest of your life, but I don't think many people will play that for that long. // 9
Impression: I play a metal, punk rock mix, it is a pretty good match, even without adjusments to the pickups. I've only been playing a few months, most of which were on an acoustic. I don't own any other except strings and the sccesories that came with it. I honestly don't wish I had asked any questions before buying this, it is a beginner's set(a very good one in my opinion, although the Epiphone set I saw would be a better begginer's set). If it wa stolen I wouldn't but it again, only because it wa a set, but if I found the guitar separate I would buy it again(as long as I can't afford a better guitar). I love that it can sound like a bass under certain settings, and that it sounds very dark when played with a heavy hand. I hat that it makes lots of noise when around electronics because I play while on my computer so I can tab out what I make as I play it. My favorite part is the set of 3 single-coil pickups, it gives me a broader range for my style of music. I have compared it to my freinds' guitars, and most times it is better, I compared it to my freind's firstact, I'm not sure which model it is, but it was a Strat style guitar with one double-ciol pickup at the bridge. I also compared it to my other friend's jay turser(not sure on spelling so I spelled it phenetically) and it even out performs his. I wish it had a distortion pedal and maybe a fuzz box. // 9
Starcaster Electric Guitar Pack
Reviewed by:
jmb14, on november 09, 2012 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 150
Features: My dad bought this for me for Christmas one year to keep it at his house.
It has 21 frets, Strat body style, 2 tone controls, one volume control, 5 way selector switch, and three single coil pickups. It also has a removable tremolo bar. I don't know if it was me or if the thing is a piece of shit, but my tremolo bar is stripped out.
The tuners on this guitar are awful. Sometimes the damn thing won't stay tuned for five minutes. I play a lot of classic rock and metal and if I bend the strings too much the G will go out. I used it at church on 2/20/2011 and it did fine, but I was terrified it'd go sharp on me during one of my solos.
The kit came with the guitar, a gig bag, a SP-10 amp, some picks, a 1/4 cable, a strap, tuner, and a dvd (I didn't even bother opening). The amp is horrible on overdrive, but sounds pretty good on a clean tone. The strap broke, the tuner is horrible too, the gStrings app on my phone does a better job. // 6
Sound: This thing sounds great (when it stays in tune) when plugged into my Crate amp. I use a Black Label chorus pedal and a Boss distortion pedal with it and it sounds amazing. Of my 4 electric guitars, this one gives the less feedback. I can do pinch harmonics on it pretty easily. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: I haven't modified the action at all, I've played it as is since I got it, and it does pretty good. The frets are rough, but it'll lessen in time. No flaws in the finish or anything that I can see, it doesn't suffer from poor construction, just poor hardware. A guy at church recommended I change the Bridge and tuners and I'm seriously looking into doing that. // 8
Reliability & Durability: Aside from coming out of tune real easy, this is a pretty reliable guitar. I haven't really banged it up much (yet). The hardware seems to me that it will last a while, I haven't had a problem with it. The strap buttons are solid, but the strap that comes with the guitar is shit. I would use it at a gig if I changed the tuners. // 8
Impression: This is an ok guitar for a beginner, but it drove me crazy not staying in tune. I did find that it did better when I took the tremolo bar off. I've been playing almost 4 years, and this is definately better than the First Act I have (though the amp the First Act came with is actually good). I keep it mostly for sentimental value, so I would hate it if it were stolen, but I would not buy another one. // 7
by "double-ciol" pickup, can we assume you mean some sort of humbucker? Or are dealing with something else here?
So, you have rated this 8.4, but against what? Your friends' guitars? How very vague. And in the 'Action, Fit and Finish' section, you don't mention the action at all.
Well, congrats on your first guitar. But, when you outgrow this one (and it won't take long) you will get a proper guitar and wonder how you could ever have played this crappy thing. It happens to us all. Have fun with this while it lasts.
And you probably should have investigated LTD or Yamaha - their absolute cheapie guitars are generally better than Squier and Epi.
This right here... is a terrible review, and honestly having played for what? a few months? How can you really have any conception of whether or not the guitar you bought is even remotely acceptable? Also don't make random guesses about what the body is made from.
Without meaning to sound heartless.. This review doesn't even make sense on a fundamental level. 'The hardware does seem like it will last, except of course the tuners, if you want to replace anything, replace the tunres first.'
I agree with Ischi... I got a Squier that came with the SP-10. It's DOES NOT suite punk or metal. Trust me on that. The pickups are OBVIOUSLY inactive. It's a cheap guitar. Good for nothing besides Blues and classic rock. I'm sorry.. but you don't know what you're talking about. But that's okay, because we have no idea who you are and you can always learn from your mistakes.
Doesn't stay in tune for long? Gotta retune every day? You should retune your guitar every time you play it, thats not a hassle at all.
Your just being lazy. If your guitar stays in tune all day long then thats pretty good.
I worked at Guitar Center for awhile and we had to promo these things when they first came in & DEAR GOD! Terrible! If you want a first guitar just go used - you can usually get a good deal on somethin decent. Figure out the style you wanna play - THEN go get something nice. I'm not a fan of starter pks anyway, but this thing is crap. You feel like its gonna break when you pick it up.....
agreed with all 13 comments lol... my mom bought me this pack for my first guitar and im horrified with it, i guess its a good low budget begginner guitar, but it is a hunk of junk i wanna throw out my window. the amp is so terrible, theres like two knobs on it. i laughed when he thought the pickups were active haha. itd be a waste of good money to put actives in this ass guitar, this guitar is a disgrace to all guitars period.. not metal at all.. btw for the action part, the action is crap. its way too high outta the package. but kid, if u plan on getting good, u better save your money for a REAL metal guitar. and if u wanna play shows, ur gonna have to save more for either a half stack or a 2 by 12 or something appropriate. the $h!tty sp.10 is virtually worthless
I'm not sure about the electronics, they seem to be active, but the packaging and mauals didn't specify. There is one volume control, 2 tone knobs, and a 5-way selector. There are a neck and mid Standard pickups along with a bridge distortion pickup, I'm not sure about the make of them, but I'm sure that they are fenders, and they are single-cioled.
the part that made me LOL was this:
I haven't played this live ay at a gig yet, but I have played it through one of my friends' other amps and I think it would do a good job at a live show.
Man... this is funny!!! I can only wonder what Amp his friend runs, probably a low end johnson amp...lolz
In all seriousness, since this is his first review, maybe at the end he will improve after a few more years of playing his guitar and reading the comments in his review
i don't get all the hate..I think this review's pure gold! It totally made my day.
But seriously, don't be so hard on the guy. All that single-coil, humbucker, active, finish etc.-talk is pretty confusing when you're just starting out, we've all been there. Of course you might not want to write reviews at that stage, but come on, no one forced you to read it!
we used to sell these things at a shop I worked at, the worst thing about these things is the inconsistency between each pack. maybe 1/10 worked well out of the box, half of em had faulty electronics, most had damaged hardware and all most all of them had bad action, fret buzz, or frets that just wouldn't sound at all.
I would recommend a low end Ibanez over this to anyone looking to buy a beginner guitar
i don't get all the hate..I think this review's pure gold! It totally made my day.
But seriously, don't be so hard on the guy. All that single-coil, humbucker, active, finish etc.-talk is pretty confusing when you're just starting out, we've all been there. Of course you might not want to write reviews at that stage, but come on, no one forced you to read it!
Were not hating, just laughing. I defenitely agree with you, this review made my day lol
Haha this guy obviously knows nothing about guitars. I'm no expert but i know the difference between active pickups and passive and 'single ciol' and 'double ciol'(humbuckers) I also know that this guitar is not like he described it the bridge pickup is not 'distortioned' just offers a different sound. I think this is funny but people should at least know wat theyre talking about before posting a review.
THEN DONT REVEIW A GUITAR!!
My cousin has this and it is absoultely crap. The strings didnt even come out when i tried to replace them for him. it was like the chinese workers put krazy glue or something in the bridge . . . it is a fine example of cheap chinese made crap. get a low end ibanez, those are way better than that.
guys, stop flaming the noobie, we've all been in that stage when we get our first guitar, learn how to play power chords, and think we know everything. Besides, he could've chosen worse, ever heard of Bronze series BC Rich Warlock starter kit, now that's crap.
Starcasters And Strats are too completely different guitars. Your guitars electronics are about as active as your sex life, and one last thing...kill yourself
i had this guitar and got rid of it cus it was an absoloute peice of shite,cudnt stay in tune for literally 10 minutes after i owned it half a year or so.it sounded ok i suppose but i'd started getting used to a strat so i didnt like it,the thing i loved tho is the finish is absoloutely lush.thats the only reason it hurt to let go of it...well it didnt actually,looked lush tho
Starcasters And Strats are too completely different guitars. Your guitars electronics are about as active as your sex life, and one last thing...kill yourself
You sir, are a douchebag. leave the poor kid alone
guys thx for all this, yea, it was my first reveiw, yes i've only been playin for a few months, and yes it was my first electric, i get where you guys are comin from, but as Keyphur said, 1/10 work, mine must have been one that was abnormal, worked, and fits metal. i dont know wut the difference is betweeen active and passive electronics, and i admit, even sum of it didnt make much sense to me, but it was my first reveiw, and when i said i had to retune it constantly i meant that i had to retune it every 1/2 hour or so, the amp i ran it through at my friend's house was a high end peavey and i'm not plannin on goin on gigs anytime soon(only after i get the viper i want), so thx for all the comments, before i write another reveiw i'll learn a little more about wut it is the questions ask.
Yea it might be a crappy guitar. after all its a set for beginners. but dont forget, HES A BEGINNER. i have 1 of these and i think its an ok guitar. its better than the fender knock-off brand S101. so leave him alone. after all, we all were like him when we started.
i own one, the tuners are not so well. The previous owner gave this guitar to me, he paid ($180)for it. gave it away because he didn't have enough room/didn't want it.
This was also my first beginner guitar, i got it for $180 at Sam's Club. I was a beginner like this guy too, the amp sucked but as long as i had somethin'. The tuners on mine are sloppy too, but you deal w/ it. i got a bc rich warlock now but going for a ec-1000fr
'if you know what you are doing when you modify a guitar, you can make it sound amazing'
NO. Sorry but you cannot polish a turd so to speak. The neck joints on these extreme entry level excuses for instruments can be torqued by hand easily to alter pitch. I bought a see thru pink strat to smash up on stage and it really couldn't hold tune, let alone actually sound good even through a JVM. The only way this would sound good is if you replaced EVERY PART.
seemeel wrote:
Well, congrats on your first guitar. But, when you outgrow this one (and it won't take long) you will get a proper guitar and wonder how you could ever have played this crappy thing. It happens to us all. Have fun with this while it lasts.
And you probably should have investigated LTD or Yamaha - their absolute cheapie guitars are generally better than Squier and Epi.
Epiphone guitars range anywhere from really good to complete trash so that statement about Yamaha and LTD doesn't really apply(although LTD is geared towards metal guitarists and does that quite well.)
And honestly I kept my starcaster just to experiment with. If you're into experimental music or noise music the guitar is pretty okay. For the price it's one of the better buys: My Ibanez S series rapes this in terms of quality but again, the starcaster is one of the best starter sets imo.
One thing I'll note about these guitars is that they look great. The finish work is excellent for such a ridiculously cheap instrument.
Sometimes you can get lucky in that department, but most I've seen had splintery necks and razor fretwires.
For the same price you can get a Squier Affinity from a real music store that will blow these away. For a few bucks more you can get a Squier Standard that beats many MIM Strats.
I wouldn't even play one of these for jazz, as someone suggested. The best thing this guitar is suited for is starting a fire in my fireplace. These are horrible guitars, horrible amps and their accessories are horrible, too. I've had students ask about buying these guitars. I steer them far, far, far away from these pieces of garbage.
Nice try with the review, rater. Unfortunately, it helps to know the product you're reviewing. You had too many uncertainties and too many unknowns. Active pickups on a cheap guitar? I don't think so. My advice? After you've been playing for awhile, go to your nearest guitar store and pick up a guitar valued over $1000. Play it for 10 minutes, then go back to the cheap Fender. You'll take a chainsaw to your cheap Fender. I promise.
My advice? After you've been playing for awhile, go to your nearest guitar store and pick up a guitar valued over $1000. Play it for 10 minutes, then go back to the cheap Fender. You'll take a chainsaw to your cheap Fender. I promise.
My advice? After you've been playing for awhile, go to your nearest guitar store and pick up a guitar valued over $1000. Play it for 10 minutes, then go back to the cheap Fender. You'll take a chainsaw to your cheap Fender. I promise.
Unreasonable comparison, much?
No. Merely a suggestion to play a high quality guitar and compare it to the cheapo model. When someone plays a cheap guitar and thinks it great, playing a high end guitar provides a different point of view.
Not unreasonable at all. After dumping a couple hundred more in my Squier Affinity, it now rivals my MIA Strat. Now it has electronics like they put in MIA Deluxe Strats and the Fender/Schaller locking tuners, too. With it's Seymour Duncan pickups it sound good now, too. The Squier is made of a medium grade Alder. Starcasters are usually made of Agathis and/or plywood, and they won't sound good no matter what you do to them.
guys, stop flaming the noobie, we've all been in that stage when we get our first guitar, learn how to play power chords, and think we know everything. Besides, he could've chosen worse, ever heard of Bronze series BC Rich Warlock starter kit, now that's crap.
daimjagv12 wrote: well said mate , i wish this kit was around when a started back in 74 i had a big kay accoustic,, strings were a foot away from the frets and the kneck was the width of a tree trunk.
kodadak wrote:
guys, stop flaming the noobie, we've all been in that stage when we get our first guitar, learn how to play power chords, and think we know everything. Besides, he could've chosen worse, ever heard of Bronze series BC Rich Warlock starter kit, now that's crap.
No, the starcaster is a semi-hollowbody with 2 pickups. All these reviews describe it like it's a stratocaster.
And the reviewers have the model name right. These guitars, briefly produced by Squier a couple years ago (i believe 2008 was the last production year), read "Starcaster " on the headstock.
And yes, they basically look like a regular Strat.
Although there was also a version with a triangular, "Gibson Flying V"-style headstock and chrome pickguard.
So there are both Starcasters, the lower-end Squier models, and Starcasters, the semi-hollowbody guitar you're referring to.
If you're going to try to correct someone, at least doublecheck your facts.
this guitars a heap of shit, the pickups sounded cheap and crap, and it doesnt stay in tune for 5 minutes, altho tbh it felt nice to play and looks amazing, but i wouldnt buy it again :| and i saw a comment about tuning every time you play, seriously? thats what books and things say but at the end of the day who actually tunes their guitar every time they play....
No, the starcaster is a semi-hollowbody with 2 pickups. All these reviews describe it like it's a stratocaster.
And the reviewers have the model name right. These guitars, briefly produced by Squier a couple years ago (i believe 2008 was the last production year), read "Starcaster" on the headstock.
And yes, they basically look like a regular Strat.
Although there was also a version with a triangular, "Gibson Flying V"-style headstock and chrome pickguard.
So there are both Starcasters, the lower-end Squier models, and Starcasters, the semi-hollowbody guitar you're referring to.
If you're going to try to correct someone, at least doublecheck your facts.
Well how I am supposed to know they have two different style guitars with the exact same model name? Sheesh settle down.
Well, who better to review a beginning guitar than a beginner? Well..you know...besides someone who actually has experience with the stuff and knows what he's talking about and has at least heard what some other guitars can do...
Haha, don't get me wrong. For someone who's just learning and with their first guitar, the kid didn't do too bad at a review. The only things that really killed me was when he tried to sound technical (after admitting he didn't know what he was really talking about) and some of these comments (haha, seriously, you gotta love the UG Community Humor...well...unless they're slamming your review...)
Ok, well, in all seriousness, I blame this guitar more than the reviewer lol. Epic fail by Fender and they should come with warning labels...
My advice to anyone who bought it and then decided to read this...uhm, sell it back to the store or online, get your 120-150ish dollars back and get something like a used...anything..Seriously, there's not much to go down to from here...
And there's my review on the review of the Fender Starcaster
btw, i was thinking of replacing the neck with a Kramer 5150 banana head-stock neck. i checked all of the specs for the neck but i wanna make sure it will actually fit into my starcaster body
a package with rating of 5? come on .... what the hell is going wrong with you? thats some of the worst shit you can acquire, even its of fender .... ..... this is hilarious ....
you people in this platform got eeeeepic instrument and music skillz, really!!!!!
This is even worse than a Squier strat, and thats saying something! haha but the amp is very bad.. its OK for a starters guitar but thats it. I would just get an epi les paul if you want a good starter.
Starcaster is not a Fender, it's a make in its own right. A ridiculous one, I agree, a member of the Fender family, true again, but the only Fender thing in it is the outer shape.
And I can't imagine someone being so severely deprived of any musical sense so to buy this piece of junk. There are no marks above zero to rate this shameful example of Fender's greed, only equalled by Gibson's Maestro line. Big names can be very greedy sometimes, however we aren't entitled to speak about "sound" or "versatility" related to these despicable products.
I am not a beginner. The only reason I bought a Starcaster is because I didn't have the money for a better one right after my last guitar was stolen.
But get this: I bought an actual Fender brand *Strat Series* Starcaster, it says so right on the headstock. I bought this guitar at a pawn shop for $90 and I checked out the action before I bought it. It has nice low action typical of a good Strat. I'll get this axe back from afriend next week and I'll let you know where it was made (China, I think - LOL). But I have some videos on Youtube where you can hear 3 of 4 original songs I uploaded that I used the Starcaster on. www.youtube.com/oldmanshredder (oldmanshredder) A.K.A. Majestone majestone.com
I own a starcaster! I find it sounds great in general. It's a starter guitar, but I gotta say im pretty attached to it!
I love using it with a g-dec3 amp.
Starcaster = Super awesome guitar of awesome that you play in your room or in front of few people to be a showoff! :p
lets see 1st my strap broke 3rd day the tuner barely wrked then i had to replace the input jack then the sound got horrible with feedack cause the wireing was wrong when they made it too many problems
My advice? After you've been playing for awhile, go to your nearest guitar store and pick up a guitar valued over $1000. Play it for 10 minutes, then go back to the cheap Fender. You'll take a chainsaw to your cheap Fender. I promise.
Unreasonable comparison, much?
No. Merely a suggestion to play a high quality guitar and compare it to the cheapo model. When someone plays a cheap guitar and thinks it great, playing a high end guitar provides a different point of view.
no, actually, i compared this to a $5000 ESP and, yes the ESP was better, but i stand by what i said, i still love this guitar after i played Ibanez, ESP, and Epi's, this thing can stand up to my new Ibanez, and in some instances i prefer it to the Ibanez.
mines ok its my first til i got my jackson kelly i played my fender for 2 years i like it but i dont love it considering i spent 200 on the starter pack and replaced the amp +jackson kelly =205 only 5 more $$$$
HASN'T ANY ELSE NOTICED THE TITLE SAYS "STARCASTER" AND THE PICTURE IS OF A STRATOCASTER?
TWO VERY DIFFERENT GUITARS.
The review isnt of an older starcaster, but of a newer cheap, starter pack guitar of the same name.
No, the starcaster is a semi-hollowbody with 2 pickups. All these reviews describe it like it's a stratocaster.
It's a starter pack guitar, not the higher end model. And the manufacturer should be "Starcaster by Fender." I don't even think it says Fender on its headstock. It's kind of the same as Squier but even cheaper than Squier. Squier is "Squier by Fender." That's why I think this should be "Starcaster by Fender"
I've never played one of these, but everyone is ripping on them for being crappy. Of course they are. They cost $200. But do the Pepsi challenge with one of these and a $200 from 20 or 30 years ago, before CNC machining became the norm. I'd bet these would blow away the $80 pawnshop Kay I started on
My mom got me one of these as my first guitar for my birthday about 4 years ago *facepalm*. Yes, that un-modded Starcaster plus that SP-10 it comes with is a horrible combo. Since then, I got rid of that SP-10, replaced it with a Behringer GM110, got rid of that single-coil bridge pup and replaced it with a DiMarzio rail humbucker... so it sounds alot better than what it used to. Still want a nice Les Paul or something though. Also, I guess I got lucky with the Starcaster I got... the action out of the box wasn't bad at all (although some of my friends who play more metal than I do say it's a bit high for their liking, it suits me fine and I can still shred with it).. and it hardly goes out of tune. But yes, without a new pup or two (or three) as well as a new amp... this thing is really not great. And not that good even after all that. (especially if you got one of the 9/10 that I'm hearing are especially crappy)
is this guy high?