If imitation truly is the sincerest form of
flattery, then CBS-owned Fender was infatuated
with Gibson’s ES line of semi-hollow
electric guitars. Gibson’s ES models had been
heavily used by guitar icons like Chuck Berry
(ES-350T and eventually the ES-345 and
ES-355), Eric Clapton (ES-335 with Cream
and Blind Faith), and B.B. King (ES-355),
virtually dominating the semi-hollow world
and prompting Fender to release its own semihollow
creation—the Starcaster in 1976.
To differentiate itself from the popular
Gibson models—which generally had a
maple body, mahogany neck, and rosewood
fretboard—Fender took the all-maple
approach when designing the Starcaster,
which features an offset double-cutaway,
asymmetrical maple body, neck, and fretboard.
In addition, Fender stuck with its
tried-and-true, bolt-on neck construction
and 25.5" scale length, which was in direct
opposition to Gibson’s set-neck design and
24.75" scale length. The guitar’s controls
include a 3-way pickup selector, a tone and
volume knob for each pickup, and a master
volume. The Starcaster shown here has a
natural finish—other choices available were
black, blonde, tobacco sunburst, walnut,
and white. This particular Fender model
was the only non-Telecaster model to feature
the Seth Lover-designed Wide Range
humbuckers. These pickups—originally
used from ’71–’79 in Telecaster Deluxes,
Thinlines, and Customs—are described as
having a fat, distinctive tone with a little
more detail and clarity than the famous
PAF pickups Lover designed for Gibson.
While Fender didn’t lure away too many
ES purists with the short-lived Starcaster—
the guitar was only manufactured from
1976–1980—it did eventually find favor
with indie guitarists like Radiohead’s Jonny
Greenwood, Phish’s Trey Anastasio (who
plays a custom Langeudoc designed after
the Starcaster), The Killers’ Dave Keuning
(who uses one in the band’s videos for “For
Reasons Unknown” and “Human”), and
Arctic Monkeys’ Jamie Cook (who rocks one
during the video for “Crying Lightning”).
A special thanks to Jeff Sadler of Rock N Roll
Vintage in Chicago, Illinois, for the opportunity
to feature this fine instrument and its story.