Squier Paranormal Jazzmaster XII

[MattK]

I'm mildly freaked out because I finally decided that the XII I ordered from Thomann in June was just excessive, given that I've bought too much stuff this year. Went to the site to cancel it, only to find the order status was "shipped" and the notification email arrived about 10 minutes later.

[mekhem]

eeeh - its 'relatively' inexpensive and very good so... Maybe its fate

[sal paradise]

Ordered a blue one from Fender. Shipping soon

[Ahahah]

Received mine today from Thomann.

Looks nice (well, the contour would have deserved more care and sanding, but hey, that's a €400 guitar).

Perfect intonation and action right from the box.

Sounds nice, well... until you plug it into an amp : no brightness at all, not this "fills the space" 12-string feeling. A very strange experience. And above all, far too much output on both pickups. No balance between the 2, the middle position without volume correction is almost unbearable. At 10, it clips like the worst shredder axe. The volume pot is a pure disaster running from 8 to 10. I've seen bad ones, but never with such a ridiculous range. Below 8, there is no sound, whatever swearing you'll throw.

Quite disappointed after a 4-month wait.

I have had good to excellent experiences with recent Squier, I own some vintage ones too. But this one is certainly not a keeper as such. Not with these pickups, not with these electronics. It reminds of the pure garbage they fitted in the Pawn Shop VI and didn't even get ashamed calling it a Jazzmaster pickup.

It's a bit like the worst of the world, provided I own its 1965 counterpart. Comparing them is just impossible. All in all, it's certainly not a Jazzmaster you get here, but obviously even less an Electric XII.

Now, don't feel afraid : get one while it's still cheap. But be aware it desperately will need a new set of pickups and some more serious pots. I've no doubt if they stop the production short, you'll see them going for $2k in about 2 years or so. And there is no way someone could be happy playing it after having paid that price. That's a €400 guitar and that's the way it should stay. I don't regret I bought it, but I wouldn't spend a single more cent on an unmodified one.

[MattK]

I have a standard JM pickup waiting to put in mine when it arrives. Is the neck position usable?

[buckaroo]

I have a standard JM pickup waiting to put in mine when it arrives. Is the neck position usable?

I found the neck very usable - it's the bridge that was wound too hot. Mine measured over 11k!

[buckaroo]

Sounds nice, well... until you plug it into an amp : no brightness at all, not this "fills the space" 12-string feeling. A very strange experience. And above all, far too much output on both pickups. No balance between the 2, the middle position without volume correction is almost unbearable. At 10, it clips like the worst shredder axe. The volume pot is a pure disaster running from 8 to 10. I've seen bad ones, but never with such a ridiculous range. Below 8, there is no sound, whatever swearing you'll throw.

I have had good to excellent experiences with recent Squier, I own some vintage ones too. But this one is certainly not a keeper as such. Not with these pickups, not with these electronics. It reminds of the pure garbage they fitted in the Pawn Shop VI and didn't even get ashamed calling it a Jazzmaster pickup.

It's a bit like the worst of the world, provided I own its 1965 counterpart. Comparing them is just impossible. All in all, it's certainly not a Jazzmaster you get here, but obviously even less an Electric XII.

Yes, I have had mine since June and I'm still debating how to go about improving it. I know some people are upgrading to the Pure Vintage 65 JM pickups, and I think that seems totally viable. They are fantastic PUs.

I have yet to see someone successfully mod the Parnormal XII to get it closer to the original Electric XII - eg.) curtis novak XII pickups, vintage wiring and pots, custom pickguard. I think you're observations jive with mine - the Squier XII has great bones, but I'm reticent to sink several hundred dollars into it.

[MattK]

I have a standard JM pickup waiting to put in mine when it arrives. Is the neck position usable?

I found the neck very usable - it's the bridge that was wound too hot. Mine measured over 11k!

I think that’s standard! Hence I snapped up an AVRI pickup I saw going cheap.

[Nevets]

I find both the pickups usuable and the volume control is just fine. My experience is very different from Ahaha's.

That said I am considering upgrading them to AV65s. But I don't really see the need to. I get sometimes swayed by opinions on the internet saying "the bridge is too hot, etc,etc, etc" into thinking I have to upgrade, but really, they're fine to my ears. I still consider this to be an excellent guitar.

[MattK]

Well yeah, I am planning to try it first! A cheap AVRI pickup is always good to have in the parts drawer.

[Ahahah]

Fact is I tend to play in the middle position, whatever 2-pickup guitar I play. On this guitar, it's just a very harsh experience. And that's mainly due to the bridge pickup. What I still can't understand is this lack of balance :

- Bridge alone : overloud. Volume at 10 on guitar has to be turned down to avoid input overload. A strong power chord at full volume on a Gibson SG is less powerful than this Jazzmaster on steroids. It implies instant nasty distortion (and one of extreme bad quality !) on a Roland JC-160 (one may play dirtier amps).
- Bridge and Neck : more than overload, huge increase in volume, as if it was physically possible. If the volume is above 8 (well, that's the lowest I can get with the Vol pot), input overload. Verdict : strictly impossible to use with this the OEM volume pot.
- Neck : bearable. But that's a pickup I "usually" never use on its own.

Now, maybe I got a particular dog, but as mentioned, the finish is really decent. So it has nothing to do with QC / lack of QC. It's just poor electronics. And yeah, jettison all this is what I'll do, no doubt.

What worries me the most is that I had exactly the same type of feeling with the Pawn Shop VI : I never switch the middle pickup on its own on a "classic" Bass VI, but it was (well, it's being a veeeerrrry long time since I haven't played this one and I doubt it ever miraculously changed) the only usable pickup, the 2 others delivering pure thrash. It now collects dust.

[ryland]

Fact is I tend to play in the middle position, whatever 2-pickup guitar I play. On this guitar, it's just a very harsh experience. And that's mainly due to the bridge pickup. What I still can't understand is this lack of balance :

- Bridge alone : overloud. Volume at 10 on guitar has to be turned down to avoid input overload. A strong power chord at full volume on a Gibson SG is less powerful than this Jazzmaster on steroids. It implies instant nasty distortion (and one of extreme bad quality !) on a Roland JC-160 (one may play dirtier amps).
- Bridge and Neck : more than overload, huge increase in volume, as if it was physically possible. If the volume is above 8 (well, that's the lowest I can get with the Vol pot), input overload. Verdict : strictly impossible to use with this the OEM volume pot.
- Neck : bearable. But that's a pickup I "usually" never use on its own.

Now, maybe I got a particular dog, but as mentioned, the finish is really decent. So it has nothing to do with QC / lack of QC. It's just poor electronics. And yeah, jettison all this is what I'll do, no doubt.

What worries me the most is that I had exactly the same type of feeling with the Pawn Shop VI : I never switch the middle pickup on its own on a "classic" Bass VI, but it was (well, it's being a veeeerrrry long time since I haven't played this one and I doubt it ever miraculously changed) the only usable pickup, the 2 others delivering pure thrash. It now collects dust.

No, I don't think you got a dog. This is pretty much my experience with the pickups. They're HOT. Lowering them as far as they'll go helps, but then I find that some of the chime and not definition is lost. I'm planning on swapping in a set of 65 pickups that I have sitting around when I change the strings. Overall, its a great playing and acoustically pleasing guitar. I honestly never buy a Squier without assuming that I'll need to swap out pretty much all of the electronics.

[sal paradise]

After the chat in here I just picked up a PV65 bridge pickup for cheap. I’ll need to restring & flip the nut anyways, so pickup change nice and simple at the same time. Thanks for the heads up!

[andy_tchp]

Fact is I tend to play in the middle position, whatever 2-pickup guitar I play. On this guitar, it's just a very harsh experience. And that's mainly due to the bridge pickup. What I still can't understand is this lack of balance :

- Bridge alone : overloud. Volume at 10 on guitar has to be turned down to avoid input overload. A strong power chord at full volume on a Gibson SG is less powerful than this Jazzmaster on steroids. It implies instant nasty distortion (and one of extreme bad quality !) on a Roland JC-160 (one may play dirtier amps).
- Bridge and Neck : more than overload, huge increase in volume, as if it was physically possible. If the volume is above 8 (well, that's the lowest I can get with the Vol pot), input overload. Verdict : strictly impossible to use with this the OEM volume pot.
- Neck : bearable. But that's a pickup I "usually" never use on its own.

So it sounds like the in-between position is wired in series instead of parallel? Seems equal parts baffling and absurd for a 12 string.

[Bear]

So it sounds like the in-between position is wired in series instead of parallel? Seems equal parts baffling and absurd for a 12 string.

I assume the 12 strings, too, but my understanding was that this was the standard Masonite/lipstick-pickup Danelectro wiring.