Super Strat
Encyclopedia
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
design that resembles a Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
but with differences that clearly distinguish it from a standard Stratocaster, usually to cater to a different playing style. Differences typically (but not necessarily) include more pointed, aggressive-looking body and neck
Neck (music)
The neck is the part of certain string instruments that projects from the main body and is the base of the fingerboard, where the fingers are placed to stop the strings at different pitches. Guitars, lutes, the violin family, and the mandolin family are examples of instruments which have necks.The...
shapes, different tonewoods, increased number of frets, and usage of humbucking pickups
Humbucker
A humbucker is a type of electric guitar pickup, first patented by Seth Lover and the Gibson company, that uses two coils, both generating string signal. Humbuckers have higher output than a single coil pickup since both coils are connected in series...
, and Floyd Rose
Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
tremolo systems.
There is no formal definition of a superstrat; the categorisation is still largely left to popular opinion and depends greatly on the artist(s) associated with a particular model and how it is marketed. Superstrats are generally suited for heavy metal music
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
played with high-gain distortion
Distortion (guitar)
Distortion effects create "warm", "dirty" and "fuzzy" sounds by compressing the peaks of a musical instrument's sound wave and adding overtones. The three principal types of distortion effects are overdrive, distortion and fuzz. Distortion effects are sometimes called “gain” effects, as distorted...
.
Genesis, custom modifications
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
during the early 1980s, guitarists began seeking out guitars more suited to the new style, both in terms of looks (more "pointy" aggressive designs) and playability (ease of playing and fatter tone that sounds good with hi-gain amplification). Guitarists such as Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
, Uli Jon Roth and Dave Murray
Dave Murray (musician)
David Michael Murray is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as one of the earliest members of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden.-Biography:...
had used Fender Stratocasters, but each had minor modifications made to his instrument to suit his individual playing style.
Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
was the first to build a guitar with superstrat characteristics. Dissatisfied with the performance of then-available commercial-off-the-shelf guitars, Van Halen sought to create a hybrid instrument that would suit his acrobatic playing style. The stock pickups of a Fender Stratocaster were noisy, and lacked the output necessary to drive an amplifier into hard distortion (characteristic of the Van Halen sound), but the body shape and wide pitch range of the Fender fulcrum tremolo appealed to him. An avid tinkerer, Van Halen assembled a Boogie Bodies Stratocaster body with a thin, 21-fret maple neck and a high-output humbucking Gibson PAF
PAF (pickup)
P.A.F. or just PAF is the world's first humbucker guitar pickup, invented by Seth Lover in 1955 as an engineer for Gibson and began use in mass production guitars in 1956 or 1957. However Rickenbacker and Gretsch had developed humbucking pickups also...
in the bridge slot. This guitar, known as the "Frankenstrat
Frankenstrat
Frankenstrat is a guitar created by Eddie Van Halen.-Overview of the Frankenstrat:The Frankenstrat represented Van Halen's attempt to combine the sound of a classic Gibson guitar with the physical attributes of a Fender. It was originally made from an ash Stratocaster body, with pickup routing that...
" was featured on Van Halen's debut album Van Halen
Van Halen (album)
Van Halen is the debut studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released in February 1978.- History :Recorded in 1977, Van Halen sold over 10 million copies in the US alone, becoming one of the most successful debuts by a rock band. Along with 1984, it gives Van Halen two original albums with...
, and pictured on the album cover. It was later repainted with a top coat of red, and has had different humbucker pickups over the years, some of them custom-wound.
Soon, other guitarists and luthiers would also apply similar custom modifications to their instruments. Many sources cite Grover Jackson as one of the first (and most influential) guitar makers to have crafted custom shop guitars with all the features of superstrats, doing so as early as 1981. Later all these improvements were integrated in factory-produced Jackson Soloist
Jackson Soloist
The Jackson Soloist is an electric guitar model by Jackson Guitars officially produced since 1984 . Jackson was essentially the pioneer of the "Superstrat" design...
model.
Mass production
Since about 1983-1984, companies such as KramerKramer Guitars
Kramer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses. Kramer produced aluminum-necked electric guitars and basses in the 1970s and wooden-necked guitars catering to hard rock and heavy metal musicians in the 1980s; Kramer is currently a division of Gibson Guitar Corporation...
, Jackson
Jackson Guitars
__FORCETOC__Jackson is a renowned brand of electric guitar that bears the name of its founder, Grover Jackson.-Early years:Grover Jackson obtained ownership in Charvel's Guitar Repair of Glendora, California in the 1970s with a promise to bolster Charvel's business...
, Charvel
Charvel
Charvel is a brand of guitar originally founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and then later, Glendora, California. Charvel guitars became popular in the 1980s due to their association with famous rock guitarists such as Edward Van Halen , Richie Sambora , Warren DeMartini ,...
, Yamaha, Aria
Aria (guitar company)
Aria is a Japanese manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars and basses.- History :Aria was formed in Japan in 1953 by Shiro Arai as Arai and Company. They began retailing acoustic guitars in 1960, although the company didn't actually start manufacturing their own until 1964. Aria arranged for...
, Ibanez
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
, and Hamer
Hamer Guitars
Hamer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars. Founded in 1973 by vintage guitar shop owners, Jol Dantzig and his business partner Paul Hamer. Early instruments featured guitar designs based on the Gibson Explorer and Flying V...
started mass production
Mass production
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
of superstrat design guitars due to growing market demand. Rising popularity of heavy metal music
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
led to a whole new generation of guitarists that employed fast and complex techniques, previously only heard in bluegrass and jazz, which demanded thinner and more versatile guitar necks and stable tremolo systems. Some examples of guitars marketed to this specific audience include:
- Kramer Baretta (1983–1991) — an early guitar with Floyd RoseFloyd RoseThe Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
, one slanted humbucker, but more traditional neck and body contours. Baretta has a close connection to Van Halen's Frankenstrat — it was designed to be marketed as Van Halen's signature model, but, in the outcome, Eddie had never endorsed the Baretta in terms of playing it on stage. - Dean Bel Aire (1983–1984) — an early HSS guitar dubbed "superstrat" (however, it's still with bolt-on neck, 22 frets and vintage tremolo).
- Jackson SoloistJackson SoloistThe Jackson Soloist is an electric guitar model by Jackson Guitars officially produced since 1984 . Jackson was essentially the pioneer of the "Superstrat" design...
(officially produced since August 28, 1984) — HSS guitar with neck-through construction, 24 frets and Floyd RoseFloyd RoseThe Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
/KahlerKahlerKahler may refer to:Places*Kahler, Luxembourg, a small town in the commune of Garnich*Kahler Asten,a German mountain rangePeople*Art Kahler , American football and basketball player and coach...
bridge — the fullest pack of Superstrat features to date in mass-produced guitar, considered by many the first "real" superstrat.
During the rest of 1980s, due to huge marketing success, most guitar companies had at least one model of superstrat in mass production.
Answer from major guitar manufacturers
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
.
Fender suffered complications after being controlled by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in late 1970s and early 1980s. It was only in 1985 when Fender employees raised funds and purchased the company back from CBS, in a campaign initiated by then CBS Musical Instruments division president William Schultz
Bill Schultz (Fender)
William Charles Schultz was the CEO of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, and is credited as the "man who saved Fender."-Biography:...
. Due to these complications, Fender's answer to superstrats was generally unsuccessful and somewhat delayed.
- Fender Contemporary Stratocaster JapanFender Contemporary Stratocaster JapanFender Contemporary Stratocaster electric guitars were produced by Fender Japan in the 1980s.- General features :* “D” profile neck with a 12" radius.* "BiFlex" truss rod adjustment at the top of the neck.* Microtilt neck angle fine adjustment....
http://freespace.virgin.net/john.blackman4/cont.htm (1984–1987) - Fender PerformerFender PerformerThe Fender Performer was an electric guitar designed for rock and metal guitarists in the mid 1980s. The Performer was also available as an electric bass.-Origins:The Performer was first introduced in 1985, and was assembled in Japan...
http://www.strat-central.com/performer.htm (1985–1986) - Fender HM StratFender HM StratThe Fender HM Strat is a discontinued model of electric guitar produced by Fender Musical Instruments from 1988 until 1992,...
http://freespace.virgin.net/john.blackman4/hm.htm (1988–1992) - Fender ProdigyFender ProdigyThe Fender Prodigy is a discontinued model of electric guitar produced by Fender from 1991 to 1993. It is one of Fender's attempts to compete with the superstrat-style guitars produced by Ibanez, Jackson/Charvel, Carvin Corporation and Yamaha...
http://www.strat-central.com/prodigy.htm (1991–1993) - Fender ShowmasterFender ShowmasterThe Fender Showmaster is a model of electric guitar made by Fender, and is characteristic of a superstrat.-History:During the 1980s, superstrats were becoming popular amongst the many hard rock and metal guitarists, who needed the modifications to suit their individual playing styles. Soon, many...
(1998–2009)
Gibson traditionally competed against the Stratocaster design by offering radically different flagship designs, such as Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
and SG
Gibson SG
At the launch of the SG in 1961, Gibson offered four variants of the SG; the SG Junior , the SG Special, the SG Standard, and the top-of-the-line SG Custom. However, Gibson's current core variants as of 2010 are the SG Standard and the SG Special...
that used very different body shapes, tonewoods, humbucker pickup construction, fixed bridge, yielding a sound radically different from Stratocaster's. The marketing situation became so bad for Gibson in mid-1980s, so the company was put up for sale in 1985 and bought in January, 1986, by a trio of famous investors — Henry Juszkiewicz, David Berryman, and Gary Zebrowski. Since 1986, the marketing hype was so high that Gibson also tried to join in with several models. As with Fender, these models weren't particularly successful commercially and came somewhat late:
- Gibson WRC (1985–1986) — an early and rare Wayne Charvel model, a line of guitar manufactured exclusively by Wayne Charvel and branded as Gibson.
- Gibson US-1 (1986-1991) — first Gibson mass-manufactured try at superstrat market; this guitar featured a set-in neck, balsa wood body, figured maple top, 3 humbuckers, split triangle fingerboard inlays and was available for order with either Gibson's standard tune-o-maticTune-o-maticTune-o-matic is a name of fixed bridge design for electric guitars. It was designed by Ted McCarty and introduced in the Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar in 1954. In 1955, it was used on the Gibson Les Paul Gold Top...
bridge or a KahlerKahlerKahler may refer to:Places*Kahler, Luxembourg, a small town in the commune of Garnich*Kahler Asten,a German mountain rangePeople*Art Kahler , American football and basketball player and coach...
locking tremolo. - Gibson U-2 (1987-1992) — second Gibson's superstrat, a somewhat stripped down version of US-1, featuring basswood body without a figured top, dot inlays, and regular pickups.
- Gibson Q series
- Gibson M-III (1991–1994)
End of superstrat era
In early and mid-1990s, heavy metal and particularly shredding suffered popularity decline, in favor of grungeGrunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
, nu metal
Nu metal
Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...
, alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
and other styles. Popularity of superstrats also declined, in favor of guitars more suited to these new styles. Lots of companies that relied on superstrats as major part of their target market suffered heavy losses and went out of business or were bought by larger corporations:
- GuildGuild Guitar CompanyThe Guild Guitar Company is a USA-based guitar manufacturer founded in 1952 by Alfred Dronge, a guitarist and music-store owner, and George Mann, a former executive with the Epiphone Guitar Company...
went out of solid-body guitar business in 1988. Only hollow-body instruments are still manufactured under Guild brand after its acquisition by Fender in 1995.
- HamerHamer GuitarsHamer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars. Founded in 1973 by vintage guitar shop owners, Jol Dantzig and his business partner Paul Hamer. Early instruments featured guitar designs based on the Gibson Explorer and Flying V...
was acquired by Kaman Music CorporationKaman Music CorporationKaman Music Corporation is a part of the Kaman Corporation founded by Charles Kaman. Kaman is also a guitarist and he came to explore the use of composite materials technologies to guitar building. He and his engineers created the round-backed, composite-body Ovation guitar which revolutionized...
in 1988, which in turn was acquired by Fender in 2008. , Hamer reduced their superstrat selection to just one model, the Californian.
- DeanDean GuitarsDean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.- History :...
was sold to Tropical Music in 1990. Superstrat production was resumed by its new owner in Korea.
- KramerKramer GuitarsKramer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses. Kramer produced aluminum-necked electric guitars and basses in the 1970s and wooden-necked guitars catering to hard rock and heavy metal musicians in the 1980s; Kramer is currently a division of Gibson Guitar Corporation...
went bankrupt in 1990 and was sold to GibsonGibson Guitar CorporationThe Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
since the early 1990s.
- JacksonJackson Guitars__FORCETOC__Jackson is a renowned brand of electric guitar that bears the name of its founder, Grover Jackson.-Early years:Grover Jackson obtained ownership in Charvel's Guitar Repair of Glendora, California in the 1970s with a promise to bolster Charvel's business...
and Charvel brands were bought by Fender in 2002.
- IbanezIbanezis a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
suffered heavy losses in 1991-1993 and had to undergo a major restructuring of model lineup, adding such series as GR ("Ghostrider"), Blazer, TC ("Talman"), RT (from "Retro") guitars, TR (from "Traditional") and ATK basses. Older Iceman model and even forgotten Ibanez Gibraltar bridge were resurrected as part of "vintage" followup. This restructuring kept the company afloat, as well as tweaking its image as "metal guitar only company" to a more customer-appealing one.
Modern times
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce...
produced several 7-string guitars (such as the Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
Universe
Ibanez Universe
The Ibanez Universe is the world's first modern, commercial seven-string electric guitar, developed by Steve Vai and manufactured by Ibanez. The Universe is a seven-string version of the Ibanez JEM series, Vai's signature model...
and Korn
Korn
Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
K7
Ibanez K7
The Ibanez K7 series is a signature series of seven-string guitars created by Korn guitarists James "Munky" Shaffer and Brian "Head" Welch.-Specifications:...
signature series models), catered for playing nu metal
Nu metal
Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...
/ alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
with additional low B string, followed by 8-string models such as the Meshuggah
Meshuggah
Meshuggah is an extreme metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up has primarily consisted of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, and rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1992...
-endorsed RG2228GK featuring an extra low F# string.
Most major guitar manufacturers have at least one superstrat in their electric guitar product lineup. Almost all available superstrats roughly can be divided in either arch-top or flat-top superstrats. The following table gives an overview of available series at major manufacturers, (note that it includes only major series and does not include any artist signature series or custom shop guitars).
| Manufacturer | Flat-top series | Arch-top series |
|---|---|---|
| B.C. Rich B.C. Rich B.C. Rich is a manufacturer of guitars and bass guitars founded by the late Bernardo Chavez Rico in 1969. Currently, most B.C. Rich guitars are manufactured in Asia, but luthiers of the company's custom shop continue to hand-make instruments. The Hanser Music Group, based in Kentucky, operates B.C.... |
ASM, Gunslinger | Assassin, Outlaw |
| Cort Cort Guitars Cort Guitars is a guitar manufacturer centered in South Korea. The company is one of the largest guitar makers in the world, and produces instruments for many other companies.- History :... |
X | EVL-K, EVL-X, KX |
| Dean Dean Guitars Dean Guitars is an American manufacturer of guitars. It was founded in 1976 by Dean Zelinsky in Chicago, Illinois and is currently under the ownership of Armadillo Enterprises in Tampa, Florida.- History :... |
Vendetta | |
| ESP ESP Guitars , located in North Hollywood, California, is an American-based, Japanese-owned manufacturer of electric guitars and basses.- History :In 1975, Hisatake Shibuya opened a shop called Electric Sound Products in Tokyo. It provided custom replacement parts for guitars. In 1976, ESP gained a reputation... |
Mirage/M ESP Mirage Series The ESP LTD "M-series" short for Mirage, are superstrat style solid body electric guitars manufactured by ESP.All except one of the M-series guitars are manufactured in Indonesia, with only the M-400 model being manufactured in Korea. All the guitars in the series have the same general layout with... |
Horizon/H |
| Godin Godin (Guitar Manufacturer) - History :Godin started building Robert Godin's guitars in 1972 in La Patrie, Quebec.Godin Guitars' head office is located in Montreal, and they build their instruments in six factories in four different locations, three in Quebec and one in New Hampshire.... |
Freeway, Velocity, Redline | |
| Hamer Hamer Guitars Hamer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars. Founded in 1973 by vintage guitar shop owners, Jol Dantzig and his business partner Paul Hamer. Early instruments featured guitar designs based on the Gibson Explorer and Flying V... |
Californian | |
| Kramer Guitars Kramer Guitars Kramer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses. Kramer produced aluminum-necked electric guitars and basses in the 1970s and wooden-necked guitars catering to hard rock and heavy metal musicians in the 1980s; Kramer is currently a division of Gibson Guitar Corporation... |
Striker/Pacer Series | |
| Ibanez Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce... |
RG Ibanez RG The Ibanez RG series has the maximum subtypes of guitars under the Ibanez Electric Guitar catalog and a popular series of Ibanez electric guitars produced by Hoshino Gakki. The Ibanez RG was originally designed as a derivative of Steve Vai's JEM\Universe series and released in 1987. Manufacture of... /JEM Ibanez JEM Ibanez JEM is an electric guitar manufactured by Ibanez and first produced in 1987. The guitar's most notable user is its co-designer, Steve Vai. As of 2010, there have been five sub-models of the JEM: the JEM7, JEM77, JEM777, JEM555 and the JEM333... , JS Ibanez JS Series The Ibanez JS Series is a signature series of guitars endorsed by Joe Satriani and manufactured by Ibanez guitars. It is essentially the discontinued Radius Ibanez series, with Joe's select pickups installed. The JS100 is a lower end model in comparison to the JS1000 and the JS1200. The JS1000 and... /R, S Ibanez S The Ibanez S Series is a guitar series produced by Hoshino Gakki. Introduced in the late 1980s, the S Series is notable for being a streamlined mahogany bodied guitar with a maple neck that plays comfortably while retaining the resonance of mahogany... , RGA |
|
| Jackson Jackson Guitars __FORCETOC__Jackson is a renowned brand of electric guitar that bears the name of its founder, Grover Jackson.-Early years:Grover Jackson obtained ownership in Charvel's Guitar Repair of Glendora, California in the 1970s with a promise to bolster Charvel's business... |
Soloist Jackson Soloist The Jackson Soloist is an electric guitar model by Jackson Guitars officially produced since 1984 . Jackson was essentially the pioneer of the "Superstrat" design... , Dinky Jackson Dinky The Jackson Dinky is a Superstrat-style double-cutaway electric guitar built by Jackson Guitars. The "Dinky" is aptly named for its slightly smaller than normal body size. Usually fitted with a two humbucker pickup configuration, some models also include single-coil pickups or just one bridge... |
Some Dinky MG models |
| James Tyler James Tyler Guitars James Tyler Guitars is a manufacturer of boutique electric guitars. The company is located near Van Nuys, California and was established in 1972. It was long regarded as LA studio musicians' "business secret", and consequently reached the public eye through studio musicians like Dan Huff, Michael... |
Studio Elite, Ultimate Weapon | |
| Peavey Peavey Electronics Peavey Electronics Corporation is one of the largest audio equipment manufacturers in the world, headquartered in Meridian, Mississippi in the United States.- History :... |
Predator | |
| Schecter Schecter Guitar Research Schecter Guitar Research, commonly known as simply as Schecter, is a US guitar manufacturer. The company was founded in 1976 by David Schecter and originally produced only replacement parts for existing guitars from manufacturers such as Fender and Gibson... |
Sunset | C, Hollywood, Omen, Damien, Loomis |
| Suhr Guitars Suhr Guitars Suhr Guitars is an American company that manufactures electric guitars and basses, guitar amplifiers, and effect units... |
Carve Top, Standard, Modern 24-Fret | Archtop |
| Washburn Washburn Guitars Washburn Guitars is an American guitar manufacturer. It was established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. Washburn is a part of U.S. Music Corporation.- History :... |
N4 Washburn N4 The Washburn N4 is an electric guitar model, developed in collaboration between Nuno Bettencourt, Washburn and the Seattle-based luthier Stephen Davies. Since its introduction in mid-late 1990, it became Nuno Bettencourt's main guitar and it is marketed by Washburn as Nuno Bettencourt's signature... , N, X |
X, WM |
| Yamaha | RGX Yamaha RGX The Yamaha RGX and RGZ electric guitars Series are manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation and bear a close resemblance to the Ibanez RG series, the Jackson Soloist and other "superstrat" enhanced copies of the Fender Stratocaster. These Taiwan-made instruments were introduced in 1987.RGX Series... |
|
Comparison
| Stratocaster | Superstrat | Advantages of superstrat | Disadvantages of superstrat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body shape | Original | May be slender and smaller than a standard Strat; May have thinner and deeper cutaways, producing pointier ends; May be arch-topped | More appealing to hard rock Hard rock Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock... and metal players; Gives easier access to higher frets |
Less wood under the bridge absorbs more sustain from the strings; Tone may lose its richness |
| Headstock | Traditional Fender "dogleg" design using string trees | Usually angled with a radical "hockey stick" (pointy/drooped) shape. Features string retainer bar instead of string trees (Some early superstrats feature more Fender-like headstocks.) |
Appearance, more sustain and purer tone on models without locking nut due to increased string angle | Larger heavier headstock can upset balance of the guitar. Shape may be vulnerable to breakage |
| Tonewood | Alder Alder Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to... or Ash Ash tree Fraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name... on blond examples |
Mahogany Mahogany The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany.... , Basswood, Alder Alder Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to... , Korina Korina Korina may refer to:* Korina language, an Arauan language of Brazil and Peru* Korina Sanchez , Filipino journalist* Terminalia superba, also known as Korina in the US, a large tree native to tropical western Africa.... , Koa Koa Acacia koa is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, where it is the second most common tree. The highest populations are on Hawaii, Maui and Oahu... , Ash Ash tree Fraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name... , Poplar Poplar Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood.... |
Warm, soft tone; good for playing overdriven; better sustain. | Mahogany is heavier; Basswood has a limited dynamic range. Both are not as bright or clean compared to alder. Some models made from alder or ash. |
| Neck | Relatively thin C-shaped neck and round fingerboard Fingerboard The fingerboard is a part of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument and above which the strings run... (low radius) |
Even thinner neck and flatter fingerboard (high radius) | Comfortable playing of shredding leads and tapping Tapping Tapping is a guitar playing technique, where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion of being pushed onto the fretboard, as opposed to the standard technique being fretted with one hand and picked with the other... |
Different feel of the guitar neck will not appeal to Stratocaster or acoustic players. Playing chords can be more difficult. Lower neck mass alters tone and sustain. Durability can suffer. |
| Number of frets | 21 (vintage) or 22 (standard) | Typically production model are 22 and 24, with 27 frets being increasingly common; some custom superstrats (EC-36, Maestro) feature 36 frets | Extended note pitch range — On 24-fret necks, full two octaves per string; easier access to the upper register | The harmonic content of the Strat neck pickup tone depends on it being placed directly beneath the 3rd overtone of the open strings, which is the location of the 24th fret. The original Strat neck pickup tone is therefore lost. With a 24-fret neck, the neck pickup is about 2 cm (7/8 inch) closer to the bridge. It therefore samples more high overtones and has a brighter sound than the standard position. In addition, the deep cutaways required for a 24-fret neck reduce the mass of the body. The more frets are available, the more the pickup has to move, which may lead to situations where the "neck" pickup is actually in the middle. |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on Bolt-on neck Bolt-on neck is a method of guitar construction that involves joining a guitar neck and body using screws as opposed to glue as with set-in neck joints. The term is a misnomer, introduced mostly by Fender whose guitars traditionally had "bolt-on necks". Real bolted joints are uncommon in guitar... |
Neck-thru Neck-thru Neck-through or neck-thru is a method of electric guitar or bass guitar construction that involves extending the piece of wood used for the neck through the entire length of the body, essentially making it the core of the body. The strings, fretboard, pickups and bridge are all mounted on this... , set-in Set-in neck Set-in neck is a method of guitar construction that involves joining guitar neck and body with a tightly fitted mortise-and-tenon or dovetail joint, secured using some sort of adhesive... or modified bolt-on Bolt-on neck Bolt-on neck is a method of guitar construction that involves joining a guitar neck and body using screws as opposed to glue as with set-in neck joints. The term is a misnomer, introduced mostly by Fender whose guitars traditionally had "bolt-on necks". Real bolted joints are uncommon in guitar... |
Longer sustain Sustain In music, sustain is a parameter of musical sound over time. As its name implies, it denotes the period of time during which the sound remains before it becomes inaudible, or silent.Additionally, sustain is the third of the four segments in an ADSR envelope... ; able to reach upper frets easier |
Difficult to mass-produce; more expensive; more complicated to repair if broken |
| Neck joint heel | Rectangular metal plate | Contoured to be slim and smooth | Better top fret access | Complicates mass production and modification |
| String | 6 | 6, but also increasingly reaching to 7 or 8 | Wider range toward the bass-end leads and tapping Tapping Tapping is a guitar playing technique, where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion of being pushed onto the fretboard, as opposed to the standard technique being fretted with one hand and picked with the other... |
Wider fretboard, which may make playing difficult; longer scale maybe required to keep it in an acceptable tune. Playing chords can be more difficult. Will require better construction due to additional strings. |
| Bridge | Vintage Tremolo (American Vintage, Hot-Rodded American Vintage and Highway One models) American Series 2-Point Tremolo (American Standard, American Deluxe Fender American Deluxe Series The Fender American Deluxe Series is a line of middle-range electric guitars and basses introduced by Fender in 1998 and upgraded in 2004 and again in 2010.The American Deluxe line replaced the Plus Series models of 1987.... , Custom Shop Fender Custom Shop The Fender Custom Shop is a division of Fender Musical Instruments, housed within their headquarters complex in Corona, Riverside County, California. The Fender Custom Shop primarily exists to compete with smaller companies and independent luthiers that, in turn, build products reminiscent of those... , Mexican Standard, Classic and Deluxe models) |
Floyd Rose Floyd Rose The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name... , Kahler Kahler Kahler may refer to:Places*Kahler, Luxembourg, a small town in the commune of Garnich*Kahler Asten,a German mountain rangePeople*Art Kahler , American football and basketball player and coach... , Schaller Schaller -Surname:* Barry R. Schaller, American lawyer, judge, academic, and bioethicist* Bernhard Schaller, Swiss physician and medical researcher* Biff Schaller , American baseball player* George Schaller, American biologist* Hans Schaller, German luger... or Edge Ibanez Edge The Ibanez Edge Tremolo is a double locking tremolo system for the electric guitar very similar in design to the original Floyd Rose. It first appeared in the Ibanez product line as of the 1986 model year, however, they have appeared on guitars with 1985 serial numbers... double-locking, Fender Deluxe Locking assembly, Wilkinson or other improved tremolo Tremolo arm A whammy bar, tremolo arm/bar, or vibrato arm/bar is a component of a guitar, used to add vibrato to the sound by changing the tension of the strings, typically at the bridge or tailpiece... systems; May also have Floyd Rose locking and lower-friction nuts (LSR/Wilkinson Roller) and/or locking machine head Machine head A machine head is part of a string instrument ranging from guitars to double basses, a geared apparatus for applying tension and thereby tuning a string, usually located at the headstock. A headstock has several machine heads, one per string... s |
Greater tuning stability; Extended tremolo range | Less traditional sonic palette; More complicated mechanism that increases the difficulty of guitar maintenance. Locking nut can weaken headstock joint. |
| Pickups | 3 single-coils (Hot bridge humbucker Humbucker A humbucker is a type of electric guitar pickup, first patented by Seth Lover and the Gibson company, that uses two coils, both generating string signal. Humbuckers have higher output than a single coil pickup since both coils are connected in series... on some models) |
The traditional "superstrat layout" features a humbucker in the bridge for fat lead tones, and single-coils in the neck and middle positions for traditional Stratocaster tones. Newer layout designs may have an HH or HSH design, and some can have as many as four humbuckers (Music Man Music Man Music Man can refer to:* The Music Man, a Broadway musical play by Meredith Willson** The Music Man , a feature film adaptation** The Music Man , a television film remake... Nigel Tufnel Nigel Tufnel Nigel Tufnel was the lead guitarist of the rock band Spinal Tap featured in the 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap. He was played by actor Christopher Guest.-Character biography:... signature guitar. Overwinding done to increase output; Active mid-boost circuitry, Sustainer/Sustainiac infinite-sustain device, piezo bridge transducer and synth-access systems on some models |
Fatter sound more applicable for hi-gain amplification used in rock and metal music; Less hum than with traditional all single coil pickup arrangement. | Overwinding causes loss of definition and chiming "vintage" tone Timbre In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the... ; Greater magnetic pull of ceramic magnets on the strings reduces sustain; Active circuitry requires an external 9V (or 18V) power supply from one or two batteries. |
| Controls | 3 knobs - Volume/Tone/Tone, 5 way blade switch | Various; usually simplified knobs Volume/Tone or just 1 Volume. Pickup switching may be enhanced with coil splitting and phase options. | Less "tone suckage" from wiring and circuitry components; simplified operation. Enhanced pickup switching allows a wide variety of hum-cancelling pickup combinations, especially with HSH and HHH configurations. | Less control of tone without using effects. Possibly more complicated pickup switching. |
| Pickguard | Present (may be absent on certain higher-end models) | May be absent | More sustain, as there are less plastic parts that dampen the sound; Also unnecessary as shredding techniques used in rock and metal music should not scrape against the guitar body. | No scratch protection; different routing of the guitar may also lead to difficulty of maintenance. Reduced ability for modification with different controls and pickup configurations. |
Similar designs, names and trademarks
Stratocaster design was a subject of copy and slight enhancements since its introduction in 1954. Many manufacturers produced guitars very similar to Stratocasters, usually referred to as Strat copies (it can't be legally called "Stratocaster copy", because "Stratocaster" was trademarked by Fender. Conversely, the superstrat design changed a lot of things (radical body shapes with sleek offset pointed cutaways, active or passive electronics, flatter 24-fret necks, locking tremolo bridges, a wide variety of humbucking and single-coil pickup configurations and enhanced pickup switching) hence superstrats are usually not considered "Strat copies" but a separate category of guitars.There is a design similar to superstrat concept named Fat Strat
Fat Strat
A Fat Strat is a name for a design of electric guitars that are based on the Fender Stratocaster, but have a humbucking pickup at the bridge position instead of a single-coil pickup...
. The term was introduced by Fender itself in 1997-1998 and it is a Fender trademark which was later replaced by the more conventional term Strat HSS. Generally, Fat Strat only specifically refers to a Stratocaster with a hot humbucking
Humbucker
A humbucker is a type of electric guitar pickup, first patented by Seth Lover and the Gibson company, that uses two coils, both generating string signal. Humbuckers have higher output than a single coil pickup since both coils are connected in series...
pickup in the bridge position while a superstrat will typically have other traits such as a 24-fret neck and a locking tremolo. A Fat Strat is usually closer to a traditional Stratocaster in those respects.
Note that "superstrat" is a subjective concept of adapting the Stratocaster design to be more suited for certain genres of music, and are not necessarily higher-end or more capable Stratocasters. The Fender Showmaster
Fender Showmaster
The Fender Showmaster is a model of electric guitar made by Fender, and is characteristic of a superstrat.-History:During the 1980s, superstrats were becoming popular amongst the many hard rock and metal guitarists, who needed the modifications to suit their individual playing styles. Soon, many...
series, for example, is made by Fender itself but marketed as a separate guitar line. The American Deluxe Stratocaster HSS
Fender American Deluxe Series
The Fender American Deluxe Series is a line of middle-range electric guitars and basses introduced by Fender in 1998 and upgraded in 2004 and again in 2010.The American Deluxe line replaced the Plus Series models of 1987....
and the American Special Strat HSS exhibit many of the traits normally associated with a superstrat, such as a universal HSH pickup rout, Fender DH-1 humbucking pickups, Floyd Rose
Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
Original and Fender Deluxe locking synchronized bridge
Floyd Rose
The Floyd Rose Locking Tremolo, or simply Floyd Rose, is a type of locking vibrato arm for a guitar. The first of its kind, Floyd D. Rose invented the locking vibrato in 1977, and it is now manufactured by a company of the same name...
s with LSR roller and genuine Floyd Rose locking nuts, as well as Schaller
Schaller
-Surname:* Barry R. Schaller, American lawyer, judge, academic, and bioethicist* Bernhard Schaller, Swiss physician and medical researcher* Biff Schaller , American baseball player* George Schaller, American biologist* Hans Schaller, German luger...
locking and traditional Kluson tuning machines on certain models (discontinued in 2007 and 2003), but they are not generally considered to be superstrats, rather high-end Stratocaster models. Fender produces Stratocaster pickguards specially routed for HSH and HHH pickups.