Squier Super-Sonic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Squier Super-Sonic | |
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| Manufacturer | Fender |
| Period | 1996—1998 |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on |
| Woods | |
| Body | Basswood |
| Neck | Maple |
| Fretboard | Rosewood |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | "Floating" Tremolo |
| Pickup(s) | 2 Humbuckers, Duncan designed |
| Colors available | |
| Olympic White, Black, Blue Sparkle, Silver Sparkle | |
The Squier Super-Sonic was a guitar manufactured and sold by Squier in the 1990's. As part of Fender's 1997 Vista series. The guitar was designed by Joe Carducci who was Fender's electric guitar product manager at the time. It is alleged that Carducci was a keen Jimi Hendrix fan and that his design of the Super-Sonic was highly influenced by a picture of Hendrix playing a Fender Jaguar 'upside-down', or left handed.
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[edit] Specifications
The Super-sonic came in 4 colours: Olympic White, Black, Sparkle Silver and Sparkle Blue. All Squier Super-Sonics came with a white/black/white sandwich pickguard and 24-inch scale, 22-fret rosewood fretboard and a ’skunk stripe’ behind the maple neck[1]. Like the Jagmaster and Fender Jaguar, the body was crafted from basswood in Japan. The guitar came with a reversed headstock and a Stratocaster-style bridge with hardened steel-pressed saddles and a screwed-in tremolo arm, which detuned the guitar over frequent use [[2]]. Kluson-style tuners similar to those found on many Fender Stratocasters were used on the headstock.
The Super-Sonic has two ‘Duncan-Designed’ humbucking pickups - the name designed to tie the pickups to American made Seymour Duncan, sadly, their performance is not so similar. These pickups are produced in South Korea and can be prone to microphonic feedback when playing at high volumes. What made the Super-Sonic unique was that the guitar had no tone control, but instead utilized two volume controls with pickup switching controlled by a 3-way toggle switch. The volume controls were wired reverse from what most would expect, with the volume control closest to the bridge controlling the bridge pickup, and the volume control closest to the input jack working the rhythm pickup. As with many guitars, the stock pickups can be replaced with more powerful aftermarket ones.
Spare parts specific to the Super-Sonic are not commercially sold by Squier, although the bridges and tuners are similar to those in other Fender guitars and can thus be easily obtained, the pickup selector end cap can be replaced with either one from a Jagmaster, alternatively a Gibson Les Paul switch can be used instead. Original replacement knobs are not sold commercially, but they can be replaced by knobs from different models.
[edit] Production and serial numbers
Production of the Vista series in Japan was halted in the late 1990s and although a new Squier Jagmaster has recently been released there is no new Super-Sonic, making these guitars increasingly rare and collectable [[3]]. Production dates can be estimated using the serial number on the reverse of the guitars neck. It is generall accepted that guitars produced between late 1996 and during 1997 have serial numbers beginning with 'V + 6 digits'. These earlier guitars were sometimes sold with a 'Fender 50th Anniversary' sticker on the reverse of the headstock. Slightly later guitars produced between late 1997 and 1998 have serial numbers beginning with 'A + 6 digits'. A date stamp can often be found when removing the neck of the guitar.
[edit] Players
Arguably the most well known Super-Sonic player is Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of punk/alternative rock band 'At the Drive-In' and 'The Mars Volta'. This can partly be attributed to popularity of the Super-Sonic with players associated with hardcore punk music and post-hardcore.
[edit] References
The Squier Vista Series. Retrieved on April 2, 2007.
Godwin, R. Information about the Squier Super-Sonic. Retrieved on April 2, 2007.
