Can’t decide between a Tele and a Strat? The new Squier Paranormal Custom Nashville Stratocaster may ease your worried mind.

With a double-bound/double-cut poplar body and maple neck, the guitar has the neck and bridge pickups of a standard Tele with a middle pickup borrowed from a Strat. All have Alnico polepieces and the trio is controlled by a five-way switch familiar to any Strat player, complemented with a Tele’s knurled Volume and Tone knurled barrell knobs. The Tone knob is a push/pull that engages the neck position when the blade is in the first or second position.

Vintage-style tuners, three-barrel/string-through-body bridge, three-ply pickguard, and aged binding give the Nashville a thoroughly vintage vibe.

Any Strat or Tele player will feel right at home with this instrument; the C-shaped neck with a 9.5″ radius, narrow/tall frets and laurel fretboard provide excellent play, while the synthetic bone nut and steel bridge barrels bolster resonance.

The control plate is flipped, putting the Volume knob very close to the bridge pickup, allowing for convenient volume swells. The neck and bridge pickups do everything a Tele does, with a distinct ’50s tone. The neck pickup is particularly warm and round, easily usable for jazz. The bridge can go from chicken pickin’ to full-on roar by just bumping up the Volume knob. The Strat-style pickup is full-sounding, and with the blade selector in positions two and four produces the characteristic “cluck” of a Strat. Pulling the Tone knob engages the neck pickup with the selector in positions one and two, providing an even wider palette.

Inexpensive, well-built, and great-sounding, the Paranormal Strat could easily fill two slots on any working musician’s guitar stand.

This article originally appeared in VG’s March 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.