Some of the best guitars are the ones that are a little out of the ordinary.
This is the idea behind the Squier Paranormal Series – a run of instruments that mash up parts of Fender history and morph them into something different. From a Tele neck pickup in a Strat, a six-string strung like a guitar but shaped like an Electric XII and a P Bass gone semi-hollow, the latest batch certainly does bring a paranormal spirit to Squier, and there’s plenty here for players after something off the beaten track.
Five models make up the series: the Stratocaster Deluxe, the Troublemaker Telecaster Deluxe Bigsby, the Electric VI, the Baritone Jazzmaster HH and the Precision Bass Thinline SJ. Each one takes a familiar shape, with a slightly tweaked recipe.
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Paranormal Stratocaster Deluxe
The Strat Deluxe takes the world’s most-played guitar and reworks the pickup layout, with HS in place of the usual trio of single-coils. Up at the neck you’ll find a Fender-Designed alnico single-coil pinched from a Tele, voiced for snap and clarity, while the bridge runs a Fender-Designed alnico humbucker for a thicker and more saturated tone. It’s a pairing that makes a lot of sense on paper, with the Tele neck pickup covering the bright, chimey stuff, and the humbucker there for more weight. If you tend to hop between clean and heavy, it’s a handy spread to have under one set of strings.
The looks nod hard to the Deluxe era, with a large ’70s-style headstock and skirted amp-style knobs, in three finishes: Vintage White, 3-Color Sunburst and Lake Placid Blue, all over a nyatoh body. Depending on the colour, you’ll get either an Indian Laurel or maple fingerboard. With its “C”-shaped neck, a 9.5″ radius, satin urethane on the back, a vintage-style tremolo and the usual belly and arm contours, you can expect pure Squier comfort.
Paranormal Troublemaker Telecaster Deluxe Bigsby
True to the name, the Troublemaker is out to cause a bit of chaos. A bound Tele body and two Fender-Designed alnico humbuckers give it the bite, and the B50 Bigsby up top is there for wobble and shimmer whenever you lean on the arm. That Bigsby is the tell that this is no working-man’s Tele; it’s hardware you’d sooner find on a hollowbody or a rockabilly guitar, and it nudges the Troublemaker toward the shimmery, slightly unhinged end of the Tele family.
There’s independent volume and tone for each pickup, plus push/pull coil-splitting on both tone controls, so you can split the bridge and neck separately and move between single-coil and humbucking voices on the 3-way toggle. That’s a serious spread of sounds for one guitar. Split, it should come close to a bright, snappy Tele voice, and when you want something thicker and louder the full humbuckers are right there, which makes the coil-splits a real draw for anyone after versatility.
Keeping intonation in check is an Adjust-O-Matic bridge, and the “C” neck and its satin urethane finish offer classic Squier comfort. Pearloid block inlays and a bound Indian Laurel fingerboard round off the upmarket Deluxe look – proof that something paranormal can still be a thing of beauty.
Paranormal Electric VI
This one’s a deep cut. The Electric VI takes the striking body shape of the 1960s Electric XII and rebuilds it as a six-string you play like a guitar. The original Electric XII only lasted a few years in the mid-’60s, a 12-string that never really found its home. Even still, it turned up on some big records. Jimmy Page tracked the 12-string parts of “Stairway to Heaven” on one, and Pete Townshend used one across Tommy. Reviving an offset silhouette like this is exactly the kind of thing the Paranormal series love to do.
Pickup-wise, you’ll get a pair of Fender-Designed Split-Coil “VI” alnico units wound to guitar spec, voiced for fat, punchy tones with a good dose of vintage character. A 4-way rotary switch cycles through four voices – bridge, both pickups in phase, both out of phase, and neck. The out-of-phase setting leans toward a hollow, quacky voice – thin and honky but brimming with character. It might not be a tone you use for every song, but it’s a great one to have up your sleeve when a part need a bit of extra bite.
Elsewhere, a Mustang-style tremolo take cares of vibrato, and the Coronado-inspired headstock and Electric XII control plate keep the retro nods coming. The shorter 24.75″ scale should make it an easy switch if you’re coming off a Les Paul or an SG, or any other short scale. The two finishes, 3-Color Sunburst and Daphne Blue both come with a nyatoh body and an Indian Laurel fingerboard.
Paranormal Baritone Jazzmaster HH
Baritones have been creeping back into fashion lately, and for the low-tuned crowd this is Squier’s way in, dropping the offset shape into much deeper water. The sleek Jazzmaster body pairs a 27″ baritone scale with two Fender-Designed alnico humbuckers, and strung with a baritone set tuned B to B, it’s built for crushing riffs and big cinematic textures. The longer scale and low tuning serve up a dark, ominous rumble that suit anything from doom riffs and film-score textures to extra weight underneath a track. Holding it all steady is an Adjust-O-Matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece for solid intonation and sustain, while a 3-way toggle runs between bridge, both and neck for a decent range of low-end voicings.
Comfort isn’t an afterthough, despite the extra length. With a bound Indian Laurel fingerboard, pearloid blocks and a satin urethane neck all present, the longer scale shouldn’t feel like hard work. It comes in Oxblood or Sea Foam Green over a nyatoh body – the latter looking suitably otherwordly.
Paranormal Precision Bass Thinline SJ
Bass players get the strangest and maybe the most tempting of the bunch.
The Precision Bass Thinline SJ reimagines Fender’s original bass as a semi-hollow, with an unusual pickup pairing to match: a Fender-Designed alnico ’51 P Bass single-coil at the neck and a Fender-Designed alnico Jazz Bass single-coil at the bridge, wired through a 3-way blade. If you’ve spent time with a PJ bass, this is a twist on the format. The single-coil ’51-style P in the neck is in place of the usual split pickup, so you can expect grittier, more aggressive, old-school edge than a modern P/J.
Between the two pickups there’s a lot of ground to cover, from the deep, thumping warmth of an old P Bass through to the focused growl of a J, and plenty of shades in between. The thinline semi-hollow body brings a bit of natural acoustic resonance into the mix and shaves off some weight, which your shoulder will appreciate over a long set. If you’ve spent your life on a solid-body P, the semi-hollow version will understandably feel a little different. It’ll give you a more loose and a woody warmth, as well as noticeably less heft on the strap once you’re a couple of sets deep.
Rounding it out is a “C” neck and a 4-saddle vintage-style bridge with slotted barrel saddles and open-gear tuning machines, keeping the whole thing grounded in tradition. The SJ comes in Olive, Vintage White or 3-Color Sunburst over a nyatoh body, with your choice of an Indian Laurel or maple fingerboard.
While none of these are trying to be your main workhorse, they’re full of character – exactly what makes the Paranormal Series worth a look. If any of these mash-ups have caught your eye, they’re worth tracking down for a play.
Head to Fender to check out the full range.
