Squier Super-Sonic
| Squier Super-Sonic | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Manufacturer | Fender |
| Period | 1996—1998 |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on |
| Woods | |
| Body | Basswood |
| Neck | Maple |
| Fretboard | Rosewood |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Vintage strat style vibrato |
| 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 Fender for two years in the 1990s 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, and who may have been inspired by an image of Jimi Hendrix playing a Fender Jaguar 'upside-down', or left-handed.
Contents |
[edit] Specifications
The Super-Sonic came into 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. Like the Squier Jagmaster and 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. Kluson-style tuners similar to those found on many Stratocasters were used on the headstock.
The Super-Sonic has two Seymour Duncan-designed humbuckers. These pickups are produced in South Korea and are prone to microphonic feedback. 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, 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.
[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 [1]. Production dates can be estimated using the serial number on the reverse of the guitars neck. It is generally 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.
