Fender Sub-Sonic Guitar


Fender Sub-Sonic Guitar
by Billy Cioffi
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There is an old saying in Rock and Roll: "The Twang's The Thang." I believe it goes back to those early Duane Eddy records with that low-down, earthy tone that sustains yet clearly defines the melody line or "lick." In classic rock and roll from Jimi Hendrix to Jimmy Page to Stevie Ray to Eddie Van Halen...all the greats got a twangy and big beefy wall of sound by tuning their guitars down below normal. Stevie Ray Vaughn tuned a half step down to E flat giving his strings greater "play"...making his vibrato wider and creating a ballsy and more consistent sound, particularly in the first positions. In country music, a staple in the studio has been the baritone guitar or Fender's original six-string bass. Fender, innovative as always, has now split the difference and come up with a whole new thang, the Sub-Sonic Stratocaster!

With a neck scale of 27 inches (traditional Strat's are 25.5 inches) this ax has to be big! Now add a B tuning of B-E-A-D-F#-B and you'll have a range most associated with 7 string guitars but forget scratching your head trying to figure out new positions, inversions or strange chord shapes. You're basically good to go from the get. Country players and studio musicians will love this instrument for it's ability to lay down throbbing single note lines and phrases that usually require arcane tunings. Power chords will sound like earthquakes and you gotta wonder about the health of low cost stereo speakers in an air-guitar player's bedroom!

Manufactured in "Fenderland", in Corona California USA, the Sub-Sonic has an alder body in the shape of the classic Strat and comes with a hard-tail bridge. The neck, made of maple, is available with either a maple or rosewood fingerboard, dot inlays and 22 medium-jumbo frets. Deluxe cast/sealed machine heads are fitted to an oversized traditional Strat headstock. There are a single, DH-1 humbucking pickup and two Vintage Noiseless single-coils. Controls consist of: volume control, one tone knob for the neck and middle pickup and one no-load tone for the bridge.

With black Tolex Fender case, the Sub-Sonic sells for $1,400 MSRP. Color options include three-color Sunburst (add $50); Black; Hot Rod Red; and Aqua Marine Metallic. For much more about this new earth-shaker, contact Fender Musical Instruments at 7975 N. Hayden Road-C-100, Scottsdale, AZ 85258-3247. Phone them at: 480-596-9690, FAX at: 480-596-1384 or visit: www.fender.com

Billy Cioffi is a Rock and Roll guitarist who has played with many acts from the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies in all fifty states and on five continents. He is also a songwriter, writer and journalist.

Edited by: Barry Rudolph

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