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

[drbassman]

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

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

I did put DA half rounds on and they sound good.  They are my new favorite semi-flat string.  I also have rediscovered DA Chromes, great sounding strings.

[Dave W]

I'd rather save my money for a vintage Coro I at a reasonable price.

[Pilgrim]

I'd rather save my money for a vintage Coro I at a reasonable price.

I thought you had categorized them as excessively mediocre.   

[drbassman]

I thought you had categorized them as excessively mediocre.   

I agree, the new Coro sounds better than an original.  I made one little improvement.  I added a strap button to one of the neck plate screws since the reissue location under the neck heel is a pain to actually use. 

[Dave W]

I thought you had categorized them as excessively mediocre.   

The original Coro II is mediocre, IMHO. The Coro I has the single neck pickup and a different bridge and sounds quite different, quite a bit more open to me.

[drbassman]

While I did have 2 Coro IIs, I can't say anything about the Coro I.  I can't imagine a bridge would make that much more of a difference since the pups and body were all the same.  Either way, I like the new one and it's pretty nice for the price.

[neepheid]

Well, my local shop finally got a Coronado in and I had a go of it at the weekend.  It was ... OK.  For a start, I find it hard to get the "short scale == toy" mentality out of my head but I tried to do so.  Certainly looked great, couldn't really fault the finish, not too thick (I seem to remember the Modern Player Tele bass I tried seemed to have about an inch of finish on it - an exaggeration for sure but it felt like the bass was made of finish and not wood, you know?), nice cherry burst.  Pickups were as I expected - having a Cabronita P I am already acquainted with the Fideli'tron pickup.  Sweet top end, plenty twang if you want it but no slouch in the low end either.  A decent amount of cut available on the tone controls.  Good interaction between the pickups - the characters of neck and bridge dovetailed well for a change instead of serving to cancel each other out.

One thing I noticed was that with both pickups on, the volume controls became like master volume - turn one down and it turns off the entire bass (and not on a very graceful taper either) - is this how they're wired or is it a fault with the one I tried?

Don't think I'll get one.  It just didn't wow me enough to drop nearly £700 on one (yes, that's UK street price - circa $1100).  Like I said at the beginning, it was ... OK, good even, but didn't click with me.  Would still like to try a Starcaster bass at some point, for reference if nothing else.

[drbassman]

I'm a sucker for a hollow body, been my weakness since forever.  I'm keeping mine as it does perform better, IMO, than the Hofner Sutcliff, Guild Starfire reissue, some lower end Gretsches, and other HBs I've owned in recent years and can't even remember!

[neepheid]

Oops, I bought a Starcaster yesterday.  Tried it in the shop and despite being given a practice amp to try it through, the bass had BALLS.  This is a good thing.  Really dug the looks and it's a hefty beast for being semi hollow, perhaps there's a half brick for a central block   Once I got it home I had a quick blast through my own amp and found surprising amounts of high end (I mean it was there - after my experiences with the Modern Player Telecaster bass - a mudfest - I did not expect to hear any), and a real meaty tone.  Same daft master volume wiring with both pickups enabled but at least it's a graceful taper.  Not really a pickup blender myself (I like switches) so I'm not super fussed about it.

More thoughts when I get a proper go of it at a band rehearsal or something.  Now to find something to put it in.  For now, the JC and the Starcaster will have to share a bag.

[neepheid]

So, the report.

Surprised at how "normal" it feels despite being a short scale (this has something to do with the nut position relative to the body and probably not an accident). It did need more work than I usually have to put in EQ-wise (although the sound was weird in the room that night anyway), needs the amp's help in the high end as you probably expected. Favourite switch position - middle. Produced what I think is the punchiest palm-muted sound out of any bass I've owned. Shame I only use that technique very occasionally! It was trouser-flappingly thick and bassy (even with a solitary 10" driver) and I did have to listen a bit harder than usual to myself but it could be heard.  Won't be doing any crazy slap funk lines with it any time soon (I won't be doing them ever, but that's not the point).

[Dave W]

It's not surprising that it doesn't feel small. My former Coro II was the same way, which is probably why it was sometimes mistaken for a long scale.

[drbassman]

Well, I've had the Coro for a couple weeks and I'm still enjoying it.  I like the feel of it, the neck is wonderful to play and the pups are reasonably beefy.  It sounds really nice through my B-15 and I'm going to give it a go at practice again to see how the half rounds perform through the big rig.  Overall, a nice bass for the money IMHO.

[godofthunder]

  Sigh I am trying soooooooooooo hard to stick to my USA or vintage collecting (or both) rule. That Starcaster is just plain cool.

[drbassman]

Yep, having one Chinese bass can be unsettling, but I'm learning to live with it.  That natural Starcaster is very cool looking for sure.  Nice neck on it too.

[jumbodbassman]

natural with a maple neck..  that might be hard to resist when I get a job...