Fender Starcaster Thinline Archtop Electric Guitar Tobacco Sunburst, 1974 [USED]

Here is a very early Fender Starcaster Thinline Archtop electric guitar in Tobacco Sunburst - in very good, original condition. This example dates to 1974, part of the first wave of production and well before the design hit the official catalogue. There is little wear to the finish, but the guitar was played - fret wear is light to moderate, with the heaviest wear in the low positions and high strings.

Officially introduced in 1976, the Fender Starcaster first appeared in 1974 as designer Gene Fields worked to compete with the respected Gibson ES-335.

Combining Gibson's semi-hollow, solid center block concept with Fender's bolt-on neck and their new Seth Lover designed Wide Range humbuckers, the Starcaster should have been a hit.  However, the very good design sought middle ground that wasn't there - Gibson players didn't want a bolt-on neck, Fender players didn't want a Gibson, and its top of the line price didn't tempt anyone.  By 1980, it was out of the catalogue. Brief reissues appeared from 2013 - 2014, and now a Squier Classic VIbe version is available. In 2024, a Tom DeLonge model was launched in Ensenada, Mexico. 

Eventually, like the Jazzmaster, Starcasters became desirable again as visually striking, unusual pieces that were hard to miss on stages, supported by being fundamentally great guitars.

This guitar is a kind of 'Closet Classic', in good condition and stored for many years - though the storage location humidity was not optimal, the high quality case protected the guitar as was intended. The case is missing its handle, the black covering is lifting in the lower sections, and it has an odor from long storage.  For gigging or touring, a new case or gig bag would be recommended. 

Fender Starcaster Construction and Materials 

The aim of the Starcaster design was to blend the proven features of the Fender Telecaster and the Gibson ES-335 into Fender's unique offset body design.  Though it uses an offset-waist design, the Starcaster body is constructed just like the ES-335, with Maple laminate top, back and sides and a Maple center block.  The center block is padded with a softer Mahogany to accommodate the arch of the top and back. 

There is of course a major difference - instead of Gibson's mortise and tenon neck block, the Starcaster has Fender's bolt-on neck block, using the new Micro-Tilt 3-bolt system.  

The neck is classic Fender, one piece of Maple for the neck with a walnut strip covering the route for the 'Bullet' truss rod and its revolutionary adjustment located at the head. The Starcaster has a distinctively wider and contoured headstock, perhaps a design reference to the 1963 Gibson Firebird headstock that caused some friction between the two companies, and perhaps the distinctive sweeping Microfrets designs. 

For hardware, the Starcaster has a set of Fender-branded Schaller tuners at the head, and a platform-mounted six-saddle string-through bridge with ferrules on the back.   

The electronics start with a pair of Fender's new Wide Range humbuckers, designed by Seth Lover - the creator of Gibson's humbucking pickups.  These lead to individual volume and tone controls, a three-way pickup selector mounted on the lower cutaway, and a master volume, leading to a side-mounted output jack. 

The finish is the original Tobacco Sunburst, and as is typical the rear finish has a bit more red than the front. 

 

There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here

 

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DETAILS: 

• Instrument Model:  Starcaster
• Instrument Manufacturer:  Fender
• Instrument year:  1974
• Instrument Finish:  Tobacco Sunburst
• Instrument Class:  Thinline / Semi Hollow Archtop Electric Guitars
• Instrument serial number:  555921, built during 1974 at Fullerton CA.  CBS era
• Country of Origin:  USA
• Instrument Condition:  Very Good
• Right-handed 
• Instrument Weight Imperial:   8.58 lbs
• Instrument Weight Metric:   3.9 kgs
• Scale Length Imperial:    25.5 in
• Scale Length Metric:    647.7 mm
• Nut Width Imperial:    1.672 in
• Nut Width Metric:  41.34 mm
• CITIES Documentation Required:  No
• Case included:  Yes
• Case original:  Yes
• Items in Case: N/A
• Case Type: Hard Shell. Black with Red lining
• Consignment: Yes
• Product ID: 191165

 

There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here