Leave your preconceptions at the door because some of the most interesting guitars to come out of the Fender stable in 2023 could well say Squier on the headstock
If there’s one thing that has changed at the more affordable end of guitar brands’ offerings over the last decade or so, it’s choice. Formerly the reserve of those willing – or maybe even at times begrudgingly – to pay more in order to get closer to the spec they wanted, the import guitar boom has well and truly busted down the door, behind which sit countless options.
That’s a space occupied by Squier’s Paranormal series. Since its introduction, it has not only given us affordable versions of Fender’s more leftfield designs, but it’s also created its own reimagined, mashed-up and experimental guitars. For some players, the Squier name holds certain preconceptions, but for others it’s a well-priced vehicle to more sounds and greater versatility, and the two guitars we’ve selected for review here represent that ethos in a completely contradictory nutshell.
First up is the Paranormal Jazzmaster XII. Yes, you read that correctly, it’s an offset 12-string electric, which, at any other price, would likely epitomise the word ‘niche’, but here it sees itself flung back in contention thanks to the sort of price tag that will take a guitar of this ilk from ‘I can’t justify it’ to ‘Worth a punt!’
Next, at the other end of the spectrum, is the Paranormal Nashville Stratocaster, which takes the familiar Strat outline and populates it with features from everyone’s favourite ‘versatile guitar’, the Telecaster. Two very different beasts, indeed. However, there are some constants across the entire Paranormal range when it comes to the base platform these guitars are built on. For example, there’s the poplar body – a softer wood that is often overlooked thanks to its lack of visual appeal, although burled poplar does appear on some higher-end guitars – and the maple neck/laurel fingerboard combination with a 648mm (25.5-inch) scale length, a 241mm (9.5-i
