Starcaster Style Project

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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Shadoweclipse13
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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Wed Dec 20, 2017 2:16 am

kifla wrote:
Wed Dec 20, 2017 1:40 am
Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Wed Dec 20, 2017 12:42 am

Are those brown?!? :w00t:
Yep! ;)
Do you have a link? I couldn't find them on guitarpartsresource.com when I looked an hour or so ago...
Pickup Switching Mad Scientist
http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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kifla
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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by kifla » Wed Dec 20, 2017 6:27 am

Click on the link that I 've posted... first knobs on te top left corner.

"Add to cart" wil automatically open PayPal payment page.

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Embenny
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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by Embenny » Wed Dec 20, 2017 11:45 am

But the real question is, have you strung it up yet and tested it out??

Looks amazing, but the proof of the build is in the playing!
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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HNB
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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by HNB » Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:56 pm

Those knobs look great. I got these coming yesterday though.

Images-l1600 by Christopher Louck, on Flickr

I still need to do all the wiring work. Maybe tomorrow. Been busy with family stuff for holidays.
Christopher
Lilith Guitars

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Shadoweclipse13
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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Wed Dec 20, 2017 9:19 pm

kifla wrote:
Wed Dec 20, 2017 6:27 am
Click on the link that I 've posted... first knobs on te top left corner.

"Add to cart" wil automatically open PayPal payment page.
Amp knobs! Why didn't I think to check there?!? Thanks dude!
Pickup Switching Mad Scientist
http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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Sid Nitzerglobin
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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by Sid Nitzerglobin » Wed Dec 20, 2017 11:01 pm

That looks great! The body kinda makes me think Moon-rite. And damn, the mahogany is beautiful!

What are the pickups?

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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by HNB » Wed Dec 20, 2017 11:33 pm

Dimarzio Titans. :)
Christopher
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danp3man
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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by danp3man » Thu Dec 21, 2017 5:50 am

I have a Starcaster project (among others) that has been on hold while I've been fighting a serious health issue the last year- that seems to be improving to the point I'm ready to dive into my projects again. My question is about wiring- my Saylor body has the extra hole for the master volume, and I was wondering how you wired yours in- I have a poor copy of the original Fender schematic, but its hard to make out exactly how the pots are actually wired together. I thought about going with a more or less standard two P/U, two vol, two tone set up like a Les Paul and wiring their output to the master volume- does that make sense? Anyway, any good advice would be appreciated!

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Embenny
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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by Embenny » Thu Dec 21, 2017 6:49 am

danp3man wrote:
Thu Dec 21, 2017 5:50 am
I have a Starcaster project (among others) that has been on hold while I've been fighting a serious health issue the last year- that seems to be improving to the point I'm ready to dive into my projects again. My question is about wiring- my Saylor body has the extra hole for the master volume, and I was wondering how you wired yours in- I have a poor copy of the original Fender schematic, but its hard to make out exactly how the pots are actually wired together. I thought about going with a more or less standard two P/U, two vol, two tone set up like a Les Paul and wiring their output to the master volume- does that make sense? Anyway, any good advice would be appreciated!
I can't comment on vintage starcaster wiring, but I have a Gretsch that is wired exactly like that, with individual volumes and a master volume (but only a master tone, so 4 knobs).

I find the master volume knob totally useless with the two other volume knobs. Total overkill, and unnecessary extra shunting of treble to ground in my opinion.

Consider adding a passive bass cut instead, like the G&L PTB circuit. You can either wire it as a master bass cut, or to the neck pickup alone. Helps trim down a humbucker tone into something a little zingier, and really clears up the definition of driven tones.

If you have an abundance of knob-holes, I strongly recommend giving it a try. It's one of the most useful mods I've ever done - I use it more often than I do the actual tone knob.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by danp3man » Thu Dec 21, 2017 8:04 am

I find the master volume knob totally useless with the two other volume knobs. Total overkill, and unnecessary extra shunting of treble to ground in my opinion.

Consider adding a passive bass cut instead, like the G&L PTB circuit. You can either wire it as a master bass cut, or to the neck pickup alone. Helps trim down a humbucker tone into something a little zingier, and really clears up the definition of driven tones.

If you have an abundance of knob-holes, I strongly recommend giving it a try. It's one of the most useful mods I've ever done - I use it more often than I do the actual tone knob.

Good suggestion- had I been thinking when I ordered the body fro Richard, I should have specified only four holes instead of the vintage five. Would've simplified the wiring, as I too feel the master volume is kind of redundant. I like your suggestion for the passive bass cut- I guess if worse comes to worse, I could always just put a dummy knob in using one of my old bad pots from my junk drawer (maybe there's a reason I don't throw shit away!), but I hate having a non-functioning knob in an otherwise nice guitar! I'll play around with this idea a bit- thanks! Dan

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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Thu Dec 21, 2017 8:38 am

Know what'd be cool if you have 5 pot holes? PTB for each pickup (high pass and low pass, no volume), and a master volume.
Pickup Switching Mad Scientist
http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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HNB
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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by HNB » Thu Dec 21, 2017 9:29 am

This one only had four pot holes and one toggle hole. If I didn't want a toggle I could put a different pot in, but I like toggles. :) I am going to wire it like a Gibson basically. Each pickup gets a volume and tone and they connect to the three way toggle.
Christopher
Lilith Guitars

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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by HNB » Thu Dec 21, 2017 7:00 pm

Got the wiring done.

Image20171221_154341 by Christopher Louck, on Flickr

Then I got the neck drilled so I could put on strings.

Image20171221_175112 by Christopher Louck, on Flickr

Image20171221_175219 by Christopher Louck, on Flickr

Image20171221_175347 by Christopher Louck, on Flickr

Image20171221_175354 by Christopher Louck, on Flickr
Christopher
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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by HNB » Thu Dec 21, 2017 7:12 pm

Impression on the Titan pickups. I like them. The bridge is much brighter than a Super Distortion. It might be the first bridge pickup where I actually use the tone knob lol. With tone at 10, you can get a Ramones kind of sound with distortion. If you turn the tone knob you can get a more standard distortion. The neck pickup is pretty nice and warm. They are definitely high output. They overdrive my Silvertone like crazy unless I back the volume down.

Guitar impression. I like the toggle being by the knobs. It makes it easy to switch pickups. I can kind of grab it with my pinky while playing to switch fast. The guitar seems big, but is also lighter (I think) than my strats. I don't tend to like semi-hollow or hollow guitars because I worry about breaking them. I am probably just overly paranoid. Assembly went pretty well and easy for the most part. The neck needs a little more finish to it. It kind of feels a little too raw wood to me at the moment. The bridge is flipped because it was intonating really sharp, so I had to put the saddles almost all the way back and have it tilted back.

It isn't flawless or perfect by any means. It sounds nice and plays well. I think it is pretty. I can't wait for the knobs to come in. :)

I will try to do an audio demo tomorrow. I will be kid free in the evening. My audio capture won't be perfect, but will give a basic idea. :) There is already a great demo of the Titan's on youtube anyways. :)
Christopher
Lilith Guitars

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Re: Starcaster Style Project

Post by sirspens » Thu Dec 21, 2017 7:25 pm

HNB wrote:
Thu Dec 21, 2017 7:12 pm
I will try to do an audio demo tomorrow. I will be kid free in the evening. My audio capture won't be perfect, but will give a basic idea. :) There is already a great demo of the Titan's on youtube anyways. :)
Excited to hear it!

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