Fender to reissue the Starcaster

[friendshipmaster]

Those starcaster knobs are extremely difficult to find. I got ahold of my batch of them several years ago and kicking myself for not buying more of them. I think I got 6 of them for 12 bucks! Mine have been recycled onto every new guitar I buy! Will never part with them! Good luck!

Ive found a pair at Ebay but they are 40 euro + maybe fees, tax ans additional shipping.
Thais too much

I just scored 2 vintage ones on reverb.com a few days ago for $19.99 for the pair. They were listed for 19 days. I was shocked when I saw them. Deal of the century

I was going to buy those....

[blake480]

[/quote]
I was going to buy those....[/quote]

... sorry

[Baconfish]

The bloke from Royal Blood was playing a Starcaster bass on Jools Holland last night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHBJpCjq50E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Pete]

Right got the aged cherry..bigsby installed....awaiting 4 aluminium original knobs for install..... il post a pic once the knobs arrive... spent ages trolling for a picture of the burst with bigsby and correct knobs. I'm sure someone will wanna see it before they do the same.

my question is to anyone who's upgraded the pick ups themselves....getting new pick ups is easy as buying, but where do you start with the wiring harness/pots. if not il take it to a repair agent, hate paying someone to do something potentially simple because of a lack of research. As far as i can see i need the following, anyone got any ideas of what to use?

1 pickups/ lollar or creamery
2 new pots/ 500k or 1 meg? i have no idea
3 do the selector and jack plate need replacing?
4 capacitors? yet again no idea

oh i presume some sort of wires will be involved lol

[zastruga]

Right got the aged cherry..bigsby installed....awaiting 4 aluminium original knobs for install..... il post a pic once the knobs arrive... spent ages trolling for a picture of the burst with bigsby and correct knobs. I'm sure someone will wanna see it before they do the same.

my question is to anyone who's upgraded the pick ups themselves....getting new pick ups is easy as buying, but where do you start with the wiring harness/pots. if not il take it to a repair agent, hate paying someone to do something potentially simple because of a lack of research. As far as i can see i need the following, anyone got any ideas of what to use?

1 pickups/ lollar or creamery
2 new pots/ 500k or 1 meg? i have no idea
3 do the selector and jack plate need replacing?
4 capacitors? yet again no idea

oh i presume some sort of wires will be involved lol

Where'd you find the knobs? Vintage?

[Pete]

A TALE OF STARCASTER KNOBS FOR ANYONE TRYING TO FIND THEM....most important before you search.

First when i realised the glory of the originals i checked and 4 on ebay at terrifying prices.... let the hunt begin

But if your reading this this is why you need to source them quick.

1.I tried everywhere, fender direct even resorting to trying to get it forwarded to CEO (worth a try), europe and stateside said no as even the fender blender reissue pedal i was hunting was now discontinued. no one at fender has them.

2.Then i tried finding broken or non vintage fender blender pedals. none in uk and couldn't justify the shipping on top.

3.I contacted guitar repairers mentioned in the forums, they upgraded the wiring but didn't find the knobs.They don't have them

4.couldn't find any fender blenders broken old or reissue only last place was old fender amps.

5. the last place the HOLY GRAIL, i forget the names but two fender amps made in the 70's had the same knobs... one amp has like twelve of the bloody glorious shiny things on it.....so i thought if i found a old broken one i could rape it for parts..like the fender blender... well the only one i found was knackered in america and £600 before shipping....nope

So for anyone looking stop now, the only place you can get these are fender blender pedals realistically, or those old amps. buy one swap knobs and sell on. i didn't do that as they are all in america via ebay for some reason,, can't justify the shipping.

so i went back bought the 4 knobs at $25-30 each of ebay.. made me cry a little but i hunted and hunted,now theres none left on ebay...so there really is a shortage, even the guy i bought them of is now selling different knobs, at those prices id sell them all day long.. i think the price hike is for those reasons and the one you see for sale are only from blender pedals and those amps (forget names)...... they have you by the knobs, prey for fender to rerelease another product with them on again or just pay the price as you see them..

hope this is helpful as i bought mine without knowing the history, il live without the 5th master volume but the knobs are sacred lol

[zastruga]

A TALE OF STARCASTER KNOBS FOR ANYONE TRYING TO FIND THEM....most important before you search.

First when i realised the glory of the originals i checked and 4 on ebay at terrifying prices.... let the hunt begin

But if your reading this this is why you need to source them quick.

1.I tried everywhere, fender direct even resorting to trying to get it forwarded to CEO (worth a try), europe and stateside said no as even the fender blender reissue pedal i was hunting was now discontinued. no one at fender has them.

2.Then i tried finding broken or non vintage fender blender pedals. none in uk and couldn't justify the shipping on top.

3.I contacted guitar repairers mentioned in the forums, they upgraded the wiring but didn't find the knobs.They don't have them

4.couldn't find any fender blenders broken old or reissue only last place was old fender amps.

5. the last place the HOLY GRAIL, i forget the names but two fender amps made in the 70's had the same knobs... one amp has like twelve of the bloody glorious shiny things on it.....so i thought if i found a old broken one i could rape it for parts..like the fender blender... well the only one i found was knackered in america and £600 before shipping....nope

So for anyone looking stop now, the only place you can get these are fender blender pedals realistically, or those old amps. buy one swap knobs and sell on. i didn't do that as they are all in america via ebay for some reason,, can't justify the shipping.

so i went back bought the 4 knobs at $25-30 each of ebay.. made me cry a little but i hunted and hunted,now theres none left on ebay...so there really is a shortage, even the guy i bought them of is now selling different knobs, at those prices id sell them all day long.. i think the price hike is for those reasons and the one you see for sale are only from blender pedals and those amps (forget names)...... they have you by the knobs, prey for fender to rerelease another product with them on again or just pay the price as you see them..

hope this is helpful as i bought mine without knowing the history, il live without the 5th master volume but the knobs are sacred lol

Dang. That's what I figured you were going to say. Was hoping you'd found some convincing replicas or something. I found two vintage ones from a member here for my Lee Ranaldo JM, just haven't been able to justify $100 in knobs for a $550 Starcaster. Man, if I had a way, I'd manufacture a ton of these things and sell 'em cheap.

[blake480]

There was a guy on reverb selling them. I originally thought it was $19 for a set of 2. But turns out it was $19 per knob. So not a HORRIBLE price.

He might still have some on there. Take a look.

Reverb.com

[blake480]

Looks like he raised his prices. $29 each, plus $6.95 WW shipping.

Says he has 12 left.

[Pete]

ideally they they go 1 to 10.. if they are blank or go -5 to +5 (or whatever) think they are from a amp referencing something different to volume settings ...from a distance i guess it don't matter.. and i suppose they are rarer in the grand scheme of things.. but not accurate

[JazzBlaster]

I played one today at my local shop, great guitar especially for the cost!

[spindizzy]

I played one today at my local shop, great guitar especially for the cost!

Problem in Australia is that they want A$1400 (US$1300) for them which is frankly ridiculous for a bad chinese reproduction.

They're really not worth that kind of money, it's the same price as a new MIJ Jazzmaster which is far better built and finished.

[JazzBlaster]

it was $800 which would be what you would pay for an MIJ here (plus shipping from Japan). I felt it was $800 worth of guitar all day long.

[spindizzy]

it was $800 which would be what you would pay for an MIJ here (plus shipping from Japan). I felt it was $800 worth of guitar all day long.

You're getting brand new MIJ Jazzies cheap then (warranty included here, Fender Australia still imports them) the ones I see are all over US$1000 before shipping if new.

And no, I don't want an $800 Starcaster with pickups and a bridge and controls that need replacing. The finish is pretty meh from the ones I've seen, super thick and the ply-wood looks cheap and poorly chosen for guitar purposes.

If I wanted a Starcaster like guitar I'd actually pony up the bucks for a Bilt Volar'e and get the best of all worlds. Something like Nels' one with the three goldfoils and a Mastery bridge and trem seems pretty hard to beat...

Or maybe a starcaster meets Rickenbacker with 12 strings, toasters and a hockey stick head.

Don't love compromises.

[mkt3000]

When I bought mine, it was because of the good deal I got. But I didn't buy it because I wanted a vintage Starcaster - I bought it because I wanted a humbucker'd semi-hollow, and not in a Gibson flavor.

The Starcaster has delivered. It sounds fine (actually, I'm really happy with how mine sounds), the neck is comfortable (same shape as my SqJMJM, just needed some sanding), and it's pretty well balanced for a semi hollow. Other than getting a black/white couch strap, I don't plan on doing anything to the guitar.