Fender to finally make the Starcaster bass and reissue the Coronado?

[drbassman]

I'm going into the HOG today.  The Coronado is in and I want to play it and the Starcaster through a good amp before I decide anything.  I am really yearning for a good sounding, easy playing 30" hollowbody. 

[Dave W]

I don't doubt it will be easy playing. The tone is the big question.

[drbassman]

I don't doubt it will be easy playing. The tone is the big question.

Well, my first impressions of the Coronado are good.  I brought one home and it will go to practice with me tonight.  It is easy playing, nice weight and balance.  I tweaked the action and boy the adjustable bridge worked just fine.  I did ditch the rounds on it for some DA half rounds.  I now have that old school thump and it will be interesting to see how the cheaper pups mesh with the Mesa amp.  They actually sounded pretty good through a new Fender Bassman tube amp at the HOG.  The fit and finish are excellent, I have to admit.  The hardware is middle of the road, but not overly cheap looking or feeling.  The neck is really nice.  Beautiful maple and a profile more like an old Mustang bass.  We'll she how she does at full bore with the band.  With my B-15 practice amp, it's really an old school sound.  The volume across the strings, one of my pet peeves, is very good.  I'm surprised!  So, more tomorrow after the test run tonight.

I decided I liked the Coro look more than the Starcaster.  So it;s the Coro for now.  BTW (I'm sure Dave is wondering), the new Coro sounds better to me than the two originals I had before.  A little more life to it, but I don't think the body is any more resonant than before, it's hard to tell!  Maybe Chinese pups are a little livelier than old DeArmonds.

[drbassman]

The bass did well at practice.  The guys liked the sound of it.  The guitar player was OK with it, but he thinks I should sound like Geddy Lee all the time, ugh.  What do guitar players know about bass anyway?

I put half rounds on it and it thumped away happily.  I am impressed by the pups, though not as powerful as TV Jones Thundertrons (I had to turn the amp from 8 to 9 o'clock to get the volume I wanted) they still did a nice job.  They do have a nice response range and I think they are a bit better then the Epi pups I've had in the past in basses like the EB-3 and the Allan Woody.  The 3-way switch gives the bass a lot of tonal variety.  Needless to say, the 30" slim profile neck is great to play.  The weight is nice and there weren't any feedback problems at volume.  As usual, the e-string on a short scale struggles to be well-defined with a flat-style string.  With rounds that it came with, the bass is clearly louder and the notes on the e-string much crisper.  I know this is blasphemy, but I think the bass, with half-rounds sounds a lot like my Hofner Club.  Not exactly, but they share a certain hollow body thump that surprised me.  Maybe it's the thin body.  My hollow body Gretsches didn't always that thumpiness, probably due to the big box bodies they have.  This bass is different.  To be frank, it sounds better than an original Coronado (which probably isn't that hard to do, but it is better IMHO).

Well, I'm gonna keep it for a bit and play around with it.  I'll try some nickel rounds on it to see how that flies.  It will be fun to experiment with it.  For the money, it's not a lot of risk and I do love the look of the cherry burst.  I have to say, it's quality is right in there with the lower priced Gretsches and Hofners.  Besides, the pups are the same size a TV Jones Gretsch, so a drop in mod is possible too.  It will be competitive in the market, I think.

[drbassman]

Here she is.  I wish I could say the build quality sucks and Fender shouldn't build these in China, but it looks like most any other poly coated Fender or Epi I've ever owned.  I will say the finish doesn't appear as deep as I've seen on foreign made basses.  That's refreshing and makes the bass look a little better.





As I said, the pups are exact TV Jones/Gretsch clones.  Lots of options if you wanted to upgrade.  Like someone once said, you can put great pickups in a turd of a bass and it's still a turd.  This bass is a bit better than a turd IMO.  I upgraded the pups in an Allan Woody and it did make a significant difference even though the bass wasn't the greatest build around.  So, we'll see what the future has in store for this bass.

[Dave W]

Thanks for the report. Based on it, I'll probably pass. Maybe I'll feel differently when I'm able to try one.

[drbassman]

Thanks for the report. Based on it, I'll probably pass. Maybe I'll feel differently when I'm able to try one.

Again, as I suspected, the pups are the weak point, but they are pretty decent.  At this price point it's a nice bass.

[Pilgrim]

I have a pair of FIlterTrons sitting around somewhere......

Hmmmmmmmmm......

[drbassman]

I have a pair of FIlterTrons sitting around somewhere......

Hmmmmmmmmm......

Yeah, me too......

[godofthunder]

 Sure looks purdy to me! I love odd ball stuff. Some of the poly finish stuff lately has been has been very lightly applied.

[Pilgrim]

I laid hands on the Cherry Burst version last weekend.  The pickups are imprinted "Fidelitron", so as Bill noted, they're direct copies / spinoffs of the Gretsch pickups.  I thought the bass sounded nice.  I tried the full range of the tone controls and could get everything from Chas Chandler's thumpy sound to a more contemporary sound.  Not high on treble, but I don't expect that from a hollowbody or chambered bass.  There was enough treble to make my lousy finger technique on rounds clearly audible with zings every time I lifted a finger.

The thing I noted: HEAVY.  Had to be all of 9 pounds.  One of the guys at the store came over and commented that everyone had noticed that it is heavier than it looks.

Their price was $749, which is fair for a bass like that. Fit and finish were very nice, and as Bill noted, the clear coats were not ladled on - they were moderate in thickness.  It featured inlays and very nice binding on the neck, both of which i liked a lot.  The tuners felt smooth and easy to adjust. Bridge is fixed in place, with the mounting pins going into the body.

I can't justify going after one with my 1970's Univox hollowbody and my Gretsch 5123, but it's a nice bass.  I think it ought to sell well.

[drbassman]

I'm still having fun with mine.  I didn't really notice the weight!  Now that I pick it up, it is heavier than it looks.  The extra mass should assist the tone, not deter from it I would surmise.  I'm taking it to practice gain and see what it can do after I've tweaked it some more.  One other note, the knobs seem a bit cheap and I will swap those out.  It will be my one Chinese bass for awhile.

[ilan]

The extra mass (center block, I'm guessing?) will prevent neck-dive and feedback, two of the most prominent features of the old Coro's.

Besides, 9 lbs. is ideal for me. That's what my Fenders and Rics weigh. My 1964 Gretsch 6070, a full hollowbody (no sustain block), also weighs 9 lbs.

[drbassman]

The extra mass (center block, I'm guessing?) will prevent neck-dive and feedback, two of the most prominent features of the old Coro's.

Besides, 9 lbs. is ideal for me. That's what my Fenders and Rics weigh. My 1964 Gretsch 6070, a full hollowbody (no sustain block), also weighs 9 lbs.

Just for grins, I weighed my new Coro and it came in at 9.5 lbs.  Definitely a good balance, no neck diving (like my Gibson SG) and no feedback at playing volumes at our club.  I have always liked the styling, or lack thereof in some people's opinions, of the Coronado.

[Pilgrim]

I agree, the balance is better than would be the case if it were lighter. 

It really NEEDS flats, Bill....they're calling you...........