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Review Summary
2018-01-22T09:32:16
This bass is a short-scale that doesn't look or feel like one. This is because, although it is 30" scale, the bridge is pretty far in from the back end of the body. Sound-wise, the lipstick pickups aren't overly-powerful, but the range of tones you can get is plentiful. The pics here don't do justice, but in hand, the look of this bass is absolutely stunning.
Richard N.
2017-03-17T14:19:01
Not a cheap made in China copy but a genuine Fender. Quality sound and feel 3 pickups gives it a wide range of tones to choose from.
David S.
2017-03-14T11:12:45
The guitar was exactly what I expected and delivered faster than promised. I was even surprised that it came with a very nice gig bag. Excellent purchase.
Paul C.
2017-02-28T08:12:18
Lighter weight, plays great and sounds great. This is my new favorite bass.
MANDY M.
2017-01-10T08:50:54
Perfect bass for a guitar player starting out on bass. Great value for the money.
Jeffrey G.
2017-01-06T10:25:04
Upgraded from a much cheaper bass and the sound difference is incredible!
Bruce A.
2016-12-26T11:33:31
Arrived in perfect condition and looks beautiful. Got it for my husband and he loves it.
Hilary S.
2016-12-25T15:36:41
Wow, this bass is fantastically unique in many respects! Love the tone shaping and selection options! The feel of this bass while playing easily becomes part of you, and is super fast! Being 30" short scale, it offers a slightly more compact and accessible range with 21 frets, and is very comfortable to play! Really snappy, modern punchy sounds available, as well as rocking, chunky dubby sounds. Pick style definitely brings out the character of this bass. Absolutely beautiful color. Mine showed up with two missing tuning machine screws on the headstock, but not a big deal. Sooo happy with this bass! A total oddity in the best of ways!
Matt K.
2016-12-18T08:10:07
Great price and delivered with a case. Nice
Dave M.
2016-08-27T11:33:37
Nice design, very playable, good sounds. The short scale may be easier for guitarists wanting to add a bass to their arsenal than bassists used to longer scale instruments. Mine also has a few odd buzzes and rattles which I'm still trying to lock down, so not perfect.
SEAN S.
2016-05-27T22:20:02
I'm not a fan of Fenders, but I bought it anyway and this one won me over. Plays great out of the box (just lowered the strings a bit), tone shaping options are endless, and it looks very unusual in a cool but subtle way.
DENIS F.
2016-05-05T21:40:21
This Bass is beautiful and plays wonderfully. The pickups sound like they're active and are very impressive for just passive pickups. Feels great to play and I'm proud to add this bass to my collection.
ROBERT Z.
2016-04-04T18:17:08
Although not a complete impulse purchase, I wasn’t necessarily shopping around for a new bass. When this one popped up on SD’s, I fell in love with the aesthetics, but wanted to do some research and read some reviews. Finding favorable reviews, I found a dealer who had one on hand and made the trip up to try it out. Upon inspecting it at the dealer, I was disappointed a bit. The finish was not what I had hoped for; the paint was bubbled in the back where the neck attaches and the edge of the neck/frets was pretty rough looking. Two of the three pickups were also flopping around in the body. Although worried about what I was seeing, I decided to plug it into a few different amps to try it out. As most others have expressed, the sound options were amazing, but what I really liked was the short scale, which was a plus for me and my not-so-huge hands. I left the dealer not really knowing what I wanted to do. Being MIM, I was nervous that the quality issues maybe weren’t limited to the one I had seen/played. So, I spent a few days doing more research and contemplating whether it was worth the risk. I decided that I’d go for it. The bass arrived a few days later. Upon inspection, the finish was near flawless – I couldn’t have been happier with that. I noticed that one of the pickups rattled/vibrated a bit when strumming one of the strings (I think the D, if I remember correctly), but a turn of the Phillips screws attaching it fixed that. The only thing that I didn’t care for was the strings. My other bass has Ernie Ball flats, and I really missed the tone they produced. No matter what position the selector was in, there was obviously no way to mimic that. So, I spent a couple days trying to source flats for the Rascal (something that is definitely not as easy to do for a short scale as it is for a long scale!). Upon installation of the new strings, I fell in love with the Rascal. My old long scale is now collecting dust – ok, maybe not collecting dust quite yet, but certainly taking a backseat to this one – as I really enjoy playing this. One thing I should mention, is that, although this is a short scale base, this certainly isn’t a “small”, ¾, or micro bass in its stature; this is a full-size (and a bit heavy) bass, so keep that in mind. Overall, I think this is a great product and would recommend it – especially with the flats installed.
Tom H.
2016-03-10T07:36:03
Bought this completely on impulse during a flash sale. I had a Fender MIM P-Bass that I never really grew that fond of. I'm already completely in love with this thing. The shorter scale length is massive improvement as someone coming from guitars. But the main draw is the pickups. There's a huge variety of tones to play with. From the super aggressive bridge pickup, to the smooth neck pickup, and lots of noise cancelling combinations therein. Fit and finish was exceptional on mine, and if arrived in perfect shape. Beautiful color, and the gig bag is a nice addition. Really did not expect to be buying an instrument from Adorama, but very glad I did!
TRAVIS S.
Totally unique tones, gorgeous looks, and super comfortable playability!
By Matt K.
Wow, this bass is fantastically unique in many respects! Love the tone shaping and selection options! The feel of this bass while playing easily becomes part of you, and is super fast! Being 30" short scale, it offers a slightly more compact and accessible range with 21 frets, and is very comfortable to play! Really snappy, modern punchy sounds available, as well as rocking, chunky dubby sounds. Pick style definitely brings out the character of this bass. Absolutely beautiful color. Mi...
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Pleasantly surprised
By Tom H.
Although not a complete impulse purchase, I wasn’t necessarily shopping around for a new bass. When this one popped up on SD’s, I fell in love with the aesthetics, but wanted to do some research and read some reviews. Finding favorable reviews, I found a dealer who had one on hand and made the trip up to try it out. Upon inspecting it at the dealer, I was disappointed a bit. The finish was not what I had hoped for; the paint was bubbled in the back where the neck attaches and the edge of ...
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Fender introduces a new model of what is surely one of its rarest-ever instruments, the semi-hollow Starcaster Bass. Only a handful of prototype models appeared during the mid 1970s, unusually distinctive as the only offset semi-hollow bass guitar in Fender history (to say nothing of its two enormous humbucking pickups). After decades of virtually fabled status, the Starcaster Bass now reappears in electrifying Modern Player form with superior sound, build and beauty ideal for bassists with a flair for appealingly unconventional Fender style.
The Fender Starcaster Bass guitar's thin semi-hollow offset body has a bound maple top and back, with stylish bound f-holes. A short-scale bass (30"), it has a C"-shaped maple neck topped by the distinctively curvaceous Starcaster headstock and a 9.5"-radius maple fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and black-dot inlays. Other premium features include dual Fender Wide Range humbucking bass pickups with three-way toggle switching, four skirted amp"-style control knobs (volume and tone for each pickup) and a four-saddle Fender Hi-Mass bridge. Available in gorgeous Natural, Black and Aged Cherry Burst gloss finishes.