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Fender Starcaster Strat Pack - 3-Tone Sunburst | 
| Brand: Fender Starcaster
Category: Musical Instruments
Buy New: $164.99
as of 9/8/2010 03:06 CDT details
New (4) Used (2) Refurbished (1) from $124.99
Seller: johnsoncorp
Rating:  51 reviews
Sales Rank: 983
Color: Sunburst
Media: Electronics
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 30
Dimensions (in): 41 x 19.8 x 8.5
Warranty: 1-Year Limited Warranty
MPN: PACK3TSBMN
Model: 0284001107
UPC: 717669726164
EAN: 0717669726164
ASIN: B0019421EY
Release Date: August 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Everything you need to start rocking, including a 3-tone sunburst Stratocaster guitar and 10-watt Squier amp with 10-foot cord | | • | Classic Fender Stratocaster guitar for all styles of music | | • | Synchronous tremolo bridge for subtle shimmers or hard-core whammy | | • | Three single-coil pickups paired with a 5-way pickup selector switch; volume and 2 tone controls for wide range of tones | | • | Package also includes strings, picks, strap, gigbag, guitar stand, and instructional DVD |
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| Accessories:
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| Similar Items:
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 51
 Perfect!! October 25, 2008
Aniruddh Bansal (Los Angeles,CA USA)
38 out of 40 found this review helpful
Its just amazingly perfect for playing at home!!
It includes everything. And I mean everything that you might need. Its not even mentioned in the product description that a headset is also included! Which is totally what I needed as I play it for hours and hours and I should not be disturbing others. Amp is cool, its loud enough for home use. It has Bass and Treble effects as well which is very cool. A guitar stand is also included which makes it easy to keep the guitar when not in use.
About the guitar itself, it needed a bit of tuning when I took it out of the box, but that was again very easy with the chromatic tuner provided. After that tuning its just been sounding inch perfect!
Everyone around me is in love with this guitar. Trust me it won't let you down. A fender is always a good choice! Specially if it comes with all the accessories for a really great price!
About amazon, very fast service, cheers!!
I paid for standard shipping only. And I got in something like 60 hours!
holding up really well January 4, 2009
the g man (Milwaukee)
22 out of 23 found this review helpful
For someone just starting out, this is an excellent buy.
I bought mine in 2004 when this package first hit the market. Still works great. The action (the space between the strings & fretboard) has held up well. The electronics have held up on mine, although the one I bought was made in Indonesia; not sure if they are still made there or in China.
Everything that came with it is still working great (tuner, strap, cord, amp, gig bag).
When it is new, it goes out of tune quite frequently, not only from the strings being new; but also since this is a $200 bundle, the hardware is not what you'll find on a $700 Strat.
My musician friends all agree that the Starcaster sounds and plays close enough to a Stratocaster that you could do ameteur performances with it; but doubt that you'll ever see a Starcaster at a paid gig.
If the Strat style is not your thing, check out the First Act Paul Westerberg signature model.
Now that I've made the jump to another guitar, I still use this one when I travel and have taught myself how to adjust the neck, action, and change hardware. So it is not only great to learn to play, but also great for learning how to maintain, adjust, upgrade, and repair a guitar.
Excellent, with a few reservations February 15, 2010
Ronald R. Allen Jr. (Columbia, MO United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I ordered this because, at 44 (almost 45) years of age, I want to learn guitar. And I am possibly in a mid-life crisis -- my wife thinks so, but agrees that, if so, a StarCaster is a far better choice than, say, a vintage Mustang... or a real Strat, LOL :)
OK... I am very, very impressed with this package. For the money, it is a steal. That isn't just my opinion, either. I have a friend who is a musician and tours the entire midwest, playing guitar, on weekends. After I received the guitar and everything it came with, I took it to be evaluated by my friend and his exact words, after playing it, were, "you got a steal, this is a fine instrument... needs a little work, but this is a serious guitar".
The guitar looks perfect... the amp sounds good... and the pack came with everything I could have hoped for to get a start on playing guitar.
Now, that said, there are... as always... a few caveats...
As others have stated, and my friend pointed out, too, the frets need some correction... they are rough-edged. My friend, the guitar pro-player, told me that this is the difference between a $150 Chinese made Strat and a 100% made-in-America hand-crafted Strat. And I believe him. But it can be fixed. I will be buying a file and doing some work to make this guitar as good as it can be... and, even still, appreciating that I spent $150 instead of of a couple of grand for it. Buy this guitar if you're wanting to learn... but expect to do a little sweat work on it.
My other "complaint", if it can be called that is... I wish it had been packed better. It was just shipped in the box, with a picture of the guitar and everything, and even a window showing the contents, on the outside. This actually made me feel a little odd... in my situation... with this being a possible mid-life crisis purchase... I didn't necessarily want it broadcast that I was buying a cheap knock-off, albeit genuine Fender, strat... but, more than that... I have a 3-year old son, who is guitar crazy (thanks to me), and it caused my wife problems when the guitar arrived, and it was very obvious, from the packaging, what it was... and my son couldn't wait for me to get home to open it. And, there was one corner of the box that was crushed and damaged. None of the contents appears to be damaged, but the box was actually pretty ugly when it arrived... one corner crushed, cardboard strips taken off and others peeling.
And with all THAT said, yes... if you want to learn guitar... and are willing to put in some sweat to fix the issues, as opposed to spending WAY more to have it done for you in the first place... then I would HIGHLY, as in HIGHLY, recommend this guitar pack to anyone.
Oh, one other thing. The headset has a 1/8" phono plug, the amp takes a 1/4" phono plug, and there is no adapter included... and to my utter astonishment... my age is showing I guess... it turns out that getting a 1/8" to 1/4" phono plug adapter is something of a trick... Wal-Mart doesn't have any... Dollar Tree doesn't have any... nobody seems to have any... I haven't gone to Radio Shack yet, but I will... if they don't have any, I give up :) But... seems to me... and this is petty, perhaps... that if they really were paying attention and wanted to do it right... they would have included the necessary adapter.
Fender Starcaster Strat Pack 3 Tone Sunburst April 28, 2010
Jared Taylor (Catonsville, MD)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
At first glance this guitar just spoke to me. The 3 tone sunburst adds a beautiful look to it's outstanding sound. Although the packaging could have been better, the guitar and all of its equipment remain in great condition. For a starter guitar this is the one you need. It's simple but yet so breath taking look will make you feel like you have got years of playing experience already under your belt. The amplifier for its size sounds pretty decent. The tuner works, but I just prefer to tune with my piano. The headphones are a lifesaver for when you have too many people over or it's late at night and you still want to play. The picks are all medium which is what I prefer. Overall this was a great buy and I highly recommend this product to anyone looking to start learning how to play the guitar.
Starcaster guitar needs adjustment out of the box November 11, 2009
John A. Furner (Jeannette, PA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Your purchase (and mine from Johnsoncorp via Amazon) of a Fender Starcaster Strat guitar and a Squier SP-10 amp is a whopping great bargain. Should you have no issues, it may still need attention (periodic maintenance). Even a $25,000 Fender guitar (Black/White/Red EVH Eddie Van Frankenstein Replica Electric Guitar) needs pretty much the same attention.
November 18, 2009:Before you do anything to change the form, fit, or function of the guitar, read the 1-year Limited Warranty on the black and white card packed in the box. I think the warranty was written by a Philadelphia Lawyer: All 10 legal-beagle clauses seem to be perfect escape mechanisms. I decided to void the Warranty and turn my Starcaster into a great guitar for testing my electronic designs of pickups and guitar pedals. If you are unhappy with your Starcaster, then return it!
My Starcaster came with six issues:
1. All frets are rough on the ends (need filing). Small hands/fingers of a kid (even an adult) may sustain injury.
November 18, 2009: Every fret has exactly the same burr on both ends (metal chopping characteristic of the fret stock chopping machine). It appears that some attempt was made by the Chinese manufacturer to file the ends, because there are file marks on the finger board of the guitar. I used my file (very fine tooth file from Lowes) to remove the burrs.
2. Tremolo bar Allen head screws not tightened, one completely out of socket and captured by a pole.
November 18, 2009: I re-installed and adjusted all Allen head screws in the Tremolo bar saddles.
I will correct issues 3 through 5 and update this review by Nov 30, 2009.
3. Strings do not line up with centers of poles (magnetic cores).
4. Severe INTONATION errors, just about every string is a different length via incorrect bar screw adjustments.
5. Strings will not stay tuned
6. Lots of buzz from amplifier.
November 18, 2009: The Starcaster does not have "Humbucker pickups" that cancel 60 Hz interference from power lines running throughout your home. The noise coming from my amp originates in the guitar. To test your amp, un-jack your guitar cable and turn all knobs fully clockwise. Gently tap the amp and listen for noise. If your amp is working as designed, you should only hear noise when you put your ear close to the speaker.
If you have any of the following issues, go to the Fender site, Support, Stratocaster, Setup Guide (a Fender tremolo guitar is a Fender tremolo guitar, so the guide will work for your Starcaster Strat as well). Referring to the Fender Stratocaster Setup Guide:
1. If your strings will not stay in tune, see STRINGS and ADDITIONAL HINTS.
2. If you need to replace your strings...BEWARE...you need Fender Bullet strings, NOT ball strings. Fender Bullet strings are made specifically for Tremolo bars. Wrong! It appears that standard Fender strings will work on the guitar. The strings that came with the guitar are standard strings, NOT bullet strings.
3. If you are having Tuning Key issues, see TUNING KEYS.
4. If your strings touch the frets or are too high from the pickup, see TRUSS ROD.
5. If you are having Tremolo issues, see TREMOLO.
6. If you are having string rattle issues, see ACTION.
7. If your notes become sharp as you finger frets from the neck to the bridge, see INTONATION (FINE TUNING).
If your frets are rough, you need to purchase a Grizzly H7514 3-in-1 Fret File ($34.95, read the instructions carefully) and a Mascot Precision Tools Lighted Headband Magnifier ($29.95) from Amazon. The total is $64.90, plus shipping and handling. Do your filing using the Lighted Headband Magnifier. It's best to be able to see exactly what you are doing, so examine each fret before filing. Remove all strings before filing so you don't nick/damage a string (note the direction of unwinding the string and its routing from bridge to key. File frets and re-install each string according to string thickness, routing, and winding.
I recommend that you service your own guitar to save the significant total cost of ownership over the lifetime of your Starcaster Strat, and more importantly, keep the guitar working at peak performance. Besides, kids loose interest in music when a guitar works poorly or the frets injure their fingers.
If you find filing frets and doing any Fender maintenance procedures a bit much, then take your guitar to a guitar playing friend or to an Authorized Fender Dealer.
If your guitar amp has issues, such as intermittent output/loose wires, take it to an electronics friend or to an Authorized Fender Dealer. However, if you are an electronics technician, then fix it yourself. Under no circumstances should a novice, without electronics training, attempt any repair of the guitar amp's wiring.
Enjoy your Fender Starcaster Strat Guitar and Squier SP-10 Amp.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 51
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