Okay, I'll openly admit that when I saw
the Fender STARCASTER guitar at the music store
I fell in love with the fact that it looked
just like my Fender Stratocaster
when I first bought it
In actually, I never really intended to play it
I bought the guitar just to look at
Considering how inexpensive it was
I wasn't expecting much when I played it
Surprisingly, it sounded pretty good
for a VERY CHEAP copy made by the Fender company
Now that I've become Jimi Hendrix borderline obsessed
I've FINALLY decided to break it in and
this sweet little guitar is sounding better and better!
I'm convinced that electrons and atoms are self-aware
I'm waking up this sweet little baby with Jimi Hendrix riffs
and it's responding like a champ almost ready for the big match!
Man, are my fingers ever burning from all this Hendrix jamming!!
Also, I've been working on my own personal super-fact playing
based more on Brazillian Jazz rather than blues and rock
It's cool to fuse the different styles
My fingers burn just typing this post!
My Zoom effects pedal is proving itself quite a useful tool
in shaping the sound of the Starcaster
Out of curiosity I did some searching
It seems they do not make these Fender Starcaster Stratocasters anymore!!
I guess they felt they were too good for the price and were curtailing the sales
of their expensive Fender Stratocasters
some going for over $4,000.00!!!!
There was just one black one left in stock at Amazon
going for $144.00 WITH SHIPPING!!!!!
I'll probably hate myself in the morning, but...
I just couldn't pass it up
considering they are obviously not made anymore
UPDATE:
Since I discovered the California Classic
I've decided to cancel the order of the black Starcaster
CALIFORNIA CLASSIC
I just looked into the concept of changing the guitar pickups
to higher quality ones
Guess what?
At best, it will cost me more than the bloody guitar!!!
At worst...I'm not buying any new pickups!!
Suddenly, the 'at worst' option
doesn't seem so bad at all!
Then again...check this out
TWILIGHT FENDER CUSTOM SHOP FAT 50'S WITH PICKGUARD
The question is:
Would I be willing to make an extra $194.98 investment
to make the Starcaster sound like a Multi-Thousand-Dollar
Fender Stratocaster guitar?
Hmmmmm...decisions, decisions...
I mean, my biggest gripe with changing the pickups
was having to do extensive pickup replacement work
To just change the pickguard and solder a couple of wires
Well, that doesn't sound bad at all!!
Hmmm...is it worth it making a cheap guitar
sound like a multi-thousand-dollar guitar
Ya know...I THINK IT IS!!!!!
THERE ARE MANY COMMENTS LIKE THIS AT MUSICIAN'S FRIEND:
Comments about Fender Fat '50s Strat Pickup Set:
The fat 50's are THE Holy grail. Once you put a set on one of your strats you'll be eagerly waiting for the next sale so you can buy more. I have 8 Strats, ranging from 60's through 2012 and these pickups smoke them all. All! The guitar with these on them has become the one I compare all of my other Strats to and I always go back to the Fat 50's.
The bottom end is nice and fat but articulates well with no mud; the high end is stratty but is not brittle or thin like so many so-called "vintage" pups. They are responsive and nice and poppy like a good Strat should be. I am extremely fussy about my tone and have gone through a lot of pickups. These quench my thirst.
Blues, rock, country, the tone is aways spot on for what you need. David Gilmour has got nothing on these pups. Buy them. You will look back on it as one of the best decisions you ever made. You won't want to put the guitar down.
BOTTOM LINE Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
MY COMMENT:
Many say these particular pickups sound BETTER than the stock pickups on the multi-thousand-dollar Fender Stratocaster Guitars!! I'll be able to tell anyone who asks: Ah, it's just a cheap guitar. The only reason is sounds so good is that I'm a fantastic guitar player! Ha!
The main thing I don't like about the Starcaster are the machine head tuners. They are not precise enough for my liking so:
The main thing I don't like about the Starcaster are the machine head tuners. They are not precise enough for my liking so:
Oh, no! I can sense money once again being spent. Woe is me!!!!
Let me tell you, I had to get somewhat drunk to order all this stuff,
and more, for both guitars!!!
Ya know, Mother Nature deserves
the best I can afford, in my performances!!!
Yup, I ordered them drunk
Might as well pay for them drunk as well, right?
Okay, if I'm going to make the investment in new tuners
in order to keep the guitars better in tune
then I might as well do the job right and buy these:
FENDER LSR ROLLER NUT
MIGHTY MITE ROLLER STRING TREES RETAINERS
So, I did!