Hello all,
Fender is re-issuing their semi-hollow/hollow body guitars and basses!

They are re-issuing the Coronado....and the Starcaster!

Based on the pricing (Round $900 US), I'm thinking they will be built in Mexico.

I own 2 vintage Coronados with hand built pickups by Stonewall Pickups in New Hampshire (USA). The original DeArmond's were quite lame.

I love the feel of the Coronado. I played a vintage Starcaster only once and I really liked it. The neck was sublime and I've always liked Fender's Wide Range buckers.

I'm excited about these guitars. Here's to hoping the re-issues live up to the build quality of the originals!

Say what you will about Fender but they give the people what they want!

www.fender.com for more

Glad you like the news Cafaro. The initial run of the Starcaster was short and there was a reason for it; it wasn't marketed well and so didn't sell. IMHO though, guitars like the Starcaster are not Fender's forte. Fender was the first to mass produce solid body electeric guitars, starting with venerable Telecaster and then the Stratocaster, which have remained essentially unchanged since the 1950s. Semi-hollow body guitars though are just not something they have done well. Perhaps they will do better this time. We'll see...

.

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Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013-09-08 18:25 by TeleK.

They also make Fenders in Japan. I have a 2010 made in Japan Fender Jaguar 1966 reissue in candy apple red with the Mother of Pearl block inlays. I bought it new for $600 USD.

Lovely Jaguar Stonehearted. I have a CIJ '57 Stratocaster. Great guitar...

It was only a matter of time before these two resurfaced.

It's so easy to tool up with modern maufacturing methods and the smallest "cult following" for obscure old models will soon prompt a "re-issue"

It'll be interesting see whether Coronado appers in it's original "wildwood" finsh.

Neither of them bad guitars by any means...but as Chris hinted, folks looking for this type of instrument will traditionally look to Gibson or Epiphone .

Now Mathijs will chime in and tell you that those Wide Range Humbuckers on the Starcaster -- the whole guitar for that matter -- is nothing like the originals with their threaded magnets.

That almost goes without saying ;^).

To recreate these guitars accurately wouldn't be possible at those prices.

They'd cost more than a decent example of the originals. It simply wouldn't make sense at the moment with such instruments.

I don't worry too much about the period correct minutae with vintage re-isues...so long as you get a decent guitar with the right vibe.
I do agree though that Fender ought by now to have properly reproduced the Wide Range humbuckers for use in appropriate models.

Actually, with today's technology and experience, it's easier and cheaper than ever to mass-produce guitars, and reproducing a '70s Fender isn't very complicated or expensive. That doesn't mean Fender won't cut costs even more, to make money and to streamline manufacturing with other models. For example, the polyester finish on the 70s Fenders are very easy to reproduce (just use the same ol' poly they put on Squiers or whatever) but making exact Wide Range Humbuckers probably wasn't worth the money, in Fender's eyes.

I suppose these mexican reissues will probably be very playable but lack the "vibe" of the originals.

Edit: fixed mistake (bold text)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-09-10 17:30 by LieB.

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stonehearted

Ooh la la. Nice!

I have a 1985 Japanese-made Strat, Lake Placid Blue. It's not considered cool or special, but if I keep holding onto her, eventually she'll be at least vintage.

Wow, are they going to do the Coronados in the Wildwood finishes, where they inected dye into living trees? (seemed like a good idea at the time).





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-09-10 06:40 by 71Tele.

Fender Starcaster....Coronado...

Excuse me while I Kiss the sky....

2 1 2 0

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LieB
I suppose these mexican reissues will probably be very playable but lack the "vibe" of the originals.

That's the upside with modern production.

From the playability & functional point of view , modern budget re-issues are consistently better than many of the original vintage guitars they're replicating.

Fender's classic designs don't call for exotic or expensive tropical hardwoods and were designed with cost effective ease of manufacture in mind.

That's what made it so easy for the likes of Tokai to make such good copies in the early 80s.

To Fender's credit [unlike certain other makers !], rather than spend thirty years moaning about it, they decided to compete in the affordable market with their own Japanese and later Mexican production.

Do you get a better Strat or Tele from Fender's custom shop ?
Of course you do...but with Fender guitars it's often the chance pairing of two bits of wood that give us a real keeper.
The custom shop naturally select the best woods...but much equally toneful timber turns up by chance in routine production.
So if you spend enough time checking out different examples, you'll find a Strat or Tele as good as you'd want from Mexico or Japan. Then Just add some better pickups and harware...sorted !

The Starcasters have poly finishes and do not have string though sustain blocks like the originals. My first electric was a Starcaster so I'd like to try one of these reissues.

Please tell more

There must be an interesting story to a Starcaster of all things being your very first electric

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Spud
Do you get a better Strat or Tele from Fender's custom shop ?
Of course you do...but with Fender guitars it's often the chance pairing of two bits of wood that give us a real keeper.
The custom shop naturally select the best woods...but much equally toneful timber turns up by chance in routine production.
So if you spend enough time checking out different examples, you'll find a Strat or Tele as good as you'd want from Mexico or Japan. Then Just add some better pickups and harware...sorted !

Agreed!

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terraplane
The Starcasters have poly finishes and do not have string though sustain blocks like the originals. My first electric was a Starcaster so I'd like to try one of these reissues.

I'm pretty certain all original Starcasters have poly finishes too, because that's the only finish Fender used between 1969 and the early 80s. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

So while a nitro finish would be very appropriate for this old style kind of guitar model, the poly is still "vintage correct".

Gotta say the bridge without string through body is a little boring and unlike Fender.

CIJ '65 RI Mustang

This and a LP Jr have been my go to guitars lately.

I have a Aerodyne Strat that is CIJ. I love it. It sounds different from any other Strat I own and it has a beautiful stripped maroon finish. Build is exceptional. It's funny b/c my wife bought me that model as my first electric 4 years ago but then I sold it cuz I "HAD" to have a Tele. I regretted selling it so much that I bought another this summer.

I was saying to someone the other day the we are in a new "golden age" of guitar building. I've only been playing for 4 years but as I look at older guitar magazines it seems to me that there are so many high quality guitars for decent money.

Probably more than ever before. Many Epiphones are superior in build and tone than the Gibson counterparts....not exact models but I would stack a Epi LP Customer against a Gibson LP Studio any day

I know it is sacrilege but I cant warm up to PRS', however, IMHO, they have managed to up everyone's game by producing such high quality guitars in their lower SE and now their lower end USA models.

It seems like most Fender, PRS, Ibenez, Washburn, etc..get it. Gibson.. not quite yet!

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Cafaro
I know it is sacrilege but I cant warm up to PRS', however, IMHO, they have managed to up everyone's game by producing such high quality guitars in their lower SE and now their lower end USA models.

Don't worry , you're not on your own.
I too greatly respect and admire PRS as a maker...but I've never been able to love them.

They're perhaps just too perfect to have an interesting character.

I kind of feel a bit guilty about these feelings...especially since I love Gibson guitars [finish flaws and all] but hate the company for it's attitudes and behaviour.

I have kind of the same feelings towards PRS. Great guitars, but a little too slick. Perhaps they're a bit out of fashion too; they seemed to be popular in the '90s, and maybe they will have a resurgence in popularity in the future.

Myself, I'm a big fan of Hamer instead, and while smaller, they have a similar reputation as PRS. In fact, when I brought my Hamer Studio to a luthier he was surprised that I played on a guitar that was so "out of fashion". I was like "Huh? It looks more or less like a Les Paul anyway, how can this be out of fashion?".

I love Gibson too, just like you Spud. Their quality is spotty (for the money), but they live on their brand and history. The worlds largest corporations can only dream about getting the same public exposure as Gibson and Fender have gotten through the years, all thanks to the rock stars who have used their products. There's no better way to sell stuff to kids (and adults with lotsa money). But they were also the first ones on the market -- they defined electric guitars at the exact right time.

Nowadays, though, I think both Fender and Gibson are suffering from over-production, basically. There's only so many times you can reinvent the electric guitar, it seems. And rock 'n' roll isn't exactly reinventing itself either. People buy archive releases and reissue Les Pauls ...

There's no shortage of genuine innovation in the guitar industry.
The biggest problem is that we guitar players are a very conservative bunch who wpould always rather have a '62 Strat and a Tweed Bassman.

[Oddly, bass players are far more accepting of new instrument designs and applifier technology ]

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Spud
There's no shortage of genuine innovation in the guitar industry.
The biggest problem is that we guitar players are a very conservative bunch who wpould always rather have a '62 Strat and a Tweed Bassman.

[Oddly, bass players are far more accepting of new instrument designs and applifier technology ]

That's one big truth. But, I wouldn't say no to a 62 Strat and a tweed Bassman if someone gave them to me as a present... ><

Actually, this new reissues must be made in China if they are part of the Fender Modern Player Series. Wich is odd.

I must say though that Fender is making from good to great instruments these days for every wallet.

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Spud

[Oddly, bass players are far more accepting of new instrument designs and applifier technology ]

I see, I get it why I see about 98% of all bassists play a Fender Precision or Jazz through an Ampeg SVT live on stage!

Mathijs

Fender has a bunch of "new" Telecasters also.

[www.fender.com]

I'd like to testdrive the 50's Hot Rod with a Wide Range neck Humbucker. maybe it is nice.

It's funny, every time Fender comes out with yet another Tele or Strat, I usually find myself wanting one! WTF??? Must be something is the fretboards.
Like Fender smack. You play one of their guitars and you are hooked.

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open-g
Fender has a bunch of "new" Telecasters also.

[www.fender.com]

I'd like to testdrive the 50's Hot Rod with a Wide Range neck Humbucker. maybe it is nice.

The new FWRH is actually a standard PAF type humbucker with a wider casing.

Mathijs

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Mathijs

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open-g
Fender has a bunch of "new" Telecasters also.

[www.fender.com]

I'd like to testdrive the 50's Hot Rod with a Wide Range neck Humbucker. maybe it is nice.

The new FWRH is actually a standard PAF type humbucker with a wider casing.

Mathijs

I know. that's why I said I'd like to testdrive it - maybe it sounds as good as this Mexico Deluxe.

what i don't get is why Fender doesn't push & re-issue their own designed CuNiFe WRH. they'd have lots of takers I suppose.

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Mathijs

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Spud

[Oddly, bass players are far more accepting of new instrument designs and applifier technology ]

I see, I get it why I see about 98% of all bassists play a Fender Precision or Jazz through an Ampeg SVT live on stage!

Mathijs

You need to start looking at more bass players on stage if you're not exaggerating. While I won't deny that many bass players use a Jazz or P- thrugh an Ampeg, I would be willing to bet that it's nowhere close to 98%.

Peace,
Mr DJA