TOM DELONGES BACK WITH FENDER!!! Fender Custom Starcaster!

In this episode, we talk about Tom’s new Starcaster. Our thoughts, what we currently know, and all-around excitement around the four new guitars! HUGE THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE!
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Builder: Brian Thrasher / brianthrasher13
Inlays: / thornguitars
/ theaaronrubin
/ mschulz83
/ xhumblebragx
/ flmp67
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Join the discord! / discord
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If you haven't already don't forget to follow us on Instagram! We're more than happy to answer any questions you might have or if you have any video recommendations! / gear.182
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Shout out to David Sully for letting us use one of his tracks for the video!
Song used: “Don’t always dream for better endings” for the intro & outro!
EP HERE!!! • Don't Always Dream For...
Check out his stuff on:
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/0wsV4...
Apple Music: / david-sully
Instagram: / davidsullymusic
KZbin: • Don't Always Dream For...

[@horace9958]

Been waiting for this video!

[@Gear182]

Hope you like it!

[@Theevilbeat]

Such an amazing thing. The gorilla biscuits sticker, the drawing. I’m in love.

[@Gear182]

Me too 😱

[@lilstjimmy]

The starcaster has always been interesting to me and its the perfect fit for Tom now that he's at peace with both AvA and blink!

[@Gear182]

Yeah man!

[@slimkickens]

Idk why, but I have a hard time picturing him using the Starcaster in AvA. Obviously he will, and different models since these are deliberately for blink, but it just feels weird

[@ricekick]

I hope these will get made for purchase soon. Id love to get a hold of one!!

[@Gear182]

🤞🏻

[@jpjay1584]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKrVonapn8amorc

[@mike.g.85]

Great job as always guys!

[@Gear182]

Thanks 🙏🏻

[@LeosNotFaking]

Yes!!!!

[@Gear182]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🙌🏼

[@alwaysevolving281]

The Duncan Custom is my favorite SD pickup. Intended for Mahogany, but I love them in an alder strat too. They’re hotter PAF’s and ceramic. Very tight low end and aggressive. They shine with a lot of gain too, imo. They stay pretty articulate. Underrated pickup. I’d love to see more TD Jazzmasters too. Why not pull a Jim Root and J Mascis and release multiple Tom DeLonge signatures?! Haha. What these have going for them is that they’re incredibly polarizing visually! There’s nothing else like them. Like it or not, Tom may have just kicked started something new for Fender.

[@Gear182]

Couldn’t agree more!!

[@kylefuller2607]

Good stuff guys. Was itching for even more so I vote for a Part 2 video if you think of more to discuss about it 🙏😬

[@Gear182]

Yeah once a bit more comes out we definitely can!

[@AllbeeHivezChristianAllbee]

One thing I did forget to mention is that I believe that whether they release a signature model or not will likely depend on the commercial success of Blink’s album and tour.

[@dantsandras8326]

What bridge and tail piece would be the closest available to buy to match the ones used on these guitars?

[@BJester91]

Just saw Blink live in Baltimore and the faded shell pink and his yellow model with the UFO abducting a guy were hands down my favorite. I need a yellow one!

[@kateruckus]

Those look dope. The double black binding really pops against the finish.

[@Gear182]

Completely agree!

[@brentporter9324]

I’ve wanted a gold top 33x style guitar for decades. I’m sold. 100%

[@davidjohnsully]

Yes yes yes!! ❤

[@Gear182]

❤️

[@joshuamonroe4684]

This awesome. I've always loved Tom's signature models.

[@Gear182]

Us too!

[@kelvinhall1394]

Great video! Why did Tom go for Grover tuners and which strings is he using now?

[@aleksey_kamchatkalifornia]

Nice to watch

[@Gear182]

Thanks for watching !

[@bewleyster]

You guys are truly the best

[@Gear182]

You’re too kind 🥹

[@mattiesinns595]

i might of missed you guys saying it, What pickup is in it? can you link the sweetwater to it.

[@Gear182]

www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SH5Blk--seymour-duncan-sh-5-duncan-custom-humbucker-pickup-black

[@Cash_Lovell]

im gonna try at a bcr 335 but a starcaster. squire makes a cherry red starcaster and with a new neck and some stickers it will look pretty sick

[@Gear182]

Nice! Definitely send us some pics once it’s complete!! 👏🏼

[@diddyfaplord]

Been waiting for this one! Personally I’m not a fan of that guitar at all, but still stoked for him to be back with Fender. Hope they reissue the strats!

[@Gear182]

Yeah! I’d personally love a custom shop limited run of the white or black strat

[@diddyfaplord]

@@Gear182 YES! That’s what I was saying to my friend. If they do 4 again, I’m hoping for surf green, all black, all white, and I’m not sure about the other one. I know TGM is out of the question because it would need black hardware. How about silver?

[@James-vr5wh]

If Fender ever puts these into production totally getting a Gold one. And glad he went with a tamer pickup. The Duncan Custom is such an overlooked pickup. Used one in a SG for years. Was a super versatile pickup and comparable to a Gibson 498T with slightly scooped mids. Personally I rather have milder pickup and push the amp harder. Especially when you only have one pickup, makes it more versatile and give you semi cleans tones if needed.

[@Gear182]

Yeah, I completely agree! Super happy it’s a completely new instrument from the body to the electronics!

[@mcflydrums1]

Do you guys have info on why don´t use strats anymore ?

[@Gear182]

Strats are small on a guy 6’4. Plus semi hollows typically way less and Tom has had some back issues in the past so having a lighter guitar helps

[@caiolima8574]

You guys reckon these would be mainly for live use or they might end up taking the Gibsons' place for recordings as well?

[@Gear182]

I’d imagine they are mainly live guitars. If Tom likes them, I’m sure they’ll end up in the studio

[@LouSassles]

I seen some pics recently and he has more fenders in the collection than Gibsons but idk. Tom always uses a Gibson or has history using a Gibson during recording for most of not all albums

[@clfnole]

Is the pickup based on the Custom 5 (SH-14) or the SH-5?

[@Gear182]

Was told a SH-5

[@clfnole]

@@Gear182 wasn’t sure because I kept hearing people mention “custom” and how that word was being used. Another great podcast. Personally I am bummed they didn’t reissue the ED-333 as I am just not feeling those Starcasters.

[@tkerr7376]

rad video guys

[@Gear182]

Thanks so much!

[@go_ham_sam9902]

I'm loving the Starcaster and glad it's finally getting love and a decent headstock for once lol. Personally, I wish he would have discussed a signature model with PRS. I think PRS handles their artists models well, their QC is incredible, the SE line is fantastic and accessible, and PRS needs a bigger hollow body in their lineup. Primarily, I'm a bass player and would love to see Mark get a new production signature as well.

[@Gear182]

Yeah PRS are an amazing company

[@blindsleep]

I'm curious what the fretboard radius is.

[@Gear182]

American standard

[@blindsleep]

@@Gear182 ok so American Standard can be 7.25 or 9.5 depending on what Fender is pimping that week.

[@redeyedflutist2548]

Awesome video guys. I'm just curious, what's the guitar before the surf green starcaster with the black/red colors at 10:21

[@Gear182]

Thanks!! And it’s just another guitar that the builder was working on thats not Tom related😊

[@customshopbacktalk2026]

Holding on as long as I can 😅

[@Gear182]

💪🏻

[@ShaneBryson]

A Squire run makes the most sense considering price point and that Squier has been pumping out all the Starcasters in the last few years. Fender or Squier, I will pre-order when it is announced.

[@Gear182]

Yeah you could be right.

[@patrickdstevens]

Notice he switched up where the Starcaster neck strap button usually goes to match more of his Gibson?! You can see it at 5:44 on the bottom left pic with the white AND Gold Starcaster. (Neck plate) - Better Imo White is upper R and Gold is upper L. I'm guessing to see which weight distribution feels better.

[@Gear182]

Yeah!! Good eye!

[@182newspod]

Surf green all day!!!

[@Gear182]

Grest choice !!!

[@slimkickens]

As a very much not a 6' 4" dude, I'm very tempted to build a Mooncaster

[@Gear182]

Do it! Send us pics if you do! I’m super interested to see what people make

[@slimkickens]

@@Gear182 I definitely will! Of course, the money for that kinda build is a little out of my price range at the moment. I'm really thinking about doing a strat build. I've got a few strats, but no Tom style ones. But I really love semi-hollows, so the Mooncaster is hella tempting

[@eric.dangerfield]

Stefan what's that padre looking guitar in the back?

[@horace9958]

It is padre, he owns it

[@Gear182]

Hey. It’s padre 😂

[@eric.dangerfield]

@@Gear182 PLEASE TALK ABOUT IT!! I’ve recently gotten into blink and your guys’ channel has taught me so much about Tom’s cool strats.

[@JordanHandwerker]

The Fender Tomcaster

[@simonislam]

What are we thinking the bodies are? Unfinished Indonesian ones? Highly doubt they pressed these in house but could be wrong.

[@Gear182]

I was told it was all custom from the start

[@simonislam]

@@Gear182 wow! Huge respect for Tom at the artist/r&d division. They rarely do semi hollows unless full on master built. Must have used the gretsch custom shop tooling to get this done.

[@determineddoug2945]

LOVE all the 4 colors. Gold is absolutely the best though haha. By the way this channel is rad!

[@Gear182]

Yeah! The gold doesn’t get nearly as much love!

[@determineddoug2945]

@@Gear182 what do you guys think is the best color for a bass guitar overall?

[@AllbeeHivezChristianAllbee]

I’m very close to buying a Starcaster so that I can mod it to DeLonge specs with my own twist on it as well.

[@Gear182]

Nice! They’ll be very popular

[@AllbeeHivezChristianAllbee]

@@Gear182 About two days after I posted that comment, I ordered a Squier Affinity Starcaster with my tax return and I have plans for it, including the Duncan Custom pickup.

[@GuitarMisfit182]

A black baritone version would be sick and the white would look sick with black stripe down the middle

[@Gear182]

I’d be all for this!!

[@AvAfanfromfrance]

I'd love to see the white one with fender racing stripes on the side, or a black one with maple fretboard, 70's style

[@wr1039]

I want

[@LouSassles]

Wait so the “plans” for Toms Starcaster been around since 2021??? Holy sh!t

[@Gear182]

Yeah. These things take some time to design, be approved, build, etc.

[@richardmcclure4102]

Part of me thinks if Gibson sees blink and Tom regaining popularity that they may make him some more in a year or 2

[@Gear182]

Never say never, but it takes a long time.

[@JordanHandwerker]

Also if you build a Warmoth Mooncaster you’re looking at $790 for the body alone ( painted, knock $230 without paint )

[@Gear182]

I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before somebody post their custom one. I’m just really interested to see the size difference between the two.

[@JordanHandwerker]

@@Gear182 dimensionally they look similar. I would assume it’s pretty close in size to an Epiphone dot studio

[@JordanHandwerker]

@@Gear182also! I’m probably going to do this to my Epiphone, but if you have wood working experience you could buy a Squire Starcaster and fill the neck pickup in with a block of wood and some epoxy and repaint it. Going to be turning my Epiphone Dot Studio into more of a Pseudo Delonge 335

[@kolbytatom1334]

Hear me out dudes, An all blk one but the binding is glow in the dark like the dots.. Also, he’s def gonna “customize” the heck outta those. Also too, it would be nice if fender gave it to us for a throwback retail price off $800. 😅 You could recreate one if you got a star caster and changed the neck you know. Really the hard part will be closing up the neck pickup and other holes.

[@Gear182]

Ohhh I love that idea of the glow in the dark binding!

[@gozee]

Hi

[@clicheguevara9917]

dirty fingers is very different from the sh5 and cobain never used it. dirty fingers= low mids high output. sh5 = scoop, medium output. you can find out this stuff with a 30 second google search.

[@Gear182]

You are correct. I made the Cobain mistake and didn’t realize till after we recorded the vid 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@clicheguevara9917]

@@Gear182 all good! keep up the good work guys!

[@Boraxizyum]

such a cool guitar man,prob gonna cost a kidney tho lol.

[@Gear182]

Could be a MIM

[@Boraxizyum]

@@Gear182 maybe if they make a squier itll be cheap

[@NukNuk013]

so i had a question. took me awhile to get back to this vid, but here goes - he had like, quite a few of those Gibsons. why does he need more guitars made for him? between Blink and AVA, he had PLENTY of guitars on hand by Gibson. if he fucks one up, i figure that's what a tech is for, right? me personally, i don't like these Fenders. i think his Gibsons were one of the best guitars ever made. is it simply a "Rockstar" thing needing new guitars? no judgement tho. obviously he can do what he wants, but i am confused on why he needed NEW guitars when he has a ton of Gibsons available.

[@Gear182]

A couple things, if I had to guess. I think he wanted to try something new. I don’t think he wanted to keep stripping his Gibsons to make new designs all the time. I also think that with blink being back, he wanted a fresh new look for his gear.

[@RockBassTv]

The first moment I saw it I was like wtf, looks awful, then I saw the headstock, and since the weekend passed I'm starting to like it more and more. Out of the 4 I think the Gold one looks spot on. I hope there will be more colors, surf green and shell pink doesn't match the hollowbody aesthetics for me. Racing stripes would look cool on these, keeping the weird body shape without F-holes would be sick. Sherwood green with a gold racing stripe and a matching headstock. Excited for the new pickup.

[@Gear182]

Yeah I’m really digging the gold !

[@ThatBrendonGuy]

I feel like if he wanted to burn or paint one himself he could probably get unfinished ones since he has a current relationship with the people making them as opposed to refinishing the Gibsons he already had since that all he was able to get...

[@Gear182]

Yeah true. Never know what they’ll look like once the tour starts

[@olliemac32]

Love blink, love Tom and love guitars. That is not a pretty guitar! 😂 there is a reason no one remembers starcasters!

[@Gear182]

What is your fav Tom guitar ?

[@olliemac32]

@@Gear182 I liked the previous TD guitars. You guys provide really great content. Keep it up ❤️

[@MrWalkerDrums]

The thing that annoys me about the stickers is the fact that there is plenty of room for them all to be there without overlapping. It just looks a little silly with open space left there and the stickers on top of eachother.

[@Gear182]

Yeah that’s true haha

[@HeyItsAsmus]

Fender > Gibson all day, I just wish he went with Jazzmasters!

[@Gear182]

Yeah! Love his jazzmaster

[@prisonmike4971]

He should have gone with the current starcaster neck shape...that looks like a straight up strat.

[@michaelmarino2571]

guitar is not burned enough 🤣

[@Gear182]

Hahaha 🤣