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Post subject: Is it worth the money to upgrade a Starcaster?
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 11:53 am
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I was just wondering whether I should upgrade my Starcaster with better parts or save up enough money and get a new guitar all together. I've been looking around the internet at different posts and there seems to be a mixed opinion on whether this guitar is really worth all the time and effort to upgrade with aftermarket parts. I'm still new to guitars so any advice would be appreciated.


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Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:08 pm
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You can't go wrong either way. You can upgrade and make it your "own" bass. When u buy a new one, the excitement is just that, a new bass. Either way it's a state of euphoria for you.

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Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:28 pm
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Sorry I didn't clarify it earlier, but the Starcaster I have is the electric guitar that you can get at Sam's Club. It was made in China so I don't know the specs on the type of wood that was used for the body or the neck. It has two single coils and a humbucker. I'm currently having trouble getting a picture of it on the forum so if someone can explain to me how to do so with the img tag, I'll put one up.


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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:22 pm
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here it is:

Image


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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 3:44 pm
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don't bother.

just save up and get a mexican strat (that you can upgrade and it be worth your time) or try other guitars... those things are starter guitars, and unless you know what you are doing you're going to just dump money into polishing a turd... UNLESS it's your "baby" and you don't ever want another guitar, then make it yours...

new pick ups (a must) and pots
new bride and tuners (would be smart)
file and sand the neck/frets
and now you have spent more money and time on it than the guitars was new...

but sometimes that is the "right " choice.


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Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:28 pm
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...You'd be better off buying a nice MIM.


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Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:02 am
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I used to have a starcaster. They are pieces of junk in my opinion. I mean if you like the guitar then by all means upgrade but if you want the better quality guitar right off the bat buy like a MIM strat. Besides if you ever want to sell the starcaster or a new guitar the other guitar would be worth more.


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Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 9:10 pm
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The MIM Strat is a great guitar for not much $$. Much higher quality materials and construction than a modded Starcaster will ever be.


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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:22 am
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Hey, do what feels good to you. If you can't afford a new piece, then mod up your current. That will help you learn how it works and how to repair it. Plus it should be cheaper in the short run. Use that guitar until you can afford a newer nicer one. I'm still fooling with an old strat copy I bought in the 80's and held on to. Only recently started playing again, but the guitar works great and I added a squier loaded pickguard off ebay last night to it and it's even better. You won;t feel so bad when you drop the starcaster either, and most folks do drop one eventually. If the guitar plays well and you;re happy for now, fix it up a little and save the rest to go towards the guitar you dream about.

Most of all, have fun.
Randy


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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:41 pm
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I say buy a MIM strat. You can find them in good condition for $200-$300 used and could easily burn up that much money on some basic mods.


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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 7:19 am
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That's a good idea, but some areas (like mine) have a pretty poor selection of places to shop. The pawn shops are loaded with crappy guitars or overpriced name brands. Around here, may as well buy new for what the pawn shops seem to think guitars are worth. And the music stores aren't any better. We have 3 small ones. NONE of them carry Fender or Gibson electrics. Johnson, Peavey, Indiana (?), etc. The cheap copies, other than the Peaveys.

To find a Fender store is 25 miles away. Not too bad though because they carry a LOT of stuff and brands. And there is a hobby shop across the street to feed that habit, with a great Italian restaurant between them. Can't go often - end up spending too much money. And that town is smaller than ours....

It's a good idea though, if your area has good places to look for used stuff.

Randy


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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 8:49 am
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I am planning on doing the same thing once I get better at playing. Since the Starcaster is my first guitar that alone has given it sentimental value. I do plan on buying a new one down the road but I will never get rid of my first one, even if it was bought at Target.


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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:42 am
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You could updgrade the Starcaster, but you could also get a better deal out of a modded Squier Strat. But if it has sentimental value, then thats a whole different story. If you're into active pups, then the EMG S set/EMG 81 could be a decent mod, along with maybe locking tuners.

But its all up to you really.


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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 6:13 pm
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You can bolt on and solder in a bunch of better parts, but in the end you will still have a bad neck that you won't be happy with.


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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 6:39 pm
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You guys are making a bunch of assumptions here. I started on a Starcaster and still have it. You have to be careful because the quality is uneven, but if you get a good one the quality is much higher than a Squier Affinity Strat for example.

Mine even has a birdseye maple neck on it! So no bad neck here..
I put Schaller tuners and vintage Noiseless pickups on the girl a few months ago and she sounds and plays great. Yeah, part of that is sentiment talking....but it turned out to be a really good mod platform at a nice price.
Play it through a SuperChamp XD and it is sweeeet.


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