Fender Starcaster, Sunburst (1976)

Achieving near cult status in the past decade or so, Fender's Starcaster is perhaps the most unique production model electric to come out of Fullerton in the Post-CBS era.

Why We Love This

When one thinks of a semi-hollow electric guitar, any of Fender's offerings would typically be far down that list, or really not even on the list at all. Deservedly so, right? Gibson has ruled that landscape for decades!

The one (and perhaps only) exception to the rule comes in the way of Gene Fields' novel pseudo-offset design that came to market in 1976 - the Starcaster.

While it combines the basic structural elements that make up a traditional ES-335 type guitar (laminated Maple body, center block construction), the Starcaster is anything but its Gibson counterpart. The Maple bolt-neck construction, Wide Range humbuckers, and unique 6-saddle "hardtail" bridge pull in a completely different tonal flavor. The slightly flatter fingerboard radius and medium jumbo frets are a few steps removed from the classic 50s and 60s Fenders in playability, so the Starcaster offered something a bit more modern in that regard.

The Starcaster never had the impact of its predecessors, but has since achieved some cult success due to the likes of its affiliation with Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood. The rise in popularity combined with low production numbers makes clean examples like this hard to find.

Condition: Excellent. A truly superb example that retains almost all of its originality with the exception of a replaced nut. The laminated Maple body has beautiful figure throughout with very little wear outside of some typical finish swirls, checking, and light marks from handling and play time. The original Wide Range humbuckers sound equally clear and fat with great output. The only true signifcant wear spot of note is on the treble side of the neck just off of the fingerboard between frets 2-3.

Please Note: We pride ourselves on thoroughly vetting each vintage instrument we sell. If you have specific questions about the condition or originality of this instrument, we invite you to call us to discuss further. We're here to help!