The Theory That an SSH or HSS Stratocaster Is the Best First Guitar for Beginners and DTM Users
This article contains affiliate links, but I own products from each company and
am writing based on my own experience.
When you do DTM, there are times you want to play guitar yourself and
record it.
What is the best guitar to buy first?
Ideally, if you have two guitars—a Fender-style Stratocaster and
a Gibson-style Les Paul—you can cover
most genres.
However, buying two guitars right away is tough, and
especially for guitar beginners,
you want to keep it within a limited budget.
In such cases, I recommend a Strat-style guitar with an SSH or HSS (or HSH)
pickup configuration, which combines the best of Gibson and Fender styles.
I think it's fine to start with a versatile, all-around, affordable guitar,
practice a lot, and then buy the guitar you really want for your second one.
I personally own Les Pauls and Telecasters, but
the ones I use for practice and songwriting are
a 1987 Japanese-made Yamaha RGX512J and
a 2012 Indonesian-made Ibanez SA360QM,
both of which are SSH super-strats.
The reason is that they can produce a wide variety of sounds with just one guitar,
so there is no need to switch instruments.
I come up with phrases on these, and if necessary,
I swap them out for a Les Paul (or sometimes a PRS SE) or a Telecaster.
Yamaha RGX512J, SSH configuration with EMG-licensed passive pickups.
The rear humbucker is coil-tappable; 1987 Japanese-made.
The body is basswood, so it is very light.
Actually, I own a sub-unit in the same color; I maintain both myself,
having replaced the tone pots and jacks, and adjusted the string height.
It is the original model of the Pacifica.
Since it is an unpopular model, you can find them used starting from the 10,000 yen range.
However, since it is a 39-year-old model, maintenance is essential, so
I recommend a new current Pacifica.
Ibanez SA360QM, 2012 Indonesian-made.
Maple top, mahogany back; what differs from the current model is
that the fretboard is rosewood; since 2017, it has been changed to alternative materials.
The humbucker is designed to
coil-tap when in the half-tone position with the center pickup.
I actually wanted an S series, but even used they cost about 100,000 yen,
so I hunted for and acquired a used SA.
I love the arched top, thin body, and blue quilted maple.
This time, I will explain why SSH or HSS Stratocasters are recommended. It can be said that they are especially recommended for those who have not clearly decided on the genre they want to play on guitar. Finally, I will introduce guitars from various companies that will do a great job on a low budget.
1. What is the Fender-style sound?
There are many Fender-style sounds, but basically,
I think they are guitars with a sharp, single-coil sound.
For example, in Base Ball Bear's "STAND BY ME",
the vocalist uses a Fender Telecaster with single-coil pickups,
and the lead guitarist uses a Fender Stratocaster with single-coil pickups, creating a very punchy and impressive guitar sound.
Squier is a Fender-affiliated brand, and while they are lower-end models and inexpensive,
the build quality is relatively good. I love my Affinity Series Telecaster,
and I was surprised at how good the quality was even though it was 20,000 yen at the time.
If you want to clearly cover J-Rock like Number Girl or Base Ball Bear and do "chaka-chaka" cutting, it might be good to have one.
Strats and Telecasters have similar sound tendencies, but
the one with a stronger attack and more extended high frequencies
is the Telecaster. It is said that this is the reason why there is a higher ratio of guitarists who sing using Telecasters than Stratocasters.
However, it is actually no problem at all to play guitar and sing with a Strat.
There are examples like Suspended 4th.
Hitsujibungaku's guitar is a Fender Jazzmaster, which uses single-coil pickups that are different from those on a Strat or Telecaster,
but basically, the "zaku-zaku" sound feel with strong attack and impressive high frequencies
can also be substituted with a Strat or Telecaster.
(People who are really particular about this type of sound will buy a Jazzmaster, though.)
You can consider the Fender style to be a sound with a fast response and impressive, strong-attack high frequencies.
Fender-style single coils are also better suited for "chaka-chaka" cutting than Gibson-style ones.
Bacchus Jazzmasters are reasonably priced, and it is good that the bridge
is a type where the strings do not fall out.
I love my 2009 Philippine-made Bacchus Thinline Telecaster,
and I have the impression that the quality is quite good.
Even with Squier, the genuine Jazzmaster exceeds 60,000 yen.
In the past, you could buy a Fender Japan model for this price.
Prices keep going up due to the weak yen and inflation. (Crying)
2. What is the Gibson-style sound?
In contrast to the Fender style, which has a fast response, strong attack, and impressive high frequencies,
the Gibson style is characterized by a profound humbucker pickup sound with impressive mid-to-low frequencies.
In this Asian Kung-Fu Generation song, the guitar also uses a Les Paul humbucker pickup
to play a profound backing track,
and Gotch's Les Paul Junior P90 single pickup
sounds somewhere between a Fender single-coil and a Gibson humbucker, so the Asian Kung-Fu Generation guitar sound is composed of two guitars with different tendencies. Gibson guitars are made by laminating a very hard maple wood, which has a fast sound response, onto mahogany, which has a soft wood hardness and makes the sound appear rounder,
and in combination with the humbucker pickup, it produces a profound sound.
Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine," which
gained attention again with Hathaway's Flash,
the arpeggio part of the Les Paul played by Slash
has a slightly thicker, bluesier sound compared to the Fender style.
BLITZ is ARIA's budget line, so it is inexpensive, but considering the price,
the quality has a good reputation.
Epiphone is Gibson's lower-end brand, but recently they seem expensive.
I remember being able to buy a Les Paul for around 40,000 yen in the past. It's because of the weak yen and inflation.
3. The SSH Superstrat: The Best of Both Gibson and Fender Worlds
It is said that Edward Van Halen was the first to mount a Gibson-style humbucker pickup onto a Strat-style body, but
it was Brad Gillis of Night Ranger who shot to fame by replacing the bridge single-coil pickup on a Fender Stratocaster with a Gibson-style humbucker to create an SSH or HSS configuration.
His red Fender SSH Superstrat is quite iconic.
The beautiful arpeggio in the intro of "Don’t Tell Me You Love Me" is played
using the Fender-style single-coil pickup,
while the power chord backing, riff playing, and guitar solo are switched to the bridge humbucker,
using one guitar to create both quiet and dynamic sounds.
Compared to the thick, sweet arpeggio of the Les Paul used by Slash of Guns N' Roses mentioned earlier,
this one sounds sharper because it uses a single-coil.
Since this Fender guitar was a modified instrument, there was only one of them,
and based on this guitar, the now-defunct Japanese company Fernandes
created copy models that Brad Gillis kept in large numbers backstage,
and he still loves using them in live performances today.
The Superstrat boom occurred in the 80s,
and Japanese guitar manufacturers, as well as overseas brands like Jackson, Charvel, and
Kramer, sold a massive number of Superstrats. Ibanez's RG series, for example, was born during this time.
As you can see, the advantage of an SSH (HSS) Superstrat is that it can handle a wide variety of musical genres with just one guitar.
This is because it can produce both Fender-style and Gibson-style sounds from a single instrument.
4. Recommended SSH Guitars
Below, I will introduce some affordable and usable SSH guitars. There are several colors available, so
I recommend clicking the links and choosing the color that catches your eye.
First is the Yamaha Pacifica 112V. The Pacifica is famous for being the guitar that the protagonist, Hitori Gotoh, purchased in the final episode of the anime "Bocchi the Rock!"
It is an SSH-configured Strat type, but the bridge humbucker is coil-tappable,
allowing you to operate only half of the humbucker to make it function like a single-coil.
Yamaha's coil tap was called "Bi-Sound" a long time ago.
It is extremely convenient that it can be used as a 3-single Strat, and the bridge can also be used as a humbucker.
As I mentioned above, I love Yamaha guitars so much that I personally use an RGX512J.
Squier SSH Strat
It is too cheap for what you get. However, the humbucker does not have a coil tap, so when you use the single-coil, it will be in the center or bridge position, which can sound a bit muffled. Single-coil pickups sound the most crisp and snappy when placed in the bridge position.
Ibanez's budget line, GIO
It has an SSH configuration, and it seems the humbucker is coil-tappable when in the bridge-center position.
Ibanez necks are thin, making them very easy to grip and play.
This was the main reason I purchased the SA360QM.