After two decades with Gibson, Tom DeLonge looks to be returning to Fender as he unveils a radical new Starcaster electric guitar from the California guitar giant.
In a new post on Instagram, DeLonge shared a picture of a sticker-plastered single-pickup Starcaster semi-hollow design, heralding it as “blink-182 guitar 2.0” and a work in progress.
The Starcaster is a kind of middle ground between DeLonge’s previous Gibson ES-333 and Fender Stratocaster models, so makes perfect sense for the pop-punk hero’s next signature guitar.
Further digging around Instagram reveals a wealth of information further to DeLonge’s initial post. Blink engineer Aaron Rubin, who worked on the new guitars, posted his own photo of DeLonge, which shows the guitar in four finishes – we’re guessing Shoreline Gold, Flat White, Shell Pink and Surf Green – and reveals the headstock is of the oversized ’70s Strat variety as opposed to the traditional Starcaster design.
Comments on Rubin’s post also confirm that rather than the Seymour Duncan Invader found in DeLonge’s signature Strat, the Starcaster will feature a Duncan Custom pickup – we’d wager this will be in some way inspired by the Gibson Dirty Fingers humbucker that featured on the guitarist’s ES-333.
Luthier Brian Thrasher was behind much of the build, and offers a closer look at the guitar’s four finishes in his own post, as well as a comprehensive tour of the guitar’s assembly in an Instagram story posted on December 9.
Of particular note is a close-up look at the custom Blink-182 smiley face logo inlays, which were installed by Fender Custom Shop Master Builder Ron Thorn.
Other features on the new guitar include glow-in-the-dark stage dots, a single volume control, Adjusto-Matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece and – unusually for Fender – Grover tuners.
There’s no confirmation on whether these guitars will be available as a production-line signature model, but Thrasher certainly hopes so. Either way, we’ll see the Starcasters make their live debut during Blink-182’s upcoming reunion world tour, which kicks off on March 11 in Tijuana, Mexico.
The Tom DeLonge Stratocaster was produced by Fender from 1999 to 2004. The guitarist was first seen playing a Gibson ES-333 with side-project Box Car Racer in 2002, and signed on as a Gibson signature artist the following year. The Tom DeLonge ES-333 was discontinued in 2012.
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