Squier Paranormal Super Sonic - Second Impressions, gut-shots & addressing tuning instability
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- Super Sonic: imp.i114863.ne...
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The super sonic had some serious tuning issues out of the box. In this video I try a lot of tricks to make this guitar more stable, and I open it up to take a look a the guts. Can you coil split these pickups??? tune in to find out.
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I love how the auto-generated subtitles interpret a fuzzed-out guitar signal as [Applause] 😁
I use fuzz to cover up the silence of nobody clapping :(
Hahaha
Its actually just any high frequency content
lol! I had to turn my captions on just to see.
[applause]
[music]
[applause]
The strings are fender branded and they have fender colors to show their position. They go 1.lake placid blue 2. graffiti yellow 3.sea foam green 4. Nickel 5. Candy Apple red 6. Brass. Hope that helps!
Ah!
They’re new. Fender sent me a free pack to try out a few months back.
They're fender branded, but made by D'addario to Fender's specs.
Steven Willoughby Jr. doesn’t D’addario make most of the strings out there regardless of branding?
@@kiltymacbagpipe that I don't know. I just know they make Fender's.
Next time use Deoxit D100 instead of WD40 or Radio Shack Control/Contact Cleaner Lubricant (yes you can still get it online). Take it from an electronics trained former Roadie. WD 40 in the amount you used is ok for short term but it coats and eventually gathers dirt and dust and cause more issues in electronics. Both of the above will break up dirt and give some lubricant. They are great to have around. They can restore dead three ways, five ways etc. They can clean and quiet scratchy pots. In the old days the Radio Shack stuff was called Color TV Tuner Cleaner because it would clean and lube all the contacts in those old click tuners tvs had. I think the Radio Shack stuff is a bit cheaper but not sure. Just a little advice Tech to tech.
Great advice! Can the Deoxit fix a 3 way switch that sometimes doesn't cut over to the pickup selected do you think? Sometimes I flip my switch to the neck position and nothing happens....I have to flip it back and forth a few times to get it working again. Checked the switch itself and wiring and all looks good. Thanks!
@@DavidJaffe22 absolutely. It could be a bad switch but if it's just dirt, which it sounds like if it works at times, spray it and work the switch back and forth quickly a few times. If it doesn't work spray, let it sit a minute ute and then try switching it back and forth a few times. It can take a couple sprays if it's real dirty. If it doesn't work after two or three sprays and working the switch I would try once more the next day, then replace the switch if no luck. Don't drench it. Just a quick spray normally works. If it's a Les Paul remove the back plate and apply. The little plastic straw should reach the switch.
@@BigRalphN thanks so much I'll give it a shot!
Another option is a firearm lubricant made by Remington called Remdrylube. It's just Teflon and solvent in a spray can. Spray it on, wait for the solvent to evaporate, and your components are now Teflon coated. It stays lubricated for a long time and won't get gunked up with dirt and dust like an actual oil would.
Deoxit is amazing. I used it to revive a forty year old amplifier which was the scratchiest thing I have ever heard. I’m pretty sure it would taste great on toast it’s so good.
There's just something about those, and Mustangs, that just feel so damn right playing 90's alt / rock
Love my blue mustang , I put different knobs and a pearloid guard on it . ❤️
As a lefty who can never find Fender offsets when im in the market for a new guitar, I find these cruel lol
I literally have a jazzmaster I converted to lefty that, as a result, has a body like this, so this is just amusing that people are making guitars shaped like this on purpose. If you want something like this, I just got a Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster that stays perfectly in tune and had a guy convert it for me. Been playing it with no problems at all for a year. Obviously tho, you're going to have trouble playing really high frets thanks to the shape.
@@danielpomidor rather have the real deal, no flippy nonsense lol
just thinking if this could be converted to lh easily? given fender makes fuckall cheap left hand guitars
@@gnestakommunfullmaktige9131 play one that way and you'll see why a lot of us don't lol. Neck dives for days and trashing resale value to nothing. Most have to have a strap button moved to be tolerable or have some gangley af arms like Jimi did 😂
@@gnestakommunfullmaktige9131 it won't be, the belly cut and contours are cut for rightys and so is the neck profile and the trem bar. I've played on a converted one, not a fan sadly.
That outro jam was badass. Thanks for sharing how you solved the tuning issues. I played one of these at my local shop and found the exact same tuning issues on both a blue and black.
A good tip for polishing nut slots is to keep short lengths of the strings you use, and put each in a fold of 1500 wet & dry sandpaper, and use each on its respective slot. It won't remove enough material to lower the nut slots, but it will smoothen the sides a lot and allow much better movement of the string in the slot. I've improved the tuning stability of my Am. Or. Strat with floating trem. Graphite works as a dry lube, but won't smooth the sides of the slot, it has no abrasive effect. The rough sides will retain more graphite, but smooth sides negate the need for so much graphite in my opinion.
that arrangement at the end was beautiful dude! Could listen to that on loop for like an hour ahah.
Good mods and great tones at the end of the video. If you decide that you can't live without the tremolo bar, here's what I did to fix my problem.
Tremolo intonation problems seem to be most common on the low E and G strings, as the "break angle" at the saddle is the most acute. This happens because those saddles are the furthest back due to compensating for intonation. And that causes the most friction on different parts of the Tremolo unit.
I found the exact spot that was causing "my" 3rd string to go flat when doing an upward bend. Under the saddle, there is a hole in the tremolo mounting plate that the string comes through. On my tremolo (Super-V Bladerunner) the string exits that hole at a very sharp angle, and then goes over the saddle. The sharp angle that the string makes going out of the hole was the problem. Using a fine grain rat-tail file, I rounded the front edge of the hole and put about a 45 degree angle into it. I only filed about 1 mm off of the front edge of the hole, and made sure it was nice and smooth. Now I can deep dive (1 octave down on the 6th string) and pull up on the tremolo (a minor 3rd up) then release the tremolo bar, and my strings return back perfectly in tune. It's amazing how well it worked, when I finally figured out where the problem was. It sure is fun not having to worry about intonation problems any more no matter how wild I go using the tremolo bar. Hope this helps others that have this very common problem.
There may be an easy way to test if the solution above might work for you. Get a small diameter insulated wire. Remove the wire from the insulation without damaging the insulation. You'll probably need about a 1-inch length. Thread your G string through the the insulation, then position the insulation over the sharp bend that comes through the hole in the base of the Tremolo. Tune up the string, and test it. If the string stays in tune when bending, that that friction point is probably
the culprit.
I keep Big Bends String Sleeves in my work bench for that. Inexpensive possible solution to keep hanging around...
@@leeasbury7273 Cool. Thanks
Hank Hill would approve of that switch lubrication.
I never understood why the nut is such a problem on affordable guitars. A decent precut nut is not expensive at all whatsoever, even in terms of Chinese and Indonesian labor.
I’m so happy I found your videos, love every one I ever watched
Man, I'm lefty, and my first thought was, "flip the nut and do the intonation, and I'm good!" Then, I noticed the jack placement 🙄
Yeah, that’s the tricky part. I’m sure there is a way though.
60 Cycle Hum where there is a power drill and utter disregard for the finish, there's always a way 😂
At least the pickup switch would be out of the way if you flipped it over.
Omar Rodriguez made it work.
Could use a L shape jack input and route it through the strap??
I love the fact it has a reversed headstock as a regular.
I always wanted to rock a lefty like that but I'd feel bad taking a guitar that could go to a true lefty
The last time I played guitar (or any instrument, really) was almost a decade ago, but this video and the first impressions one has got me _gassing_ for a Super Sonic!
That tuning problem is a bummer! My stock Squier VM mustang has great tuning stability and i use that arm alot, even though the mustang is not famous for it's trem.
You know, it’s amazing with great guys out there like Victor Wooten, Tim Pierce, Lee Sklar as role models you still see a-hole “professional” musicians behave the way that guy did in the last video comments. I understand in a world (as a whole) that doesn’t really give a crap about artists, it’s gotta be hard for the younger guys to survive doing what they love, like playing guitar, but damn man you don’t take that mess out on other people. Particularly other players, other players that took a different route from you and that are succeeding in doing so like Ryan here. It boggles the mind. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so confused being this is the internet we are talking about here and there are a-holes in all walks of life. I don’t know man. With so much positivity you see in many of these communities it’s jarring sometimes to see a cat be so negative.
Poobrain, name checks out.
Smutty Swims I mean, I did pick it. 🤷 you had your fair warning at the start of the wall of text to say, “nope not for me”, yet here you are. Did you think I was lying?
Believe me when I say I’m so sorry to have wasted your time.
gheddi When musician Ryan plays he freakin plays. Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. When new guitar Ryan plays he try’s different things to see how the guitar handles it and what kinda of guitar it wants to be not really performing music. Just bits of songs or styles. I know I play very similarly when not seriously practicing and just kinda doing different things. Plus dude makes some amazing sounds with his peddles 😀
Maybe it's just me.I think Ryan's playing actually covers a broad and diverse field, whereas many just do non inspired covers, or one, often very limited and tiresome, style.Pedals aren't usually about technical knowledge or proficiency, - they're about applied experience and imagination.So often , I'll sit through a demo, and realize I've little idea how the effect actually sounds, or the fuller range of what it can do.
I find 60 Cycle a fairly accurate source of information.
If you have tuning issues on it, check the saddle screws first, they might hit the strings, that's what i had with my mustang, wich is easily fixed by shortening them with a file.
I could hear it as soon as the video started that you found your comfort space on that guitar. Dadgum it, now I want one too.
Got mine yesterday. Put 10s on, floated the bridge and did a full set up. So far not really having any major tuning issues. Luckily, no switch squeak on mine. I'm loving it.
Do you still have it? Any problems? I have the classic vibe mustang love the 24 inch scale guitars. I’m thinking about getting this one and the paranormal cyclone eventually.
Thanks for your honesty. Don't really want a "project" guitar. Really waiting on the Toronado tho.
Edward the toronado looks cool.
Would say it’s barely a project. I think in general all guitars should get a bit of graphite in the nut unless it’s made of bone or graphite.
Bought one a few days ago and it showed up around three hours ago. Changed the strings and did a setup and it’s instantly a great guitar, wouldn’t call either or those things a “project”.
@@TheKurtTribute still feeling that way? I'm caught between this and of all things a Strat.. I like this guitar, but the tuning issues sound like bullshit to me.
@@justinTime077 The Supersonic and a Strat have basically nothing in common.
20:55 hey Ryan, when I lube the nut with a freshly sharpened pencil, I typically go from high e to low E as the pencil dulls. It probably makes little to no difference, but it makes my brain happy knowing I’m attempting to be smarter than the guitar ;) love the guitar & all that you do, man!
I like how almost all of the pedals used on the outro are the same price if not more than the guitar. Love it and you. Keep it up man.
I was dying laughing when you were talking about pulling off the protective film of the pickguard haha
Forty years ago, a guitar on par with this would have cost six times as much. Thanks for addressing the tuning issues.
Thank you for doing what you do. I really enjoy your videos, even though I’m not in the market for a new guitar (I’m trying to be a one-guitar guy like my hero Rowland S. Howard). I always learn something new every time I watch your uploads. It’s also a lot of fun (and cheaper!) experiencing the new guitar acquisition through someone else.
Hey man, pencil graphite is extremely conductive of electricity so putting it on an electronic moving part like that could easily cause major shorting issues. Just a tip for anyone else who finds themself in this situation
FENDER! I bought one of these because of Ryan's demo! Give him more stuff!
Excellent outro. Keep making fun tunes and sounds!
"Excuse me, sir, but do you own this guitar?"
"Well, I don't know, check the pickguard."
A good result for you but not for Squier and their guitar out of the box. Love the channel. Keep up the good stuff!
Wow! Very noticeable improvement to the tuning stability! Night and day
Love the super sonic! I have a -98 vista line silver sparkle. Had it since -99! Its my nr 1 🖤 it had some tuning problems, but some graphite and 011-049 made it really stable
did you have to adjust the truss after installing the strings?
Thank you, Ryan! The outro loop was Great 👍🏻 beautiful Guitar as well!
im completely divided between this and a cv jazzmaster, i've always had a jazzmaster fetish, but as soon as i saw this guitar it aesthetics blew my mind, both the reverse body and the ice metallic finish w creamish pickguard look sooo gorgeus, just cant decide
I just picked mine up! Thanks for the review and the solid tips!
Decking the bridge like that probably helped the most, I'd say fixing the nut will get you the rest of the way there with keeping it locked into tune
It could have been old factory strings that wouldn’t stay stable. Changing strings is always the first thing to do to a new guitar if there are any issues. If this guitar was any other color with different pickups, I kinda like the design.
heavier strings solved my tuning issues on a squier bullet strat
I would love to start a surf style hardcore band with you! Your punk rigfs are so fukin good!
I love mine. great for ramones and green day!
That loopy jam at the end was very cool Ryan!!!!
Heavier strings are definitely a must for shorter scale guitars. I’d need to put at least 12’s on one of those, but more likely 13s.
Yeah, I agree and seems to help with staying somewhat in tune. I've always used 11's. Wouldn't one have to put a new nut on to accommodate 12 and 13's?
They don't make left-handed models for lefties but they make left-handed guitars for right-handed people.
Freaking awesome. I might buy one and flip it backwards for lefty usage. :3
I am new to this channel but I have already bought a guitar based on his recommendation ( the squier starcaster) its such a great guitar. I am also a Fender/Squier guitar player, and gravitate more to Squier just because of the price point and how good they are making some of there stuff now just as good as Fender. Thanks.
I love my starcaster so much, i instantly bonded with it.
@@60CycleHumcast It instantly became my new favorite to play. Now the Super Sonic is on my list along with the Cyclone!
I love it -I want it!
I just bought one with no issues. Except it cams with a white tremolo arm. Which is ok with me as long as everything else is all good.
19:26 That's right, put that crazy untunable guitar in a straight jacket until it decides to be tuning stable and can then be released back into normal trem society. I'm lucky my Harley Bentons which are half the price of those paranormal Squiers haven't given me the tuning headache this one is giving you (tho I did change the tuners on my ST-20 strat for locking ones as well as the string trees for rollers, but then again that cost me all in all less than 150 bucks including the guitar).
Speaking of strat trem springs, mine came with just three and was unbudgeable, so I took out the middle one and loosened the screws that hold the bridge to the body just a little bit and I can now just give it some wiggle enough to produce some light vibrato, how I like it. Those Harley Benton strat trem springs are crazy hard!
Thanks a bunch, mine is having tuning issues also, gonna try the 60 cycle hum technique.
What a Fkn GREAT video!
Sweet guitar and great video😊your the best!!
Sounds killer🤘😎🤘
This guy with 2 right hands...
We need a pup cavity smell test!
This thing really was asking for some green day and I'm glad it passedthat test with flying colours, because that's what I'm buying it for, that 90's overdriven punk tone that we all love
I don't know how to play a guitar or guitar lingo. I'm just here.
leave and never return thief
I love it hahah hell yeah. 😁🤙
I have a peavey t-15, 22in scale. Super fun to play and with heavier gauge strings, stays in tune pretty well actually. Also has a metal nut. Short scale guitars are incredibly fun to play.
90s Mexican DuoSonic was the first Fender, and first guitar I bought with my own money! ...and it was even black and white as well! ;)
im in love with the super-sonic wish it had more interresting color options though
was having buyers remorse...then you played it at the end, and all those bad vibes left me like a hot southwest sun burning away sparse morning dew.
Push the pickups from the back to lift the screws up to give you room to pull the film out from the pickup screws.
That’s what I did
That thing actually sounds killer. Very thick sounding. Good for the chugging.
Mitchell abrasive cord is good for tweaking the nut. Big Bends nut sauce on the nut and saddles helps too.
The stock strings are Fender Super 250's nickel plated steel. Actually a pretty good string set.
BTW I notice you don't do a thing that will really help you keep a non locking trem in tune.
I notice you tune to pitch, then play, then whammy, then it gets thrown out.
Try to tune your high E, then whammy, then tune it again etc until the high E is in tune AFTER you wiggle.
Then move on to the B string, tune, then whammy, keep tuning until it's in tune after you wiggle.
Rinse and repeat on all 6 strings. you may have to go back and forth a few times.
What you want is for the whole guitar to be in tune AFTER the wiggle. To do this you need to go string by string, "wiggle, tune, wiggle tune" back and forth.
This, combined with a well-lubricated nut solves most tuning problems. I have tons of strats and short scales. I can abuse the bar and they stay in tune due to this system.
Bending up can still throw things out, but this is inherent to a non-locking trem. Just wiggle the bar between bends and it resets it.
oh my GOD i love that outro!
Bought one! Love the looks and colour ... the very gloopy/sticky neck .. not so much. It is a lovely piece of art that can jent-ish.
My Supersonic Fender stays the hell in tune !
Split those stock coils!! I saw Emily's video at Get Offset and love the new tones but I'm hoping to keep the stock pickups
You never seem to play that SweptWing in the background, how is it? I’m thinking of getting one
Actually Vaseline works pretty well for lube on that switch.
Loved the outtro!
If a guitar company wanted to pay me. I’d except Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, Gretsch, and D’Angelico. Especially D’Angelico as not many people talk about them. I would love to see you review the Bedford Bob Weir Guitar.
Also I think using heavier gauge strings would help the tuning stability a lot. I have 11's on my 24 inch scale Xavierre travel guitar and it is very stable. Of course you might need to widen the nut slots if going to a heavier gauge.
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22:54
The Tone is 5% clearer after modification, but the pickguard is 100% clearer.
I love watching old youtube videos of expensive (now cheap) stompboxes that are 10 years old and leaving comments "from the future!!!!!"
I put 11s on mine and it makes such a difference from the stock 9s. Still having a bit of minor tuning issues But not nearly as bad as before.
The majority of the issue with all Strat bridge style guitars is improper setup.
I usually opt for series/parallel over coil cut. Gets you closer to that single coil sound with more balanced output levels and no hum,
I think Kurt would've loved it. This guitar is so quirky. I love how dirty it sounds.
And if you adjust the truss rod make sure you tighten it just the littlest bit if you have to loosen it up, if the truss rod isn’t pushing against the wood it will make the neck sound like rubber
Thumps up for the Green Day riffs!
For whatever reason I have always preferred the Fender vintage try bridge. It has a feel on my pick hand that is comfortable to me. Better than a Floyd or a tune o mattic bridge.
Graph tech string trees make a big difference for tuning stability.
The stock ones are a major issue on fender necks if you bend a lot or use the trem.
Why not use electric contact cleaner?
Have you bought any other paranormals? I love the look of the offset tele and the carbonita tele but don't want to buy till I see reviews
I have the cyclone on order
@@60CycleHumcast very nice
@@60CycleHumcast When can we expect it? :D
Stanko Aksentijević I was told late june
@@60CycleHumcast ohh I'm dying to see the cyclone
Thanks for this, Ryan. I'd love to seem some coil-split action on this axe. 🤙
I wanna try those atomic humbuckers with 1meg pots
Super hot pickups will sound great coil cut!
The Graphtech string trees are great contributors to stability because they're infused with Teflon. Fine Canadian technology at work. :D If stability problems endure, you might try their Teflon-infused Tusq nut. And WD-40 is the king of intractable problem solvers. ;) It's surprising just how different 2 matching pickups can sound. With the 2 volume controls it's like the tone control is in the pickups themselves. This is one sweet little rock machine and, being very attractively priced, I predict we're gonna see a lot of kids playing these. Emily at Get Offset got some other cool results with some pedals. It's such a lot of guitar for the money!
If you put a block of hardwood (tonewood) behind the trem block it would make a surprising difference to the sound and sustain.
Run some folded fairly high grit sanding paper lightly through the nut slots a few times - 800 or so - to get rid of any rough edges or snags - but don't overdo it. You can also take a piece of the string gauge you intend to use and just drag that back and forth in the slot. Do that before you graphite the slots.
Jesus, that has serious crunch!
Fender Atomic! I got one of those when I bought my Highway 1 HSS Strat in 2009 - and yes it makes for a great hi-output pickup. Some players seek these out, I hear Larry LaLonde from Primus is a huge fan of these pickups. Mine wasn't as muddy though, because Fender also paired it up with their Grease Bucket circuit in that model. Not a bad pickup, though I decided to go more classic rock/blues cleaner tomes with that axe - I ultimately went with a DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary (and changed the two singles to DiMarzio Area '61 and '58 humbuckings for a nice vintage sound with no hum!).
As for the tuning issues, I highly recommend the Big Bends Nut Sauce lube on all points where the strings make contact - trees, nut and saddles. A little goes a long way, and it works. If you want to do something more with the trem, you could go with a beefier block - GFS makes replacement blocks for import Strats in brass, steel and now titanium. Just remember if you go this route, also order a new arm to fit those, the stock arm on your Squier probably won't fit.
Righteous! I like it. I like the style but not a fan of the colors. However, I might still get one, bearing in mind all the improvements you've made for future reference. I can see that the Shoegaze stuff is rubbing off on you as well. Good! Variety is fun. Cheers!
Cheap soft plastic nuts will always be grabby. Graphtech and graphtech tusq material is an improvement but the milestone for me was learning to cut my own nuts.
And off the shelf nut might kind-of fit bit it's going to at least need the base sanding down to fit if not some adjustments to individual heights.
Personally I like to use bone blanks, they're cheap and if one goes wrong it's not a disaster. Coarse and fine files and or a few grades of sandpaper to shape. You can cut the slots with a triangular file, I use a saw sharpening file and then do the very last few stokes which are mostly shaping of the slots with gauged welding tip cleaners. Gauged nut slotting files are better but very expensive and if you only do it occasionally the time saving isn't worth the expense. Might take a few attempts to get a good one, but once you crack it it makes a huge difference. Hard materials don't grab strings. This was the key to getting my 20 year old squier affinity stat to stay in tune.
Coated strings can stop some friction points, but it makes the strings wider and as it wears you then get a notch in the string that bites, so I've never seen them as a problem solver. They also seem to take some of the top end spank out of the strings, I think maybe because I keep dead strings longer because they're not a rusty mess.
Not an issue on yours as it already has steel saddles, but dumping soft zinc saddles for modern steel/brass block saddles or vintage bent steel saddles makes a big difference. Soft zinc bites strings.
just preordered mine from sweetwater! like an alt-rock explorer
I have one of the Fender Atomic pickups in my American Special strat. They are powerful.
You should see if Decoboom can make you a replacement pickguard for it. Like I think this would look cool with some retro rocket ships or maybe some Atom patterns or something
I just ordered a pickguard from Greasy Grooves for my strat! Great selection, not sure if they would have this shape though
I've owned my 90s Supersonic from new, and it wasn't the most stable either but over the years, it did settle. I never did use the trem much as I've always preferred hardtails but I remember it was a shortcut to immediate re-tuning. But then back in those days it seemed like any guitar with a 'classic' trem was expected to go out of tune and if you wanted stability you went for a Floyd or Wilkinson setup. In general I found that this guitar responded really well to Elixir strings - I guess due to the coating they just jive better with the nut and string trees.
neat little guitar. I would play on that for sure.
The squeaky switch was for the paranormal feel. You ruined it ;-(
Yeah, Scooby Doo ghost stylin'.