I LOVE my Starcaster! The neck shape is great, it's lightweight, and it's comfortable to play. The stock tuners are fine too. Like most, I'm not a big fan of the headstock design, but that's not a deal breaker. I've seen no need to change pickups or wireing as they work fine for me. My only complaint is that the pole pieces don't line up well under the high E string. That's not really a problem because there is no noticible decrease in volume. What I did do was add a Les Trem vibrato (NOT tremelo!) tail piece. That was an easy installation and adds a whole new dimention to the guitar - highly recommended!
Awesome video Jason! I recently bought a Starcaster for the same purpose and this video was a great help. One tip when doing fretwork is to tape over those pickups. Those magnets are more powerful than you might think. Thanks again!
The metric to USA is always the headache when leveling up an import guitar. I have many reamers and step up drill bits now bc I too have many chips and oopsies on my earlier guitars. I like having the low key axe too, in the Bar pool table seen it’s called the “sneaky Pete”. High end pool cues that look like of the rack house sticks. I put a roller bridge and Les Trem on my starcaster. I have a working man’s David grohl trini Lopez guitar now.
The Mono Vertigo Semi-Hollow gig bag fits it perfectly, not to mention is extremely protective & has spacious pockets for accessories. I own a few Mono bags & they’re all great.
Stock is 500 full-size. I stuck with 500 because I knew that the Porter pickups would be a little louder & more present, & more brightness wasn’t something I necessarily needed from this guitar. The 500 gives me plenty of usable range. Plus, I think it has a smoother taper than the 1mg, which I tend to prefer, because I am constantly adjusting my tone knobs.
@@XkssWlp I went in through the pickup cavity actually, since it’s a fully hollow guitar. But as you see in the video, I did misjudge the diameter of the actual holes for the pots. So plan accordingly.
Honestly, the stock wideranges weren’t bad at all! I just wanted a specific thing out of this guitar, & Porters delivered! Real loud & crisp. The Starcaster rips now, & even with the upgrades, still a very affordable guitar.
I put a pair of th Fender CuNiFe in mine as well. The stock pickups were actually really nice but I wanted the classics in mine. Glad I did. I may out the Squiers in something else now.
If the fretboard is sealed or finished like mine, it doesn’t hurt anything, but to your point, it’s not necessarily doing anything special to treat it either. I just use it out of habit as a solution for cleaning normal buildup from playing off of the neck. I could probably just use water haha
Can you just slow down your talking a bit? there was no emotion in your voice. It sounded like a machine talking, pause and take a breath, I've got a Cherry red, 1964 Gibson ES-335, worth about £20'OOO, if I so called upgraded it, it would probably half its present value so it would become a down-grade, if the guitar doesn't sound as you want it to when you try it, don't buy it.
No suggestion anyone should mess with a vintage original but this is a 400 dollar guitar bought with the intention of upgrading it's a completely different situation.
Great video, really informative. I've been planning on re-wiring my fender reissue starcaster for a grounding issue and this helped a lot
This channel deserves more views!
I LOVE my Starcaster! The neck shape is great, it's lightweight, and it's comfortable to play. The stock tuners are fine too. Like most, I'm not a big fan of the headstock design, but that's not a deal breaker. I've seen no need to change pickups or wireing as they work fine for me. My only complaint is that the pole pieces don't line up well under the high E string. That's not really a problem because there is no noticible decrease in volume. What I did do was add a Les Trem vibrato (NOT tremelo!) tail piece. That was an easy installation and adds a whole new dimention to the guitar - highly recommended!
Awesome video Jason! I recently bought a Starcaster for the same purpose and this video was a great help. One tip when doing fretwork is to tape over those pickups. Those magnets are more powerful than you might think. Thanks again!
This is great advice! Definitely should to keep that in mind. Thank you!
Nice work, been looking at one of these for years now because I mainly play 335 models.
The metric to USA is always the headache when leveling up an import guitar. I have many reamers and step up drill bits now bc I too have many chips and oopsies on my earlier guitars. I like having the low key axe too, in the Bar pool table seen it’s called the “sneaky Pete”. High end pool cues that look like of the rack house sticks. I put a roller bridge and Les Trem on my starcaster. I have a working man’s David grohl trini Lopez guitar now.
i have been fighting with myself over the squier version or just wait save and get the fender .
Nice video, but I like my Starcaster fine, just the way it is!
Great video. Have you been able to find a case or gigbag that fits this?
The Mono Vertigo Semi-Hollow gig bag fits it perfectly, not to mention is extremely protective & has spacious pockets for accessories. I own a few Mono bags & they’re all great.
Thanks For Sharing 🎸 🎶
Nice video bro!
Any chance of a follow up on this video now its a year on?
🤔
Any idea if the pots are normal shaft or long shaft?
CV starcaster owner, they are normal shaft!
@@franklinsthewurst Thanks so much! I'm actually upgrading my Affinity with some Phat Cat P90s and wanted to upgrade the whole wiring.
@@ShaunGcq glad to help :)
Are original squier volume and tone Pots 250k or 500k? Mini or full size? Did you replaced with 1 Mg or original spec? Thanks!
Stock is 500 full-size. I stuck with 500 because I knew that the Porter pickups would be a little louder & more present, & more brightness wasn’t something I necessarily needed from this guitar. The 500 gives me plenty of usable range. Plus, I think it has a smoother taper than the 1mg, which I tend to prefer, because I am constantly adjusting my tone knobs.
@@jasonbrucemusic thank you very much! No problem to put full size pots trough the F holes? Did you kept original tuners?
@@XkssWlp I went in through the pickup cavity actually, since it’s a fully hollow guitar. But as you see in the video, I did misjudge the diameter of the actual holes for the pots. So plan accordingly.
@@XkssWlp original tuners work just fine. No complaints.
I got a squier starcaster AND I've got some genuine wide ranges not the fake ones like on this so… Might as well!😉
Honestly, the stock wideranges weren’t bad at all! I just wanted a specific thing out of this guitar, & Porters delivered! Real loud & crisp. The Starcaster rips now, & even with the upgrades, still a very affordable guitar.
@@jasonbrucemusic good to know!
I put a pair of th Fender CuNiFe in mine as well. The stock pickups were actually really nice but I wanted the classics in mine. Glad I did. I may out the Squiers in something else now.
Do you think an Epiphone Les Paul bolt on neck would fit on this one?, My uncle has one but he hates the headstock
re: fretboard oil (@8:40), isn't that a no-no on maple fretboards?
If the fretboard is sealed or finished like mine, it doesn’t hurt anything, but to your point, it’s not necessarily doing anything special to treat it either. I just use it out of habit as a solution for cleaning normal buildup from playing off of the neck. I could probably just use water haha
@@jasonbrucemusic Guitar polish works great on finished maple fretboards…
excellent!
Can you just slow down your talking a bit? there was no emotion in your voice. It sounded like a machine talking, pause and take a breath, I've got a Cherry red, 1964 Gibson ES-335, worth about £20'OOO, if I so called upgraded it, it would probably half its present value so it would become a down-grade, if the guitar doesn't sound as you want it to when you try it, don't buy it.
No suggestion anyone should mess with a vintage original but this is a 400 dollar guitar bought with the intention of upgrading it's a completely different situation.