Have you seen the new Squier Paranormal Series range of weirdos? What are these one-of-a-kind guitars all about?
Well, if you’ve been wondering about them, you are at the right place at the right time. I’m going to go over each of the models and tell you everything you need to know to make an informed decision before taking one (or more) home with you.
Table of Contents
Meet the Line-Up
Paranormal Jazzmaster XII
This is my favorite of this new bunch. I’m talking about a great-sounding 12-string guitar packed in the shape of one of Fender’s hippest models, the Jazzmaster. This new design comes equipped with a great solution for the bridge aspect, which tends to be the most troublesome in 12-string guitars.
The new Squier takes the regular strings from the bottom in a regular, Telecaster-like string-through-body design for increased resonance, and the thin doubled strings are back loaded from the bridge. This way, you get the best of that resonant Fender tone and the sparkling high-end of the doubled strings.
Finally, I’m completely sold on the super vibey hockey stick headstock.
Where Do I See Myself with This Guitar?
I see myself adding this guitar to my home studio arsenal for an inexpensive flavor to add to the mix. Also, I would definitely gig with it as a backup.
Paranormal Rascal HH
For all the bass players out there, this dual-humbucker, short-scale bass is a mix of many Fender classics. The body is taken from the Bass VI while the bridge and scale come from the Mustang bass. Finally, the wide range humbuckers come straight from the ‘70s deluxe instruments.
The first thing that hits you about this bass is just how easy it is to play it. The second, perhaps, is that it’s packed with usable sounds in both pickups. After playing it for a while, you also begin to appreciate the instrument’s ergonomics. But fundamentally, the best thing about this bass is that it can give you many good tones without breaking the bank.
The only caveat is that it’s not a slapping-friendly instrument because of the short scale but also because of the power of the humbuckers.
Where Do I See Myself with This Bass Guitar?
This is a great bass to play thick grooves and lock-in with the kick drum. Thus, I see myself playing it in sessions to create a tight funky duet with a cool drummer.
Paranormal Custom Nashville Telecaster
The Nashville Telecaster got its name from the session players in Music City who were trying to cover as much sonic ground as possible with a single guitar. Thus, they added that middle pickup to do positions 2, 3, and 4 in a regular Strat.
Well, this guitar takes that concept to a whole new level. Yes, the body has the shape of a Stratocaster but features a double-bound just like you would find in a ‘60s Custom Telecaster. Also, the control plate and bridge all have the same Tele vibe. Moving on to the neck, though, it’s clearly a Stratocaster one.
The sounds of the bridge and middle pickups combined with a clean amp and the metal telecaster bridge are great for a souped-up country rhythm and a crossover between Danny Gatton (it comes in Aztec Gold) and SRV.
Where Do I See Myself with This Guitar?
I see myself going to sessions with this guitar as my only companion. If it was mine, though, it would probably go through a pickup upgrade.
Paranormal Esquire Deluxe
During the hard-rockin ‘70s, Fender put out several models to compete with Gibson for the rocking guitar players of that era. One of the results of this race is the Fender Telecaster Deluxe, a guitar with dual humbucking pickups (Wide Range) and four knobs.
This Paranormal Esquire is the perfect representation of what one of those guitars would be if instead of having two pickups, it had one, like a Gibson Jr. I have to tell you; it took just a handful of minutes for this guitar to turn me into a hardcore fan. Yes, it’s an absolute rocker with nothing you don’t want and everything you need.
To begin with, the maple neck and string-through-body design make it resonant and with a definite Telecaster vibe. Furthermore, with a 9.5” radius, this guitar’s glossy maple neck plays as well as it looks and feels. There’s a single volume and tone knob that can easily tame the high to make this guitar bark or purr as you need it to.
But the true innovation here comes in the rotary 3-position chicken-knob selector. It allows you to go from single coil to regular humbucker and then to bypassing volume and tone knobs going straight from the humbucker to the output jack. What’s this for? Well, you can set controls for a nice clean and go full-on mayhem with the rotary or use it as a kill switch.
Where Do I See Myself with This Guitar?
I currently play in a very loud guitar-and-drums rocking duo and this guitar was made for that band. It occupies massive sonic space and has many sounds in a single instrument.
Paranormal Strat-O-Sonic
If a Gibson Special (dual P-90s) had offspring with a Fender Stratocaster, the result would be this Strat-O-Sonic Squier Paranormal.
But why is this Stratocaster so close to the Gibson Guitar Company? Well, to begin with, the body is made of okoume, which is an affordable replacement for mahogany. Also, the guitar sports a 24 ¾” scale, a wraparound bridge, dual P-90s pickups, and a 3-way toggle switch.
Yes, I know what you’re thinking, those are the specs of a righteous Gibson, but this guitar’s body is shaped like a Strat, and so is its maple neck. In other words, you get the kick and spank from the maple neck and the not-so-thick Stratocaster body but with the bite of the P-90 and the low-end coming from the okoume.
But that’s not all, because the single volume and tone knobs have push/pull capabilities that allow you to use the pickups in series and parallel (transforming them into a humbucker). Also, you can put the pickups in and out of phase to get that amazing out-of-phase funky rhythm tone with lots of punch and a healthy level of bass frequencies.
Where Do I See Myself with This Guitar?
This is another great session guitar because it can help you cover lots of sonic ground. Also, I would love to play this guitar loud and distorted with a rock band to get all the bite from those P-90s.
The Bottom End
The Fender Paranormal Series is a great way for the company to bend recent history and also make new history with new models and crossovers that can help modern musicians make new music.
If you’re in the mood for exploring new sonic territories and having some fun with weird offsprings between brands and crazy ideas, this lineup is affordable enough to be a great experiment.
Choose the one (or ones) that resonate the most with you and get ready to get weird!
Happy (crazy new sonic ideas) playing!
