What is a superstrat? (NGD)

hollywoodrox

HAL9000 said:

So… if you can get superstrats, then why not superteles, superlespauls, etc?

You can  , they just never seem to have got the moniker applied to them
Mick Mars played Super Teles &there’s a few players who had LPs with Floyds 
I guess Strats were overall more prevalent . I personally like a flatter/compound radius on them & cool paint like solid bright/neon colors / graphics etc . Dimarzio or SD pickups  and mega easy access to high frets 

ICBM

stickyfiddle said:

I don't think a Floyd is important. My instinct is is that a bridge hum bucker and any other modernisation is what gets you there - big frets, flatter boards, garish colours, locking bits, no pickguard, etc.

I think it needs more than one - although I'd add "not Fender" as another qualifier. eg, if you have a Fender Strat with a bridge humbucker and big frets, it's just a "Fat Strat" not a superstrat. But if the same guitar is made by Ibanez, and especially if it has a flatter board as well, then it probably just crosses the line.

When you get to a locking vibrato as well then it's definitely one.

OilCityPickups

HAL9000 said:

So… if you can get superstrats, then why not superteles, superlespauls, etc?

Because:
Strat with Floyd Rose = good
Tele with Floyd Rose = moderately good-ish 

Les Paul with Floyd Rose  = abomination 

:-)

ICBM

OilCityPickups said:

Strat with Floyd Rose = good
Tele with Floyd Rose = moderately good-ish 

Les Paul with Floyd Rose  = abomination 

:-)

But Les Paul with Kahler = perfect .

Philly_Q

OilCityPickups said:

HAL9000 said:

So… if you can get superstrats, then why not superteles, superlespauls, etc?

Because:
Strat with Floyd Rose = good
Tele with Floyd Rose = moderately good-ish 

Les Paul with Floyd Rose  = abomination 

:-)

To be honest, I think anything with a Floyd Rose is cool.  I've had one guitar with a Floyd and I didn't like it at all.  I didn't like setting it up or changing strings, I didn't like the feel.  I'll probably never buy another guitar with a Floyd.  But they look fantastically cool.

Mattharrier

I would have said that a Strat with a bridge humbucker would be a Fat Strat. Maybe a locking trem as well. A Superstrat would be a more outlandish pickup combination (HSH for example), super skinny neck, extra frets, more aggressive cutaways, all the bits for more extreme playing.

My Focus (by Kramer) 211S has a bridge humbucker but it's definitely not a Superstrat.

guitars4you

ICBM said:

OilCityPickups said:

Strat with Floyd Rose = good
Tele with Floyd Rose = moderately good-ish 

Les Paul with Floyd Rose  = abomination 

:-)

But Les Paul with Kahler = perfect .

Sorry but I wouldn’t have a Kahler near anything 

Horrible feel - just feel spongy to me 

LionAquaLooper

Middle position with the alter switch on is apparently both single coils in series and the humbucker in parallel. I'm curious as to what that sounds like. 

Yorkie

Thanks everyone for leaving your thoughts. And special thanks to those lovely people who have said nice things about the guitar and/or congratulated me. 

The guitar definitely has a flatter fretboard radius than my Fender strat, and better accessibility at the higher frets. 

It also has rounded saddles, which are nice. 

The tremolo discussion is interesting but doesn’t really affect me because I don’t use them. 

The crazy switching options are what really makes it super to me. The coil-tapped bridge + neck one is fairly close to the tone I was chasing on the Squier. The ones with all the pickups and series middle+neck are great. It sounds hot but still defined. The dominant character of that sound is brought by the neck pickup, I think. Can’t wait to lift the pickguard and have a look inside. 

The guitar is lighter than a Fender. I love that it has the jack socket on the side. 

The colour is a bit off on the Ibanez pics. It looks a bit more turquoise. The shops have done a better job at capturing the real thing.

Dave_Mc

stickyfiddle said:

I don't think a Floyd is important. My instinct is is that a bridge hum bucker and any other modernisation is what gets you there - big frets, flatter boards, garish colours, locking bits, no pickguard, etc.

Yeah I would broadly agree with that- just looking at how Fender names them, just adding a bridge humbucker alone is a Fat Strat. (Granted, they often have some other mods too!)

I forgot to say too, awesome guitar @Yorkie ! Your guess is as good as mine as to which that is 

EDIT: Yeah I agree with the "non-Fender" thing @ICBM However maybe the HM Strat is the exception that proves the rule? It looks like a Superstrat to me. And some of the signature models too e.g. Richie Sambora etc.

If you ask me those Charvel Teles with Floyds and humbuckers are Superteles @HAL9000 ;;

EDIT: Ah I think I'm just sticking with my original post... Sorites paradox it is. 

Yorkie

That's a more realistic picture. The colour is perhaps closest to Fender's daphne blue, I think. The pickguard is mint green, not really white – the other plastics are white as you can see. The cut out goes deeper than that of a regular strat, and there's no neck plate, so it's really thin and smooth at the back. 

The fingerboard got much darker than that after I oiled it. 



It's an interesting specimen and a very nice surprise. 

stufisher

With positive intent, perhaps we should remember that all of this stuff has been pervasive in society forever. I recall this gem from the 80s (I think):



EMP hasn't spoken out of turn, he's only had a left-field thought and asked a question. I find it astonishing that in the 21stC we still have such a range of reactions to things relating to human biology and toilet humour.

Surely we can all agree that humour is the best medicine for most things? That's different from trying to agree on what we each find funny. 

stufisher

With positive intent, perhaps we should remember that all of this stuff has been pervasive in society forever.

I recall this gem from the 80s (I think):



EMP hasn't spoken out of turn he's only had a left-field thought and asked a question. I find it astonishing that in the 21stC we still have such a range of reactions to things relating to human biology and toilet humour.

Surely we can all agree that humour is the best medicine for most things ... that's different from trying to agree on what we each find funny. 

Philly_Q

^ @stufisher I think you're on the wrong thread.

stufisher

Good Scottish wurd 'hink' ... well done  

Yorkie

Philly_Q

stufisher said:

Good Scottish wurd 'hink' ... well done  

Possibly, but completely inappropriate.  I have edited it.

ICBM

Dave_Mc said:

However maybe the HM Strat is the exception that proves the rule? It looks like a Superstrat to me. And some of the signature models too e.g. Richie Sambora etc.

Those still definitely count because they have enough other modern features to override being made by Fender .

LionAquaLooper

I'm tempted by the SSS version of these. I've had HSS strats before and I hate the fact that the tone gets significantly muddier and darker when you switch from the Single to HB pickup and with just one tone knob you can't then make the singles darker to balance it out. 

axisus

There's an easy way to tell if you have a superstrat - Take it into a phone booth, if you come out and it is wearing underpants and flies off to save someone, congrats! You have a superstrat!