70s Fender Starcaster Petition

[straycat113]

Foonky I have put your name and petition up in the Fender.com lounge and also went right to the man Mike Eldred about the situation about the templates. So check in on the forum bro.

[straycat113]

Foonky Mike said it is a hollow body so what are they talking about templates. He also said that a lot of people may say they are interested but when the time comes you see how many are actually there.

 

I would advise you to join the Fender.com forum and go to the Mike Eldred room as Mike runs the whole Custom Shop and is a really great guy who will answer any question you put before him. I said how you busted your ass and it looked like this post would die after 2 pages but you have some steam behind this and have it allover the place.

 

Anyway I helped you out as best as I could bro and this is your project so I think you should state your case to the guy that matters.

[Mike Eldred]

I signed the petition.
What exactly is "a fair price"?

ME

[FoonkySteve]

Foonky Mike said it is a hollow body so what are they talking about templates. He also said that a lot of people may say they are interested but when the time comes you see how many are actually there. I would advise you to join the Fender.com forum and go to the Mike Eldred room as Mike runs the whole Custom Shop and is a really great guy who will answer any question you put before him. I said how you busted your ass and it looked like this post would die after 2 pages but you have some steam behind this and have it allover the place. Anyway I helped you out as best as I could bro and this is your project so I think you should state your case to the guy that matters.

Thanks again StrayCat!! You the Man! I'm on the Fender forums, i have 2 petition threads going there, not as well recieved over there as other forums, which surprised me:) . I was gonna check out the Mike Eldred room, but i can see that he has just joined here and posted below Welcome Mike:thu:

As for the people who say they are interested, but wont pay up when the time comes, i see it as more of a case of; these guitar forums are more of an underground movement, lets say, it starts here, then grows for about two years until Fender take it seriously, then production, by the time the Starcaster is Marketed, there will be a huge increase of new fans who have never seen or heard of the guitar before release. There are more and more guitarists from huge international acts doning the starcaster the endorsement possibilities are there too. Sorry im going on a bit here, but i had planned on getting fender involved once the petition had reached 1000 signatures, at the moment it is still in its infancy with 155 sigs! I doubt Fender would consider it until then, but im going to keep going with this! Fender would sell a {censored} load of these, i dont know about other enthusiasts but i will be buying two Starcasters for starters!!:thu:

Thanks again, for all your help, support, and advice straycat, it is greatly appreciated!

[FoonkySteve]

I signed the petition. What exactly is "a fair price"? ME

 

 

 

Hi Mike!

 

Thanks for getting in touch, i hear you are THE man to talk to:thu:

 

As i said in the previous post, i was planning to contact Fender once the petition had reached 1000 signatures although it is still in its infancy at 155 signatures at the moment.

 

In my research one thing i have not been able to find out about the Starcaster was the original RRP. I was talking to guy today, who thinks it was around

[Mike Eldred]

So, $3050.00? That's RTP or street?

 

ME

[FoonkySteve]

So, $3050.00? That's RTP or street? ME

sorry i should have converted that.

Top end $3050.00 RTP, if they could be done cheaper, at a large enough slice for Fender then so be it, the cheaper the better, more units sold, an institution to the Fender line is reborn!!!

With yourself being more of an expert in this field, what do you think of these prices? Too way off? ridiculous? Fair? Do-able? Worthwhile for Fender?

Another great reason for the re-issue to be ssoner rather than later, is Gibson's reputation at the moment with bad press and the likes. I think it would be fair to say the Starcaster was dropped due to the lack of sales from the direct competition from Gibson. Even though i dont see the Starcaster as direct competition now anyway. I can't count the amount of times on various forums, where it has been suggested by haters; 'why dont you just get a 335 and shut up already:facepalm:' I dont just see the Starcaster as an 'alternative' to a Gibson, it is a completely different animal,
similarities; semi-hollow, 2 humbuckers. Differences; The starcaster is (according to my research) THE ONLY semi hollow EVER to feature a maple fretboard. Off set body, master volume control, original Fender headstock design, etc...

No?

[Mike Eldred]

So,

$3050.00 RTP for a Starcaster. NOT Custom Shop.

You may want to start another poll to see if people are interested at that price still.

 

ME

[FoonkySteve]

So, $3050.00 RTP for a Starcaster. NOT Custom Shop. You may want to start another poll to see if people are interested at that price still. ME

 

 

I'll definately mention the possibility of that price range in the blog, if it would have to be custom shop at that price, so be it. Would $3050.00 not merit a custom shop price? Or as i had mentioned in the petition originaly; a price range of around

[Mike Eldred]

$3050.00 RTP for a Starcaster.

 

NOT Custom Shop.

 

ME

[KidEh]

$3000 for a custom shop Starcaster doesn't sound that ridiculous at all. You see some masterbuilt teles going for 5 to 6 thousand.

If there were to be a "standard" model I can see it being around two grand, and thats praying they won't fug it up.

[Mike Eldred]

NOT Custom Shop.

 

ME

[Carbohydrates]

If my sources are correct that the original Starcaster Retailed at around

[EJD]

I wouldn't mind $3,050. Sounds about right.

 

My initial thought was that that price could be a bit steep compared to other Fenders... standard Strats, Teles, and basses... but, then again, this is a Starcaster, and it's very different from those. It's special. I certainly see it being a gem in the Fender range of guitars... something a little different, just to spice it up.

 

By the way, just while you're posting here Mike - I'd just like to say, Fender is my favourite ever make of guitars. I got the chance to play a few in a giant store a couple of months ago (which is special - I rarely even SEE real Fenders!), and I assure you that there was not one Fender guitar I disliked, and I played many.

 

I don't want to sound like a kiss-ass, but I genuinely love you guys, and your designs. They have the most comfortable neck profile for my hands, and not to mention they're simply beautiful looking instruments in general. Rock on

[Mike Eldred]

Thank you EJD on behalf of all the Fender Family!

 

Carbs hits it right on the button. You are a VERY smart person.

 

We have been trying to do this guitar for a while.

1) It's expensive to build.

2) You're competing with a vintage market that is comparatively priced.

3) Few people would pay $3050 for it.

4) There are tooling costs that need to be factored in.

5) Tying it an artist would limit it's allure (most people don't want to play somebody else' guitar)

6) Most times when things like this come up, people are attracted to the instrument because of the limited nature of the instrument. You take that away, and you lose a BIG chunk of the audience. That's why the guy in the Killers plays one...because nobody else does.

 

$3050. Really?

Who's in at that price?

 

ME

[jerry_picker]

Do an MIM Classic Series version and/or a Squier Classic Vibe for under a grand and FMIC will sell a gazillion of them.

[SuperAmerMetal]

Wow, Mike Eldred seems to have laid out the sad truths about a Starcaster reissue, but I still hope that somebody keeps going with the petition. There is no way I would pay $3050, or even $2000 for one, but if a MIM or MIJ version could be had for around $1200 I would get one.
I would take into account not only the Radiohead fans, but also the "jam band" crowd that buys high quality stuff. Trey Anastasio of Phish played a custom guitar very similar to the Starcaster for a good chunk of his career, and there are fans out there who would kill for a nice quality Fender version.
If they:
1. went to a conventional in-stock hardtail bridge
2. used a conventional 4-knob volume/tone, or even a 2-knob setup
3. used the "atomic" humbuckers, or whatever they have in production
4. used a standard 4-bolt neck design like a strat, but with a modified headstock
5. limit the colors/binding/trim to the bare minimum
...Maybe the end result would come out affordable enough to make a profit on? It should be designed like the new dual-hum Jaguar reissues; They have non-original slide switches, pickups, finishes, inlays, etc, which makes them non-authentic, but the body shape is right, and the price is decent.

Thank you for your attention, Mike, I really appreciate it!!

[FoonkySteve]

Wow, Mike Eldred seems to have laid out the sad truths about a Starcaster reissue, but I still hope that somebody keeps going with the petition.

No Worries mate, im not too phased by the above posts, there are so many variables and options for the Starcaster to be available in some price bracket or range.

At the moment i dont have a leg to stand on, in terms of the infancy of the petition, which is why i did not want to approach Fender until i had the 1000 signatures. When it does hit 1000+ it will be hard to ignore. Some of the changes to the Spec of the Starcaster would be a good idea to bring the price down, although it would no longer be the Starcaster, taking out its unique features, could create competition from more similar guitars from other manufacturers. Just my opinion though;)

$3050 was mentioned but by no means is the be all and end all price, the more signatures on the petition, the more potential units sold.

I'll be back to work on this from another angle again tommorow:thu:

Thanks again, to everyone for thier continued support, and thank you Mike Eldred for your input and expertise, and for coming on here to talk to your loyal fans. I've got a Fender headstock shapedCoffee table in my feckin front room!!!

[FrankenTelly]

I've played a couple of vintage Starcasters in excellent condition. I wasn't a bit impressed either time with the Starcaster. The things are clunky.

[Carbohydrates]

Hey, this whole Mike E thing has been an important twist in the thread and it's all going to get deleted later today, sooooo... someone might wanna save some of this text!

[Mike Eldred]

As I stated before, I signed the petition too.

 

ME

[Carbohydrates]

As I stated before, I signed the petition too. ME

Which is fantastic! All I meant by my previous post is that this forum is about to be overhauled, and every recently made post (including yours) will be lost in the transition, so somebody should copy the important bits of this thread so we can continue it on Harmony Central 2.0.

[EJD]

Hey, this whole Mike E thing has been an important twist in the thread and it's all going to get deleted later today, sooooo... someone might wanna save some of this text!

+1

[FoonkySteve]

Hey, this whole Mike E thing has been an important twist in the thread and it's all going to get deleted later today, sooooo... someone might wanna save some of this text!

Good point Carbs! You thin HCEG would make an exception by request? probably not eh?

What would be the best way to do this? Just copy and paste it all to a word doc or something?

Great to see you helping out over on the offset thread too carbs:thu: I think its made a helluva difference, 189 sigs now! Thats like 20+ more since last night!

Ive been doing some more work on the petition today, watch this space ill keep y'all posted:thu:

[FoonkySteve]

Hmmm..... So we can use the old and new forums now then eh?

I need to get reading the news on here!

anyhoo...... since im here;

Thats 300 signatures!!!

Woohoo!