Fender Tom DeLonge Starcaster in a Semi-hollow Version
After the signature Strat, which has become one of Fender's most successful models of recent years, the manufacturer came up with another instrument designed in collaboration with the guitarist of punk rockers Blink-182. The new product bearing the name Fender Tom DeLonge Starcaster, whose official distribution started yesterday, has a semi-hollow body and, similarly to DeLonge's Stratocaster, offers a straightforward concept with simply designed electronics, punchy sound and playing comfort.
The offset body with a central solid block has laminated maple walls, a bolt-on neck with a comfortable Modern-C profile made of heat-treated maple, a rosewood fingerboard with a 12-inch radius for smooth string bending and 22 medium jumbo frets. The synthetic bone nut is 42 mm wide, and the instrument also features a Fender-style scale length measured at 25.5 inches.
Like the previous signature Strat, the Starcaster is equipped with only one Seymour Duncan humbucker, but unlike the Stratocaster fitted with the Invader SH-8, there is an SD Custom SH-5 type, featuring tight bass, punchy mids and airy highs, earning this pickup the nickname "PAF on steroids". Thanks to its medium output, small ceramic magnet and specially wound coils, the SH-5 is also capable of producing crystal clear sound with transparent expression.
The detailed presentation of higher frequencies is further aided by the Treble Bleed circuit on the Volume potentiometer, which prevents the loss of these bands in the signal when the volume control is turned down. Hardware with a classic or black chrome finish consists of a stop bar tailpiece, a solid tune-o-matic bridge and Fender Deluxe Staggered locking tuning machines with staggered posts.
The stylish Fender Tom DeLonge Starcaster, which has a large Strat headstock compared to the mid-1970s design, is available in Satin Shoreline Gold, Satin Surf Green, Satin Olympic White or Satin Shell Pink, all finished in a matt urethane lacquer. Production was handled by the Indonesian branch, with the price set at just under 1200 dollars for the US market.
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